Collateral Considerations
In order to appreciate this study of Zechariah, the last chapters of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles should be studied. They tell of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians and of the deportation of the principal persons of the nation into exile. This catastrophe came as a result of the people's rejection of God's messages delivered by the former prophets. They despised the words of the Most High "till there was no remedy" (2 Chron. 36:16).
According to Jeremiah 25 and 29, the Babylonian captivity was to last seventy years. This prediction also appears in the historical record in 2 Chron. 36:21. The Prophet Daniel--who was carried away by the Babylonians in the first deportation, in the third year of Jehoiakim (Dan. 1:1-6)--lived throughout the entire period of the exile. It was during the sixty-eighth year of the captivity-the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede (Dan. 9:1,2; --cp. 5:31; 6:28)--that Daniel was meditating upon the plight of the Jews and making a comparative study of the prophecies of Jeremiah and "the books" (probably the historical records contained in the books of Kings and Chronicles). At that time the angel (arch-messenger) Gabriel came with an additional revelation. Daniel was told that the termination of the Babylonian captivity would be effective the year the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem was issued (Dan. 9:21. 24-27).
The Work of Restoration
Cyrus of Persia was to be the king issuing the edict that would authorize the restoration of Jerusalem and the Temple (Isa. 44:24-45:13). God decreed a 490-year period for Israel, as indicated in the words "seventy weeks" (70 x 7years), which was to begin with the command to execute the decree (Dan. 9:25-27). [For a full discussion of the ninth chapter of Daniel and the prophecy concerning the seventy weeks of years see Dr. Cooper's Messiah: His First Coming Scheduled, and The Seventy Weeks of Daniel.
According to the Babylonian archives, a vast number of the leading citizens of Judah were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar during the three besiegements of Jerusalem. The masses of the people (in Hebrew phraseology called the am-baaretz) remained in the land and were allowed to continue their normal way of living. Those taken captive were urged by Jeremiah to settle down to a normal way of life and bide God's time for their return. During the exilic period synagogues were established in Israel. Having been deprived of the Temple service, the Hebrews sought consolation through a more concentrated study of the Torah (the Law). Many of the Jews in Babylon became wealthy by pursuing lucrative enterprises. When the time came for a return to their homeland, only about 50,000 were willing to go back under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a prince of the house of David, and Joshua, the High Priest. According to the commonly accepted chronological system, that was 536 B.C.; but by the correct Biblical system of dating-which reckons time from Adam forward--it was the year 3589 A.H. (the year of man).
Those returning from exile carried with them Cyrus' decree to rebuild the Temple. In the seventh month of the year of their return and settlement in the land they gathered at Jerusalem, set up the altar of burnt offerings (amidst the debris of the destroyed Temple) and observed the Feast of Tabernacles.
The following year Zerubbabel stirred up the community to rebuild the house of God. In eagerness and earnestness the Jewish people rallied to the task before them; but adversaries began immediately to interrupt and hinder their efforts (Ezra 4:1-24).
Ezra 4 provides some parenthetic details pertaining to this historical account. From this passage we learn that the period of time covered by this opposition--which began in Cyrus' reign and continued throughout the regnal years of Cambyses and Pseudosmerdis, and on into the second-year reign of Darius Hystaspes (Ezra 4:4,5)-was fifteen years. To derive fuller benefit from this series of expositions one should read the Book of Ezra, with special attention focused upon the third chapter.
In vss. 1-7 that the Feast of Tabernacles was observed in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, in the first year of their return; vss. 8,9 that in the second year the laying of the foundation of the Temple was begun; that the work was hindered and delayed for fifteen years; (it is between the events mentioned in vss. 9 and 10 that this period of delay occurs, for we see in) vs. 10 evidence that the laying of the foundation had been completed: "... when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets. ..."
From Haggai 2:18 we learn that the Temple foundation was laid on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius Hystaspes (520 B.C.). Ezra, chapter four, details this interval which extended from the second year of Cyrus to the second year of Darius.
In the restored community troubles developed on an increasing scale during this period: the rich became richer and the poor became poorer. The rich were eagerly building and ceiling their houses, but neglected the worship of Almighty God. Finally, in the second year of Darius, the prophets Haggai, an elderly man, and Zechariah, a young man, were sent by God to stimulate the exiles to greater activity in, and loyalty to, the service of the Almighty. The record of their labors is presented in Ezra 5:1-5.
For a proper understanding of the Book of Zechariah one should become familiar with the contemporary books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther and Haggai.
