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When Blessings Go Unnoticed - MALACHI START

The prophet Malachi is listed last in the Old Testament because his ministry occurred at the end of Israel’s long, millennia-old journey with God under the terms of the former Covenant. Although they have long since returned and rebuilt the temple and city of Jerusalem, they have yet to experience the blessings of the messianic age. Consequently, the people’s spiritual vitality deteriorates. They are in a stagnant and stagnant relationship with God, and the worst part is that they don’t even realize it.  Malachi 1:1 (ESV) The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. The word “oracle” here signifies a sense of burden. I find it fascinating to contemplate the thought of speaking on behalf of God. He doesn’t merely bestow words upon His servants; instead, He shares His burdens with them, and they are compelled to speak. One of the prayers I consistently offer during my sermons is that God may fill my heart with a burden that I must convey for His purposes. You know you’ve...
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The End We All Hope For

Zechariah 14:1–2 (ESV) Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. The last chapter of Zechariah begins on a dark note. Jerusalem will be utterly destroyed and exiled once again. History repeats.  Now, as to the question of what timeframe Zechariah 12-14 refers to, we come to the verse that seems to suggest the second coming in the strongest sense: Zechariah 14:4 (ESV)  On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. You could take this figuratively. As in, when Christ c...
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True Church, True Prophets

Zechariah 13:1 (ESV) “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. The question Biblical scholars struggle with in Zechariah is whether the "on that day" prophesies are referring to Christ's first coming, in which He dies for our sins and the Jews grieve over Him as their only son, or does it point to a future return of the Lord as the day of atonement is cosmically fulfilled and sin is utterly washed from the land?  Whatever side you land on, the good news is that both can be true. And prophecies often have a dual fulfillment in scripture. But we learn about the Lord's plan for us in these texts, both in Christ's first coming and in His second.  First, He seeks to cleanse us from sin. Sin putrefies our lives. It's filthy, and we know it. Even when we struggle to obey, we understand the immediate mental consequence of darkening our heart and mind in sin.  But se...
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Israel's Future

When we think about the way in which God reveals Himself in scripture, from page one in creation through the rest, it is always an emphasis on His grand creation and on intimate fellowship with man as the pinnacle of that creation. Zechariah 12 opens in the same way.  Zechariah 12:1 (ESV) The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: He is both the creator of the universe AND the God who made even our breath to reside within us. He "fills all in all" as Paul writes in Ephesians 1:23.  Now of all the places in God's mind to dwell with man, both in history and to this day, Jerusalem continues to be the centerpiece of His cosmic calendar. Zechariah 12 describes both God's protection for His people as they are under assault from foreigners and the very crucifixion of their own son, and God's, Jesus Christ. Zechariah 12:2–3 (ESV) “Behold, I am ...
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Dividing Shepherd

Zechariah 11 is a metaphorical chapter wherein the prophet is called upon by the Lord to play the Lord's part in Israel's history.  Zechariah 11:4 (ESV)  Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.  The Lord tells the prophet to become the nation's shepherd. Zechariah 11 continues by reminding the nation that the Lord had bought them from the hands of those who abused and exploited them. Zechariah 11:5–6 (ESV)  Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,’ and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” Zechariah is, then a picture of the Lord's saving grace upon Israel.  Zechariah 11:7 (ESV...
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Strong Shepherd, Strong Church

Zechariah is a book about restoration. Restoration comes to God's people when they remember who made them and who alone can restore them to what they were made for. Only too often, the people of God are weakened by sin and immorality. It is God alone who can redeem them and repurpose them for powerful living in the World.  Zechariah 10:1–2 (ESV) Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field. 2 For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. Zechariah makes a simple appeal to the people. Ask the Lord for rain when it's supposed to rain. Instead of the "household gods" the people made with their hands and bowed down to, Zechariah appeals to the nation to return to the God who is in charge of...
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Gentle King

The prophecy of Jesus' arrival in the city of Jerusalem is situated in a chapter you'd not expect. Zechariah 9 is the announcement that Israel's king comes not on a warhorse but on a donkey. It's quoted on Palm Sunday almost every year in every Church. It signifies that Christ came not to kill and condemn but to be killed and save.  Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. That verse we recognize from Matthew's and John's Gospels. But in the context of Zechariah 9, it is most unexpected. The chapter is very similar to Amos 1-2, in which God delivers words of prophetic doom to the nations that persecuted His people during their exile.  Zechariah 9:1–4 (ESV) The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the LORD has...
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