work began to wane. For fourteen years, the temple work was neglected, which is another way of saying that God was neglected. Sadly enough, Zechariah’s people were not kindly disposed to the message of repentance. Sinful people never are so disposed apart from the grace of God! They needed a history lesson, and the prophet was ready to supply it. It has often been pointed out that those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it. That is Zechariah’s message in this passage. In particular,