Zechariah in Bite-Sized Pieces: Historical Setting
What follows is the first of a several part series on the book of Zechariah.
I believe that no book of the Bible can claim such linchpin status as this one. The book is critical for linking together, not just Old and New Testament, but the entirety of biblical history with our current day.
Before we jump into the book, we should learn about its historical setting.*
*Many dates are rounded to provide the easiest whole numbers and present an easy picture to remember.
2000 BC - God calls a people to himself, through which he will bless the world. The first of these people is Abraham.
1500 BC - After saving his people into Egypt from famine, God saves them out of Egypt from slavery. Moses leads the people into their new freedom.
1000 BC - Although God allowed the people to rule themselves for a time, they decided they wanted to be ruled by a king instead. The time of the book of Judges, while many present it as a negative, was really a positive time where the people of God ruled themselves and received Spirit-led leaders, as needed to correct their trajectory. Many more years of peace were known by Israel in the time of Judges than at any other time. However, the people rejected God as their leader, and they demanded a human king. First they got Saul, but he quickly disqualified himself from a royal dynasty. Next, David comes to the throne at about 1000 BC, and he is the best king of Israel.
975 BC - David’s son Solomon runs the kingdom into the ground to build his temple and his own palace. By the time Solomon’s son Rehoboam takes the throne, the nation is facing bankruptcy and exhaustion. By this time, many people were likely wishing to return to the extended ages of peace during the time of Judges. In an attempt to make things better, the people send Jeroboam to petition new king Rehoboam to lighten the load upon the nation. However, Rehoboam doubles-down on his father’s reputation and swears to make the lives of the people even harder. Given this, Jeroboam leads northern 10 tribes of Israel to seek relief as they split from the kingdom in 975 BC. Rehoboam is left with his own tribe - Judah - and the small tribe of the Benjamites in the southern land.
722 BC - While Jeroboam began with good intentions of freeing the people from oppression, he promptly led them into idolatry. Jerusalem, where the temple was located, was controlled by Rehoboam. Jeroboam did not want the people to continue traveling there for religious observations, lest they decide to reunite the northern and southern kingdoms. Thus, Jeroboam created two golden calves inside the northern borders for the people to worship, so that they would not have to travel to Jerusalem. Starting off on such a wrong foot, the northern kingdom would go through 19 kings, over about 200 years, before being taken into captivity by the Assyrians, in 722 BC. Not a single one of their kings was a good leader.
586 BC - Meanwhile, the southern kingdom - although begun under the poor leadership of Rehoboam - did not fall so readily into idolatry. But through 20 kings and about 350 years of history, the people eventually succumbed to evil. However, along the way, six - over a quarter - of the southern kings were good. Likely, the kingdom of Judah lasted longer because they did not become as evil as fast; thus not becoming a lightening rod of God’s judgment so quickly. However, in 586 BC God’s judgment fell upon them and the Babylonians - who had conquered the Assyrians - destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and took the southern kingdom into captivity.
538 BC - The Medo-Persian empire has just conquered the Babylonians, and one of their first acts is to return captives to their homelands. Governor Zerubbabel and High Priest Joshua lead the first group of Israelites back to Jerusalem to rebuild. Only about 50,000 Jews return to their homeland on this trip, while the great majority remain absent, staying in foreign lands where they have become comfortable.
536 BC - Ezra - chapter 3 - tells us that the foundation of the temple was finished by this time. But the people grew discouraged as they saw how insignificant the new temple was compared to the former glory of Solomon’s grand construction. On top of this discouragement, the Samaritans in the area did not want to see the Jews return, so the Samaritans sent a petition to Persia to request the Jews be ordered to stop their rebuilding. Persia orders construction be halted.
520 BC - By now the temple foundation has sat untouched for 16 years. The people’s depression has grown as they not only realize the lack of prestige the new temple will hold and they have been ordered to stop building anyway, but their lives are very difficult. Their crops are weak and their material goods just seem to wear out too quickly. It is a sad state of affairs for a forlorn people.
August 520 BC - Haggai - a contemporary prophet to Zechariah - begins to prophecy to the people. He tells them that their sad state of affairs is because they have allowed their construction of God’s house to be stalled. He explains that they need to finish God’s house.
November 520 BC - Zechariah comes on the scene to partner with Haggai in renewing the people spirit and leading them to finish God’s house - the temple.
It is here, in November 520 BC, that we finish our review of the historical setting of the book of Zechariah. Since the time of Judges, the people have not had a decent streak of peace and prosperity as a whole nation. David stood out for a short time, but still nothing compared to the decades upon decades of peace the people had known under judge rule. Thus, Israel is a nation long trodden down and divided, but with a little flame of renewed hope for the future. Haggai and Zechariah come on the scene to ensure that little flame is not extinguished.
We are going to find a responsive people who are ready to listen after their tough lessons learned. God is going to give them hope, not just for the short-term future, but will provide them with exciting glimpses of the great eternal future of God’s people.
The next article will begin to look directly at the book of Zechariah…