Question 1

What is the main message of God saying, “Turn unto me and I will turn unto you”?

Accepted Answer

When God says, “Turn unto me, and I will turn unto you,” He is inviting the people to come back to Him with sincere hearts. Their fathers ignored His prophets and suffered for it, but God is not shutting the door. He is saying, If you stop walking in your evil ways and truly return to Me, I will welcome you, be near you, and show you mercy. It shows that God’s heart is ready to restore, but He calls for real repentance, not empty words or outward religion.

Question 2

Who is the Branch mentioned several times in this passage?

Accepted Answer

The Branch is a promised servant of the LORD who will grow up, bear glory, and build the true temple of the LORD. He will be both king and priest, and peace will come through Him. In the vision with Joshua the high priest, the Branch is linked with the removal of iniquity in one day and a picture of peace where people sit under their vine and fig tree. This points forward to God’s chosen ruler who brings cleansing, righteousness, and lasting peace for His people.

Question 3

What is the meaning of “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit”?

Accepted Answer

This word is given to Zerubbabel while he is facing the hard task of finishing the temple. God is saying that His work will not be completed by human strength, clever plans, or military force, but by His Spirit. The great “mountain” of obstacles will become a plain, and Zerubbabel will finish the work with joy. For readers today, it shows that God’s plans for His people are carried forward by His own power, not our own, so we should rely on His Spirit rather than trusting in our own resources.

Question 4

Why does Zechariah see Joshua the high priest in filthy garments?

Accepted Answer

Joshua stands in filthy garments to picture the sin and uncleanness of the people he represents. Satan is there to accuse him, but the LORD rebukes Satan and commands that Joshua’s filthy clothes be taken away. He is given clean garments and a fair mitre, and God says, “I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee.” This vision shows that God Himself must remove guilt and provide clean standing. It is a picture of grace, where God takes away sin and clothes His people with new holiness.

Question 5

What do the visions of horses, horns, carpenters, and chariots teach about God’s rule?

Accepted Answer

These visions show that God watches over the whole earth and rules over the nations. The riders on the horses and the chariots go to and fro through the earth as His messengers. The four horns picture powers that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, while the four carpenters, or craftsmen, are raised up to terrify and cast out those harming God’s people. The message is that God is not absent or weak. He knows what every nation is doing, and He has His own way and time to judge oppressors and restore His people.

Question 6

Why are fasting and outward religion challenged in this passage?

Accepted Answer

Some men ask whether they should keep weeping and fasting as they had done for many years. God answers by asking if they had really been fasting for Him at all. They had eaten and drunk for themselves, while ignoring His earlier words about justice, mercy, and compassion. The problem was not the fast days by themselves, but hearts that refused to listen, hardened themselves, and oppressed the weak. God shows that true worship is heard in how people treat others, not just in outward religious acts.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about God’s plan for Jerusalem and the nations?

Accepted Answer

God promises to return to Zion, to be a wall of fire around Jerusalem and glory in her midst. He speaks of old and young filling the streets again, of prosperity, peace, and truth. Many nations will join themselves to the LORD and become His people. At the same time, God warns that nations who attack Jerusalem will face judgment, yet those left from the nations will come year by year to worship the King. So Jerusalem is shown as both protected and as a place where people from afar come to seek the LORD.

Question 8

What does it mean that they shall look on “me whom they have pierced” and mourn?

Accepted Answer

Here God says He will pour out the spirit of grace and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Then they will look on “me whom they have pierced” and mourn as for an only son. The wording is deep and has been read in more than one way, but the main sense is that the people will finally see how deeply they have sinned against the LORD’s chosen one and against God Himself. Their eyes will be opened, leading to real sorrow over sin and a broken, humble heart.

Question 9

What is the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness?

Accepted Answer

Right after the mourning described, God says that a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness. This picture is of a constant, open supply of cleansing. Sin has made the people filthy, like Joshua’s garments, but God promises a way for that defilement to be washed away. It connects with the earlier promises about the Branch and the removal of iniquity in one day, pointing to a full and lasting forgiveness that God Himself provides.

Question 10

How can the call to repent and God’s promise of restoration apply today?

Accepted Answer

The people in this passage had a history of ignoring God’s warnings, yet God still called them, “Turn unto me, and I will turn unto you.” He reminded them that their fathers and the prophets had died, but His words had taken hold. Today, this warns us not to harden our hearts when God shows us our sin. At the same time, it encourages us that He is ready to receive us, to cleanse us, and to rebuild what sin has broken, as we trust His chosen King and rely on His Spirit.

Zechariah 1:1

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

A Call to Repentance

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Zechariah 1:1

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

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A Call to Repentance

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