Zechariah 1:12 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long?’ The horsemen have come back, and the angel of the LORD takes up the deep concerns which the people would certainly have if they had heard their report. Judah is aware of something of the state of the nations around, but this report represents the full knowledge of God about the situation. So here is someone who represents the anxieties and concerns of God’s people and presents them to God in the form of intercession. This is Christ who is indicated here, before his incarnation: he is interceding for his people as he does in New Testament times. Of course he is equal to the Father, but you see him here interceding on our behalf, on behalf of the church of that time: ‘O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah?’ They have had indignation and punishment threescore years and ten; when will it end, and the remnant who have returned be free to forge ahead and build unmolested? Their return to Jerusalem is by the will of God, and indicates that he has not utterly forsaken them in spite of his anger in allowing the exile. Now he has looked with mercy upon them, and they are back in Jerusalem, but the nations around, their traditional enemies, are still hostile towards them and threatening the work. The angel of the LORD knows their concerns and expresses them to God on their behalf.