Zechariah 6-9

“Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor” (7:9). The prophet Zechariah reminded the people that God did not want their false fasting or empty worship (7:5). They had been given a second chance in Judah; he urged them not to repeat the rebellion that had “made the pleasant land desolate” (7:14). Instead, God’s rule called for “true justice” and mercy. One day, the real King would come, surprisingly, “lowly and riding on a donkey” (9:9).

This lowly King will “proclaim peace to the nations” (9:9-10). Anyone who turns their back on sin and humbly receives him – Jew and Gentile both – will share in that peace.