365 Reflections

God has promised to do good to Israel once again in Zechariah 8. In fact, He promised to do them good just as passionately as He promised to discipline them for their sin.  Zechariah 8:14–15 (ESV) For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. And when they are restored, they are to live with hearts of compassion, honesty and justice toward one another.  Zechariah 8:16–17 (ESV) These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD.” Another thing God does in this chapter is promise to turn the years of fasting for their redemption out of exile into times...

God's love works in two ways. First, He loves His people with a perfect love filled with care, provision, protection, and abundance. Love is expressed in this way throughout His dealings with Israel in history. He saved them from Egypt and brought them out with great abundance. He protected and provided for them in the wilderness and gave them the land that flowed with milk and honey.  Second, God's love will also bring divine correction, serious discipline, and great wrath against the sinfulness of His people. He sent them into exile, He took away their abundance, their temple, their nationhood, their land, and in LOVE disciplined them far away in foreign lands.  Zechariah 8 declares that God, who has done those things in the past, will come again to live with His people in the restored city. But He is still the God of jealous love and wrath for the people He has chosen.  Zechariah 8:2–3 (ESV) “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I...

Zechariah 7 is two years into the prophet's ministry. He has seen the visions and now he will proclaim God's Word, interpreting them for the people of Israel and us.  Zechariah 7:1–3 (ESV) In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD, 3 saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” The chapter begins with people from Bethel seeking the Lord's favor and asking the priests about fasting. You can understand why they sought these answers. Their nation was in a desperate place, recently returned from exile, and as the Temple would be rebuilt, they wondered about what sort of religious practices they should follow. The natural heart of man tends toward rebellion OR self-righteousne...

Zechariah 6:1–3 (ESV) Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, 3 the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. The seventh vision of Zechariah details a new day for the postexilic community, restored to the land and rebuilding the Temple. The image of chariots symbolizes that of warfare. The two mountains are a picture of the gateway of heaven. God is sending His army throughout the earth to trouble the nations that troubled Israel. History tells us that Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians, the Persians by the Greeks, and the Greeks by the Romans.  Zechariah 6:4–7 (ESV) Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before t...

Zechariah 5:1-2 (ESV) Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” It is important that we remember Zechariah's ultimate theme. God is restoring the spiritual life of His people after the long exile concludes, and they rebuild in the land. Each vision builds upon the movements of God's grace at work in the returned community. Here, the image of a flying scroll points both to God's immediate work among them and the Lord Jesus coming centuries later.  The size of the scroll is telling. It is the same size as the Holy Place within the Temple.  In the scroll, we see a picture of God's cleansing from sin. The nation is corrupt. In verses 3 and 4, we find the corruption dwelling within her.  Zechariah 5:3-4 (ESV)  Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shal...

Zechariah 4 opens with another vision for the prophet.  Zechariah 4:1–3 (ESV) And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3 And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” Zechariah awakens, but there is no mention of his sleep. What a picture of our need for God's voice to stir our hearts towards things above. For in this world, even while we are awake, we can sleep on spiritual experiences.  Zechariah 4:4 (ESV) And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” Zechariah doesn't just receive this strange vision; he inquires about it. This is what it means to be awake. But the angel's answer belies the fact that awakening to God's truth requ...