Single lesson
Zechariah 1: A Call to Repentance
Zechariah 1:1–6; Zechariah 1:7–17; Zechariah 1:18–21
Zechariah opens with a direct message from Yahweh. These verses call people to turn back to him, remember what happened to earlier generations, and recognise that God’s words do not fade away. This lesson also brings together The Vision of the Horses, The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen.
Before you teach
The passage begins by dating the word and naming Zechariah as the prophet who received it. The message looks back to “your fathers”, recalls what the former prophets said, and urges the present hearers not to repeat that response of refusing to hear Yahweh.
Explain the central teaching of Zechariah 1: A Call to Repentance, using two details from the reading. God calls people to return to him and to learn from the lasting truth of his words. This vision says that although the earth seemed quiet, Yahweh spoke with mercy, comfort and renewed purpose for Jerusalem and Zion. This vision shows that the powers which scattered Judah are known by Yahweh, and that Yahweh also shows agents who will bring those proud powers down.
Welcome: Zechariah 1: A Call to Repentance
5 minIntroduce “A Call to Repentance”, “The Vision of the Horses”, “The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen” and locate Zechariah 1:1–6; Zechariah 1:7–17; Zechariah 1:18–21. God calls people to return to him and to learn from the lasting truth of his words. Invite each learner to name a detail or question they will listen for.
Zechariah 1:1, Zechariah 1:4, Zechariah 1:6
Read and explain the passage
12 minA Call to Repentance (Zechariah 1:1–6): The passage starts by giving a time marker and naming Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, as the prophet who received Yahweh’s word. This introduction shows that the message is not Zechariah’s own idea. It comes as a spoken word from Yahweh to be passed on faithfully.
The Vision of the Horses (Zechariah 1:7–17): The passage starts by locating the message on a specific day and naming Zechariah as the prophet receiving Yahweh’s word. Zechariah then says he had a vision in the night. He sees a man on a red horse among myrtle trees in a ravine, with red, brown and white horses behind him.
The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen (Zechariah 1:18–21): The vision begins simply: Zechariah lifts his eyes and sees four horns. The text does not first explain what a horn is meant to represent, so the reader waits for the interpretation. In this passage, the meaning comes through Zechariah’s question and the angel’s answer.
Read the selected verses together, pausing at “A Call to Repentance”, “The Vision of the Horses”, “The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen”. Use the source reading below and check the explanation against the words of the passage.
Zechariah 1:1, Zechariah 1:7, Zechariah 1:8, Zechariah 1:18, Zechariah 1:19
Discuss the details and their meaning
8 minUse the three questions below. Begin with “What command sits at the centre of this passage, and what matching promise comes with it?” and allow time to find the supporting verses. This vision shows that the powers which scattered Judah are known by Yahweh, and that Yahweh also shows agents who will bring those proud powers down. Ask learners to explain which details support their answer and to identify a question they would like to explore further.
Zechariah 1:3, Zechariah 1:11, Zechariah 1:12, Zechariah 1:21
Make and respond: Vision and message evidence map
12 minWork on “Zechariah 1: A Call to Repentance: Vision and message evidence map”. Follow the materials and steps below, using “A Call to Repentance”, “The Vision of the Horses”, “The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen” as reading headings. Each learner should include at least two accurate details and their verse references. Share one observation from the finished sheet and explain how it connects with the central teaching.
Zechariah 1:1, Zechariah 1:11, Zechariah 1:21
Closing: return to The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen
3 minRevisit Zechariah 1:18–21. Invite a learner to summarise what the group has learned about The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen and another to support the summary with a verse. Give learners a moment to complete their response sheet. They can share a question or, if appropriate for the group, join the optional prayer.
Zechariah 1:18, Zechariah 1:20, Zechariah 1:21
Questions to explore
What command sits at the centre of this passage, and what matching promise comes with it?
Look closely at the repeated words in Zechariah 1:3 and notice how the promise answers the command.
Zechariah 1:3
What report do the horses bring, and what concern does that lead to?
Compare the statement that the earth is at rest and in peace with the angel’s question about mercy for Jerusalem and Judah.
Zechariah 1:11, Zechariah 1:12
What are the craftsmen coming to do, and who are they acting against?
Read the angel’s final explanation carefully and list both actions and the target of those actions.
Zechariah 1:21
Make, think or respond
Zechariah 1: A Call to Repentance: Vision and message evidence map
What you’ll need
- plain paper or card
- pencils or pens
- a Bible or the source reading on this page
Try it together
- Fold a sheet into three panels or draw three columns. Label them “What the passage describes”, “What is explained in the text”, “What question remains”.
- Read Zechariah 1:1–6; Zechariah 1:7–17; Zechariah 1:18–21. Use “A Call to Repentance”, “The Vision of the Horses”, “The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen” as your reading headings and add a short quotation or detail with its verse reference to each panel.
- Compare your notes with a partner. Check that every quotation is accurate and every conclusion has support in the passage.
- Circle an explanation the passage itself provides. Leave unexplained details as questions for further reading.
The finished sheet keeps the details of Zechariah 1: A Call to Repentance connected to their Bible references and gives the group a way to explain what they noticed.
Adapt for your group
- For learners who need more support, prepare the reading headings “A Call to Repentance”, “The Vision of the Horses”, “The Vision of the Horns and the Craftsmen” and let them match short quotations to the correct heading.
- For confident readers, compare two sections of Zechariah 1:1–6; Zechariah 1:7–17; Zechariah 1:18–21. Ask for a written explanation with two supporting references and one question that the text leaves open.
An optional closing prayer
“God, help us listen carefully as we read Zechariah 1:1–6; Zechariah 1:7–17; Zechariah 1:18–21. Help us understand what we have read, ask thoughtful questions and respond with care for others. Amen.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
Zechariah 1
1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came to the prophet Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,
2 “Yahweh was very displeased with your fathers.
3 Therefore tell them, Yahweh of Armies says: ‘Return to me,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘and I will return to you,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
4 Don’t you be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying: Yahweh of Armies says, ‘Return now from your evil ways and from your evil doings;’ but they didn’t hear nor listen to me, says Yahweh.
5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 But my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, didn’t they overtake your fathers? “Then they repented and said, ‘Just as Yahweh of Armies determined to do to us, according to our ways and according to our practices, so he has dealt with us.’ ”
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, Yahweh’s word came to the prophet Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,
8 “I had a vision in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in a ravine; and behind him there were red, brown, and white horses.
9 Then I asked, ‘My lord, what are these?’ ” The angel who talked with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
10 The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, “They are the ones Yahweh has sent to go back and forth through the earth.”
11 They reported to Yahweh’s angel who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked back and forth through the earth, and behold, all the earth is at rest and in peace.”
12 Then Yahweh’s angel replied, “O Yahweh of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?”
13 Yahweh answered the angel who talked with me with kind and comforting words.
14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15 I am very angry with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, but they added to the calamity.”
16 Therefore Yahweh says: “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,” says Yahweh of Armies, “and a line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.” ’
17 “Proclaim further, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies says: “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and Yahweh will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem.” ’ ”
18 I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns.
19 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Yahweh showed me four craftsmen.
21 Then I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns which scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head; but these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.