Zechariah 1:7-177Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. 9Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these be. 10And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. 11And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. 12Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? 13And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. 14So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. 15And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. 16Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. 17Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7‑17)
The prophet sees a man riding on a red horse, and behind him were red, speckled, and white horses. A horse in Scripture is the symbol of divine energy of government on the earth. Behind all man's scheming, and Satan's malevolence, God is surely evolving His own plan and will.
Seeing that already the Babylonian Empire had passed away, we find symbolized in these three sets of riderless horses the three world-empires—Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman.
The fact of the man riding the red horse—that is to say, the horse is not riderless, but controlled—and the color of the first set of horses being also red, may point to the very distinct way in which God used the second Empire to do His will in making its rulers favorable to His people.
The prophet asks what these horses mean, and he is told, “These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth,” whereupon they report that they have done so, and the whole earth sits still and is at rest.
Remember everything is looked at from the standpoint of God's ancient people. The fact is, the nations into whose hands God has committed the government of the world are content to see God's people scattered and their land despoiled. They use their power, not in relation to God or intelligently as doing His purpose, but for their own lust, power, and ease.
The horses being riderless shows that the governments think they are doing their own unbridled will, but behind them, and unconsciously to the governments, God is carrying out His own purpose, and using them in its fulfillment.
The prophet is thus moved to inquire how long God will delay having mercy on His people, seeing the indignation has lasted seventy years. The answer comes in good and comfortable words, and in the prophet being given a second vision.