Zechariah was a priest and prophet about 500 years before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, yet he prophesied more than 14 specific points about the coming of Christ. His name, and the title of his book, means “the Lord remembers.”
This was after the calling of a people through Abraham. After the period of enslavement in Egypt. After the miraculous exodus. After the wandering and battles and victories and losses. After the Babylonian captivity. After being set free, once again.
In Zech. chapter 2, we witness God speaking through Zechariah to his people, crying out, “Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!”
And
“Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,” declares the Lord, “and I will be it’s glory within.”
And
“Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you…Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.”
Zechariah’s life was spent declaring the coming of Immanuel, the God who chose in love to come be with his people. This is the priestly role—to prepare the way for the Lord…to call many nations out of Babylon and into Zion…to ignite a fire of readiness.
Our God is not passive. Not forgetful. He remembers.
Can you feel the anticipation building?
Are you being made ready?
