Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

Early in today’s passage it tells us that God says, “Return to me and I will return to you.”  Then at the end it says about the good things it prophesies, “This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.”  The passage contains prophesies about what the leaders of the Exiles who returned to Jerusalem, especially about their two leaders.  It also contains imagery which influenced the imagery which John used in the Book of Revelation.  Some of the prophesies concerning Zerubbabel, the governor of Jerusalem, and Joshua, the high priest, are also prophecies concerning Jesus.  God tells us that He had set a “stone” in front of Joshua through which (it is actually a little more complicated than that) He would the sin of the land in a single day.  Zechariah also speaks of the “capstone” (or, perhaps plumb line, as the translator’s notes mention) which will finish God’s temple.  I believe that this partially refers to the rebuilding of the temple by the Returned Exiles, but it also refers to Jesus, who is the capstone of the Temple God is building which is the Church.  Jesus is both the capstone of the Church and the plumbline by which each of us is measured to see how God’s Spirit needs to align us to bring glory to God in His Temple, which is the Church.  Let us return to God and diligently obey Him, and allow His Spirit to align us into the structure of His Church which brings glory and honor to God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

There is a line early in this passage that I think is worth thinking about.  God says the following, “I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.” The context suggests that God sent nations to punish Israel and Judah. but that those nations went above and beyond in bringing suffering upon those people.  Zechariah’s vision goes on to show him craftsmen coming from God to throw down and terrify the four nations which scattered the people of Israel and Judah.  Which is interesting because I am not sure to what four nations the prophecy is referring.  I would think that two of them would be Assyria and Babylon, perhaps Egypt would be a third, but I have no ideas for a fourth.  I did come across someone who suggested that it was four nations against whom Ezekiel prophesied who were destroyed by the Persians.  Those four would be: Ammon (Ezekiel 25:1-7), Moab (Ezekiel 25:8-11), Edom (Ezekiel 25:12-14), and Philistia (Ezekiel 25:15-17).  I find this suggestion fascinating, but I am not sure about it.

However, I want to combine Zechariah’s visions about the high priest Joshua and the governor Zerubbabel to look at the message I see in them today.  The vision concerning Joshua begins with the Accuser, Satan, accusing him before God, but God rebukes the Accuser.  God takes away Joshua’s sin and dresses him in righteousness.  God does the same for us before all who will accuse us, the most important of those accusers being ourselves.  God rebukes those who accuse us of sin, not because we do not sin, but because He has taken that sin from us.  All He asks of us is that we walk in obedience to Him going forward.  Which brings me to the vision concerning Zerubbabel.  In that vision, God tells Zerubbabel that it is not by might or power that Zerubbabel will do God’s will, but by God’s Spirit.  In the same way, we will not do God’s will by might or power, but by God’s Spirit.  So, God has taken our sins from us and dressed us in His righteousness, let us not start relying on might and power to overcome sin.  Instead, let us rely on God’s Spirit.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

I see a lot I could write about in today’s passage, but there are two quotes which God gave to the prophet I want to focus on.

‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’

and

‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

The first of these quotes addresses how we should respond when we feel cut off from God.  The second reminds us of how we carry out the missions God gives us.  For me this means that when I look at society around me and see how far it is from God, I must return to God and pray that He returns to those around me, drawing them unto Him.  I will not transform society around me, or even myself, by my strength, my power, or even my wealth (not even should I miraculously acquire the wealth of Elon Musk).  I will not transform society around me by teaming up with others and pooling our strength, power, and wealth.  Transformation of our society will only happen by the Spirit of God.  Transformation of individuals will only happen by the Spirit of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

The first thing I want to comment on is this phrase which Zechariah writes that the Lord said, “I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.”  This suggests to me that when God chooses a nation to punish His people, sometimes that nation goes beyond what God intended.  I want to note that in this context “His people” means the people of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, but this message may also apply to Christians (I do not know that such is the case, but I believe that many Old Testament prophecies concerning the people of Israel also have application to Christians).  As an example, one my father actually suggested to me many years ago, God may have allowed the Nazis to come to power in Germany in order to punish the Jewish people in Europe, but the Holocaust was them going far beyond the punishment God intended.  The Holocaust was evil which impacted more than the Jewish people, but it did result in the establishment of the modern state of Israel.  Even if God allowed the Nazis to rise to power in order to punish the Jewish people (something I am not convinced is the case), it does not mean that the Jewish people are to blame for the Holocaust.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 1-6.

Zechariah begins by reminding the people of how their ancestors sin had led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people.  He then tells them that restoration took place when those same ancestors repented of their sins and accepted the punishment which God had meted out to them.  God had scattered the people if Israel to all parts of the earth.  Now He was calling them back to gather in Jerusalem once more.  But as part of this, God will be calling people of many nations to become part of His people.

Zechariah proceeds to give a message for both the High Priest and the Governor over the Returned Exiles in Jerusalem, a separate message for each, both of these message have relevance for us today.  Zechariah’s message to Joshua, the High Priest, was that Satan would accuse him before God of sin.  The accusation would have merit, but God would strip him (Joshua) of his sin and dress him in righteousness. It is only after cleansing him of his sin and dressing him in robes of righteousness that God asks Joshua to walk according to His requirements.  Something similar happens to us.  Satan, the adversary, brings us before God and accuses us of the sins which we have committed.  Often times, he is that little voice in our head which tells us that we are no good and worthless.  God neither dismisses our sins as meaningless, nor does He pretend they do not exist.  Instead, He removes them from us and washes away the filth they have placed upon our bodies and souls.  Then He dresses us in the finest clothes of righteous behavior and tells us, “Look, this is what you were made to be.”

Which brings us to Zechariah’s message to Zerubbabel, the governor.  God has given Zerubbabel a difficult task, to rebuild His Temple.  Zechariah tells Zerubbabel that he will not accomplish this task by might, nor by power.  No, he will only accomplish the tasks he has been set by the Spirit of the Living God.  In the same way, we will only live up to the beauty and righteousness of which God has shown us to be capable by His Spirit.  We will not do so by our strength, nor by our will, but only by the Spirit of the Lord.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 1-6

Zechariah tells us that God is going to come to live among us.  On that day, people of many nations will choose to join themselves to the Lord and God will add them to His people.  Further Zechariah tells us that God’s Kingdom will not be brought about by force, nor by strength.  God’s Kingdom will be brought into existence by God’s Spirit.  We see what God meant by that in Jesus’ birth.  When God came to live among us, He did not arrive as a powerful king, or mighty warrior.  He arrived as a baby, in a manger.  He was here among us, taught us His will, and achieved His great triumph.  But once again, His triumph was not one of a mighty general, a great Emperor, or even a wealthy business magnate.  His triumph came by dying on the cross.  The world is not transformed for the better by “punching a Nazi”.  The world is transformed when we channel God’s Spirit and love a “Nazi”, whatever other name you have for the ultimate evil in mankind.  Put your faith in God and love those whom you believe to be evil, knowing in your heart that God’s Spirit is able to transform them into good.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.  

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 1-6

This passage contains two sections which influenced, and are often connected with, the description of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation.  At one point Zechariah has a vision of a man on a red horse with other riders on horses of various colors behind him.  The number of riders is not mentioned, but one could easily read it to indicate a total of four riders (I think the passage suggests a larger number than that).  Then later Zechariah has a vision of four chariots, each pulled by horses of separate color from the others.  Both the horsemen and the chariot riders were sent out to patrol the earth.

Zechariah puts most of his focus on showing how God has blessed the two men most responsible for rebuilding the Temple after the Exile: Jeshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor of Jerusalem.  These two men were blessed because they strove to do God’s will in rebuilding the Temple and to lead others to be faithful to God.  We can learn a lot from what Zechariah says about these two men.  God took away the dirty rags of Jeshua’s sins and dressed him in robes of righteousness.  Jeshua did not make or buy these robes, they were given to him by God.  The same is true for us.  Any righteousness we may have is not our own doing, but a gift from God.  Zerubbabel did not succeed by might or power.  He rebuilt the Temple by the Spirit of God.  We, also, will not accomplish the tasks God has given us by our power, might, or skill.  We will only do so as we allow God’s Spirit to work in us.