Zechariah 6:1 - Meaning and Application

The prophet was quick to receive this vision. As if he was expecting it, he turned, lifted up his eyes, and looked. Even though this was the seventh vision he had seen, he did not think he had seen enough, because the more we truly know God and his will, the more we should want to know him better.

Here he saw four chariots with horses of different colors, and then the meaning of the vision is explained in Zechariah 6:1-5. He did not have to look long before he saw something worth noticing, something that would greatly encourage him and his friends in that dark time. We are still not completely sure what the vision means. Some think the four chariots stand for the four world empires, and they read Zechariah 6:5 as “the four winds of heaven,” connecting it with Daniel 7:2, where Daniel saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, a picture of the four empires.

On that reading, the Babylonian empire is pictured by the red horses, which are not mentioned again because that empire had already ended. The second chariot, with black horses, would be the Persian empire, which moved north against Babylon and calmed God’s anger in the north country by judging Babylon and freeing the Jews from captivity. The white horses would then picture the Greeks, who came after and conquered the Persians in the north. The grizzled horses would be the Romans, who conquered the Greek empire, and are said to go toward the south because Egypt, south of Judea, was the last part of the Greek empire they subdued. The bay horses, which had been with the grizzled ones and then went out by themselves, are taken by some to mean the Goths and Vandals, or the Seleucid and Ptolemaic branches of the Greek empire. That is how Grotius and others explain it.

I am more inclined to understand the vision in a broader way, as showing how God governs this lower world through his providence, that is, his wise and powerful care over all events. Angels are often called God’s chariots, as in (Psalm 68:17) and (Psalm 18:10). In the book of Revelation, different colored horses are used to picture different providences of God toward nations and churches (Revelation 6:2, Revelation 6:4, Revelation 6:5, Revelation 6:8). Here we can notice several things.

First, God’s plans and decrees are the source of every event, and they are fixed and unmovable, like mountains of bronze. The chariots came out from between two mountains, because God carries out what he has already planned for us. His appointments are the originals, and what happens in history is only their copy. He does all things according to the counsel of his will. We could grasp mountains in our arms as easily as fully understand God’s plans in our limited minds, and we could move bronze mountains as easily as change any of God’s purposes. He is one in mind, and who can turn him? Whatever God’s providence brings to us, in public life or private life, we should see it as coming from between the mountains of bronze. Then we will see how foolish it is to argue with it, and how right it is to accept it. No one may rightly say to God, “What are you doing?” or “Why do you do that?” (Acts 2:23; Acts 4:28).

Second, God carries out his decrees through the works of providence, which are like chariots. He rides in them as a prince rides openly to show his glory to the world. He also rides in them like a conqueror in war, defeating all enemies of his glory and rule. God is great and awesome in his works (Psalm 66:3), and through them we see the goings of our God, our King (Psalm 68:24). His providences move quickly and powerfully, like chariots, but they are all guided by his perfect wisdom and sovereign will, just as chariots are guided by their drivers.

Third, the holy angels are the servants of God’s providence. He uses them, as armies from heaven, to carry out his purposes among the people of the earth. They are the chariots, or the horses that draw the chariots, strong in power and might. Like the horse God describes in Job 39:19 and following, they are covered with thunder, awe-inspiring, yet never frightened themselves. They are chariots of fire and horses of fire, like those that carried one prophet to heaven and guarded another on earth. They are as ready to do God’s will as well-trained horses are to obey their rider or driver. God does not need them, but he is pleased to use them, both to honor them and to strengthen our trust in his providence.

Fourth, the events of providence look different at different times, and the face of history often changes. The horses in the first chariot were red, which points to war and bloodshed, even blood reaching the horse bridles (Revelation 14:20). The second chariot had black horses, pointing to the dark and sorrowful effects of war. War brings mourning, ruins land, and leads to famine, disease, and devastation, making whole nations waste away. The third chariot had white horses, pointing to comfort, peace, and prosperity returning after dark times. Though God brings sorrow on people, he also has compassion. The fourth chariot had horses of mixed color, grizzled and bay, speckled and ash-colored, showing events of different kinds mixed together, with prosperity and trouble set side by side. The cup of providence in the Lord’s hand is full of mixture (Psalm 75:8).

Fifth, all the instruments of providence, and all its events, come from God, and they receive their orders from him (Zechariah 6:5). “These are the four spirits of heaven,” or, as some translate it, “the four winds.” The winds seem to blow wherever they choose, from different directions, but God holds them in his hand and brings them out from his storehouses. More likely, these are the angels who stand before the Lord of all the earth. They attend him, minister to him, see his glory in heaven, which is their joy, and serve his glory on earth, which is their work. They stand before him as Lord of the whole earth to receive his commands and to give him an account of their service, for the whole earth is under his rule. Then, when he sends them, they go out as messengers of his purposes and servants of his justice and mercy. Some think even those secret movements and stirrings in human hearts, by which God’s plans are carried forward, are these four spirits of heaven, sent out by God to fulfill what he appoints, since he is the God of the spirits of all flesh.

There is a beautiful balance in providence, God’s wise rule over events, and one event often answers another (Zechariah 6:6). The black horses went out, carrying dark and sad events that made everything seem gloomy. But soon the white horses followed after them, bringing joy to those who mourned and, by a new turn in affairs, making things bright again.

That is how God often deals with his church and his people. If the black horses go out first, the white ones soon follow. When trouble increases, comfort increases even more. God does not leave his people under sorrow forever.

The general pattern of providence is also mixed and complex. The grizzled and bay horses were both in the fourth chariot (Zechariah 6:3), and though they first went toward the south country, they later went to and fro through the earth, as they were directed to do (Zechariah 6:7). If we look closely at life, we find that God’s acts are not all dark or all bright, but a mixture of both.

That is the world we live in. The world ahead of us is not mixed in that way. Here, mercy and judgment come together, and we must praise God for both (Psalm 101:1). We should fit ourselves to God’s will and purpose in these mixed dealings, rejoicing in our comforts as if we were not overjoyed, because they are not without sorrow, and weeping for our troubles as if we did not fully weep, because so much mercy is mixed with them.

God is pleased with all the workings of his own providence (Zechariah 6:8). “These have given me rest,” he says, speaking of the black horses, which stand for severe judgments, and the white ones, which stand for great deliverances. Both went toward the north country, while the mixed providences went through the whole world.

These have quieted my spirit in the north country, which had lately been the main place where God was acting for his church. By these unusual displays of providence, God carried out his anger against the church’s enemies and gave favor to his church. Both had long been delayed. In both, God did his will, kept his word, and so was satisfied and at rest. The Lord is pleased for his righteousness’ sake, and, as he says in Isaiah 1:24, he is made at ease.