Zechariah’s name means “the Lord has remembered.” Exile, destruction, and devastation have
come to Judah, but Zechariah’s message is not about the past. He is preparing his hearers for
renewal in the future. Through a series of visions and oracles, he describes the transformation of
the Israelites who went into exile as a nation but return in character as a church. They have been
through a lot as a people, but their story is not over. They are not forgotten, and God has a future
planned for the people marked by promise and a renewal of the covenant of their ancestors (8:8).