Zechariah 1:1

Zechariah's name means "Jehovah remembers." He was the son of Berechiah ("Jehovah blesses") who was the son of Iddo ("the appointed time"). Israel had been in a low state for a long time. It seemed as though God had forgotten them, but He remembers, and in His own appointed time He returns to them in blessing. But the measure of revival and blessing in Zechariah's day was very limited, and Israel sank back into a low condition that was still there when the Lord Jesus came. By rejecting Christ, Israel has fallen into a worse state than ever, and by the time of the great tribulation they will be brought to feel deeply that God has forgotten them. Only then will the prophecy of Zechariah be fully accomplished. It will be God's appointed time of remembering and blessing Israel with blessings that will never end.

Through a decree of Cyrus (whom the prophet Isaiah had announced by name long before — Isa. 44:28), the Jews had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple of the Lord there. First they built the altar, the centre of their worship. Then, with great enthusiasm, they laid the foundation of the house... But soon Ahasuerus ordered the work to stop. Seventeen years passed after the decree of Cyrus, and still the temple did not rise on its foundations.

Zechariah also claims a divine source for his most solemn and beautiful words. He says, "The word of the LORD came to Zechariah." He said this again and again. (Zech. 1:1, 7; 7:1; 8:1.)

Verse 1 gives the date and the family line of the prophet. Note the significant fact that here, as in Haggai, the date points to the times of the Gentiles. It was "in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius." The kingdom had failed in man's hand, so God had moved His earthly throne from Jerusalem to Babylon, and then to the empires that followed. By now Babylon had fallen, and Darius was the head of the Gentile empire. That is why his name appears here.

This prophet started his work two months later than Haggai, who served at the same time (compare Zech. 1:1 with Haggai 1:1). Haggai is simply called "Haggai the prophet," but Zechariah's father and grandfather are both named. We gather from a comparison of the first verse with Neh. 12:4, and Ezra 5:1, that Zechariah was of priestly descent.

What Matthew 23:35 tells us about Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, who was killed between the temple and the altar at the command of Joash, clearly refers to Zechariah the son of Jehoiada. Some think there is an error in this part of Matthew, because the "son of Berechiah" is confused there with the "son of Jehoiada." In my opinion there is no such error. The names Zechariah and Berechiah were well-known names in the priestly family. In Isaiah 8:2 we find as faithful witnesses of Isaiah: Uriah and Zechariah, the son of Jeberechiah, which is Berechiah. Berechiah seems to have been the name of the head of the family. Matthew could therefore refer to Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, also as son of Berechiah, going back to his descent.

These two prophets served together, but they did not have the same goal in view. Haggai spoke almost only about the house. Zechariah's eye reaches farther. He had as subject the city Jerusalem, the remnant of Judah, and the last day, as far as it touched the Messiah. He also gave a general picture of the kingdoms of the nations and their moral condition in the last days. Above all he drew attention to the sufferings of Christ and the many ways in which His glory will appear.