Joy, Happiness: Is there a Difference? - Zechariah 9 - 14:21

Crude oil is the source of gasoline; in the same manner, joy is the source of happiness. Joy comes in the morning as a result of deep abiding faith in the heart and soul following a night of rest and restoration. Happiness crops up all through the day as you view your new great grand son for the first time; [*p-4]as you observe your children’s new parental expressions; as you realize how fortunate you are to be an American citizen and a chosen and redeemed child of God. Deep and abiding Joy issues from the unmerited grace of Jesus Christ that lifts you to the mountain top and keeps you there. Joy abides in the heart and soul and is unwavering. Happiness is the expression of human feelings when times are good; and when things are going well. However, it is not unwavering and can vary all the way from laughter to sorrow as the circumstances change in every day life.

The first eight chapters in Zechariah have presented a people that are generally happy. They are no longer in captivity. They have been able to return to their old home land. They have shared a part in the rebuilding of the city and the temple. Even though they have become discouraged at times and have met with resistance from their enemies they have still accepted the criticism from God through his prophets and found the faith and courage to proceed with their rebuilding projects. Our lesson today is found in the last six chapters of this book that are very different from the first eight that we just studied. These are the prophetic chapters that sound much like the book of Daniel or Revelation. Zechariah made these prophecies to assure his people that regardless of the problems they had they could be sure of ultimate victory and he announced the coming of the Messiah that they were longing to see become King of Kings. What he is ultimately saying to them is: now you will be able to see your new found happiness turned into ultimate JOY.
The first eight verses of chapter nine introduces an oracle that refers to a burden that will come on God’s people because of their sins but more important it starts assuring the people that judgment will come to the enemies of God’s people. Three of Israel’s worst enemies were promised rapid failure as God’s people rejoiced to know that the Philistines, Syria, and Phoenicia would fall. Now read the verse [9:9] that brought absolute JOY to the people of Jerusalem. “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, or colt, the goal of a donkey.”

Well, the day came when Christ arrived riding that donkey right into the city just as the prophet predicted he would. There is no doubt that JOY arrived that day; and those of us who have accepted him as our Savior can live each day with the assurance of life everlasting with him. Our happiness may vary each day because of our immediate circumstances but our JOY is anchored to, on, and in the solid Rock. It is said that Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires… Jesus Christ alone founded His Empire upon love: and at this hour, millions of men would die for Him.” You may ask, “How strong must my commitment be?” and the answer lies in the statement made by this French Dictator. You and I must be so committed that we are willing to die for Him if we ever find ourselves in that critical position.

Chapters nine and ten are somewhat difficult for me to fully understand because they are describing the coming of two kings. The first one is Alexander the Great who had conquered the Persian Empire and was ruling in the time of the prophet Zechariah. There is an explanation of how he will overpower Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistine. Our lesson is on JOY, and since God promised to protect the Jewish people during this war this promise of protection is the source of their JOY. One would think that this would be enough to satisfy the people…and it probably would have, but they had a second promise made by the prophet. Zechariah assures the people that some day a greater king is coming—the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, who was the Messiah that they had been promised and that they had been waiting for.

This book becomes more confusing to me as the last part of chapter nine seems to describe the deliverance of God’s people from the rule of the Greeks. There is no doubt in my mind that the King that will ride in on the donkey is the prediction of our Lord as he came humbly before his people at the temple riding a donkey as he did instead of the great White Horse that would have set him apart as the new king. The blessings of the new Messiah’s Kingly reign are explained in chapter ten.
I am referring to a book on the Minor Prophets by Feinberg. He says that “Chapters 1 to 8 of Zechariah refers mainly to the time of his own life. The goal in view was encouragement for the rebuilding of the Temple. Chapters 9 to 14, which form the second part of the book, deal chiefly with the future and were probably written by Zechariah a long time after the first eight chapters. Chapters 1-8 deal with Israel when she was under Medo-Persian rule; Chapters 9 and 10 when she was governed by Greece; Chapter 11 when she was under Roman domination; and chapters 12 to 14 when she will be in the last days of her national history [Minor Prophets by Feinberg, page 314]. My comment is this; the fact that Judah was occupied by so many different powers in so few years makes it difficult for me to understand just who is involved in the coming and going of the ruling kings.

I can tell you this with absolute authority and no fear of any contradiction…and that is that Jesus Christ is our Messiah who is and always will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and no matter how impressive any other [ruler] appears to be he pales into insignificance when compared to our King. Christ came to earth and was born of a virgin, lived as God and Man on this earth and died on the cross to provide salvation from sin for all that will believe in him. He will come again…and he will bring peace to all people of all nations and blessings for those of us who have not denied him and have sincerely tried to obey him.

There is a vast amount of materials covered in the last five chapters of this book. It seems to me that I can best help learners understand the basic principles that are laid out by simply giving an outline through a series of statements of truths found in these last chapters.
• God will stand by his people in their fight against their enemies sometimes through providential means.
• The Israelites knew that they were protected…just as we are defended from harm.
• Their new Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord is both a conquering king and a gentle savior…often compared to the Shepard of the flock [Christians].
• We should gain our greatest Joy from the fact that He will return.
• False religions deceive and destroy; therefore accurate knowledge of the bible is of great importance.
• Leaders, teachers, ministers, will be held accountable for what they teach.
• Christ is known as the “Cornerstone of our faith.
• Israel as a nation will survive.
• Christ will delivery Israel, and all his people, from their enemies at his second coming.
• Forgiveness for sin is available to all people…Jew and Gentile…by grace, through faith in Christ and true repentance toward the Master.
• Christians should not become discouraged when suffering sometimes precedes their blessings. We should not expect favored treatment over Christ who suffered the greatest of all.
• God the Father and Jesus the Son both keep their promises…Christ will return!
• One day…the entire world will recognize and acknowledge Jesus as Lord and King…To him every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.
• The Lord is the victor…He conquered death, hell, and the grave all in one week-end.

I love prophecy—my faith feeds on it. Here are twenty-four predictions that were accurately made regarding Christ years before he was born and named Jesus.

1. He would be—and he was born of a virgin. 2. From David’s line. 3. Born in Bethlehem. 4. Was a prophet. 5. Is our Priest. 6. King of Kings. 7. Preceded by a messenger [John]. 8. Entered Jerusalem on a donkey. 9. A stumbling stone to the Jews. 10. Resurrection on third day. 11. Forsaken by his disciples. 12. Silent before accusers. 13. Wounded and bruised. 14. Struck and spit upon. 15. Mocked. 16. Hands and feet pierced. 17. Crucified with thieves. 18. Rejected by his own people. 19. Stared at or upon. 20. Clothes divided and lots cast. 21. Made a forsaken cry—My God, My God why have you forsaken me? 22. Bones not broken. 23. Side pierced. 24. Buried in a rich man’s tomb. NOTE: Several of these facts about Jesus that were still 400 plus years in the future, were made by the author that we are studying today—Zechariah.


[Nicholas Vandiver Weathers, first great grand child of Dr. and Mrs. John Vandiver was born at 7:13 or 14 PM, Tuesday, July 31, 2007; he was 21inches tall [no. not long, but tall] and weighed 7 lbs. 11oz. His parents are Dr. and Mrs. Lance Weathers, of Lexington, KY. I used this as an example of the source instant happiness—but now, after the experience, I am not sure there wasn’t a bit of pure JOY in our soul. In fact, when we take time to thank God for the miracle of birth, and learn that both mother and son are well and all possible danger has seemingly evaporated, our emotional height surpasses happiness and mounts to the panicle of glorious JOY.]

Dependence - Zechariah 4:1-6, 15

American family life during the late thirties was far different from life as we know it today. We had exited a great depression when there were no available jobs for anyone, man or woman of any age. When jobs slowly appeared it was the men of the family that went to work away from home, while the women remained in the home with the children and so it remained until Hitler started WWII. The American military machine was caught short and the immediate heavy demand for manpower left many civilian jobs unmanned and the women had to move into the workplace. The heavy demand for war related equipment overloaded the manufactures and women were called in to work in the factories. Through prayer and worship America depended on God to pull us through. We know he did, but the women never went back to the job of being homemaker.

In just one decade this nation went from the boom of the roaring twenties through the bust of the depressed thirties to the war torn forties. It is easy to see that our dependence on God can come and go as quickly as war can be declared. When times look depressing, we turn to God. When the fouler leaves we don’t need God anymore. Another example is seen during the Persian Gulf War. When it started Americans got on their knees and prayed for our troops and there were no complaints for the objectors. It was over soon and we turned from prayer for troops to praise for weapons that could deliver explosives through the stove pipes right into the furnaces.

A third example will suffice to explain how our dependence on God depends upon the hand he has just dealt with which we are to play the game of life. This nation has never needed God less than it did on a Tuesday morning not long ago about mid morning when someone discovered that there were four passenger planes that had been hijacked. Before anyone could decide what to do, two had flattened the twin towers in NY, one was buried in the pentagon in DC and the fourth had fortunately wrecked in a hay field in Illinois. All at once, America needed God, and for a short time there seemed to be a great return to Christianity and a greater need for our DEPENDENCE ON GOD ALGHMIGHTY than had existed in some time. Here and now we stand only a few war-torn years down the road and seemingly no closer to a solution of the terrorist threat—and for some unexplainable reason we have gotten off of our knees in prayer and are now standing on the soap box of condemnation blaming our own government for the terror threat. We now blame everyone from the president to God for our lack of success. I sometimes wonder why our memory is so short. There is one thing for sure and that is that we have made no improvement over the short memories of the Israelites who could forget the source of their manna in less than a week with no problems at all.

The vision of the lamp stand and two olive trees is recorded in 4: 1-3. This incident takes place about 16 years after the foundation of the new city had been laid. The Persian enemies had called for a halt to the work. Zerubbabel had received threats of war from Persia [Neh. 4: 7-23]. This vision was given to give courage to Zerubabel and to assure the people that was still in favor of the building; and it was also a comforting word for Joshua who is referred to in symbol [vv. 3:12-14].

The prophet, Zechariah was either asleep or in a trance and was awakened by an angel [Dan. 10: 9-11]. The angel asked him what he saw. He said that he saw a solid gold lamp stand and two olive trees. It was somewhat like the one found in the tabernacle which was made of one talent of pure gold [Exod. 25: 39]—made of one talent of pure gold. One talent weighed about seventy pounds and that would make it worth thousands of dollars in today’s market. The stand had several branches or prongs each of which had a small bowls to hold the oil, and stems or tubes that fed the lights and was to give light to the temple. The oil came from the two olive trees that flowed down into the bowls. The temple lamp had required a priest to fill the cups, but this one required no priest.

This lamp stand represented spiritual light—or spiritual witness—which is thought to represent God’s people, Israel as the bearers of that light. The Bible defines light as a spiritual witness when it says that Christ is the light of the world. Revelation 1:20 speaks of the seven golden lamp stands as the seven churches [God’s people] and churches were witnesses. Israel was to be the spiritual light, but the fact that no priest was needed to fill the cups with oil, meant that the power was directly from God flowing to the people. The message was that the temple would be completed, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty. Nothing is impossible with God [Mark 10: 27].

The two olive trees represent the source of the oil that will be used by the lights on the stand. It is used here to represent the Holy Spirit—as it is throughout the Bible. Oil was used in the consecration of prophets, priest and kings and represented the anointing of the Holy Spirit. There is an excellent example in 1 Samuel 16: 13, “So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.” There is no magic in the oil: it is just a symbol that stands for the power that comes from the Spirit of God. Any power that you or I have to do anything good and pleasing to Jesus Christ must come through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. When Paul said that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him—he was referring to the power that comes only through the direct help of the spirit that was his helper.

Zerubbabel had been charged to complete the temple…he laid the foundation and started the work but was forced to withdraw from the task. The prophet, Zechariah, told him that this vision guaranteed that he would be able to finish the work. The vision came to recharge Zerubbabel’s batteries which had run low. There were too many enemies…too much opposition and he did not believe he could go on. The vision assured him of an abundance of oil [power through spirit] and that nothing could stop his progress. Israel was impoverished and small in number against her enemies that were countless and had the strength of the mighty Persian government standing with them…but he had nothing to fear because God was promising to remove every mountain that stood in his way.

America should take heed! We have and still do brag about our military strength, and being the leading nation in the world. People from the president on down depend on our dedication, toughness, strength and technical superiority to help us survive. However—if you believe in the message found here in the Word—we are depending on the wrong source for victory. Zerubbabel was the man in power in Jerusalem and God told him that “…His success would not be by his might or the nation’s power, but by MY SPIRIT.” The key here is MY SPIRIT, and we should understand that anything lasting has to come from God.

The temple was completed in 516 BC [Ezra 6: 14]. The prophet knew that Zerubbabel had laid the foundation…the vision now tells him that Zerubbabel will also be the one to complete it. When man wills what God wants, nothing can stop him. With God on his side—he could not fail.

Verse ten indicates that many of the Israelites were displeased with the size, beauty and comparison of the new temple to the one Solomon had built. God was not concerned about the outward appearance but he was concerned that He be present in the building…he especially was happy to know that this was the one that his Son would visit, and teach from while here on earth as man/Christ. Here is my warning to First Baptist at Heber…..!

Those who worship at Heber First should be very thankful for the lesson taught here. By TV we are able to see church buildings that are like castles, making our buildings look like cracker boxes in comparison. The Catholic people have built cathedrals such as the two in Rome and Florence Italy that are beyond description in beauty, size and structure. The Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City is a monument in itself. All we need remember is that the beauty or cost of the building has no meaning in the sight of God. We must remember that he met with his people following the Exodus in the tabernacle MADE OF GOAT SKINS stretched on wooden poles. The key here is that He was present. He expects us to do our best; his house should be the equivalent of our homes. He is very concerned about the use of his house…he is concerned about what is allowed to take place there…he is very concerned about whether he has been made the cornerstone.

I sometimes think that we allow our sanctuary to be misused. It is a place of reverence to me, and when there is running and game playing, any kind of rudeness even though it is a part of a program…I wonder if that pleases God. I like to think that God is present in our Sanctuary 24/7. Anything that is taking place at any time is being observed by him each moment. I ask you personally—do you honor God by wearing your best suit or dress? {I am not better than thou—overalls or jeans are just fine if that is the best you have and they are clean} I believe we should honor him with our best and purest, whether it is dress, actions, behavior, even our conversation and thought process.

What if he would meet you face to face, personally present with you in your pew at First Baptist…will you be comfortable, prayed up, with appropriate dress and actions? Will he be able to see that you were expecting Him to visit in our church?

Now, the fact is…Jesus is there in the pew with you whether you see him or not. My problem is that I do not believe that people believe this and act like it. The bottom line is that absolutely nothing else matters until we all realize that everything depends on Jesus Christ and what he did for us on The Cross. He paid the price for our sins. We owe him everything, honor, respect, worship, praise and DEPENDENCE. WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE…WE MUST DEPEND ON GOD!

Repentance - Zechariah 1:1 - 6:2, 7 - 13

Repentance can only be accomplished when one admits to the sins that he/she has committed in the past…and in a humble spirit ask Jesus Christ to forgive them. Then one must promise the Lord that they will not knowingly and willingly commit the sin again. True REPENTANCE requires that one have the faith to believe that Jesus will forgive the committed sin and set the sinner free—holding the sin against them no longer. Sin is removed as far as the east is from the west!

Repentance means that one has stopped walking in a sinful way—sought and received forgiveness; and is now walking in the opposite direction by and with the help of The Holy Spirit. One must no longer do that which is wrong in the sight of God and must now OBEY Him.

Only people have the privilege of repentance. Hogs can not repent; they will leave the shower stall and return immediately to their favorite mud wallow. Remove the harness from the finest work horse, or the saddle from Trigger or Secretariat and they will return to their favorite dust bowl and roll over in it. The hog and the horse return to their wallow because they want to and they have no desire to ever change. A repentant soul may return to the sin that so easily besets them, but it can not be because of their desire to continue in sin.

Last Sunday we studied the book by Haggai. Zechariah was a younger contemporary prophet. This book is also dealing with the problems surrounding the rebuilding of the temple. The structure was being completed, but there were other necessities that had to do with order of worship, sacrifices, and rituals that needed to be taught. To this end, God gave Zechariah eight night visions, all dealing with some aspect of restoring life in Jerusalem and the building and use of the new temple. The purpose of these visions was to encourage the people to turn back [REPENT-TURN AROUND] to the Lord and seek His presence once again [WALK IN A NEW DIRECTION.]

This book was written to give hope to God’s people by revealing their future deliverance through the Messiah. Jesus Christ would be that coming Messiah and he would visit this new temple…God would live in it…and that made it special. Zachariah wrote the book to the Jews in Jerusalem who had returned from Babylonian captivity and to the Children of God everywhere. The first eight chapters were written about 520 BC and the rest was written around 480.

The captives had returned from their exile in Babylon intending to rebuild the temple but—as we learned last week—they became more interested in building their own homes and businesses, and the temple work went begging. Both Haggai and Zechariah confronted the back-sliders and encouraged them to repent and finish their commitment. The key verses are 9: 9-10—“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey…H will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Here is a very important question. How did Zechariah know that some 500 years later, Jesus Christ would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey? Can you tell me who will ride into Heber Springs on a tri-cycle in the year 2507? No. Impossible. And it would have been impossible with Zechariah if God had not revealed it to him. These predictions that came true specifically as prophesied are the keys to my faith. Most scholars think that this book is the most apocalyptic and Messianic of all the other
Minor Prophets.

Jealousy in the heart of sinful man is a dangerous poison that tares people apart. Not so with God. We serve a jealous God—and jealousy in a divine heart is a healing balm of love without envy or denial. God was angry with his people because they were ignoring his prophets and following careless and false leaders who exploited them. DISOBEDIENCE was the root of their problems and the cause of their misery. God was jealous for their devotion for him only.

The people of Zion were discouraged. Even though they had been set free from exile they still had not been able to complete the rebuilding of the temple. Zechariah encouraged them to repent from their selfish ways and dedicate themselves to the commitment they had made. The prophet assured them that God would protect his people as they worked and empower them through his Holy Spirit to finish the job.

This prophet promised his people that the Messiah [Jesus Christ] would come and rescue them and be their new King. He told them that Christ would come and establish his kingdom, conqueror all of His enemies. In that day everything and everyone will be under his control. There was opposition to his plan and he told them that there would be future trouble because of their unbelief. But he told them that God would keep his promises and remember the agreements he had made with them to deliver them from all the world powers that oppress them. If, if, if America will return to God…and live the lives of a Christian nation—be His people—He will do the same for us.

The first six verses are simple and easy to understand. It is night vision number one, and it simply tells the people to repent and return unto God and he will return unto them. Then it explains that prophets of old warned their fore-fathers who did not listen and they had been conquered and paid a heavy price…surely they should be wise enough to take this warning. The sixth verse says that they admitted that they deserved the punishment they had received…And they repented.

Vision two is found in verses 7 through 17. In a nutshell this vision says that an angel told the prophet that God had used powerful nations to conquer his people because of their DISOBEDIENCE. There was peace for awhile among the other nations, but they had gone too far and mistreated his people and were made to pay the price. After the 70 years of exile, the Jews were brought back and would be allowed to rebuild their nation.
[Remember, I have told you that I have no seminary training, and no knowledge
of the original languages and therefore must depend on interpretations made by
the authors that I trust. This makes for some difficulty when we start explaining
all the nations involved, and especially what significance the color of the horses
have in this vision.]
The man among the myrtle trees was the angel of the Lord that was talking to Zechariah. The horses and their colors were symbols of God’s involvement in world powers of that day. I do not know the meaning of each color of the horses…however I do know that the color red is often associated with war… and white in the bible is usually a symbol of peace—so in this case it probably means victory.

In verse eleven the angel saw other nations feeling secure and prospering while Israel was in bondage. He is speaking of those nations like Babylon, Egypt, Assyria, and Medo-Persia that had been at war with Jerusalem, Judah, both the northern and southern kingdoms and who were all heathen idol worshipers [see verse 18]. God had used them to teach his people a lesson regarding their own disobedience, but the time had come when God would put an end to their punishment and allow them to return home. I feel sure of this because he then speaks of the seventy years of bondage that was spoken of in Jeremiah 25: 11 and 29: 10. The seventy year period was over and the angel asked God to keep his promise and allow his people to go free. God has promised us that when we repent and return [turn around] he will heal our land. Now. Today.

The fifteenth verse simply declares that although the pagan nations had afflicted his people beyond his intentions, he was still able to stop them. So God used these heathen people to punish Israel, but he had the power to stop them and he did so when they went beyond his plan and were now trying to destroy his people. In my opinion, the Islamic nations that are trying to destroy Israel today will meet the same resistance…when God has had enough…their doom will come.

In 18 to 21 the horns were the four major world powers of that day that had dealt Israel their downfall…they were Egypt, Babylon, Assyria and Persia. The craftsmen were the nations that God used to overthrow his enemies.

In chapter 2, his next vision saw the man with the measuring line laying out the foundations of the temple and the boundaries of the city to rebuild it to God’s specifications…see Jeremiah 31: 38…]. See verses 6 through 13…If you will remember from our study during the past few months; many of the Israelites chose to remain in Babylon, and other nations where they were captives because they had property there. God is telling them to come! Come! Come to freedom from their captives where he scattered them. Zechariah instructed them to leave immediately and return…because these countries would be destroyed and they would have to forever be under another ruler. As before, many still rejected the call of the prophet and remained in Babylon.

All believers are precious to God Psalm 116: 5 and 103: 13. When we treat believers unkindly it is like mistreating God. Matthew 25: 34…tells us that when we mistreat his people we are mistreating him. This is a warning to us that we must love the brethren. God is remembering his promise to Abraham that all people will be blessed through him Gen. 12-3. Since the coming of Christ [messiah] the promise is being fulfilled as all nations are coming to him. How? They can come only through REPENTANCE.