← Contents Zechariah 1:18–21 ←→

Zechariah 1:18–21

18 1:181 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! 19 1:19And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 1:20Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21 1:21And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

1 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew

Section Overview

The first vision ended by proclaiming God’s anger with the nations who “furthered the disaster” (1:15) and by indicating that the temple would be rebuilt in Jerusalem (v. 16). The second vision develops this by portraying the nations as four horns that will be terrified and cast down by four craftsmen involved with rebuilding the temple.

This vision underscores the significance of temple building for the postexilic community in Jerusalem. As the temple is built, God will bring judgment on nations opposed to his people.

Section Outline
  1. II.B. Zechariah’s Second Vision: Four Horns and Four Craftsmen (1:18–21)
    1. 1. Vision of Four Horns (1:18)
    2. 2. Explanation of the Horns (1:19)
    3. 3. Vision of Four Craftsmen (1:20)
    4. 4. Explanation of the Craftsmen (1:21)
Response

Zechariah’s second vision portrays a great reversal, in which the foreign nations responsible for scattering in exile the northern and southern kingdoms will have their power removed and will no longer oppress God’s people. The vision functions to underscore the importance of rebuilding the temple and God’s power over the nations.

Some see the craftsmen as powerful figures. Yet if the power to overcome the nations who have crushed and continue to oppress God’s people comes from God’s dwelling in the rebuilt temple, it is not necessary to see the craftsmen as powerful in themselves. Compared to mighty warriors, craftsmen may be seen as figures of weakness, and in this case there is a strange conjunction of power and weakness in the vision, with the weak overcoming the strong. This complements other aspects of Zechariah’s prophecy, particularly 4:6, where the temple is said to be built not by the might and power of the governor Zerubbabel but by the Spirit of God (cf. also 9:9 and 10:5). It is also consistent with the NT theme of God choosing “what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27; cf. 2 Cor. 4:7). This serves as a great encouragement to do God’s work today, knowing that God works powerfully in and through his people, often in spite of our inadequacies.