Examining The Scripture CXLVIII: The Other Four Horsemen

Zechariah’s first vision in chapter 1 verses 7-17 is apocalyptic and the Lord reveals the purpose for the future of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem in particular since Jerusalem was the seat of the Davidic dynasty and location where the Davidic Covenant was made. It is a message to the post-exilic people of Jerusalem. It is a vision of the horseman riding a red horse among the myrtle trees. Behind him were red, brown and white horses. These horsemen/horses are surprisingly similar to the four horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation. Interestingly, the horsemen serve as messengers in Zechariah just as they do in the Revelation of John but unlike Revelation they are not harbingers or agents of destruction and judgment. Zechariah's horses are also different from Revelation's in that colors do not seem to symbolize anything in particular about characters or their purpose.

Zechariah respectfully queries the Lord on what they are or what they stand for and He answers...and here is where it gets quite odd. It is the horseman that actually does the explaining. The horses/horsemen are ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth. Why? They are angelic messengers (The Lord’s Hosts) sent like messengers sent from an empire to the outer reaches of the empire (missionaries) to report to the horseman among the myrtle trees. They report that the whole world is at rest (sitting) and at peace (quiet). Although we see that there is “peace” it appears to be the product of oppression or injustice based on the literal translation of the Hebrew in verse 11. What seemed like everything was okay because it was resting and at peace turns out to be “sitting/seated” and “quiet”. It turns out this is a situation similar to a person being subjugated by injustice as shown in verses 14 & 15 as we will see. It is a peace that is doomed to be devastated.

The horseman among the myrtle trees is actually the angel of the Lord and he is acting as a captain of the hosts or other horsemen/angelic messengers (he is also acting as an interpreter). He responds to the latest news by asking, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?"

The LORD then speaks comforting words to the angel who talked with Zechariah. That angel then says to Zechariah, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.”

As we have in the past we again see the curtain lifted on the spiritual realm and we see God working behind the scenes orchestrating and pulling the strings of nations to work things to His purposes and his glory. Having seen all of this it is now Zechariah’s responsibility to get the word out to the nation(s). God is Jealous and this type of jealousy is akin to anger. It is God’s unrequited love for His people. The absolute holiness of his love only ends up intensifying suffering of those who abuse His love(d). So why is God intervening to trying to save them from the death they are heading towards. One word: Covenant. Having chosen Jerusalem as His city He will honor His covenant even in spite of their human failings.


God’s anger has turned against Judah’s enemies that have treated His love harshly. It is kind of like the old saying, “no one berates my wife except me”. Therefore the nations God had used to chastise and discipline His people like Assyria and the Babylonians which are now secure, soon will not be. These are the nations that “added to the calamity mentioned in verse 15. They not only tried to annihilate the Jews they also prolonged the Jew’s torment and carried it on too long.

Finally in verse 16 and 17 we see that, because God has a jealous love for Israel and a jealous anger towards her enemies the following promises will be fulfilled (a future hope as always after a time of suffering). The wrongs suffered by God’s people will now be compensated for because He loves them. It is like spanking and child to let them know what they did wrong and then hugging them to let them know you still love them.

(a) The Lord will return to Jerusalem with mercy
(b) There my house will be rebuilt.
(c) The measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. This is a symbol of restoration over all of Jerusalem not just the Temple
(d) His towns will again overflow with prosperity. The Temple and Jerusalem seem inseparably linked here.
(e) ...and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.

Baldwin, Joyce G.. "Now or Never." Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary (The Tyndale Old Testament Commentary Series). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981. 93-101. Print.

Longman, Tremper, and David Garland. "Patrol of The Whole Earth Reports." Daniel-Malachi (Expositor's Bible Commentary, The). New Rev ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. 741-744. Print.