The National tribune., 1893-01-19


senting the People of Israel, Cleansed,
Forgiven and Instructed. Zech., 3 Ito.
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures rs
indicated above.
INTRODUCTION.
We are now to consider the fourth vision
granted to the prophet Zechariah. We may
state the four thus:
a. The Rider and the Myrtle Grove.
b. The Horns and tho Workmen.
C. The Man and the Measuring Line
d. The High Priest aud Satan.
To only one man did God ever make known
his will by personal, audible, and in some
sense visible method-that was to Moses.
Other revelations were by dreams, visions
dreams ordinarily by night and visions by day.
Both partoOk OF the same nature.
Ewald says: THE dream bore the most
vivid and varied development of new surpris-
ing appearances, which passed before the eyes,
SO that the dreamer himself often knew not
Immediately what they WERE"
Rev. w. Lindsay Alexander, ID. D., Edin-
burg, Scotland, said: The dream seems to
have differed from the vision only in that it
was sent to the prophet by night, whilst his
senses were sunk in sleep; whereas the vision
came to him by day. when he was physically
awake but when, being in an ecstacy or trance,
his perception of the outer world was sus-
pended, he was lifted above the sphere of his
ordinary consciousness, and had presented to
him pictorial or scenic representation, in
which sometimes the prophet himself appeared
as an actor" Again: 4" 1t was not an ordinary
dream produced by physical causes; it was
state Of entranced elevation divinely produced
in which the man, taken out of himself, saw
and heard things revealed to him by God"
We are to keep in our mind some such ideas
as the above in attempt to understand the
words, IS he showed me-" in Zech., g.: 1. In
some way satisfactory to the men concerned
God made known his determinations. The
revelations were clear and authoritative.
Time proved them true. Coming to US thus
they are well worthy our study.
Zeehariah.
Wedo not know very much about this prophet.
His name means, one whom Jehovah remem-
bers His fathers name was Berechiah, II ~
and that of his grandfather lido. In Ezra,
5: l ; g. IA, be is called the son Of lido. Some
have thought his father died early. and that
lido in reality brought up his grandson, prac-
tically becoming father to him. We may say
he was about 30 years old when he prophecied.
(2:4.) He was probably born lis Babylon and
was one of the $4,000 who accompanied Zerub-
babel back to Jerusalem. lido was a High
Priest and we thus find Zechariah was one of
the Levitical and Aaronic family. 1t seems
from Neb., IL: 16 that Zechariah became one
of the heads of the priestly families. Granting
this, he was both priest and prophet. He was
the colleague of Hagga (Ezr., 5: H. He was
the eleventh of the II Lesser Prophets His
prophecy is the longest of the H. and hence he
has been called The Sun of the Minor Prophets.
He received call to prophecy in the eighth
month, in the second year of Darius" Q:1.
His first specific vision was upon the four
and twentieth day Of the eleventh month,
which is the month sebat in the second year
of Darius" 40 We notice Haggai began
SIN the second year of Darius the King, in the
sixth month, in the first day of the month"
(Hag., I'D So only three or four months sep
arated the two in entering on their work. The
mission of the two was the same to stimulate
the Jews to set about finishing the Temple, the
foundations of which Zerubbabel had already
laid. 1t is better to be known in deeds than in
memorials We are more interested in a mans
life than in his death. And yet these facts of
decesse, burial, and monument have hold on
US, and we want to know about these things in
the cases of historic characters. Curiously
only meager statements are extant as to Zecha-
riah, and these are not always self-consistent.
On side of the Mount of Olives there is a
burial-plot It has been held from time be-
yond date that the remains of the Prophets
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi rest in that
place. Some time ago a Russian priest made
overtures to buy the spot. He wanted to build
a church on it. At the earnest solicitation of
some Jews the Turkish Government was in
duced to prevent the final adjustment of the
sale.
Book of Zechoriah.
The book has Ia chapters. We may divide it
thus:
1:1-6: Introduction.
1T to the end of 9Th chapter: Visions.
9TH aud 9Th chapters: Consultations in disci-
pline.
9th to 14th, inclusive: The fortunes of the
Church.
The Koran is fearfully mixed up in holding
Zechariah was the father of st. John Baptist,
and that the Virgin Mary was Miriam, and
other kindred errors. But Mahometans are
not credited with great respect for Bible con-
sistency and they little fear such minor obsta-
Giles as anachronisms.
Rosenmuller has noticed great likeness be-
tween the prophetic style of jeremiah and that
of Zechariah, and many have intimstsd that
by sort of transmigratory process the spirit of
Jeremiah passed into Zecharish.
The prophecies of Zechariah relate in several
cases very specifically to Christ, noticing the
Advent. the Kingdom of the Messiah, the call.
ing of the Gsntiles, etc. Distinct illusions are
made to the betrayal. erucifxion, etc. 1t
would seem the entire work of Christ, incar-
mated dead, risen, assembled, reignng, was
clear to the mind of the Prophet. Here is the
secret of his wise craftsmanship, earnest
ligious ZEAL patience, hopefulness activity.
AS from an Eiffel Tower he saw the unfoldings
of history, and took advantage of his fore
knowledge.
If we take the Septuagent authority we find
Haggai and Zechariah joint-authors of Psalms
137, 145-14s. The Syrac attributes Psalms
l25. 126 to said two Prophets. And the Vul-
gate states they wrote Psalm Ill. The Very
Rev. r. Payne Smith, D. d., Dean of Canter-
bury, comments thus: IF the Septuagent is
right, these Prophets would have been the first
from whose lips the triumphant cry of Halle
lujah,' Praise ye Jehovah first proceeded and
we owe to the joyful exclamation with which
they celebrated the building of the Temple,
that which has become the settled formula of
praise in all languages in which the Word of
God is proclaimed to men. (4:7) The Alex
andrine tradition grants authorship of some
Psalms to jeremiah Haggai, and Zechariah.
THE HIGH PRIEST AND SATAN.
/. Data.
We study the third chapter of the prophecy
of Zechariah. One should also read Ezra, 5: 1,
g; Zech, l.
2. Time.
The captivity began 5SS B. C. Zerubbabel
led back the $4,000 B. c. 536, or SO years from
the time the captivity began. Darius began to |
rule b. G. 521. Zechariah began to prophecy |
toward the close of the second year of the reign
of Darius. Q:7) That would be $40 B. C. 1t |
was Is to 16 years after the arrival in Jerusalem
of Zerubbabel.