Zechariah Lesson Plan (B9-L03) – Sunday School Resources

Warm-up / Opening activity

Ask the students to share:

Have you ever tried to encourage a small kid to do something they considered scary? Or do something they didn’t want to, but needed to? (ie. ride a bike with no training wheels, take medicine, dive off a diving board, etc…)

What were some ways you used to convince them?

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Lesson Time

Zechariah Historical Context

Contemporary of Haggai
People coming back from Babylonian Exile
- Rebuild the Temple!
- Opposition from others in Israel (people who had lived there while they were the exiles)
  - The Samaritans
2 Leaders:
- Zerubbabel == Governor / Leader
- Jeshua / Joshua == High Priest (but note – temple not there yet!)

Zechariah Book Outline

In the book of Zechariah, we hear God’s message to his people to return to Israel and rebuild the temple and worship. There are many encouragements, promises, and rebukes.
Book Outline
- Part 1
  - Call the return / repent
  - 8 Visions –> main point come back and rebuild the temple
  - Message about true worship/fasting
  - Promise of the future
- Part 2
  - Prophecies about the Messiah ( Jesus! )

Zechariah’s 8 Visions

The book only briefly mentions the names of them – and those are not that clear. Here we take some time to go over some of those visions in a little bit more detail.
Vision 1 – Man with the Horses
- Vision:
  - Zechariah sees a man with horses of different colors
  - They have gone out through the world and see the world is at peace/rest
- Message:
  - The world is at rest come and re-build now.
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!
Vision 2 – Four Horns and Four CraftsMen
- Vision:
  - Sees 4 large horns and 4 craftsmen
  - 4 horns = empires / powers that scattered the Israelites
  - 4 craftsmen are there to disperse the horns
- Message:
  - Comfort from God that He would defeat Israel’s enemies
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!
Vision 3 – Surveyor with a Measuring Line
- Group Activity
  - Read this together Zech 2:1-10
  - Ask the kids –
    - What is the Vision?
    - What do the Angels do?
- Vision:
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- Message:
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- Imagery:
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Vision 4 – New Clothes for Jeshua/Joshua
- Vision:
  - Joshua on trial with Satan accusing
  - God takes away the filthy clothes and puts new clothes on him
  - Ultimate high priest coming
- Message:
  - Cleansing of sin
  - Restoration of “priestly” nation
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!
Vision 5 – Lampstand & 2 Olive aTrees
- Vision:
  - Sees a golden lampstand being fed by 2 olive trees
- Message:
  - Trees are symbolic of Zerubbabel (kingly leadership) and Jeshua (priestly leadership)
  - Lampstand can be temple or Church or Christ
    - Supported by king and priest
    - Christ is both king and priest!
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!
Vision 6 – Flying Scroll (aka Flying Sickle)
- Book calls this “Flying roll”.
- Some Bible’s may say “Sickle” instead of scroll. Sickle and scroll – similar Hebrew words.
- Vision:
  - Sees a large scroll written on both sides flying over the land
  - Written on it are those who disobeyed the law
- Message:
  - Judgement on those who disobeyed the law
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!
Vision 7 – Woman in a Basket
- Books calls this Ephah (Ephah is a unit of measure that would fit in a large basket)
- Vision:
  - A basket holding a women – the woman is the “iniquity” throughout the land
  - She is sealed in the basket and carried off to Babylon
- Message:
  - Removing the wickedness from the people
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!
Vision 8 – Four Chariots
- Vision:
  - Sees 4 horses of different color pulling chariots
  - They go over the whole earth and God’s spirit has rest
- Message
  - God’s judgement on the enemies of Israel – and being appeased
- Imagery:
  [msosa_restrictprompt] All Sunday School teachers, administrators, and clergy within the diocese can register!

True Fasting – Group activity

Split into 2-3 groups
As a group read the passage Zechariah 7:1-10
Answer:
- What is going on here?
- What were people asking?
- What was God’s response?
- Come up with one way to apply this passage to our life
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Group Activity – Verse Matching

Before class printout the sheet of Old and New Testament verses listed below and cut them up as individual slips of paper.

During this activity, split the class in to 2-3 teams and have them race to match the Old Testament prophecy from Zechariah to the event in the life of Christ.

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Wrap up = Homework

Give the following as homework – if time possible use as in-class homework.

Extra Resources

Presentation that can optionally be used in class for this lesson plan.

(link to presentation)