Comfortable Words

How long, O Lord?

How long wilt thou not show mercy to Jerusalem?

This is the question of the angel of the Lord.

It is also the question of the souls under the altar: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” (Rev. 6:10).

It is the question too of the church of God throughout the centuries, for most often distress seems to endure far too long! God’s mills grind slowly. Dreadful is the persecution; the fulfillment of the promise seems far, far off; and heaven is silent. Oh, that God would rend the heavens! Has God withdrawn his promises?

How long, O Lord?

Is this not also the question that occupies the youthful prophet in the stillness of the night? Does not his meditation on this fearful question rob him of sleep?

How long, O Lord?

It is the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month in the second year of the reign of King Darius. Three months before this the word of the Lord also came to the prophet. Then the Lord instructed Zechariah to call to repentance the people who had returned from Babylon. He warned, “The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers.” Those who returned had built their own houses, but they had not built the house of the Lord. So the prophet admonished, “Turn unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 1:2–3). And the people heard and likely obeyed the word of the prophet and began again to build the temple. Now it is three months later in the stillness of the night, the time when our minds are agitated and our spirits know no rest because what is important to us weighs on our minds.

What could have been weightier in the judgment of the prophet than the salvation and glory of Jerusalem and Judah? Nothing else so weighs upon him and agitates his mind than the Lord’s promises, those rich and glorious promises concerning Zion, which from of old the Lord had caused to be preached through the mouths of his prophets.

But where is the fulfillment of those promises?

The people who have returned to Jerusalem are a suffocating little mass of people surrounded by powerful enemies.

The walls of Jerusalem still lie in ruins, and the temple is not rebuilt.

It appears hopeless that God’s promises will ever be fulfilled.

How long, O Lord of hosts?

Comfortable words!

The prophet sees by night, and behold…!

As the prophet is contemplating, the divine Word comes to him in a vision. Jehovah of hosts shows Zechariah that Zion’s deliverance and Zion’s hour are completely governed by the Lord, and he comforts Zechariah and all the people of Jerusalem with good and comfortable words.

The prophet sees, and behold…!

A stand of myrtle trees.

The myrtle tree with its deep green, fragrant leaves; white, starburst blossoms; and red currants was common in the land of Canaan. In infertile areas, on hilltops and on mountain slopes, the myrtle grew to be just a large shrub. But when planted in fertile soil, the myrtle grew to be a large and sturdy tree. Myrtle in scripture is a picture of the blessing of the Lord and is a contrast to the thistle, the thorn, and the brier, which are symbols of God’s curse upon the earth.

Does not the prophet Isaiah declare that instead of a brier a myrtle tree will grow up as the revelation of God’s rich grace toward his people (Isa. 55:13)?

The stand of myrtle trees in the prophet’s vision is then also a picture of Canaan, God’s kingdom, the church. And that these trees are found in the hollows of the valleys causes one to think of the lowly state of God’s people who recently have returned from exile, and of the lowly state of Jerusalem and the temple, and of God’s covenant and kingdom.

Behold, a troop of cavalry!

On the foreground among the myrtles, the prophet beholds a man riding on a red horse. Behind him are red, speckled, and white horses with their riders, although these are not explicitly mentioned.

A troop of cavalry, therefore.

After the prophet asks for an explanation regarding the troop among the myrtle trees, the angel answers, “I will shew thee what these be.” And the man in the midst of the myrtle trees explains that “these are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.” Then “they”—these riders—“answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest” (Zech. 1:9–11).

God’s cavalry!

The horse and its rider are symbolic of a military force, of an irresistible power in battle, for the horse in sacred scripture is not a work horse, but a charger. Such a horse is unforgettably described for us in Job 39:19–25:

19. Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

20. Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible.

21. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

22. He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword.

23. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.

24. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.

25. He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.

Thus the troop of horses with their riders represent a single idea: They symbolize a unified, well-commanded, fearless, and irresistible power in battle.

God’s armies!

Truly by God this cavalry is sent out. These riders and their horses go when and where he orders them.

But for what? What battle do these troopers fight, and what are they come to do?

The specific meaning of each horse and his rider is indicated by the color of the different horses. Red is the color of blood, of consuming fire, of wrath and anger, and of vengeance and war. The man who comes from Edom is red in his garments. The red horse of Revelation 6:4 is a military power, that is, a power to incite war, to cause nations to rise up against one another, in order to “take peace from the earth.” The speckled horse is a combination of the black horse and the pale horse of Revelation 6. Black is the color of starvation, and pale is the shade of death. Thus the speckled horse symbolizes numerous disasters and miseries, powers of hunger and pestilence that walk in darkness, and powers of death and hell. White is the color of triumph. The white horse that dominates in Revelation 6 stands in the background of Zechariah 1 and symbolizes in both Zechariah 1 and Revelation 6 the conquering power of Zion, of the kingdom of God, and of Christ in the world by his Word and Spirit and soon through his personal appearance.

God’s cavalry!

An indomitable, superbly commanded power for war and turmoil, for starvation and pestilence!

And that cavalry symbolizes the victorious power of God’s kingdom and God’s cause in the world!

Standing among the myrtle trees!

But for what purpose do the riders and their horses stand among the myrtle trees?

Why here among the myrtles in the deep valleys? Why do they stand where God’s people live, where God causes his favor to be tasted, and where he commands his blessing? Here…in Zion?

Should not the horses and their riders traverse the earth, the whole earth? Does not the man who stands among the myrtle trees answer, “These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth”?

Thus all these mighty powers are of the Lord: the victorious power of the kingdom of heaven, through which the rebellious and the enemies of God are made subjects of Christ; the establishment of God’s kingdom in the world and among all nations; the power to incite war, to cause one nation to rise up in anger and wrath against another, to cause the world powers to fight against one another; the powers of hunger, pestilence, and death in all its forms and with all its horror. All these powers are of the Lord, and he sends them forth to traverse the whole earth in order to serve his purpose in the earth.

Why then do the riders and their horses stand under the myrtle trees?

Listen! They are giving a report!

They are answering the angel of the Lord, who also stands among the myrtle trees. Therefore, they are reporting not to the angel who has spoken to Zechariah, not to the man who stands in the midst of the myrtles, but to the angel of the Lord. For the angel in the old covenant was none other than the angel who is God’s name, God’s face, God’s person, God himself, the Old Testament revelation of the Christ of God, who has been set over the whole house of God, who also stands at the head of this cavalry of riders and their horses. He is responsible for them and their work. To him the horsemen bring their report.

They have just returned.

They have gone to and fro through the earth!

And behold, the whole earth sits still and is at rest!

The whole earth.

This is the world of the heathen; the powers of darkness; the world powers that are hostile to God; those who hate God and his people, who were the cause of Israel’s lowly state and of Jerusalem’s devastation; those who still threaten and besiege Zion and leave her in ruins. That whole ungodly world sits still and is at rest! There is no war and no unrest. Among the world powers reigns complete peace, and the people enjoy the prosperity of the ungodly!

God’s cavalry, therefore, has executed nothing whatsoever.

The cavalry has gone to and fro in the whole earth, and still the whole world is at rest and full of peace.

The cavalry has conducted only a reconnaissance mission.

Now the cavalry’s report: World peace!

How long, O Lord?

How long wilt thou not have mercy upon Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah?

Thus the question of the angel of the Lord, who stands in the vanguard of God’s church in the world, when responding to the disappointing report of God’s cavalry.

How long?

As long as the horsemen stand among the myrtles and report that everything in the world sits still and is at rest, that there is no turmoil, that they observe no wars and rumors of war, and that world peace and worldwide prosperity rule everywhere, so long then are God’s promises not fulfilled and God’s mercies toward Zion not realized.

How long, O Lord?

For how long will rest and peace remain in the ungodly world of the heathen?

Oh, indeed, God’s promises concerning Zion are rich and marvelous! Concerning the departures of Israel, God certainly had been but a little displeased with his people; he had caused them to live in the land of banishment and to sigh and groan for seventy years. But even before Israel was taken captive, he had comforted his people with his rich promises and opened to them beautiful and glorious prospects in the future. The Lord will lead his people out of Babylon, even as he led them with a mighty arm out of the house of slavery that was Egypt. They will return to their land with great joy. Jerusalem and the cities of Judah will be rebuilt, and the temple will rise from the ashes. But the Lord had promised much more. The glory of Zion will far exceed the former glory of Israel.

2. The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

4. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isa. 2:2–4)

None will hurt or destroy in God’s holy mountain, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).

Rich promises!

Glorious vistas!

How long, O Lord?

For it does not appear as though the promises are being fulfilled. Only a small number have returned from Babylon. Jerusalem is not yet rebuilt. Zion is still despised!

If God’s promises are to be fulfilled, then these horsemen of God must enter the world—the world of the heathen who are at ease—in order to subject all to God’s kingdom by the Word and Spirit and in the way of war, turmoil, and death.

Behold, here the horsemen stand under the myrtle trees.

They have just returned from a journey through the earth.

And they report: The whole earth is quiet.

How long, O Lord?

Good words, comforting words!

In these words Jehovah gives his answer to Zechariah through the angel who has spoken with the prophet, so that he can immediately comfort God’s people with these good words.

How long…?

The prophet receives no specific response to this question. God’s work is done in God’s time. Yet it may be deduced from Jehovah’s answer that the time will be short, that the Lord comes quickly, that he does not delay the fulfillment of his promises, but as soon as possible he will realize his promises. God’s mills grind as fast as possible.

How long…?

In answer to that question, the prophet and the church in the world do not need a precise reply. But let this be sufficient: The Lord is jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy! Let this be sufficient: The Lord is very sore displeased with the heathen who are at ease; he is against the enemies of him and of his people. For, indeed, he has been but a little displeased toward his people, but these enemies want to destroy his people totally.

God’s mercies are over Zion! Eternally!

He will yet glorify Jerusalem.

Comforting words!