Zechariah 1:18-21--A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen

Zechariah 1:18-21
English Standard Version

A Vision of Horns and Craftsmen
18  And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! 19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.”

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Horns are associated with strength, and in this case they are strong kingdoms or empires that have scattered the people of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem.  Unlike the book of Daniel, we don't get the names of these nations, but it would make sense that they are Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, and Medo-Persia.  They are the four "super-powers" at the time that have been harassing the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah and Jerusalem specifically.

After seeing the four horns, the LORD showed the prophet four craftsmen.  The craftsmen were given power to terrify these four superpowers and overthrow them and take take away their power.  All those who sought to destroy Israel and Judah and Jerusalem would themselves be destroyed.  God Himself would be behind the defeat of these enemies, but He is again going to use other nations He raises up to do so (the Greeks and the four kingdoms the Greek empire split into after the death of Alexander the Great, and the Romans, and other, but none of them offered perfect peace and relief like we hope for here).  Ultimately the Lord Himself will defeat all of the enemies of His people when He puts an end to all the wickedness and rebellion of this world and restores all things to their condition of being "very good."  We look forward to that day.