Zechariah Chapter 8

I. Introduction

Zechariah chapters 7 and 8 are a complete unit dealing with the hearts of the people toward their God. The historical setting of these chapters takes place in the 4th year of King Darius. The 2nd temple-rebuilding project is nearly complete. Those that returned to the region from Babylon had placed a priority on rebuilding the temple and reestablishing the cult as close as possible to the Davidic system. Nehemiah had the walls rebuilt, so the next great task was to rebuild the temple system and its rituals with symbols that would rekindle these people so God would be among them. The symbols of the temple, the kosher diet, and the Sabbath were mainstream to their religious culture. Their theology was closely connected to how all these symbols helped them reestablish their cult practice. Although religious symbols, as tutors, are helpful in developing a theological framework, they become divisive and destructive when they become idols.

They Forgot Where They Came From Zechariah receives a visit from representatives to seek advice whether they were to continue mourning and fasting after the temple
The myth that failed Israel and Judah was that they held that because they were God’s chosen people that they would not need to be accountable to His teaching. They considered that there nation state to be strong because they believed that God would protect them because of the religious affiliation with the symbols connected to Yahweh. They were wrong and suffered terrible destruction. God was not silent. He sent many good men to warn them and plead with them to come back to Him. They could not see their ways because the trappings of religious institution, wealth, power, and military made them think they were invincible. Our society has some dark days looming ahead of us if we fail to see the signposts like the prophets have warned