Alright!
Welcome back to Isaac Hunter’s Online Bible Study. We’ve now reached the midpoint of our September reading.
This month, we’ve been working through Zechariah 1–5. As with every mid-month check-in, the goal isn’t to arrive at final conclusions but to pause, reflect on what we’ve read so far, and consider the themes Zechariah begins to develop.
Zechariah opens with a simple but urgent message from God: “Return to Me… and I will return to you.” From there, the book quickly moves into a remarkable series of visions filled with horses, horns, craftsmen, a measuring line, the high priest Joshua, a golden lampstand, olive trees, a flying scroll, and finally a woman carried away in a basket.
The imagery can seem strange at first, but a consistent theme begins to emerge. Israel has experienced judgment and exile, Jerusalem lies in need of restoration, and the Temple must be rebuilt—but God has not abandoned His people. He calls them back to Himself and reveals what He intends to do.
We also begin to see that Zechariah’s message reaches beyond simply rebuilding a city or a Temple. Joshua the high priest is given clean garments after his filthy ones are removed. God promises the coming of “My Servant the BRANCH.” Zerubbabel is reminded that God’s work will be accomplished “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” Throughout the visions, God deals with sin while promising cleansing, restoration, and His continued presence among His people.
As we work through these opening chapters, notice the repeated contrast between judgment and restoration. God does not ignore Israel’s rebellion, but their failure does not bring His purposes to an end.
That gives us a central question to consider as we continue:
What do Zechariah’s visions reveal about God’s response to sin—and His determination to restore His people?
Let’s jump in…
– Mid Month Check In –
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By the midpoint of these chapters, one pattern becomes increasingly clear: Zechariah is presenting restoration as something only God can accomplish.
The people have returned from exile, but returning to the land does not automatically mean everything has been restored. Jerusalem still bears the consequences of judgment. The Temple remains unfinished. The people themselves still need cleansing, correction, and renewed faithfulness.
That is why the visions repeatedly move between two realities: what Israel has become because of sin, and what God intends to make of them through His own intervention.
The horns that scattered Judah are answered by craftsmen. Jerusalem, once devastated, is measured with restoration in view. Joshua the high priest stands in filthy garments but is cleansed and reclothed. Zerubbabel faces an enormous task, yet he is told that success will come:
“Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.”
As these chapters unfold, another pattern becomes increasingly evident:
God’s restoration of His people involves both mercy and judgment.
He comforts Jerusalem, removes Joshua’s guilt, promises His presence, and speaks of the coming Branch. At the same time, the flying scroll and the woman in the basket show that wickedness cannot simply remain among a restored people.
Restoration does not mean pretending sin never happened. God removes what defiles, cleanses what has become unclean, and reestablishes His people according to His purposes.
One truth continues to surface as I read these chapters:
God does not merely call His people to rebuild what was lost. He calls them back to Himself—and then provides what they cannot accomplish through their own strength.
That, more than anything else, seems to be the thread that holds Zechariah 1–5 together.
Some Questions:
- What do you think God means when He tells the people, “Return to Me… and I will return to you” in Zechariah 1?
- What does the cleansing of Joshua in Zechariah 3 reveal about guilt, forgiveness, and restoration?
- How does “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” in Zechariah 4 change the way we understand Zerubbabel’s task?
- What do the judgment images in Zechariah 5 add to the book’s larger message of restoration?
Our 2nd Half of the Month:
In the second half of the month, we shift from primarily reading and recording observations to in-depth research. While I still recommend reading through Zechariah 1–5 at least once each day for the remainder of the month, our attention now turns to consulting commentaries, Bible dictionaries, cross-references, historical background resources, and the broader witness of Scripture to help answer the questions that have emerged during our reading.
By this point, your text should also be marked and organized using your hierarchical outlining method. Continue refining that outline as your understanding develops.
In these chapters especially, pay close attention to recurring themes and images: return, judgment, restoration, Jerusalem, the Temple, cleansing, priesthood, the Branch, the Spirit, the lampstand, olive trees, holiness, wickedness, and God’s presence among His people.
Also trace the individual visions and ask how they relate to one another. Zechariah does not appear to be giving us a collection of random symbolic images. Each vision contributes something to the larger message God is giving to a people who have returned from exile but still need spiritual, national, and covenant restoration.
As you study, notice how often God Himself is presented as the decisive actor. He returns to Jerusalem. He chooses Jerusalem. He rebukes the accuser. He removes Joshua’s iniquity. He promises the Branch. His Spirit empowers the rebuilding work. He sends judgment against wickedness.
That emphasis may prove important as we continue through the book.
Word of Reminder:
- This study is not about speed or volume.
- You do not need to “finish” quickly.
- You do not need polished answers.
- You do not need to resolve every symbol immediately.
If you are following the monthly reading schedule, continue working through Zechariah 1–5 at a steady pace. You don’t need to match anyone else’s speed.
Read patiently and watch for repeated words, images, promises, and contrasts. Let Zechariah establish his own patterns before trying to explain every detail of the visions.
Some of the symbolism is difficult—and that is okay. At this stage, our goal is first to see what the text repeatedly emphasizes, then to use careful research to determine what those images meant in their biblical and historical context.
Zechariah 1-5
Zechariah opens by calling a returned but spiritually drifting people back to God, then expands through a series of visions and prophecies that move far beyond their immediate circumstances; rather than focusing only on rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple, the book reveals God’s continuing purposes for Israel, His judgment of the nations, the coming Messiah, His rejection and suffering, Israel’s eventual recognition of the One they pierced, and the final establishment of His kingdom—making the central point clear: God has not abandoned Israel or His promises, and history is ultimately moving toward the return and reign of the coming King.
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“Okay, mom,” Randy said.
“You behave yourself and be nice. You’re lucky to have company while you wait for the doctors.”
The woman turned and started back the way she came.
“The nurse said it would be twenty or thirty more minutes, so we’ll eat quick and be back up here before they take you in, okay?”
“Okay, mom.”
“Sorry for him,” the woman said to Katie as she walked by.
“He’s funny.”
Katie grinned.
As the woman left, Katie noticed the boy moving around again on the bed. Before she realized what was happening, the tiny lump disappeared and she could hear the faint sound of bare hands and feet on the tile floor.
He was low crawling under the beds toward her.
A moment later, Randy popped his head out from under the nearest hospital bed, craning his neck around to look up at her.
“Hello, there,” Katie said.
Randy disappeared back under the bed, the bed sheet draping down almost to the floor. Katie could still see three little fingers pressed to the tile.
“What are you here for?” Katie asked, readjusting her seat in the chair, trying to get the ache in her chest to lessen.
For whatever reason, the wheelchair was really uncomfortable.
“Why are – “
Randy’s voice trailed off for a moment as he looked around.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m getting my leg fixed,” Katie said. “See?”
Randy poked his head back out from under the bed and looked at the leg she was pointing to.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“The doctor said it’s broken,” Katie said. “Shattered.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. Ouch.”
“Can you feel it?” Randy asked, able to stay out from his hiding place.
“I can feel it, but it’s not too bad,” Katie said, then tapped the IV in her arm. “This thing is giving me medicine of some kind for the pain. At least that’s what the nurses said.”
“Why are you – “
Randy stopped mid-sentence.
He scooted out from under the bed entirely and slowly crept over to er on all fours.
“What are you, some kind of spider?” Katie asked, giggling a little.
“What are you?” Randy echoed.
He was now only about a foot away from her chair and sat there, his legs folded up under him, gawking up at her.
“What are you staring at me for?”
“I’ve never – “
Randy put out a hesitant hand and ever so gently touched her arm.
“Are you some kind of ghost?”
He looked around again.
“Are you – ”
He leaned in, talking in a whisper.
“Are you dead?”
A nurse came around the corner and stopped abruptly, spotting the empty bed in the far corner where Randy should have been.
“Randy Andrews,” the nurse said, her hands now on her hips. “You get right back into the bed and you stop playing around, please. They are ready for you in surgery.”
Katie watched as Randy scrambled on all fours under the beds and back up onto his, pulling the sheet back over top of himself again.
She started to ask him about his question, but couldn’t get the words out before his parents appeared at the door.
Katie sat there quietly, watching Randy stare back at her from under his sheet. She glanced over at his parents and the nurse, noticed Randy’s dad had no hair on the top of his head.
Are you dead?
What kind of question was that?
The snap of the wheel locks being disengaged on Randy’s hospital bed jarred Katie out of the confusion she was in.
The doctor she’d first seen was now at the door, waiting for Randy.
He was his surgeon.
They wheeled Randy out of the room, his parents following right behind, disappearing to the left, heading for his operating room.
The pre-op room was empty again.
Dead.
Are you dead?
What kind of crazy question was that?
The nurse came back through the double doors.
“It won’t be long now,” she said.
“Okay.”
Katie tried not to think about the dull ache growing just behind her sternum.
The nurse disappeared around the corner as Katie watched the double doors to the operating rooms slowly shut.
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