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Chapter 1: First and Second Visions

1. Zechariah first sees a man riding a red horse among the myrtle trees.
Myrtle trees are evergreen, In Nehemiah 8:15 they are associated with the Feast of Tabernacles, for making booths. Isaiah 41.19 and 55.13 speaks of them as among the blessing of the messianic kingdom. There were myrtle trees at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in the lowest part of the Kidron valley.

The Feast of Tabernacles, or booths, was one of the major feasts and
lasted one week, starting in middle of October, five days after the Day of
Atonement. It was called Booths because they were supposed to make shelters out of boughs and live in them for that time, in memory of their years of wandering. It seems not to have been much observed before the exile, but after the exile it became a popular occasion and Jews from other lands might come to take part. Following Leviticus 23.40, as interpreted by the Pharisees, they carried in their right hand a lulab, a bundle of myrtle and willow twigs, and a citron in their left hands as they made their way to Jerusalem. 

The first horseman is addressed by Zechariah as my Lord. In v. 11 he is
called the angel of the Lord. This is the interpreting angel, who is to
explain the symbolism. Behind are three other horses, red, brown and white. The interpreting angel says the Lord has sent them to look over the earth. In the Persian empire - Judah is now part of that empire - the King used messengers to report on conditions in his vast empire. The three horsemen report they have found the whole world at rest and in peace. But Judah is not comfortable, so the interpreting angel asks God: How long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem? You have been angry for seventy years now - the time of the exile, from which the people have just returned.

So, the interpreting angel, after hearing comforting words from the
Lord, told Zechariah that he should say the Lord is really jealous for
Jerusalem. Jealousy is qinah, and does not have the meaning of English envy, but of the attitude of a lover intensely concerned over his beloved.

The Lord says He has been angry with the secure nations: He had been
only a little angry, but they made His anger worse by their conduct. But He will return to Jerusalem, and temple will be rebuilt, and the towns will
overflow with prosperity. 

The second vision pictured four horns, which had scattered Judah, Israel
and Jerusalem. A horn in Scripture often stands for power, victory and glory. According to some commentators, the horns could stand for the kingdoms of Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. But others, much more likely, would see them as Assyria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Medo-Persia. This second set seems more likely, since at this time Greece and the Romans had not yet struck Judah. 

But then Zechariah saw four craftsmen. The interpreting angel explained
they came to throw down the horns of the nations that opposed Judah.