Sunday and Monday studies are (usually, but not this week) posted together on Mondays

Day 264 – Reading Zechariah 5 – 8

Read the Scriptures first. What catches your attention?  

Day 264 – Zechariah 5.

The LORD gives Zechariah two more “visions in this short chapter: 1) a giant, flying scroll, and 2) a woman in a basket, which is very like the woman in the basket in Revelation. Are they the same?

First, Zechariah sees a flying scroll (it reminded me of the skyward advertisements you sometimes see, pulled by a small aircraft.  This scroll was the same size as the Holy Place of the Temple (30’x15′).  It was written on both the front and the back sides, condemning all who STEAL and all who SWEAR FALSELY.  These could be representative of both tablets of the law, concerning sins against each other, and sins against God Himself. Israel has been guilty of both, especially in the time right before their exile in Babylon. God’s harsh judgment follows.

Then Zechariah is shown a woman in a basket.  The angel who talked to Zechariah showed him the woman and called her “Wickedness.” She is kept imprisoned for a while with a lead weight on the opening.  She is being taken to “the Land of Shinar,” which is the old name for Babylon.  It also represents the empire of Babel, which God had to judge because of the people’s extreme wickedness. 

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Zechariah 6.

Next, Zechariah saw four chariots with different colored horses (again similar to Revelation).  The angel explained these chariots were going to patrol the earth (execute judgment on behalf of the LORD of all the earth – a Messianic title).  Compare them to the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Rev. 6:1-8.

These are to patrol the north and the south, the directions from which all Israel’s enemies come. (Assyria, Babylon, Seleucids, Romans, and from the south, the Egyptians.)

Then Zechariah is told to do an unusual thing. He is to see that a gold crown is made from Jeshua/Joshua, the High Priest.  This again symbolizes the dual rule that the Messiah, the “Branch,” is to have. He will be the “priest on the throne.”  A priest and king.

“And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

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Zechariah 7.

As a result of these visions, which described the future of Israel, and the coming Messiah and His Kingdom, the people were greatly encouraged.  And all was going well with the rebuilding of the Temple. 

Then a delegation from Bethel came with a question. The nation had been fasting in the fifth month to mourn the fall of Jerusalem.  Should they continue now that they are in the land again, even though the walls of the city still remain in ruins?

Even though their fasting sounded “religious,” God (as always) sees the heart.  They were not fasting for HIM, for repentance of their sin that caused the city’s fall, but for their own misery of a lost home and nation, and for being in exile.  And God gave them harsh words of truth.

“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.”

But those “ingrates” reacted 70 years ago with malice.  “But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words from the LORD of hosts.  

Therefore, great anger came from the LORD of hosts. “As I called and THEY would not hear, so THEY called and I would not hear… and the pleasant land was made desolate.”  So have they changed?

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Zechariah 8.

Still talking to those from Bethel, God gives them encouraging words through Zechariah, contrasting their past judgment of Jerusalem’s fall with the promise of future restoration (if they will repent and live righteously). 

• “I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.  It shall be called, “the faithful city,” and the mountain of the LORD will be called, “the holy mountain.”
• “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets.” 

(I LOVE that passage!)

• “I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.  They shall be MY people and I will be THEIR God, in faithfulness and righteousness.”
• “There will be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit. The ground shall give its produce. The heavens shall give its dew.  And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah, and house of Israel … so will I SAVE you, and you shall be a BLESSING.”

And concerning the question of their fasting on the day commemorating Jerusalem’s fall?  The fast days are to be turned to FEAST days, seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts.

• “Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.
• Ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that GOD IS WITH YOU!”

Wow. What encouragement!  It is all far in the future, but what a HOPE. (The title of the Jewish State’s national anthem today is ‘The Hope.”)  

(****O LORD, thank you for your word and its promises and hope for the future of Israel, and for believers living today.  We trust in You, in Your Goodness and Truth.  You are merciful, forgiving, and gracious. O THANK YOU!) 

(Monday’s study will be posted separately.)