Zechariah 6 Commentary

The book of Zechariah begins with a title verse providing information concerning the date, authorship, and source of the revelation. It states that the prophecy occurred in the eighth month of the second year of Darius (vs 1). The biblical material likely dates the prophetic message according to the regnal year of the Persian king because there was no king in Judah during that time. Judah had been conquered by Babylon, which in turn had been taken over by Persia (Daniel 5:30-31).

The term prophet [“nābî” in Hebrew] means “proclaimer” or “forth-teller.” It describes someone who received a call from God to be God’s spokesman. A prophet was God’s emissary. He had a particular calling to see or hear what God was saying, live it out in his life, and proclaim it to the people roundabout. That means the prophet could not speak from his authority and was not free to say what he pleased. Rather, he was to discern what God thought about a given situation, what His attitude was toward the people’s behavior in the past, what He required of them in the present, and how He would act in their favor in the future.

This chapter records the eighth and last vision of Zechariah. The prophet sees four chariots emerging from between two bronze mountains. Each chariot contains horses with a specific color. Zechariah’s interpreting angel identifies the chariots as four spirits of heaven who go forth from the presence of God.

Following the vision, the LORD instructs Zechariah to take an offering of silver and gold from three of the returned captives from Babylon and crown Joshua, the high priest. The coronation ceremony is a symbolic act, foreshadowing the High Priest and King who will build the temple of the LORD during His thousand-year reign on this earth. The outline is as follows:

1. Zechariah sees four chariots emerging from between two bronze mountains. The angel speaking with him identifies the chariots as four spirits of heaven, representing the four points of the compass. According to him, the chariot going to the north satisfies God’s anger by judging the land of the north (vv. 1–8).

2. The LORD commands Zechariah to take a gift from certain exiles and crown Joshua, the high priest, for he is a picture of the High Priest and King who will build the temple of the LORD (vv. 9–15).

The Bible Project - Zechariah Summary