Come Back to the Lord and Build - ZECHARIAH STARTS
God constantly calls His people to Himself. The prophet Haggai called on people to restore the Temple so that proper worship might once again live in the land. As he did this, the prophet Zechariah called the people back to whole-hearted devotion to the Lord. Zechariah 1:1–3 (ESV) In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, 2 “The LORD was very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore, say to them, Thus declares the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Yes, God sent them away in His anger over their sin. But the exile was a temporary discipline to destroy idolatry in their hearts and ultimately bring them back to Himself, rightly restored to a proper relationship. Zechariah 1:4 (ESV) Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets cried out, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, Return from your evil ways ...