Read Zechariah 7 and 8 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
Zec 7:1-3 {p} 4th year of Darius, 9th month 4th day: Shall we continue to weep + fast in the 5th month
Zec 7:4-7 {p} When you fasted did you fast for Me? Shouldn’t you have obeyed Me when I sent the former prophets
Zec 7:8-14 {p} Execute justice + show mercy, oppressing not/ but they refused to listen, so I did not listen to them
Zec 8:1-3 {s} I am zealous for Zion/ I will return to Jerusalem + dwell in her, the City of Truth, the Holy Mountain
Zec 8:4-5 {s} Its streets shall be full of old men + old women/ boys + girls playing
Zec 8:6 {p} ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant in these days, will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Zec 8:7-8 {s} I will bring My people back from the east + west/ they shall dwell in Jerusalem/ in truth, righteousness
Zec 8:9-13 {s} Let your hands be strong + build, for I will cause both peace + prosperity for this remnant
Zec 8:14-17 {s} Just as I punished you when you provoked Me to wrath, so I will do you good/ do justice, love mercy
Zec 8:18-19 {p} Former fasts shall be joy + gladness + cheerful feasting for the house of Judah/ love truth + peace
Zec 8:20-22 {s} The inhabitants of many cities shall yet come to seek YHVH of Hosts/ pray before Him in Jerusalem
Zec 8:23 {s} Ten men from every language + nation shall lay hold of a Jew: “Let us go with you + God is with you.”
The chiastic structure:
1a.1) Zec 7:1-3 {p} 4th year of Darius, 9th month 4th day: Shall we continue to weep + fast in the 5th month;
1a.2) Zec 7:4-7 {p} “Did you fast for Me? Shouldn’t you have obeyed Me when I sent the former prophets;”
1b) Zec 7:8-10, My word to them was: Execute justice + show mercy + oppress not;
1c) Zec 7:11-14 {p} But they refused to listen to Me, so I did not listen to them when they called;
1d) Zec 8:1-2, I am zealous for Zion with great zeal;
1e) Zec 8:3 {s} I will return to Jerusalem + dwell in her, the City of Truth, the Holy Mountain;
central axis) Zec 8:4-6 {s+p} “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.’ Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ Says the Lord of hosts;”
2e) Zec 8:7-8 {s} I will bring My people back from the east + west to dwell in Jerusalem in truth, righteousness;
2d) Zec 8:9-13 {s} Let your hands be strong + build, for I will cause both peace + prosperity for this remnant;
1a) Zec 8:9, Let your hands be strong, You to whom the prophets spoke to lay the foundation + build the temple;
1b.1) Zec 8:10a, For before now there were no wages for man nor any hire for beast;
1b.2) Zec 8:10b, There was no peace from the enemy going out or coming in/ Everyone was against his neighbor;
central axis) Zec 8:11, “‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says YHVH of hosts;”
2b.1) Zec 8:12, The seed + vine + ground + heavens shall prosper + increase/ the remnant shall possess them;
2b.2) Zec 8:13a, Judah + Israel, just as you were a curse among the nations, I will save you + make you a blessing;
2a) Zec 8:13b {s} Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.
2c) Zec 8:14-15, Just as I punished you when you provoked Me to wrath, so I will do you good;
2b) Zec 8:16-17 {s} My word to you is: Speak truth + do justice + love mercy;
2a.1) Zec 8:18-19a, Former fasts shall be joy + gladness + cheerful feasting for the house of Judah;
2a.2) Zec 8:19b {p} Therefore love truth and peace;
conclusion) Zec 8:20-23 {s+s} The inhabitants of many cities + nations shall seek YHVH of Hosts, to pray before Him in Jerusalem/ Ten men from every language + nation shall lay hold of a Jew: “Let us go with you + God is with you.”
This is the 4th prophetic message of seven prophetic messages contained in Zechariah.
A pair: The fast of the 5th month is Tisha B’av, the fast still practiced today which mourns the destruction of the 1st and 2nd temples. Since the temple foundation had been laid and the temple was being rebuilt, the people asked Zechariah, Well, shall we continue to mourn for the temple? The Lord’s answer in a nutshell was, Isn’t obedience better than sacrifice? Isn’t doing what I ask better than mourning for the things that came upon you because you didn’t do what I asked? He furthered this reasoning in the 2nd half of the structure, saying in essence, when His people love truth and peace (which is what obedience to His commandments promotes) the former fasts will be instead days of feasting and rejoicing. The thing that is amazing to me is the fast of the 7th month is included in the list of former fasts! This is the Day of Atonement, the fast on the 10th day of the 7th month. When sin is atoned for, why continue fasting? Why not rather rejoice!
D pair: Just as YHVH is zealous for Zion (1D) so He is asking us to be zealous for Him (2D). We express our zeal by putting our hands to work He has called us to, without fear! This work is building up, not tearing down! He reiterates, as we have seen Him do elsewhere in the prophets, that the days of the return to the land are days of peace and prosperity for His people, not like the former times when He was judging them.
E pair: Now let us think about this. Israel does not have peace, because her enemies are trying to kill her. But I believe when Messiah returns He will deal with Israel’s enemies and she will have true peace with no one to trouble her. The return of the remnant to the land is tied to the return of YHVH to the land – who is Messiah Yeshua in His 2nd advent!
The conclusion is repeated twice for emphasis: Ten men of every nations (the ten “lost” tribes of Israel, the northern kingdom) will grab hold of one Jew (Judah, the southern kingdom) asking to go with him, since God is with him!
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