Zechariah & Malachi
The Bridge
We have now officially come to the final two Minor Prophets in our study. We will be diving into the books of Zechariah and Malachi in order to see how these two prophets will ultimately bridge the gap between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The book of Malachi is the last book in the OT and is the perfect link that connects us to the birth of Christ. Malachi has some of the most powerful statements and prophecies about the coming Christ even though it is only four chapters long. The book of Zechariah on the other hand, is fourteen chapters long and discusses multiple unique visions, and also has great prophecies of the coming Christ as well. When discussing Zechariah, Bible Study Tools mentions “A prophet of Judah, the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of priestly extraction. His prophetical career began in the second year of Darius, about sixteen years after the return of the first company from exile.” These two prophets, while very similar in their message compared to the rest of the Minor Prophets, have a very unique way of sharing their prophecies due to the coming of Christ taking place right after their books. Now it’s easy to think that just because the gospels start on the very next page of our Bibles after Malachi, God’s people didn’t have to wait long for Christ after these two prophets shared their message. In reality, however, the gap between the OT and the NT is a period of about 400 years. So while Christ was next in line after these two prophets, the messages they had to share were still necessary to help bridge the gap until Jesus finally came. With this in mind, let’s dive in.
Prophetic Visions
To begin, Zechariah starts out by listing out vision after vision for about the first six chapters. There is so much that God is communicating to Zechariah here through these visions that it would be impossible to go through all of them in detail. In just the first few chapters alone, we see visions of a man on a red horse, a craftsman with four horns, a man with a measuring cord, a high priest and a branch, a golden lampstand, a flying scroll, a woman in an Ephah, four chariots, and a crown and the temple. I told you it was a lot. So what do all of these visions point to? Sure the message and interpretation behind each one are different, but is there an overall message that these visions lead us to? This actually brings us back to chapter one. God opens this entire book and His entire prophecy that He gives to Zechariah with one simple message. Zechariah 1:2-3 says “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of armies says: “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of armies, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of armies.” God’s purpose in all of these visions and prophecies is for His people to come back to Him. Christ is clearly on the horizon and God wants His people to know that He is not just a God of justice, but He is clearly a God of mercy.
As we can see in this passage, God has not been shy when it came to judging His people previously either. Throughout all of the Major and Minor Prophets, we see God leading His people back to His heart through differing acts of justice, mercy, and prophetic visions. Furthermore, when we look to the conclusion of this book, we see God’s warning to His people about their hardened hearts, but also His promise to them of a coming savior. Look at the hope God gives His people in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” A king coming to save his people is always fantastic news, but there’s something unique about this king that goes beyond saving in the here and now. This king isn’t coming to just rescue people for the rest of their days here on earth, this king is coming to provide salvation for His people. No other king can claim to do such a thing and if they do, they are clearly lying. This prophecy coming right before the NT is such a beautiful placement and is an amazing reminder of how Jesus is different from every other king that we have read about up until this point. God isn’t coming just to lead His people, He’s coming to save them.
The Coming Christ
Malachi has a similar point in his book as well. Now the uniqueness surrounding the book of Malachi is that while it is certainly a prophecy about Christ, it is a prophecy about His second coming, not the first. This is a fascinating realization because we can see God preparing His people for how the world as we know it will come to an end, even when Jesus Himself hasn’t even been born to us yet! Look at what the Lord says in Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branches.” This description isn’t about the first time that Jesus came into the world, but rather the second. This is why verse two right after this passage reveals the greatness that is to come for those who believe in Christ on the Day of The Lord. Malachi 4:2 says “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall.” The people of God don’t just have the first coming of Christ to look forward to, they have the second of Christ to enjoy as well. Let this be a reminder to us this Christmas season that no matter how life may be treating us right now and no matter how lost our country may seem, the best days are ahead of those whose faith is in Christ. May we never take the gospel for granted or forget the day when came to earth as a baby to ultimately deliver us from our sins once and for all.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Zechariah Meaning - Bible definition and references. (n.d.). Bible Study Tools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/zechariah/
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