I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Zechariah prophesies the fall and destruction of all of Israel’s neighbors. Their destruction will be so devastating that those who survive will turn to God and join with the Israelites in worshiping Him. At the same time, God will send a King to bring peace to Israel and the world. This King will not bring peace through might and power, instead He will bring peace through humility and service. The King will come, not as a ruler, but as a servant leader. He will do away with weapons and armies. God’s people will be victorious as they follow the King He has given them, not through military might, but through serving and relying on God.
Next in John’s vision was the image of a woman sitting on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. John is told that the woman is a prostitute who rules over much of the earth. The rulers of the world have committed adultery with her and the people of the world have indulged, to the point of drunkenness, in her immorality. The beast upon which she sits will gather the power of many kings and go to war against the Lamb of God, but they will be defeated by the Lamb. Despite the fact that the woman has provided immoral delights to the peoples and rulers she rules over, they will hate her. In the form of the beast, and the rulers who are represented by its heads and horns, the peoples of the world will turn on the prostitute and destroy her.
There is a lot of symbolism in this passage, and I believe it refers to a specific set of events. I am also convinced that there are general messages for us in this passage as well. One general message is that nations and people can come to be dominant in the world through offering trade and things which people desire. Yet if that nation and people do not maintain a godly set of morality, the peoples they dominate will hate them and turn on them at the first opportunity, even if that means yielding authority and power to those who are blatantly evil, those who are obviously a beast. The only path to peaceful victory is to follow the Lamb’s example of servant leadership.
The psalmist reminds us that each generation must tell the next of God’s mighty acts and wondrous deeds. I will meditate on God’s majesty and splendor, but I will not stop there. I will go from meditating on God’s greatness to proclaiming it to those I meet. God keeps His promises and helps those bent beneath their loads. He will keep close to those who call on Him and satisfy the desires of those who fear Him. He protects those who love Him but destroys the wicked. I will praise the Lord and call on everyone to bless His Holy name.
If you have boasted of your greatness or plotted evil, now is the time to recognize your error and change your ways. Do not continue to boast, or follow through on your plots. Otherwise, you will suffer for your actions.