Return: Visions of Zechariah 1-6

A memory of mine became 25 years old the day this illumination was due. I remember sitting in the back of the family mini-van at a Philips 66 when my ears were opened. In the mind of my five-year-old self, I understood that God was beckoning me to join Him, and I took my first step of faith.

It has taken me years to understand the nature of the promise given to the little girl at the gas station. Reading through the visions of Zechariah did not simply reframe my understanding of my young admission of faith, it restructured my faith on God's covenantal love.

"Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 1:3).

What seemed at first to me to be a consumeristic bargain for obedience—"you do this, and I'll do that"—quickly dissolved as I entered into Zechariah's visions. Here I saw a God who was not only capable of keeping His side of the covenant with Israel's forefathers, but this God was also willing to take on the complete work of relational restoration. This inequitable promise simply called God's exiles to return home.

I chose earthy textures as the backdrop to the fantastic imagery of Zechariah's visions. The ceramic tiles reflect on the cyclical condition of humanity ("But they did not hear," Zechariah 1:4). I used scaly texture to allude to the Fall accounted in Genesis.

Zechariah's visions recorded in chapters 1-6 are depicted on the cut wood. I referenced motifs and color from Giotto's paintings in the Scrovegni Chapel (c. 1305). The four visions painted on circle woodcuts: "Vision of the Horseman, Zechariah 1:7-17," "Vision of a Man with a Measuring Line, Zechariah 2," "Vision of a Golden Lampstand: Zechariah 4," and "Visions of a Flying Scroll and Woman in a Basket, Zechariah 5." Both the "Vision of the Four Chariots, Zechariah 6:1-8" and "Vision of Joshua the High Priest, Zechariah 3" are featured on the border woodcuts.

I formed four horns out of clay an placed them at each corner. These contain a dual meaning. As I reflected on the four horns cast down in Zechariah 1:18-21, I recalled the four horns placed on the corners of the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle as a place of restoration.

The final vision in chapter six is depicted on the square panel central to the composition. The vision points to a future priest-king who would set all things right between the returned exiles and the LORD. Here I depicted a crown with the seven-eyed stone symbolizing the removal of iniquity (Zechariah 3:8,9). I likened the silver of the crown to the Temple, and a tree rises out of the crown representing the Messianic King.

In addition to referencing Giotto, I listened to Pastor Timothy Keller's sermons while working in my studio. These teachings, in particular, helped me process the radical call to return found in Zechariah: "A Covenant Relationship," "How to Change," "The Prodigal Sons." The Bible Project's video commentary on the book of Zechariah also aided my comprehension of the visions found in chapters 1-6.