We left off in Chapter 5 of the book of Zechariah, where God began to show Zechariah a vision of what is to precede the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The previous oracle revealed that Sin must be removed before God’s Kingdom can truly take hold; both the individual covenant violations of God’s people, and the sin that pervades their land. The metaphor God used to reveal this to Zechariah was that of a “second exile” wherein a woman (representing sin) is shipped off to Babylon, out of the realm of God’s people. In the first half of Zechariah 6, we will see that God is not finished yet. Before he establishes his Kingdom, his Spirit will rest on all corners of the earth.

The Four Chariots (Zechariah 6:1-8)

Zechariah is shown a vision of a heavenly army invading the realm of sin to conquer it in the name of God. He is shown four chariots, pulled by red, black, white, and dappled horses. There is much speculation about the symbolism of these colors, but it is only speculation and, I would argue, not pertinent to the point of the prophecy.

A chariot was essentially an ancient battle tank. These were fast, unstoppable, powerful weapons that dominated the battlefield. They were the pinnacle of military strength. The angel reveals to Zechariah that these represent the “four winds of heaven” (6:5). The Hebrew word ruach (“wind”) is the same word as “spirit” (c.f. Gen. 1:2). As God’s Spirit hovered over the waters of primordial earth, his Spirit is once again on the move. Where in Genesis the Spirit of God was set on creation, in Zechariah, the Spirit of God is bent on re-creation – the once-for-all destruction of sin and the establishment of the Kingdom of God.

The directions in which the horses are sent are significant. Two chariots are sent toward the north country (symbolic of Babylon), and one toward the south (Egypt). These are two of Israel’s greatest historical enemies. God shows Zechariah that he is concentrating his assault – two chariots – on Babylon. Recall that Babylon is where God symbolically banished sin in chapter 5. The final set of horses is sent to patrol the rest of the earth, symbolizing God’s rightful, sovereign reign over creation.

Our God Reigns

Though the vision shown to Zechariah is heavily symbolic, its meaning is, like many prophecies, deceptively simple: the world belongs to God. Where God ceded dominion of the world to humanity in the beginning, humanity turned and ceded dominion to Satan. But Zechariah is confronted with a vision of a new, unstoppable movement of God’s Spirit: Yahweh is a general, sending his forces to take back what is rightfully his.

For post-exile Israel, and for us today, this passage is a wonderful encouragement. Though the world seems hopelessly mired in sin, Yahweh is our mighty, unstoppable, sovereign, Rescuer.