At a time when God’s people were crippled by discouragement and were ready to give up on what God had called them to do, God gave the prophet Zechariah a series of mind-blowing visions to remind His people that He was still in control.
In 520 B.C. the return of God’s people from exile had already begun and many were back in the area around Jerusalem that they had been forced to leave nearly 70 years before. But even though God had moved heaven and earth to bring His people back to rebuild and start fresh, the people living in the lands around them did everything they could to actively prevent the work of rebuilding the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem. It was a political battle on a massive scale that drove God’s people to despair (Ezra 4-7). They were beginning to wonder if God was worth following wholeheartedly in the face of such opposition and intimidation. God’s opening vision to Zechariah addressed this fear that His people had then and that we may have now. The questions God’s people seemed to have were: “Is God really in control?” and “Does God really care about us?”
In Zechariah 1:7-17 God gave the prophet a vision of horses and angelic riders who had just returned from patrolling the earth. In Zechariah’s day, this vision would have communicated mighty military power on a heavenly scale far above earthly armies and the workings of men. The riders were seen as reporting back on the state of the world that they had just personally patrolled. This addressed the first issue: God knows what is going on. Not only that, He is over the rise and fall of the nations of the earth. Humanity does not run the show, no matter how we may puff ourselves up in our pride and ambition. We all answer to our Maker.
The patrolling of the earth by angelic armies unquestionably showed God as in control and unfazed by the might of earthly kingdoms. That’s good to hear, but what about the second question of whether or not that mighty God cares about us at all. The angel of the Lord in verse 12 speaks for Zechariah’s people then and for us now: “Lord of heaven’s armies, will you have mercy on us even though we’ve done things that made you angry in the past?” God answered that heartfelt cry with gracious and comforting words. He is not only in control; He also cares for us who have been beaten down and discouraged by others. God had plans to rebuild the temple in Zechariah’s day, and His will is accomplished without fail even in the face of a threatening world. And His will is done to comfort us and show mercy to those who trust in Him(v. 16,17). That comfort and mercy is something a defiant world can never know and can never overcome.
Through the all-sufficient finished work of Christ on our behalf, even in days of opposition to God’s will from the culture around us, we can take comfort in Jesus’ victory for all who trust in His name. We can also be encouraged by the vision God gave Zechariah of His sovereign power over all the earth and His good grace and mercy to those who trust in Him through Christ no matter what the world may do to oppose, intimidate, and discourage.
by Parker Bradley, author of The Twelve: A Transformational Journey Through The Minor Prophets
