Zechariah 1:18-21

 

Zechariah 1:18-21

The Logos Will Break the Oppressors of His People

 

Zec 1:18  Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. 

Zec 1:19  And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 

Zec 1:20  And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. 

Zec 1:21  Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. 

           1.     Another Visions Begins – vs 18a

a.     The visions begins with Zechariah lifting up his eyes. This will be a reoccurring line throughout the book symbolizing the beginning of another vision

                                               i.     Zechariah 2:1 

                                             ii.     Zechariah 5:1 

                                           iii.     Zechariah 6:1 

         2.     Zechariah Sees Four Horns – vs. 18b

a.     Horns are symbolic of an animal’s power and might

                                               i.     Genesis 22:13 

b.     Horns are also symbolic of a nation’s power or might

                                               i.     Daniel 7:24 

c.     Both the wicked and the righteous have horns or power

                                               i.     Psalm 75:9-10 

d.     God ultimately is our Horn and defense

                                                 i.     2 Samuel 22:3 

          3.     Zechariah Receives an Interpretation of what He Sees – vs. 19

a.     The Angel Interpreter helps Zechariah understand what he is seeing, the same Angel Interpreter is the one who helps Daniel understand his parallel visions

                                               i.     Daniel 7:15-16 

b.     The four horns in Zechariah’s vision are the same as the ones in Daniel’s vision

                                               i.     Babylon

1.     Daniel 7:2-4 

                                             ii.     Medo-Persian Empire

1.     Daniel 7:5 

                                           iii.     The rise of Alexander the Great (the Greeks)

1.     Daniel 7:6 

                                            iv.     Rome

1.     Daniel 7:7 

          4.     Zechariah Sees Four Carpenters – vs. 20

a.     Some translations render the word carpenter as craftsmen. Just like there are four horns there are also four craftsmen or carpenters destroying the power of the previous rising nation. The Medo-Persian Empire destroys Babylon as Daniel predicts (539 BC). The Medo-Persians are conquered by Alexander the Great and his armies (333 BC). Finally, Rome eventually destroys Greece (first or second century BC), and we are left with the Roman Empire still standing. Rome, however, is not destroyed by an army but by a humble Carpenter who is crucified on a cross.

                                               i.     Daniel 7:9-12 

         5.     Zechariah Receives Further Interpretation of what He has Seen – vs. 21

a.     Jesus is the final Carpenter who will destroy all the kingdoms of the earth. He is also the Stone, that is not made with hands, as Daniel earlier describes Him to Nebuchadnezzar.

                                               i.     Daniel 2:34-35 

b.     Jesus is the Stone which the builders rejected

                                               i.     Psalm 118:22-23 

c.     You are to become a part of what the Carpenter is building

                                               i.     1 Peter 2:4-9