The Prophet Zechariah the Sickle Seer of the 12 minor prophets came from the tribe of Levi, in the book of Nehemiah he is called the head of the priestly family. From a young age he was called to the prophetic ministry and became, according to the wondrous word of church hymns, "a spectator of the most peaceful visions." It is in the book of the prophet Zechariah that inspired details about the coming of the Messiah (6, 12), about the last days of the Savior's earthly life, about the Lord's entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey (9, 9), about the betrayal of the Lord for 30 pieces of silver and the purchase of the potter's land on them (11, 12 - 13), about the perforation of the rib of the Savior (12, 10), about the scattering of the apostles from the Garden of Gethsemane (13, 7), about the eclipse of the sun during the suffering of the Savior on the Cross (14, 6 - 7). "All that is above is enlightened by the dawns," the prophet Zechariah "saw the future as if it were." According to legend, this "true devout speaker" lived to a ripe old age and was buried not far from Jerusalem, next to his famous contemporary and companion, the prophet Haggai. Zechariah owes his nickname "Sickle Seer" to one of his revelations, in which he saw a scroll flying through the air, bent like a threatening sickle (5, 1-2).
The apple of the eye of the Almighty
Deacon Pavel Serzhantov
Returning home after the Babylonian captivity was not easy. Seventy years have ended in a foreign land, far from the Promised Land. The people of God returned to the devastated Jerusalem, preparing to rebuild the temple, to improve life. And he faced many difficulties, internal and external, from the neighboring tribes, who did not like this return.
Hence it is clear that the first post-captive years were not marked by enthusiasm and enthusiasm. On the contrary, despondency reigned among the people of God: “How can we now restore all that has been lost? How to resist enemies? Where to get strength? In these difficult years, a word of encouragement comes from the Lord. The Lord sends the prophet Zechariah.
The book of the prophet Zechariah radiates with consolation, pours strength into exhausting, discouraged people. How the prophet Zechariah was needed then... How we need words of encouragement now! For seventy years Orthodox churches, monasteries and parishes have been destroyed on our land, many theological schools have been closed. What it was like to open seminaries and theological courses in the 1990s, it was not easy to raise funds for construction, to find the strength to restore church life. The enemies of the Church were not asleep either. They tried to prevent the restoration of Orthodox life, hindered them in word and deed. And in the 90s there was a lot of opposition, and a year ago a real information war broke out against the Church. This is a sad fact, but we will not lose heart, we will listen to what the holy prophet Zechariah says. His words apply to us too.
To begin with, the prophet explains why the Lord allowed the Babylonian captivity. The Lord called out to the people, "Turn from your evil ways...but they did not obey me, nor give heed to Me, saith the Lord" (Zechariah 1:4). And the wrath of God was kindled against unrepentant sinners. The people were catastrophic. The invasion of hordes from the east, the ruin of the earth and bitter captivity. A lot of time passed in captivity, and now, finally, the opportunity arose to return home. The returnees faced such hardships that many lost heart. What to do? “Turn to Me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will turn to you” (Zech. 1:3).
On our own, there is little we can do to change. But the power of God works miracles. The wrath of God is poured out on unrepentant sinners. This means that in order for the power of the Lord to be with us, we must repent, turn away from evil ways and turn to the Lord. Then the Lord will turn to us and help us. The captivity came from Babylon, but the fate of the people of God was decided not only on earth. “I determined to punish you (Greek: He tropon dienoifin tou kakose imas), when your fathers angered me, says the Lord of Hosts, and did not cancel, so again I determined in these days to do good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah; do not be afraid!" (Zech. 8:14-15)
The Babylonian captivity was allowed as a means of punishing the people, as a penance. The time of destruction and punishment is over, the time of creation and repentance is beginning, the time of God's mercy. The Lord leads His people through severe trials. Such trials that it seems to some that God abandoned His people, forgot about them, does not sympathize with their suffering, does not pay attention to the lawless invaders. Is that how it should be understood? No. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts... whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye" (Zech. 2:8).
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There is a war with Babylon. Forces are unequal. Men are killed, houses are ransacked, women and children are tied up and taken away. Does this mean that the Lord has left His people, forgotten them and does not value them? No. The people of God have forgotten about the Lord Almighty, they walk in evil ways. And now the people comprehend a foreign invasion. But even during the punishment of the Lord, His people are dear, even then He protects them. How does it save? How does a man keep the apple of his eye? Exactly, like the apple of an eye!
What kind of “saving of the people” is here, if the losses among the people are considerable? Indeed, the losses are considerable, but the “saving of the people” is noticeable even with losses. What an eloquent biblical symbol - "the apple of the eye." It is easy to imagine: every person shields himself from a blow to the eye with his hand, protects the apple of his eye. It is better to injure a hand than to lose an eye. So it was in the Babylonian captivity - many of the people suffered, but the "apple of the eye" survived.
The rest of the people were saved. It is important. The prophet Zechariah has words about the remnant of the people (see Zech. 8:11). Of course, the Lord cares about every person, and the Lord has care for all the people. However, belonging to the people of God in itself - by the fact of birth - is not all that connects us with God. A person who was born among the people of God is called to live not “like everyone else”, not “as one should”, not “as one wants”, but according to God's will. He who does the will of God enters into the remnant of God's people. And the Lord keeps His people like the apple of an eye. Hard trials also fall on their lot, but the Lord does not leave them without help and comfort. There will be no people of God - history will lose its meaning, exhaust itself, come to the final apocalyptic point.
As long as there are repentant sinners on earth, as long as there is a remnant of God's people, the history of salvation is not over, the Lord continues to save people. Do we not read about the apple of the eye of the Most High in the New Testament? The Savior says in a parable about the Kingdom of Heaven: “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Luke 14:24). And the Lord appreciates each of them very much, on the head of the elect and the hairs are numbered.
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What do we hear from the prophet Zechariah? The Lord calls His people, strengthens them, comforts them, fills their hearts with courage, chooses them for a new life, shows them the way of repentance and forgiveness of sins. They went through bitter captivity, and He redeemed them from captivity. The Lord cherishes His people as the apple of an eye.
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From the book of Zechariah himself, as well as from the books of Ezra and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we can state that Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet Hagai, Zerubbabel and the high priest Yehoshua; having survived the latter, he was under his son Joachim the head of his priestly family. The beginning of the prophetic activity of Zechariah according to these books is determined quite accurately; about its end, as well as about the time of the death of the prophet and the place of his burial, we have no indications in the Tanakh.
There is no exact data about his time and place of birth. The most accepted opinion among researchers is this: if during the high priesthood of Yehoshua, the grandfather of the prophet Iddo was still a representative of his priestly family, then, consequently, Zechariah, when the captives returned to Jerusalem in the reign of Cyrus, was a relatively young man; and from the circumstance that he, eighteen years later, in the second year of Darius Hystaspes (520-518 BC), calls himself a "youth" (2:8), this assumption becomes even more probable. Hence the following conclusion is made: the prophet was born in Babylon shortly before the issuance of the decree of Cyrus and arrived in Jerusalem as a child.
The first recorded prophecy of Zechariah is in the second year of Darius Hystaspes. The last of Zechariah's prophecies that have a specific time reference is in the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius (7:1). The prophecies of chapters 9-14 have no chronological data. Thus, the period of Zechariah's prophecy coincides with the time of the initial dispensation of the Jewish community upon the return from Babylon, and the time of the rebuilding of the Temple (or, as some scholars put it, the time of restoration). It was in parallel with the prophetic activity of Chagai, but at the same time it was longer (judging by the indications of the books of these prophets).
General character of the book
Zechariah seeks to encourage the builders of the Temple and all the people at a difficult time in the restoration of the community after the Babylonian captivity; at the same time, he tries to dispel the false opinion about the righteousness and godliness of those released from captivity and about the immediate proximity of messianic times. The prophet emphasizes that the future Kingdom of the Messiah will be realized only after a long struggle with paganism, after repeated falls of the Jewish people itself; the actions of Providence, leading the people to their intended goal, will be expressed in miraculous help to the sons of Israel in the fight against paganism, on the one hand, and in severe punishments for their own sins, on the other; moreover, the Gentiles serve as instruments in the hands of God for the punishment of the sons of Israel.
The book of Zechariah is divided into two parts (chapters 1-8 and chapters 9-14), differing both in content and style.
The first part of the book of Zechariah
First part, which contains revelations to the prophet, which were in the second and fourth years of the reign of Darius Hystaspes (1:7; 7:1). It focuses on the building of the Temple and on the main figures of the time, Zerubbabel and the high priest Yehoshua. This part can be divided into three sections.
- The first section (1:1-6) concludes with an introductory exhortation to turning from evil ways to God, pointing to the disasters that the ancestors of the prophet's contemporaries were subjected to for their impenitence, and to the immutability of divine determinations.
- The second section (1:7-6:15) consists of a description of the eight prophetic visions and the symbolic act that concludes them.
- In the third section (chapters 7 and 8), the prophet proposes, on behalf of God, a solution to the issue of observing the fasts established in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, as well as Divine exhortations and promises.
The specific reason for writing passage 6:9-15 was the arrival in Jerusalem of Heldai with companions from Babylon, with gifts for the temple. Chapters 7 and 8 were written in view of the discussion among the Jewish people about the appropriateness of observing the fasts established in memory of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, under changed circumstances.
In addition, the prophet addresses the question of the main meaning of serving God, which he sees in the observance of ethical standards - justice, mercy, compassion and adherence to the truth. The first part of the book ends with a vision of "many tribes and mighty peoples" who will come "to seek the Lord ... in Jerusalem" (8:22; cf. Isaiah 2:3). Thus, Zechariah, like the prophets who preceded him, believes in the universal mission of the Jewish religion and - like Deut. Isaiah - expects its speedy fulfillment.
The second part of the book of the prophet Zechariah and the problem of its authorship
Second part the book of the prophet Zechariah (chapters 9-14) contains an image of the future fate of the world in general and messianic times in particular. In this part of the book there is no designation of the time of receiving revelations and the name of the prophet. The angels and evil spirit mentioned in the visions of the first part do not appear in the second part of the book either.
The second half of the book of Zechariah can be divided into two prophecies (chapters 9-11 and chapters 12-14), beginning with the same words: "מַשָּׂא דְבַר-יי" - "Prophetic word of the Lord":
- The first prophecy, consisting of two parts - ch. 9-10 and ch. eleven
- The second prophecy, consisting of two parts - 12:1-13:6 and 13:7-14:21.
First prophecy, spoken to the land of Hadrah, depicts the struggle between the Gentile world and Israel and the destruction of the power of the Gentiles; a second prophecy(about Israel) paints pictures of the future state of the chosen people, when they are cleansed by disasters and reach a high degree of holiness and glory.
Features of the second part of the book
Unlike the first part, here we are talking about the overthrow of a world power hostile to the Jewish people, a good and worthless shepherd, a great crime of the people and their repentance and universal sanctification.
The language and style of the second part also differ significantly from the first. The first part, as a rule, is written in prose, the second - in poetic language; in the first part, each independent passage begins with a brief introductory formula, in the second they are absent. The second part contains a comparatively larger number of Arameisms, which may indicate its later origin.
Problems of the second part of the book
In view of the significant difference in the style of these chapters from the first half of the book of Zechariah, the direction of "biblical criticism" since the 17th century. began to express increasing doubts about their authenticity. For Christian scholars, an additional reason for separating the last six chapters was the fact that in the Gospel of Matthew (27:9) the quotation from Zechariah 11:12 is given with reference not to Zechariah, but to Jeremiah.
Time of creation of the second part
Scholars differ on the timing of these prophecies. Some scholars attribute them to the period of the reign of the Jewish king Uzziah (8th century BC), others consider the form in which the theological motives of the prophecies are clothed to be characteristic of the Hellenistic period, and on this basis they also attribute the prophecies to the 3rd century BC. BC uh..
Question of authorship
Opponents of attributing the second part of the book of Zechariah to a different author believe that the difference between the two parts is not so great that it would be possible on this basis to exclude the possibility of a single authorship. The second part does not contain visions; but even in the first part, rather significant passages (ch. 7-8) are a narrative, not a vision; the symbolic action described in the first part corresponds to the symbolic actions in 9:4-17 in the second part.
Good and evil spirits are not actors and are not mentioned in the second part, but they are not discussed in ch. 7-8; on the other hand, in Zech. 12:8 mentions the "Angel of the Lord" and Zech. 14:5, about the "saints" who are also referred to by many commentators as angels. The discrepancy between the content of the second part of Zechariah and historical circumstances cannot be reliably shown either.
As a result, a rigorous analysis of the second part of the book of Zechariah leads to the conclusion that it is difficult, if not impossible, to make a final judgment about its authorship. Each of the polemizing parties has strong arguments in favor of its position, but weak points in the model they propose are also found to the same extent.
Footnotes
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Prophet Zechariah the Serpent Seer
As a joyful good tidings, the decree of the Persian king Cyrus about liberation was heard for the Jews who were in captivity in Babylon; and those of them who languished in captivity in a foreign land, as in darkness and the shadow of death, fettered by sorrow(Ps. 106:10), they hastened to the land of their fathers. Taking with them the sacred vessels seized by Nebuchadnezzar during the destruction of Jerusalem (see: 1 Ezra 1, 7-8), the settlers, led by Prince Zerubbabel, who came from the royal house of David (see: 1 Ezra 1, 8; 2, 2; 1 Chron. 3, 19, 9-17), returned to their homeland. In the seventh month, upon their return, they rebuilt the altar from the pile of ruins (see: 1 Ezra 3, 1-6), and then proceeded to rebuild the destroyed temple. In the second month of the second year, the David's charter laying of a new temple and all the people shouted with a loud voice, praising the Lord for having laid the foundation of the house of the Lord(1 Ezra 3:11); many of the elders, who saw the former temple, could not refrain from tears, knowing that, given the poverty of those who returned, the second temple could not be as magnificent as the first; they crying loudly mixing sobs with exclamations of joy (1 Ezra 3:12-13). But the very construction of the temple, despite the generous influx of donations at first, proceeded extremely slowly. The country was restless; robbers attacked everywhere, and it was impossible to carry on crops and gather grain; the heavy burden of the rule of Persian officials (see: Nehemiah 9, 36-37), frequent droughts, famine (see: Hagg. 1, 6:10-11) exhausted the people. This was joined by enmity with the Samaritans. Having their sanctuary on Mount Gerizim and considering Palestine their possession, they were extremely hostile to the Jews, especially after the latter rejected their offer to participate in the construction of the temple; by various slanders before the Persian government, the Samaritans succeeded in stopping work for almost fifteen years.
These obstacles weakened the pious zeal of the Jews for the restoration of the national shrine; especially strong-willed men were needed to raise the religious feeling of the chosen people; the Lord raised up such men in the person of His prophets Haggai and Zechariah, about whom we are to speak.
Holy Prophet Zechariah the Serpentite
The holy prophet Zechariah, sickle-shaped, came from the tribe of Levi; he was the son of Barahiah and the grandson of Adda or Iddo; the latter returned with Zerubbabel from the Babylonian captivity and in the book of Nehemiah is called the head of the priestly family. Holy Scripture has not preserved detailed and definite information about the life of the prophet Zechariah; it only occasionally lifts the veil to communicate this or that fragmentary news about the life of a prophet of God. So, it is silent about the time and place of the birth of the prophet Zechariah, starting its narrative about his life from the time he entered the prophetic ministry. He was called to prophetic activity by God as early as his youth (see: Zech. 2, 4), in the second month of the second year of the reign of Darius Hystaspes (see: Zech. 1, 1), only two months later than the prophet Haggai (see .: Hagg 1,1). By their joint prophetic activity, Saints Haggai and Zechariah achieved that the Jews stopped thinking about their needs and began to build the temple with zeal. Prophet Haggai and Prophet Zechariah, son of Adda, - Ezra bears witness to this, spoke to the Jews who were in Judea and Jerusalem prophetic speeches in the name of the God of Israel. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealathiel and Joshua the son of Jozadek arose and began to build the house of God in Jerusalem, and with them the prophets of God, who strengthened them (I Ride 5, 1-2 ). And the elders of the Jews built and prospered, according to the prophecy of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Adda(1 Ezra. 6, 14).
The ministry of the prophet Zechariah probably continued after the building of the temple; in his last speeches, which make up the content of his book from chapter 9 to the end, there are no longer exhortations to the unlazy completion of the construction of the temple, and one can think that at the time of the utterance of these speeches the latter was already ready. Tradition says that the holy prophet Zechariah lived to a ripe old age and was buried near Jerusalem, next to the prophet Haggai.
After the prophet Zechariah left a precious legacy of a book containing his prophetic visions and speeches. A distinctive feature of the content of the book of the prophet Zechariah is the abundance of messianic prophecies: in no other prophet do we find such a multitude of details about the last days of our Savior's life as in the prophet Zechariah. The book of the prophet Zechariah can be divided according to its content into two parts: the first (from the 1st to the 6th chapter) contains visions, and the second (from the 7th chapter to the end) contains speeches. All visions are eight; most of them are explained to the prophet by the Angel of God; their goal is to assure the Jewish people of the patronage of God. In the first vision of the horsemen who traveled all over the earth and found it in peace, God reveals that the prosperous nations - the oppressors of the Jews will be struck by His wrath, and Jerusalem will be restored and the cities of Judah will be exalted (see: Zech. 1, 7-17). What will be the fate of the Gentiles, explains the second vision of four blacksmiths who go to knock off the horns - a symbol of the peoples who scattered the Jews and destroyed Jerusalem (see: Zech. 1,18-21). After the crushing of the oppressors of the Jews, who interfered with the construction of the city and the temple, Jerusalem will again be populated; this is revealed in the third vision of the Angel of the Lord, with which he comes with a measuring rope to measure Jerusalem, since the latter will be settled from a multitude of people, and the Lord Himself will be a wall of fire for him (see: Zech. 2, 1-13). The sins of the people will no longer prevent the Lord from settling in Zion, because they will be forgiven, as the fourth vision shows: the prophet sees the high priest Jesus in stained clothes - a symbol of sinful impurity, and he was accused by Satan; but God justifies him, and the stained clothes are removed from the high priest, the representative of the people, and replaced with clean ones, which foretold the future great work of God's mercy - the blotting out of the sins of the whole earth in one day by the Branch-Messiah (see: Zech. 3). In the fifth vision, the prophet is shown a golden lampstand (the symbol of the Church - Rev. 1:13,20) with seven lamps, filled with oil from two olive trees standing on its sides; this meant that God Himself was watching over the temple and the people, and the two olive trees, Zerubbabel and Jesus, were instruments of His Providence (see Zech. 4). But the Jewish people will not long enjoy the graces of God, which the previous five visions speak of: they will again become corrupted and again suffer punishment; this idea is revealed in the sixth vision of a scroll with the curse of thieves and perjurers (see: Zech. 5, 1-4) and in the seventh vision of an ephah (a measure of liquid) with a woman sitting in it - an image of ungodliness - carried away by two others to Shinar or Babylon (cm. : Zach. 5, 5-10).
In the time contemplated by the prophet, as the fifth and sixth visions show, the corruption of the chosen people will reach its peak; then the curse will fly over all Judea and will strike the wicked until the measure of the people's iniquities is fulfilled and the last punishment befalls them; the wicked woman is the Jewish people; ephah is the measure of the untruths that caused the curse. The pagans will not be left without punishment, as shown by the last seventh vision of four chariots with horses of various colors harnessed to them - a symbol of the Angels of the Lord, who will travel around the whole earth to judge the enemies of God. After the destruction of the pagan world, the Kingdom of the Messiah will come, which the prophet depicts with the following symbolic action: he puts on the head of the high priest Jesus two crowns of gold and silver, a symbol of the high priestly and royal dignity of the coming Messiah - along with the prediction that the Branch (Messiah) will come and build the temple and there will be high priest: when this happens, then the distant nations will come to build a temple to the God of Israel (see: Zech. 6).
The second part (from chapter 7 to the end) contains the speeches of the prophet Zechariah. In the first speech, the prophet, regarding the question of his contemporaries whether it is necessary to observe the fasts established in remembrance of the sad events of captivity, teaches that deeds of truth and love for neighbors should be combined with fasts; then the fasts will turn into days of celebration, and the blessing of God and the joy of salvation, which embraces even the Gentiles, will rest on Israel (see Zech. 7-8). In the second speech, the prophet predicts the death of nations hostile to Israel, and Jerusalem will be under the special protection of God, and no oppressor will pass to it anymore. Then the prophet invites the Jewish people to rejoice, for a righteous and meek King is coming to them; He will establish righteousness on earth and save His people, destroy the arrogance and arrogance of people. He will open His kingdom by entering His capital on a donkey and a young colt, meek animals that serve as a symbol of peace. The kingdom of the Messiah - the kingdom of peace - from Judea will spread throughout the earth; The Tsar will attract him not by force, but by the bloody sacrifice that He will bring for all people to reconcile them with God. The Hellenes, the enemies of the people of God, are predicted to be defeated, while the Jews are blessed with fertility and childbearing. After depicting the bright fate that awaits Israel in the near future, the prophet proceeds to depict the forthcoming rejection of the Jewish people: the prophet turns to Lebanon with a request to open the door to the enemy, which will devastate all of Judea. The reason for such a disaster is explained by the prophet Zechariah with a symbolic story about the two rods of the Heavenly Shepherd. On one of them was the inscription "favor", and on the other "bonds"; when the sheep, despite the care of the Shepherd, did not improve, He broke the rod with the inscription “goodwill”, which meant the end of the covenant between God and His people, and then demanded payment for His pastoral labors, but the Jews valued His activity at 30 pieces of silver ; these pieces of silver the Shepherd threw for the potter in the house of the Lord. Following this, the Shepherd broke another rod of the "bond" as a sign that the brotherhood between Judah and Israel was broken. When the Good Shepherd was rejected, the flock fell into the hands of hirelings (see Zech. 9-11).
In the last speech, the prophet announces that all the peoples of the world will rise against Jerusalem, but the Lord Himself will protect it and destroy the attackers, but the Lord will pour out the spirit of grace and compunction on the Jewish people, and the Jews will look at the One Whom they pierced, and will weep for Him as about only begotten son. Then the fountain will be opened to the house of David, washing away their sins, and all memory of idols and false prophets will be destroyed; The Shepherd will be smitten, and the sheep will be scattered. The Lord creates a blessed kingdom, small in number, constituting only a third of those living on earth, but tempted and holy. Finally, the pagan nations will once again surround Jerusalem, but the Lord will rise up to defend and defeat it, and then there will be the only day known only to the Lord: there will be no light, the luminaries will be removed, there will be neither day nor night; only in the evening will light come. Living waters will flow from Jerusalem, it will become the center of a new kingdom in which only the righteous will dwell - nothing unclean will be in it anymore (see: Zech. 12-14).
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From the author's bookLesson 2. St. Prophet Jeremiah (Why does every prophet suffer reproach from his contemporaries?) I. Now the Holy Church commemorates St. prophet Jeremiah. God called him to prophetic ministry at the end of the reign of Josiah (in the 7th century BC). "And it came to me, -
From the author's bookZechariah: visions of the new Temple His will. But the prophecies
The prophet Zechariah at the beginning of the book appears to us as Zechariah, the son of Barahiin, the son of Addov. Addo was the head of one of the priestly families that returned from the Babylonian captivity with Zerubbabel. Under the successor of the high priest Joachim, Zechariah himself was already the head of the priestly family, this is mentioned in the 12th chapter of the book of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 12:16). There Zechariah is called the son of Iddo. It is possible that his father Barahia died young, so that the grandson actually inherited his grandfather. Thus, Zechariah was from a priestly family and, moreover, was the head of this family. There is no definite indication in the Holy Scriptures about the duration of his ministry. The life speaks of forty or more years. A number of prophecies in the book are dated. The first of them refers to the same second year of Darius, when Haggai also prophesied (Zechariah - two months later), which also agrees with the indications of the first book of Ezra. The last dated prophecy refers to the 4th year of Darius, that is, to the year 518. Because it is found in verse 1 of chapter 7, later chapters contain prophecy from a later period.
The book is quite large - 14 chapters. It can be divided into two sections: visions and prophecies. The first section in six chapters is the visions and dreams that were Zechariah, which contain certain promises or revelations. The second includes three prophetic speeches: 7-8, 9-11 and 12-14 chapters.
Prophetic visions. After the first appeal, which sounds from the prophet Zechariah with a call to repent and not be like the fathers, who by their sins brought upon themselves the captivity of Babylon, the description of the vision begins. In the prophecies of the do-captive prophets, the time of the return from the Babylonian captivity was approaching the time of the messianic, the return from captivity should have been accompanied by some glorious and great events, which in fact did not exist in history. And this, undoubtedly, left its mark on the mood and state of mind of the then Israelis. In the books of Zechariah, and especially Malachi, the most recent prophet, this is very felt. We also note that according to the time of his ministry, the prophet Zechariah was a contemporary, perhaps a younger contemporary of Daniel, and there is some similarity with his book: the visions that Zechariah sees, he cannot explain himself, and an angel sent from God gives him an explanation.
The main theme of the entire cycle of visions is that the Lord is the guardian and protector of Israel. The external circumstances of the life of the people may not be as glorious and not as reliable as expected, but, nevertheless, the Lord remembers them, the Lord sees them, and the Lord will not let anyone offend them. The first vision of four horsemen (horses) who appear, go around the earth and give peace to Jerusalem: “ Therefore thus says the Lord: I turn to Jerusalem in mercy; my house will be built in it, says the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line will be stretched through Jerusalem” (Zech. 1:16). The riders represent the disembodied angelic forces that the prophets saw in different ways. “But these intelligent natures are not many-sided, but incorporeal; in accordance with the need, the Lord gives us their visible images.
The prophet sees 4 horns, and after that there are workers who come and knock down these horns of the peoples who raised their hand against Judah to scatter it. In this vision is the promise of security. Then a man appears with a measuring rope, who measures Jerusalem and says that it is small for everyone who comes and wishes to live there, and that all its surroundings will also be inhabited. The reason for this is the presence of God in him: Rejoice and rejoice, daughter of Zion! For behold, I will come and dwell in the midst of you, and many nations will flee to the Lord in that day, and they will be my people, and I will dwell among you, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. Let all flesh be silent before the Lord! For he ascends from his holy habitation» (Zech. 2:10-11, 13). That is, when the Lord comes and settles in Jerusalem, many nations will come to Him and become His people.
Then the next vision is a vision of the high priest Jesus, who is confronted by Satan and opposes him, something slandering him, although it is not said what. Jesus stands in stained clothes, but the Lord forbids Satan to slander him and orders him to put on bright clothes and tells him that he is like a brand plucked out of the fire, that out of all the sorrows and temptations that befell him, he came out unharmed, although, perhaps not without some sins, which this stained clothing of his symbolizes. The Lord commands to dress him in solemn clothes, saying that his guilt is removed: “ And the Angel of the Lord testified and said to Jesus: Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you walk in My ways, and if you keep My watch, you will judge My house and watch over My courts. I will let you walk between these standing here» (Zech. 3:6-7). The proper performance of his high priestly duties guarantees him safety and protection from God.
Here, from the vision of the high priest Jesus, the son of Josedek, the prophet passes to the vision of Jesus Christ Himself, Who is depicted by the Branch (this name is already familiar to us from former prophets): “ Hear, Jesus, great priest, you and your fellow men sitting before you, significant men: behold, I bring my servant, branch. For this is the stone that I lay before Jesus; there are seven eyes on this one stone; behold, I will engrave his mark upon him, says the Lord of hosts, and I will blot out the sin of this land in one day. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you will invite one another under the vine and under the fig tree.» (Zech. 3:8-9).
Let us immediately pay attention to the last phrase - this is how the prophet Micah described the Messianic time (Micah 4:4). When the stone having seven eyes is revealed, then the sin of this land will be blotted out in one day. By this day, of course, one should understand the day of the sacrifice of Christ on Golgotha.
The next vision opens, as it were, the second row, somewhat symmetrical to the first.
The prophet sees a vision of a golden lampstand and two olive trees, from which oil flows and fills these lamps, so that the priest does not need to fill and adjust these lamps himself. Under these two olive trees, Zerubbabel and Jesus are depicted here, who bear a great service and the main work for the revival of the people of Israel, for planting in them the spirit of faith and piety. Their concordant actions to ensure the burning of the lamp depict the high priestly and royal ministry that the Lord Jesus Christ will perform. It says here: the hands of Zerubbabel laid the foundation of this house; his hands will finish it, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you” (Zech. 4:9). According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, if “God speaks of Zerubbabel, then considering historically, you can refer these words to him, and in a spiritual sense you can understand them about Christ; for He has become our foundation, and we are all spiritually built for Him into a holy temple.” St. Maximus the Confessor, commenting on these words of Scripture, says that if Zerubbabel here represents the Son of God, then the temple is a man created by God and resurrected after the fall.
“Who are you, great mountain, before Zerubbabel? you are a plain, and he will bring forth the cornerstone with noisy exclamations: “Grace, grace is upon him!” (Zech. 4:7). “But it should not be understood as eyes by the eyes, so the number seven should be taken as a certain number, because with the eyes he called the effectiveness of divine grace, he said that there are seven eyes, meaning this abundance and greatness. … The prophet Zerubbabel calls the stone because of its hardness and insurmountability. And moreover, Zerubbabel was the image of the Lord Christ, who in many places of the Holy Scriptures is called a stone. ... Carrying this stone in himself, Zerubbabel (because the Savior of the Universe descended from him according to the flesh) in justice himself, shining with many different gifts, is called a stone.
The fifth chapter begins with a vision, according to which the prophet Zechariah is often called a sickle-seeer. " And again I lifted up my eyes and saw: behold, a scroll flies” (Zech. 5:1). It should be noted that the words scroll and sickle are spelled the same in Hebrew, and 70 interpreters have the word sickle in this place. In the same way, this word is translated into Slavic: the prophet saw a flying sickle. Sometimes this is explained in such a way that the scroll was bent in the form of a sickle. The meaning of this does not change much. The following is an explanation: He told me this curse that comes on the face of the whole earth; for everyone who steals will be destroyed, as it is written on one side, everyone who swears falsely will be destroyed, as it is written on the other side. I brought it, says the Lord of Hosts, and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of the one who swears falsely by My name, and will remain in his house, destroy him and his trees, and his stones» (Zech. 5:3-4). Here you can read both words: as a scroll, where the curse is written, and as a sickle, with which the extermination of sin will be accomplished.
The vision of an ephah, that is, a measuring container for bulk substances, continues the previous vision. The prophet sees in her a certain woman personifying wickedness. A piece of lead is placed on the opening of the ephah, and it rises and is carried away north to Babylon. This vision shows that all those vices that are characteristic of other nations, the returning Israelites should not bring into their land, that it should be left there, in the land of captivity. The Monk Isidore Pelusiot comments on this place in the following way: “Lead makes us understand the gravity of sin, for there is nothing heavier and more burdensome than sin, which casts those captive by it into the bottom of hell. And the measure means the end of long-suffering towards those who have sinned and the beginning of punishment, because it is not without measure and it will not always be permissible to sin, but only until the sinners suffer the most severe punishments.
The penultimate vision is the vision of the four chariots. There is an obvious connection with the vision of the riders (through the identical coloration of the horses). Then the horsemen went to inspect the land, and now four chariots come to protect Judah from all enemies and all dangers that can befall her from different sides.
And finally, the last vision is the vision of the high priest Jesus, which continues the theme of the fourth vision. Symbolically, the prophet takes silver and gold taken out of Babylon, makes a crown out of them and places it on the head of the high priest Jesus. After this, the prophet should announce to the high priest the following: Behold, man, his name is Branch, He will grow from His root and build the temple of the Lord” (Zech. 6:12). It seems that what has been said applies entirely to Zerubbabel or to Jesus himself. But " He will build the temple of the Lord, and receive glory, and sit down, and have dominion on his throne; will also be a priest on his throne, and the council of peace will be between the one and the other” (Zech. 6:13). Note that Zerubbabel was not a priest, just like Jesus was not a prince. St. Cyril of Alexandria, continuing the interpretation already cited, says: “From the very beginning we affirmed that in Zerubbabel and Jesus Christ is depicted, both in each separately, and in both together, as a single Person; for in him both the King of Israel and the High Priest are combined. Through the prophet Zechariah himself, who will also later be a prototype of Christ, we will see His third ministry - prophetic.
Thus, in various visions, a single revelation is given, which has a messianic meaning. The result of everything revealed in visions will be that " they will come from afar and take part in building the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you, and this will be if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God” (Zech. 6:15). Here you can see the speech about the creation of the temple of that time, and the speech about the construction of the Church, which is the house of God, and which is being built by many, many people who did not even live in Jerusalem. This connection is made all the more strong because the events connected with the return from captivity and the revival of Judea, which are discussed, in the prophecies of the pre-captive prophets served as types of the appearance of Christ.
Three prophetic speeches. The prophetic speeches addressed to the Israelites again contain the idea that the mere fact of moving back to Palestine does not yet make the people righteous. From the fact that they left Babylon and came to Palestine, they are still not guaranteed all the graces of God, regardless of their moral state.
The first prophetic speech is connected with the fact that the people ask God about fasting. In connection with the Babylonian captivity, four posts were established: in memory of the day of the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the day of the beginning of the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem, the burning of the city and the temple, and in memory of the murder of the Jewish governor Godaliah. Obviously, we are talking about the third of them - the temple is close to restoration. Perhaps they mean all of them together. Should I keep these posts now that they are back? The answer comes rather complicated, it consists of several parts. The Lord answers the question with a question: Say this to all the people of this land and the priests: When you fasted and wept in the 5th and 7th months, and moreover for 70 years, –Did you fast for me? Is it for me? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourself, do you drink for yourself? Were not the same words the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets, when Jerusalem was still inhabited and calm, and the cities around it, the southern country and the lowlands were inhabited? And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah: thus spoke the Lord of hosts then: pronounce a just judgment and show mercy and compassion to each one of his brothers, widows and orphans, do not oppress the stranger and the poor, and do not think evil against each other in your heart. But they didn't want to listen» (Zech. 7:5-11). The Lord reminds us that for non-compliance with the latter, they were scattered among all peoples and over all lands, and now it’s not about fasting either. The New Testament revelation is foreshadowed that " The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). If they live in Jerusalem as the prophets called them, if this city is a city of truth and a city of holiness, then these fasts will be the greatest feast, and there will be such rejoicing among them that all nations will seek the Lord in Jerusalem. All nations will come and say, one to another: Let us go to pray to the face of the Lord, and we will seek the Lord of hosts, and many tribes and strong nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and pray to the face of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts: it will be in those days, ten people from all the multilingual nations will take up, take up the half of a Jew and say: we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you” (Zech. 8:21, 23). If we look in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we will see that this is exactly how it happened. The Apostle Paul preached in pagan cities, people came to him and asked him to come to them and preach precisely for this reason, for they heard that God was with him. Remember, in a conversation with a Samaritan woman, the Lord says: for salvation is from the Jews". Here we again meet the prophecy about the entry into the Church of the Gentiles.
In the following chapters there are speeches which were evidently made after the building of the temple, for this subject is no longer dealt with in them. Without examining them in detail, we confine ourselves to considering the messianic prophecies contained in them.
The second prophetic speech contains an announcement of disaster to the Gentile nations and security to Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be saved because its King will enter it. " Rejoice with joy, daughter of Zion, rejoice, daughter of Jerusalem: behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and saving, meek, sitting on a donkey and on a young donkey, the son of a jock. Then I will cut off the chariots of Ephraim and the horses of Jerusalem, and the bow of battle will be crushed; and he will proclaim peace to the nations, his dominion will be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth» (Zech. 9:9-10). We have already had the opportunity to find out that the destruction of the weapons of the Israelites does not mean victory over them, but that these weapons will no longer be needed, since the Lord Himself will provide them with peace. But this prophecy does not end there. Further it says: " For the sake of the blood of your covenant, I will deliver your prisoners from the pit that has no water. Return to the stronghold, you hopeful captives!» (Zech. 9:11-12). The waterless ditch symbolizes hell. This prophecy is read during the Divine Liturgy of the Week of Vay, as Christ comes to Jerusalem as the conqueror of death and hell.
Then the prophet himself acts as a type. He is presented as a shepherd over the Israelites, whom they finally reject. Then the outcast shepherd, by whom Christ is meant, asks to be paid for his labors. " And I will say to them, if it pleases you, then give Me My wages; if not, don't give; and they will weigh 30 pieces of silver in payment to Me. And the Lord said to me: throw them into the church storehouse, the high price they have priced me! And I took 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter» (Zech. 11:12-13). This is one of the sayings of the Great Heel. Perhaps, words incomprehensible to contemporaries, which were exactly fulfilled in practice. And we see that 30 coins is not just the price of betrayal, but it is the payment of the people to the Lord for all His good deeds. Perhaps this is also one of the symbols indicating the end of the Old Testament. All calculations for the old relationships are over. It goes on to say the following: “ And my soul will turn away from them, just as their soul turns away from me. And I will take my rod of favor and break it to destroy the covenant that I have made with all nations. And it will be destroyed in that day, and then the poor of the sheep who are waiting for Me will know that this is the word of the Lord. And I broke My other rod, the “bond,” to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel"(Zech. 11:8, 10-11, 14). The breaking of the first rod, with which the Lord pastured His sheep, is a symbol of the fact that on the day when these thirty pieces of silver are thrown, the Old Testament will be abolished. It was then, when these pieces of silver were brought into the world, that the Lord spoke about the New Testament. The breaking of the second wand signifies the final division between the righteous and sinners, or between believers and unbelievers.
The third prophetic speech depicts the victory of Israel over all enemies and the reign of the rejected Messiah. At the same time, it is said that this accession will be accomplished through the fact that “ I will pour out a spirit of grace and compunction on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and they will look at Him whom they pierced, and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only-begotten son, and mourn as one mourns for the firstborn."(Zech. 12:10), that is, Christ's reign will take place through His Cross. " They will look at him the same probodosha”- this prophecy is quoted in the New Testament by the evangelist John. As a result of this perforation on that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to wash away sin and uncleanness» (Zech. 13:1). Indeed, through the perforation of the rib, from which blood and water flowed, a source was opened for washing away sin and impurity.
And then comes the prophecy about the dispersion of the apostles: Oh sword! Rise up against my shepherd and against my neighbor, says the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered!” (Zech. 13:7). This prophecy is given by the Evangelist Matthew in connection with the moment when all the apostles in Gethsemane fled.
Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus comments on him in the following way: “Since he said: they will look at Me, Himself probodosha, then, in order not to give the thought that He suffered salvific suffering against his will, he teaches through the prophet that he came voluntarily and “ humbled Himself, being obedient even unto death, but the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Therefore, the prophetic word depicts the Divine permission and shows that the sword first hears the permission of the Father, then rushes to the Shepherd, and after Him to the citizens, or, according to Akila's translation, to His fellow tribesmen; because after the Lord he rushed to the holy Apostles and the preachers who succeeded them.
And again connected with this defeat: “And it will be on the whole earth: two parts will be destroyed and die out, and the third will remain on it. And I will bring this third part into the fire, and I will melt them as silver is refined, and I will refine them as gold is refined; they will call on my name, and I will hear them and say, “These are my people,” and they will say, “The Lord is my God!” (Zech. 13:9). “This was also predicted by God through the mouth of the God-wise Zechariah, namely, that two parts would be destroyed for unbelief, while the third, having been burned in temptations and turned out to be good, is called His people, calling Him Lord and God. This is what God says through the mouth of another prophet: “and if” the number of the sons of Israel will be “like the sand of the sea, their remnant will be saved” (Is. 10:22) ”, writes blessed Theodoret. The dialogue at the end of this prophetic utterance certainly points us to a covenant relationship (cf. Hos. 2:23).
And then the prophecy, which is read as a proverb on the feast of the Ascension of the Lord: And his feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem in the east” (Zech. 14:4).
However, in the context it is about the Day of the Lord: “Then the Lord will come out and fight against these peoples, as he fought in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem towards the east; and the Mount of Olives will split in two from the east to the west into a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move to the north, and half of it to the south. And you will flee to the valley of my mountains, and the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with him. And it will be in that day: there will be no light, the luminaries will depart. This day will be the only one known only to the Lord: neither day nor night; only in the evening will light come. And it shall come to pass in that day that living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem, half of them to the east sea and half of them to the west sea: in summer and winter it shall be so. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day there will be one Lord, and one name” (Zech. 14:3-9). This really happened on Good Friday, when the sun darkened and darkness remained for most of the day, and only towards evening did this darkness pass. Blessed Theodoret connects the division of the mountain with the earthquake that took place at the death of the Savior.
In general, all the images are already familiar to us. After this victory, after the reign of the Lord, after the gift of living water, a new service to God will be performed in Jerusalem: “ Then all the rest of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will come from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.” (Zech. 14:16). Those who do not come to the feast will be punished.
It can be said that in the book of the prophet Zechariah some result of the prophetic sermon is already summed up. Much of what is said here we saw partly in Joel, partly in Isaiah, partly in Ezekiel. The victory and reign of the Lord, accomplished through suffering, will open up an abundant source of grace and will entail the coming of all nations to celebrate in Jerusalem.
The Holy Prophet Zechariah and the Holy Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of Saint John the Baptist. They came from the family of Aaron. Saint Zacharias was a priest of the Temple in Jerusalem. Saint Elizabeth was the sister of Saint Anne. Righteous spouses, "acting according to all the commandments of the Lord blamelessly" (Luke 1:5-25), suffered from infertility, which was considered in the Old Testament times a great punishment from God. Once, while serving in the temple, Saint Zacharias received a message from an angel that his elderly wife would bear him a son who "will be great before the Lord" (Luke 1:15) and "will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1 , 17). Zechariah doubted the possibility of fulfilling this prediction and was punished with dumbness for lack of faith. When a son was born to the righteous Elizabeth, she, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, announced that she would name the baby John, although no one in their family had been given such a name before. They asked the righteous Zechariah, and he also wrote the name John on the tablet. Immediately the gift of speech returned to him, and he, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to prophesy about his son as the Forerunner of the Lord.
Thus, the now known memories of finding and transferring the relics of St. Zechariah, the father of the Forerunner, do not actually refer to him.
Prayers
Troparion, tone 4
The priesthood of clothing is covered by the wisdom, / according to the law of God's burnt offense, it was pleasant to priestly brought Esi, Zharya, / And there was a lamp and the auditor of secret, / signs in the grace of grace that was clearly immumbered. / And the sword was killed in the Temple of God, Christ prophesy, // with Forerunner pray that our souls be saved.
Kontakion, tone 3(Similar: Virgo today:)
A prophet today and a priest of the Most High, / offer Zechariah, Forerunner parent, / a meal of his memory, / feeding the faithful, / drinking the truth by dissolving to everyone, / for this he ends, / like a divine secretary of God's grace.Μεγας συναξαριστης (Bishop Fanary Agafantgel, "Sinaksar of the Orthodox Church"), αποστολικής Διακονίίς της εκλησίας της ελλάδος, http://www.synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/2095/sxsaintinfo.aspx.
Garitte, Calendar, p. 227, 232, 400. Reference to the "Memory of the Transfer of the Relics of the Holy Apostle James, Brother of the Lord and Saints Simeon and Zechariah" / Synaxarion. Lives of Saints of the Orthodox Church. Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetr. Adapted translation from French. In 6 vols. - M.: Sretensky Monastery Publishing House, 2011. - T. II. - S. 417.
