Commentary - Zechariah 1:7-17

Bird's-eye view

Following the initial call to repentance in the first six verses, Zechariah receives the first of eight night visions. This section, from verse 7 to 17, sets the stage for the rest of the book. The people of God have returned from exile, but the work of rebuilding the temple has stalled. They are discouraged, Jerusalem is still in a sorry state, and the nations around them are fat and happy. It is into this situation that God sends a word of profound encouragement. This vision of horsemen patrolling the earth reveals God's sovereign awareness of the state of the world. The world is "at ease," but this is a false peace. It is the quiet of complacency. The vision then turns to the heart of God, revealing His burning jealousy for Jerusalem and His settled wrath against the arrogant nations. The central message is one of divine comfort and absolute promise: God has not forgotten His people. He is returning with mercy, His house will be rebuilt, and His cities will once again overflow with prosperity. This is not wishful thinking; it is a divine declaration.

This passage is a powerful reminder that God's perspective is not ours. While the returning exiles saw a quiet world and a struggling Jerusalem, God saw an arrogant world ripe for judgment and a beloved city ripe for restoration. The angelic patrol reports what is, but the Angel of Yahweh intercedes based on what ought to be according to God's covenant promises. The answer He receives from Yahweh is filled with "good and comforting words," which form the basis of the Christian's hope in every age. God's zeal for His church is a great jealousy, and His promises for her future glory are certain.

Outline

Context In Zechariah

Zechariah's ministry, alongside that of Haggai, was to the post-exilic community that had returned to Judah under the decree of Cyrus. The initial enthusiasm for rebuilding the temple had waned due to external opposition and internal apathy. Haggai's preaching had successfully stirred the people to resume the work (Hag. 1:12-15). Zechariah's message comes just a few months later, providing a deeper, more visionary theological foundation for that work. His prophecies are not just about stone and mortar, but about the cosmic significance of what is happening in Jerusalem.

This first of eight "night visions" (Zech. 1:7-6:15) functions as the foundation for all that follows. These visions are arranged in a chiastic structure, with this first vision of the colored horses corresponding to the eighth and final vision. The central theme is God's sovereign rule over the nations for the sake of His covenant people. The quiet complacency of the nations is not a sign of God's approval, but rather the stillness before a storm of judgment. The rebuilding of the temple is therefore not just a local construction project; it is the re-establishment of God's throne on earth, the place from which His rule will extend to all nations.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,

The prophecy is meticulously dated. This is not a fairy tale; it is anchored in real history. We are in the year 520 B.C. The exiles have been back for a time, and as we know from Haggai, the work on the temple has recently restarted after a long delay. God's word does not come into a vacuum. It comes into our history, our calendar, our political situations. The precision of the date tells us that God is intervening at a specific and crucial moment. The word comes to Zechariah, whose name means "Yahweh remembers," which is precisely the theme of this vision. God remembers His covenant, His people, and His promises.

v. 8 I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel, and white horses behind him.

This is the first of the night visions. The setting is significant. He is among the myrtle trees in a ravine, or a low place. Myrtle trees can be a symbol of peace and restoration for Israel (Is. 41:19, 55:13), but here they are in a hollow, a low place, which aptly describes Israel's condition. They are back in the land, but they are in a diminished state. The central figure is a man on a red horse. This man is later identified as "the angel of Yahweh" (v. 11), a figure who in the Old Testament is often a theophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. Red is the color of conflict, judgment, and bloodshed. Behind him are other horses, a celestial cavalry. These are God's angelic agents, His eyes and ears throughout the whole earth. Think of the four horsemen in Revelation 6. These are not forces of chaos, but of divine judgment, under the command of the Lord Himself.

v. 9 Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”

Zechariah, like any sane man confronted with such a vision, asks for an explanation. He doesn't pretend to understand. This is a good lesson for us when we approach the more difficult parts of Scripture. We are to ask God for understanding. He is assisted by an interpreting angel, a common feature in apocalyptic literature. God does not give us revelation to confuse us, but to enlighten us, and He provides the means for that enlightenment.

v. 10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom Yahweh has sent to patrol the earth.”

The commander of the patrol, the man on the red horse, gives the answer himself. These horsemen are a divine reconnaissance mission. God has sent them to "patrol the earth." The language here is one of sovereign oversight. Nothing happens on earth outside of God's notice. He is not a distant, deistic landlord. He is actively involved, sending His agents to and fro. This should be a profound comfort to the people of God and a terror to His enemies. The whole world is under surveillance.

v. 11 So they answered the angel of Yahweh who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is sitting still and quiet.”

The patrol reports back to their commander, the Angel of Yahweh. And what is their report? The world is at peace. All is quiet. Now, on the surface, this sounds like good news. But in this context, it is precisely the problem. The pagan nations who crushed Judah are now "sitting still and quiet." They are at ease, prosperous, and untroubled. Meanwhile, Jerusalem is a wreck and the people of God are struggling. This is the peace of the wicked, the quiet of the complacent. It is the peace of a world that has forgotten God and feels no threat of judgment. This report sets up the great problem that the Angel of Yahweh will bring before the throne.

v. 12 Then the angel of Yahweh answered and said, “O Yahweh of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?”

Here the Angel of Yahweh, our great High Priest, intercedes for His people. He takes the patrol's report and turns it into a plea. The world is quiet, but Jerusalem is suffering. The seventy years of indignation, prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11-12, 29:10), are complete. The time for punishment is over. The time for restoration has come. So the question is a burning one: "How long?" This is the cry of the saints in every generation. How long, O Lord, until you vindicate your people? How long until you set things right? This is not a cry of doubt, but of faith, appealing to God's own character and His covenant promises.

v. 13 Yahweh answered the angel who was speaking with me with good words, comforting words.

And God answers. Notice the quality of the answer: "good words, comforting words." The gospel is always, at its heart, good news. God's response to the faithful intercession of our Mediator is not a complicated theological treatise, but words of comfort and promise. This is the foundation of our assurance. When we are in the ravine, in the low place, God does not send us a lecture; He sends us comfort.

v. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Call out, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.”’

Now the content of the comforting words is revealed, and Zechariah is commanded to proclaim it. The first thing God wants His struggling people to know is the intensity of His love for them. He is "exceedingly jealous" for them. In our culture, jealousy is seen as a petty, sinful emotion. But biblical jealousy is the righteous zeal of a husband for his wife. It is the demand for exclusive covenant loyalty. God's jealousy is not a flaw; it is an expression of His holiness and His covenant love. He will not tolerate rivals, and He will not abandon the one He has chosen. He is jealous for Jerusalem, meaning He is zealous to protect and bless her.

v. 15 But I am very wrathful with the nations who are at ease; for I was only a little wrathful, but they helped increase the calamity.”

The flip side of God's jealousy for His people is His wrath against their enemies. He is "very wrathful" with the complacent nations. Why? Because they went too far. God used nations like Babylon as His instrument of discipline against Judah. He was "a little wrathful" with His own people. But the pagan nations were not disinterested instruments; they reveled in the destruction. They "helped increase the calamity." They took sadistic pleasure in it. God will judge the nations not just for their idolatry, but for their arrogant and cruel treatment of His people. This is a permanent principle: those who touch the apple of God's eye will have to answer for it (Zech. 2:8).

v. 16 Therefore thus says Yahweh, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares Yahweh of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’

Because of His jealousy and wrath, God now makes a series of glorious promises. First, "I will return to Jerusalem with compassion." The exile was a manifestation of God's absence. Now He promises His presence. Second, "My house will be built in it." This is the specific, concrete task at hand, but it is undergirded by this massive divine promise. The temple will be completed because God has decreed it. Third, "a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem." A measuring line is for rebuilding. It signifies ownership, design, and intention to restore. God is not just patching things up; He is planning a glorious new future for His city.

v. 17 Again, call out, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with good, and Yahweh will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

The proclamation is to be repeated, driven home. The promises are amplified. It's not just Jerusalem, but "My cities" that will "overflow with good," with prosperity. The comfort that was promised in verse 13 is reiterated. And the foundation of it all is stated again: God will "again choose Jerusalem." The exile might have made it look like God had rejected His people, that He had annulled the covenant. This is the definitive answer: No. His choice is steadfast. His covenant is faithful. The comfort is real because the election is sure. This is the good and comforting word that was to fuel the work of rebuilding, and it is the same word that fuels the Church in her mission today.

Application

The world often appears to be "sitting still and quiet" while the church struggles. The wicked prosper, and the faithful face hardship. It is easy to look at the state of things and grow discouraged, to feel that we are in a ravine, a low place. This vision from Zechariah is God's word to us in such times. It pulls back the curtain to show us what is really going on in the heavenly places.

First, we see that God is sovereignly aware of everything. His patrol is throughout the earth. The apparent peace of the world is a fragile illusion, and God is not impressed by it. He sees the arrogance and complacency of those who are at ease, and His wrath is kindled against them.

Second, we have a great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us. Like the Angel of Yahweh here, He stands with His people in their low estate and pleads their case before the Father, asking, "How long?" Our prayers are joined to His perfect intercession.

Third, God's fundamental disposition toward His covenant people is one of passionate, jealous love and deep compassion. He has not forgotten us. His promises to build His house, the Church, are certain. He has stretched a measuring line over us, marking us out for a glorious future. Our cities will again overflow with good. Therefore, we are not to be discouraged by what we see. We are to take these good and comforting words and get back to the work of building, knowing that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.