Zechariah - Chapter 1b
THE FIRST VISION
THE ANGEL OF THE LORD AMONG THE MYRTLE TREES
ZECHARIAH 1:7-17
About three months after the introductory address which begins chapter one and is focused on the call to repentance a series of eight visions was given to the prophet. Five months before the spirit of Zerubbabel and the people was stirred by the preaching of Haggai and they began again to rebuild the Temple (Hag 1:14-15).
Divinely communicated visions were one of the ways in which the Lord had promised He would bring His wisdom to His prophets. He had made this promise in Numbers 12:6: “... If there be a prophet among you, I, the Lord, will make myself known to him in a vision”. The NT confirms this promise as truth in Hebrews 1:1:
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.”
In the darkness of night as Zechariah was attuned to God, he saw a “man” riding on a red horse, standing among myrtle trees. In the original Hebrew, in chapter 11, we are told this man was Malakh Yehovah which means the angel of Jehovah. In this vision this one described as a man was the second member of the Trinity, Jesus, whose early visits to Abraham and certain prophets were anticipation moments of His Incarnation centuries into the future.
It is generally agreed the myrtle trees were a symbol of Israel. We should note that the tree symbol was not of the proud cedar (which represented Lebanon) or the large oak (which represented great world powers) but was a symbol of a lowly and fragrant smaller tree which normally grew in shady and lower lands. So the symbol was given to be representing a lowly and humble spirit which was exactly how another prophet Isaiah saw Him (Is 57:15) as he promised to revive the spirits of those contrite. As ever before and since He remains the picture of our humble Redeemer.
The times of the Gentiles had begun 70 years before at the captivity of the chosen people but God had never forsaken His own and they had not been cast off. The prophet Jeremiah taught us in Jer 30:11 that when Israel was in the land of her enemies, He still would not cast them away. The horse the prophet saw was red in color, significant in that it represents judgment, blood, and vengeance. We see this symbol again in Rev 6:4.
We now meet another angel, described by Zechariah as one who talked with him.
This second angel, promises to show and explain the meaning of the vision. This angel is not the one first seen but is one of those who accompany the angel of the Lord.
The prophet had asked what are these? The answer is given that these are they who the Lord has sent to walk to and fro on the earth. These will review the other nations and report back to the Lord their findings.
In this vision these swift angel messengers were sent to discover the current status of the Gentile nations both on their own and in their relation to Israel. Their report is that
all other nations are at rest. This report was to contrast them with the mournful state of Israel as Judea was still in desolation, lying in waste, and Jerusalem was still without walls so God's chosen city was essentially without defense. The Gentiles who had moved in and around Israel during the captivity were now in undisturbed stillness and all seemed well with them.
The angel of the Lord now answered that there was a need for mercy toward Jerusalem after the 70 years had been finished. We know that after Jesus was incarnated and became an adult, He was moved to compassion concerning Jerusalem and Israel seeming to Him as sheep without a shepherd. So while the 70 year exile was over, the nation nor the city had been restored. So the angel of the Lord seems now willing to intercede on their behalf.
Others had added to the suffering of Israel using cruelty, injustice, and wickedness against their land as they picked over it when captivity came. God had promised Abraham that he would bless those nations who blessed Israel and would curse those who cursed her. So the Lord told Zechariah that He was returning to Jerusalem with mercies. As long as He had been with them before, no nation could overtake them. But due to their idolatry the Lord had removed His protection and had sent both Assyria and the Babylon to chasten the chosen people. That time was now over and the proof is that from this time onward until today, The Jewish people have never again indulged in the worship of idols. The physical symbol of the Lord's return would be the Temple rebuilt.
The Temple, God's house, was indeed finished in four years, and shortly after that time the Lord moved the heart of Nehemiah to come and manage the rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls.
Isaiah commented kindly on this matter when he wrote in 51:3:
“The Lord shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places, and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the Garden of God; joy and gladness shall be found therein...”
A look at His chosen nation today proves clearly he keeps His promises.