Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14.

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Today’s passage begins with something which made me question my understanding that Zechariah was writing after the return from Exile.  However, Zechariah does write after the Exile, which leads me to see why the Early Church saw this prophecy as being about Jesus’ coming.  I am not sure I fully understand what Zechariah is saying here.  I would not make the connection between the thirty pieces of silver given to the shepherd in this passage if Matthew had not done so in his Gospel.  The first part of this prophecy which is clear to me is where Zechariah says that the inhabitants of Jerusalem will mourn for the one whom they have pierced.  Jesus is the One whom they have pierced.  And Jesus is the fountain which has been opened to cleanse the inhabitants of Jerusalem from sin and uncleanness.  Jesus is a fountain which cleanses all who come to Him from sin and uncleanness.  One interpretation of this passage is that the day is coming when all of the people of Israel will turn to God, accept Jesus, and be cleansed of their sin.  Another could be that all people who turn to God and accept Jesus will be made into the people of Israel, whom God will cleanse from their sin.  I am certain that the latter is true, but I am not certain that this prophecy is not more specific than that.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

I have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

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Some of the Jews who had returned from Exile came to Zechariah to ask if they should continue the fasts which they had instituted to memorialize the destruction of Jerusalem.  I can understand their question.  they had established these fasts to mourn the fall of Jerusalem, but now Jerusalem was restored.  Should they continue the fasts as worship to God in memory of the sins of their ancestors, or would doing so be failing to honor God for restoring Jerusalem?  Zechariah’s response reminds me of what Paul says in Romans 14 where he says “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  In this passage Zechariah says, “Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”  The point made by both Zechariah and Paul is that it is not the rituals which make us holy before God.  Instead what is important is how we treat others, how we treat our fellow image bearers of God.  A little further after what I quote above, Zechariah tells us that God will bring His people to Himself and says that, “they shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”  Zechariah tells us that we should live our lives so that those around us will say, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”  Let us live so that the nations of the world will seek the Lord of Hosts.

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 have a Youtube video of me reading the Scripture passage and my comments. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Also, here is the link for my Patreon page

Zechariah begins his prophecy by calling on the Jews who had returned from Exile to return to the Lord.  The people whom Zechariah called on to return to the Lord thought that they were already serving the Lord.  So, we also should examine our lives and see where we fail to be faithful to God.  Then we should return once more to Him.  Perhaps, we should also see Zechariah as speaking to the Jewish people today to return to God.  Or, perhaps we should read all of the prophecies of Zechariah as being fulfilled in his day.

As I read a little further into the passage I see Zechariah speak of the two olive trees which are the anointed ones who stand by the Lord.  In the Book of Revelation, John speaks of two witnesses who are the two olive trees.  Clearly John either sees Zechariah as prophesying something in his future (that is, John’s future), or he is borrowing Zechariah’s symbolism because it was already familiar to his readers.  When I read Zechariah, the two olive trees seem to me to be Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor, but John seems to read this differently.

I want to touch on the four chariots which went to the four winds of heaven.  The angel who spoke to Zechariah only told him where three of the chariots were going, and two of them went to the same place, even though the angel had already said that they were going out to the four winds of heaven which we would usually understand to be in each of the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West).  The angel says that the chariot with black horses goes towards the north country, and that the one with white horses follows it, while the chariot with dappled horses goes toward the south country.  But he does not say where the chariot with the red horses goes.  I do not know what we are to take from that.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14.

Last year I wrote that today’s passage is a bit confusing.  Today as I read it I find myself thinking that I just don’t see how it all fits together.  We have the prophecy concerning the shepherds and the thirty pieces of silver, then a little later the prophecy about people looking on the one they had pierced.  These are both prophecies concerning Jesus but I do not see how they tie together, if they tie together.  Having said that I want to go back to the beginning of the passage where Zechariah gives a prophecy concerning shepherds.  At the end of that prophecy, God tells Zechariah that He is going to raise up a shepherd who will not care for the lost, seek the young, heal the injured, or even feed the healthy.  This shepherd will exploit the flock for his own pleasure.  God completes this prophecy by condemning this worthless shepherd.  It seems to me that this part of this prophecy is a warning to us about those leaders who rise up seeking only their own interests with not care for the interests of those they lead.  All too often the Church allows itself to be deceived by leaders who seek their own advancement rather than serving the Lord.

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

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

Zechariah prophesies that at one time God called on people to administer true justice, to show compassion and mercy each other, and to not plot evil against their fellows, but the people did not listen.  As a result God said of them, “When I called, they did not listen, so when they called, I would not listen.”  Once again God has determined to do good for people and calls on them, on us, to speak the truth to each other, to not plot evil against others, and to not love telling lies.  If we listen to God, then those occasions we have set aside to mourn  past tragedies will become times to celebrate how God has used those tragedies to transform us into His people.

Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a colt to remind the people of His day of this passage in Zechariah.  By doing so, He declared that His victory had already been won.  He has sent us, not to fight His battle but to declare His victory.  That victory means that God will no longer tolerate leaders who deceive their followers, or those who scatter His flock.  He will scatter His people to spread the word of His kingdom to all peoples.  Then He will gather those who choose to join Him into His kingdom.  So, let us listen to God and speak truth to each other.

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

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

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.

I have created a Patreon page for those who would like to support me in writing these blog posts every day: https://patreon.com/AttilaSoldus

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 11-14.

Zechariah prophesies a day of destruction when God will refine His people.  On that day, all the nations of the world will attack God’s people and suffering will abound, but it will result in living water pouring out from God to all those who call Him Lord.  On that day God will call everyone who calls Him Lord His people.  I will be perfectly honest, reading today’s passage both fills me with fear and with hope.  The fear comes because it seems to suggest great suffering to come for God’s people.  The hope comes because it says that God will accept as His people, and will shield them.  The thing about this passage is that I am sure that it prophesies the hope portion.  And while I am sure it prophesies the fear portion, it seems to me that when it does it talks about a time which has already come to pass.  I am not fully convinced of this, but I am inclined to think that the time of great suffering for God’s people which Zechariah prophesies here occurred around the time of Jesus.  I am hesitant to interpret a passage in that manner, but today I do not fully understand what Zechariah is writing and the portion I do understand refers to Jesus’ life on this earth.

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

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Zechariah 7-10.

In the past I have seen chapters seven and eight as having different themes.  Chapter seven stands as a bit of condemnation for us when we worship God and perform the rituals He has commanded for our own sake, rather than for God and for others.  Chapter eight focuses on God’s promise to restore the people of Israel, and by extension to build the Church.  I want to interject that I do not believe that the Church has inherited all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel.  In this particular case, I believe the prophecy concerns both the people of Israel and the Church, in slightly different ways.  Having said all of that, today I realized that there is a theme running through both chapter seven and chapter eight.  In chapter seven God tells those who consulted Zechariah the following: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.  Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”  Then in chapter eight God says this to His people: “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. ”  This is the same message.  And it is a message which God sent through His prophets again and again.  God keeps trying to tell us that His commands are designed to either empower us to do those things, or to show us how to do them.  When we start to think we can follow His commands by going through the steps without caring about people, we miss the point.  When we start understanding that following God’s commands are not about what’s in it for us, but rather about helping others, then we are starting to truly do as God desires.  And when we do that we will see what God prophesied through Zechariah here.  Ten people will latch on to one of God’s people because they see that God is with them.

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.

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 11-14.

I struggle with today’s passage because it seems to be composed of multiple separate prophecies, and I am unclear where the breaks are between one of them and the next.  I am not quite sure of the implications of the first thing which struck me.  As Zechariah speaks about the ways in which God provides shepherds for His people, he writes that God will raise up a bad shepherd over His people.  One who will not care about the lost, nor seek the young.  One who will not heal the injured or feed the healthy.  A shepherd whose only concern will be for what is in it for him.  The context seems to imply that God did this (will do this?) because His people did not value the Good Shepherd He had given them.  When I read about that bad shepherd it reminded me of so many of the leaders we have today, religious, political, and even business leaders.  Leaders who are not concerned with the care of those whom they ostensibly lead.  God has given us such leaders because we have stopped following the Good Shepherd He sent to care for His flock.  I want to point out that thinking of it that way can be very scary.  Until you think about what Jesus said when He took upon Himself the mantle of Good Shepherd.  He is looking for, and caring for, the sheep who have wondered away.  Let us follow His voice when He calls us.

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