Year 3. Day 265: Zechariah 6

The Vision of the Horses and Chariots

This vision brings us right back to where we started in this text.  Remember the first vision of Zechariah?  There were horses of various colors and scouts who were going about the land.  The horses and scouts were going to and fro and reporting back what they found.  These scouts went to and fro under the cover of the grove of myrtle trees.  At the end of the cycle of visions the horses go back out.  But they are no longer going out to scout.  These horses are teamed up and set before war chariots.  They go forth boldly setting out from between two strong and noticeable mountains.  These horses go out to make war in bringing judgment.

The colors of the horses are interesting, and no doubt when combined with the first vision are also the inspirations for John’s writing of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in the New Testament book of Revelation (Apocalypse).  We are not told what the colors mean here in Zechariah, but their colors are still fairly universally accepted.  Red stands for war.  Black stands for death and famine.  White symbolizes triumph and victory.  Dapple (pale because of spotting, perhaps?) stands for plague and pestilence.

There is a reason that there are four.  The number four is often used to represent universality, especially with respect to the whole world.  After all, there are four points to the compass.  Thus, symbolically God is telling Zechariah that the judgment which is pouring out from heavens is universally applied to the whole earth.  Yes, it may be specifically applied to the north and south in this vision, but it is a measure of judgment to which the whole earth will be held accountable.  God sets the same bar for all of humanity.  Those of us who live in one area or another area are all still expected for be obedient to God’s ways.

In this particular vision, however, the horses and chariots are sent out specifically to the north and the south.  From the perspective of Israel, this would mean Babylon and Egypt no doubt.  Assyria had already been judged and now it was time for both Babylon and Egypt to pay for their part in the rebellion against God’s ways.

What is interesting is that after the horses go out we are told that the Spirit of God is at rest.  The Spirit of God is at peace.  Here’s the reason that this is particularly interesting.  Normally we think of God’s Spirit being at peace as a good thing where spirituality, joy, love, peace, and prosperity abound.  But in this text God’s Spirit is at peace immediately following the execution of justice.

This tells us about the righteousness of God’s character.  You see, peace is not only about the happy times for the righteous.  A righteous God cannot be at peace while sin is running rampant throughout the world.  A loving God cannot smite unrighteousness immediately without allowing for a time of potential repentance.  So God is always balancing His loving character with the building turmoil against the unrighteousness of the world.  Eventually God has enough and judgment must issue forth.  After judgment comes, God can once more be at peace.  It is odd and perhaps sometimes feels misleading to consider God as arriving at peace through the process of judgment.  But viewed from the right perspective it makes absolute sense.

The Crown atop Joshua’s Head

At first pass, this passage seems to be a confusion of facts.  After all, is it not Zerubbabel who builds the temple?  Sure, Joshua is there as the high priest no doubt supporting Zerubbabel’s work.  But the voice of scripture is uniform.  It is Zerubbabel who is God’s chosen instrument to rebuild the temple after the Babylonian exile.

So what is going on here?  I think God is trying to once more demonstrate where His focus truly resides.  Yes, God desired the physical temple to be built so that people could come and worship Him together.  But truthfully, God is more concerned about the temple built within each one of us.  He is more concerned about both the spirituality of the collective and the individual within the collective than He is concerned with the actual physical construction.  Just as God desires a broken spirit and a contrite heart more than He desires physical sacrifice – see Hosea 6:6 and Psalm 51:15-17, so God also desires the spiritual temple among men more than the physical temple.

Who is it that will bring about this spiritual temple?  The religious leaders!  Literally it is the work of the Branch – the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus.  But symbolically speaking, the ones sent among the people to bring them back to God are those who build the temple through the power of Christ.  Thus it is Joshua who receives the crown and is told that he will build the temple.

As an interesting aside, don’t forget that the Greek name of Jesus is actually Joshua in Aramaic and Hebrew.  So not only does Joshua receive the crown here in Zechariah 6 but we also realize a literal Joshua who is God’s Messiah and who is the cornerstone of the true spiritual temple!

We also hear that the “counsel of peace will be between them both.”  It is easy to wonder how we can be talking about one person – the Branch – and suddenly have “both.”  What God is saying here is that a priest shall sit upon the throne.  That is, God’s Messiah will be a spiritual leader and a kingly ruler.  The both does not refer to people; it refers to the office of priest and king.  In God’s day there will be unity between the spiritual and political leadership because one person will fill both roles.  Christ is both our spiritual authority as well as our political ruler.

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Year 3, Day 264: Zechariah 5

The Vision of the Scroll

In this chapter we have two visions.  The first of the visions has to do with a flying scroll.  This scroll apparently has writing on both sides which will be used in judging different kinds of people.  Since Zechariah gives us length and width, we can assume that this scroll is not rolled up but unfurled as it goes through the air. 

Again we see that Zechariah sees the vision, but he doesn’t understand it immediately.  Zechariah must wait for an understanding and for an interpretation.  Like all of us, even the prophets had to wait to get their understanding from God.

There is some really neat symbolism that is happening here.  The fact that there is writing on both sides may hearken us back to the stone tablets of the Law (See Exodus 32:15).  In fact, if we recall those tablets and pick out the middle commandment of each half (3^rd and 8^th commandment) we get an amazing result (See Exodus 20:7 and Exodus 20:15).  The third commandment is that we should not take the name of the Lord in vain.  (Remember that in ancient cultures people made oaths – swearing – based upon the virtue of their god.)  The 8^th commandment tells us that we should not steal.  These are precisely the two topics to which the vision of the scroll refers us.

It is as if this vision is a reminder to Zechariah as the people come back from exile.  God wants Zechariah to remember with intention that the Law was given.  The Law is the standard against which we all shall be judged; and subsequently we shall all be found to desperately to be in need of the atonement that comes through His Messiah.  We can say with reasonable certainty that this vision was given to Zechariah so that he might know that all those who violate God’s Law are condemned.

This is poignant for the Hebrew people coming back from exile as well as for us.  The Hebrew people who went into exile thought themselves untouchable.  They were God’s “chosen ones.”  They were God’s holy people.  Certainly God wouldn’t judge them!  Yet, God did.  They were chosen not to be untouchable but rather to be obedient!  Any who are not obedient fall into judgment, even the chosen ones. 

Therefore, as the people come back from exile they need something to keep them from developing another invincibility complex.  It would be far too easy for them to say, “God brought us back; He must love us the most.”  No, that must be defeated.  Likewise, it is easy for those of us who live under God’s grace to say to ourselves, “I have Christ, I am invincible.”  No, that too must be defeated.  Christ is not an invincibility clause against God’s judgment.  Christ is a call to humble submission to God’s ways.

The Vision of the Woman in the Basket

First of all, while our modern English Bibles speak about a basket, we must not lose sight of the fact that the technical word used here is an ephah.  You might recognize that as a unit of measure among the Hebrew people.  In fact, it is the largest unit of measure for dry goods.  Do not overlook this fact, because in the vision God has to put wickedness in the largest unit of measure known to the Hebrew people.  What is God’s point?  God is saying that there is significant wickedness among the Hebrew people.  Just in case anyone is curious, this is true for us, too, not just the Hebrew people.

Also, I do want to make a very clear point here.  Do not read into the gender of “wickedness.”  In the Hebrew, the term for wickedness is a feminine noun.  Thus, wickedness was often made into analogy as a woman.  This is not a comment upon the nature of women; it is a linguistic issue and only a linguistic issue.

As we look upon this ephah, notice that there is a lid over the ephah and the lid had a lead weight upon it.  It wasn’t enough to contain wickedness; wickedness had to be kept in the ephah.  Wickedness wants to get out.  Wickedness will get out.  Unaccounted, wickedness will spread and escape and corrupt and pervert.  Wickedness must not just be contained, it must be vigilantly contained.

Also notice that the ephah is being taken away from the land.  Wickedness must have more done to it than simple containment.  It must be removed and taken away.  Wickedness that is simply locked up is not enough.  Wickedness is such a dangerous enemy that it must be imprisoned and removed.  I find this to be an incredibly deep truth that speaks into my life as I grow old.  It is far too easy to underestimate the power of wickedness.

The wickedness is being taken away to Shinar.  What is Shinar?  Shinar is a plain in southern Babylon.  Interestingly enough, Shinar is thought to also be the general location for the Tower of Babel story (See Genesis 11:2).  It would seem that God is making a judgment upon Babylon even in their defeat to the Persians.  Babylon captured Jerusalem and took the Hebrew people among them.  In doing so, God used Babylon to cleanse the Hebrew people of their wickedness.  However, the wickedness did not dissipate.  Instead, the wickedness stayed and resided in Babylon.  We must be careful, spiritually speaking, when we are actively bringing wickedness into our midst.  In most cases, it is extremely insipid – a reminder back to the lead weight upon the ephah.

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Year 3, Day 263: Zechariah 4

A Confusing Vision

Zechariah 4 is about as confusing as Zechariah 3 was powerful!  Here we have a vision about an olive tree and a pair of lamp stands.  You might be wondering just what is going on here.

Here’s the good news.  Zechariah was just as confused as I am on a first pass through this text.  Zechariah asks again and again for understanding.  And what’s more is that the angel doesn’t really seem all that interested in giving Zechariah much of an answer!   How’s that for the working of God!

This can tell us many things.  First, just because I or you may be smart, intelligent, and called by God doesn’t mean we always know what is going on.  Zechariah was called by God and shown this vision, yet he didn’t get it at first!  Second, sometimes God is intentionally unclear.  After all, would we ever learn to think if every time God spoke He wrote clearly on a wall somewhere?  Think about this as a parent or teacher.  Do we always give our kids every answer or do good parents and teachers help their kids learn to reason things out?  Third, it teaches us that things happen to us at God’s timing.  Zechariah asks the questions, but God’s messenger answers the questions when the angel thinks the time is right.

As I go through this thinking and begin to extrapolate for myself, I can’t help but wonder how many people would react to hearing these things about God.  How many people will react well to hearing that God’s people don’t always get it because God isn’t always that clear, He isn’t always interested in explaining Himself fully, and He isn’t interested in giving us what we think we need when we think we need it?  I think modern people are soft.  We want what we want, refusing to accept that the best things are gained through struggle and hard work.  Is it possible that many people are ceasing to believe in God because they don’t want to believe in a God that will make them work for understanding?

God’s Point

One of the primary points of the vision – although not the understanding of the vision – is that Zerubbabel will complete the temple.  Historically, we know that he does.  When he does, people will know that it was from God.  They will give praise to God’s name for working among them.

Given the context of this book, this point makes sense.  The Hebrew people had already gotten distracted in building their own homes first.  There was some persecution from the people who lived in the land while the Hebrew people were in exile.  This message would be pleasing and inspiring to those who had the hard task of resettling the land.

Interpreting the Vision

Now we turn to perhaps the most difficult part of this chapter.  What exactly did the vision mean?  Sure, we can learn from Zechariah’s reaction.  We can learn God’s overarching message for Zechariah’s contemporaries.  But what does the vision actually represent?

Zechariah sees a lamp stand, which is a common temple instrument.  However, this lamp stand is different.  This lamp stand has a bowl above it with tubes leading from the bowl to the lamp stand.  This bowl no doubt keeps the lamps full of oil so that the light from the lamp stand never dies.  Surrounding the bowl is two trees, and there is some sort of connecting pipe between the bowl and the trees.  The trees apparently keep the bowl filled with oil so that the bowl can keep the lamp stand filled with oil.

So what does this mean?  The lamp stand certainly represents God’s light going out into the world.  Some people believe that the lamp stand represents the Hebrew people – God’s chosen ones.  Others believe that the true fulfillment of this passage is the Church, who take the fulfillment of the Gospel message to the world at God’s beck and call.  Either way, the lamp stand has a traditional understanding as God’s light of salvation spreading throughout the world.

So what, then, are the two trees?  Well, there is even greater debate about the two trees.  Those who believe the lamp stand symbolizes the Hebrew people are split.  Some say that the two trees represent the kings and the priest as these were the leaders of the Hebrew people.  Considering that for most of the history of the Hebrew people it was the kings and the priests against whom God’s anger burned the fiercest, I find this explanation unlikely.

The other position held among those who believe the lamp stand represents the Hebrew people is that these trees are specifically Zerubbabel and Joshua as the leaders of the post-exilic people.  This understanding is more palatable, but certainly this is not an understanding that perseveres through time.

However, I believe that the lamp stand encompasses more than the Hebrew people.  I believe the lamp stand represents all the faithful of God – Jews and Gentiles alike.  Given this understanding, some have said that the two trees are the Hebrew people and the Gentiles.  However, it doesn’t make sense that both the lamp stand and the trees should represent the same things.

I believe there is something that makes the most sense in understanding that the lamp stand is all the faithful people.  The whole of God’s message is said to rest upon the Law and the prophets.  Another way of envisioning this is Law and Gospel or Law and Grace.  What feeds the proclamation of the faithful people is the Law – an understanding of God’s ways – and the call to repentance and forgiveness and grace that naturally comes out of the Law.

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Year 3, Day 262: Zechariah 3

This is such a neat chapter – and blessedly short!  I fear I have much to say on this chapter and if it were any longer I wouldn’t be able to say it all! 

Joshua the Priest

In the vision, Zechariah is shown Joshua – the high priest at the time of Zerubbabel – standing before the Lord.  This word “standing” is an interesting word.  It is a technical word for what the priests were called to be before God.  The word has an interesting mix between abiding with God and doing one’s expected duties before God.  So we shouldn’t think that Joshua is simply standing there as a defendant before a judge.  Joshua is abiding there.  He is working before the Lord.  He is going through what the Lord has asked Him to do. Abiding doesn’t always mean complete rest.  Abiding can simply mean going through the mundane simply because that is all God has asked us to do.

Satan the Accuser

Here we have one of the few mentions of Satan in the Bible – especially with regard to Satan being an active player in the story.  Satan has come before the Lord to accuse Joshua.  Let’s note a few things about this story.  First, Satan is in the presence of the Lord.  Granted, it doesn’t end well.  But Satan is in the presence of the Lord.  Second, he is there accusing Joshua of all of the wrong that he has done.  This ties beautifully back to the fall.  Satan’s fall occurred out of his jealousy for the love that God showed to us.  Satan hates us because we are loved by God.  Third, this shows us the truth of Satan.  Satan isn’t out in the world trying to gain us as followers.  Satan’s primary focus is in driving a wedge between us and God.  Satan isn’t in some grand popularity contest with God.  Satan is in the world trying to destroy our relationship with God.  That is his focus.

Satan’s Accusations

Let’s get something straight, though.  Satan’s accusations weren’t wrong.  Joshua was a human.  I have no doubt that he was filled with iniquity – just as I am and you are.  Satan wouldn’t need to lie about Joshua’s fallen nature; there would be plenty of evidence of sin in Joshua’s life.  In fact, if you read the words carefully you’ll also see that God acknowledges this fact.  Why would God speak to remove Joshua’s iniquity if he had none to begin with?  No, Satan’s accusations were spot on.  Joshua was a fallen person dressed in what tattered spirituality he could provide for himself.  I am no better.  None of us are any better.  We are all dressed in tattered spiritual rags for that is all the better that we can do for ourselves.

New Clothes

You see, God doesn’t argue for Joshua’s self-righteousness.  What God argues is for Joshua’s acquittal and forgiveness.  Joshua’s tattered spirituality is replaced by spiritual clothing of a divine nature.  It is God who clothes Joshua in righteousness.  It is God who acquits iniquity.  It is God who forgives.

This is the inherent conflict between Satan and God.  God loves.  Satan has been jealous of that love for as long as God has loved.  Satan can only see us for the horribly flawed beings we are.  God sees us for the image of Himself that He has created within us.  Satan can only stand there and accuse us of our flaws.  God forgives the flaws and helps us move beyond.  This is why the Lord rebukes Satan.  Satan is not rebuked because he is wrong; Satan is rebuked because he cannot move beyond accusation of wrongdoing.

As I typed that sentence, I was convicted.  How good am I at moving beyond accusation of wrongdoing?  I daresay that if I were to be compared to either God or Satan, I might fall too close to being like Satan the accuser more than I am being like God who forgives.

Spirituality

Having received new clothes – spirituality – at the hand of God Himself, Joshua is charged with keeping God’s ways.  Joshua is charged with being a spiritual leader.  Joshua is promised that so long as he lives up to this charge he shall not only rule but have access to the court of God.

This sets up what comes next.  For at the end of this chapter God speaks about “The Branch.”  God speaks of this branch as a single stone upon which the iniquity of humanity will be removed in a single day.  God speaks of this branch having the effect of causing people to invite their neighbors to come into relationship with God.

Here we see another finger pointing to the coming of Christ.  In a single day – the day Jesus was crucified – the iniquity of humanity was atoned.  After that day, His disciples began inviting their neighbors into a relationship with God.  Through the Holy Spirit they became so proficient at this task that they eventually began to invite the Gentiles – the whole world – into a relationship with God.

God is the one who loves first.  He is the one who forgives iniquity.  He is the one who clothes us in a spirituality that we cannot provide for ourselves.  He is the one who calls the world to His side and receives anyone who truly answers the calls.  He is great.

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Year 3, Day 261: Zechariah 2

The Surveyor

In Zechariah 2, we meet a surveyor.  We don’t really know from the text what the purpose of this surveyor is.  However, from the context we can take a small guess.  Of course surveyors measure land boundaries.  So it is likely that this surveyor has come to measure the present existence of God’s people – or even specifically Jerusalem itself.  Of course this blends in with the greater overarching message of this chapter.  As the people return from exile, the city will grow.  Who better to measure that growth than a surveyor!

God’s Promise

Then the Lord tells Zechariah through the messengers that Jerusalem will grow so large and the Lord Himself will be their protector.  They will be so large that instead of one big city they will feel like a collection of many villages together.  I can’t help but read this description and think about many of our modern cities – especially those with western influence.  All cities have neighborhoods and suburbs and districts.  All of our modern cities are essentially collections of villages without walls.

This got me thinking today.  How many modern cities have walls surrounding them for protection?  I can’t think of any.  We don’t build cities any more with the idea of protecting the whole city.  Our society is simply too massive.  Imagine the construction effort needed to put a wall around something like Atlanta, Washington DC, or even New York City!  In the ancient world, walls were an absolute necessity.  In our modern world, we wouldn’t know what to do with a city that had a wall around it.

Of course, much of this has to do with modern warfare.  When you can drop bombs and soldiers from the air, walls feel suddenly constraining rather than protective.  But the reality is that we as a human society have come to a place where walls are rather pointless with respect to cities.  I wonder.  As we have progressed with respect to cities so that we no live without the need of walls, can the same be said of our relationship with God?  Have we progressed so far as a society that we no longer see a need for God to be our “wall of protection” as He promises here in Zechariah 2?

Zechariah’s Vision of Nations

The rest of this chapter has a really neat conclusion to it.  Zechariah is told that the nations will be judged – of course.  That picks up the thread left off at the very end of chapter 1.  But as God’s people return to Him and as the nations are judged – specifically Babylon – God’s people are told to rejoice.  As God’s people rejoice over their own salvation, we also hear that the nations will join God’s people.

As with the prophetic utterances of chapter 1, I believe that these utterances of Zechariah here have three valid points of interpretation.  We do know that God’s people did return to God when Babylon was destroyed.  We also know that afterwards there was an innate curiosity in Judaism, which is why in the New Testament we have the term “God-fearer.”  These are Gentiles who are curious about Judaism and beginning to live according to God’s Law while not yet becoming full Jews.  This is the first interpretation, one that Zechariah would have begun to see in his lifetime.

However, then came Jesus.  Through the life and death of Jesus, the nations were truly joined up with God’s people.  Through Jesus, salvation was brought to the Gentiles.  Many Gentiles have come to being a part of the designation “My people.”  God has come and dwelled with His people in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  In Christ, we see a second layer of understanding in Zechariah’s words.  The nations can come and dwell with God and not become Jewish first.

But I believe there is a third layer of interpretation here.  When Christ returns, I believe we will see a full understanding of these words.  Then we shall truly see what God means when He will be our wall of protection.  Then we shall truly experience the concept of dwelling with God as God intends it to be in the future.  What a blessed day it will be!

Silence

As we close this chapter in Zechariah, I am struck by a simple verse.  Be silent before the Lord, for He has roused Himself from His dwelling.  I’m struck by this because lately I’ve been doing much soul-searching regarding my ability to listen to God and other people.  I’ve been doing much soul-searching regarding my ability to talk less and only speak when my words are necessary.  I find it interesting to hear that this is actually what God desires.  When God is moving in our midst, silence is needed so that we can actually hear what He is saying and doing among us.  Talking isn’t usually the answer.  Listening is.

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Year 3, Day 260: Zechariah 1

Zechariah – Background and History

Zechariah was a prophet who ministered among the people who were returning from exile.  Whereas Haggai encouraged the production of the temple, Zechariah focused on the repentance of the people.  He was born in Babylon and like Ezekiel and Jeremiah he was both a priest and a prophet.  Zechariah was a contemporary to Haggai and Zerubbabel.

It is often said that Zechariah is the most messianic, apocalyptic, and eschatological books of the Old Testament.  Many read the second coming of Christ into Zechariah as read the first coming of Christ into Isaiah.  Zechariah is quoted or alluded to no less than 41 times in the New Testament alone.  This is a book that shaped much of the pervading religious thought around Jesus and what the people around Him were anticipating with respect to the Messiah.

Zechariah’s Call

About the time that Haggai gave his second message, Zechariah receives his call to come and do the work of the Lord.  From the very beginning of this book we can feel the emphasis upon repentance.  Zechariah is quick to remind the people where they were before their exile under Babylon.

I love Zechariah’s description.  He is blunt and straightforward.  He reminds the people that their forefathers messed up.  God sent them the prophets.  They didn’t listen.  They went into exile because of their rebellion.  The short lesson is this: disobey God and you will get what the rebellious desire of your heart leads unto you.

But there is a longer lesson that this.  Zechariah is also quick to remind the people of a greater truth.  As they stand amidst a ruined Jerusalem and a ruined temple, Zechariah reminds them that the words of the Lord are still standing.  Everything that the Hebrew people desired in their rebellion is gone.  Their wealth, their pagan religion, their city – it is all gone and destroyed.  The only thing that remains is the word of God.

I hope you can see the profound nature of this line of thinking.  It is so easy to get caught up in the things of the world.  We want bigger and better homes.  We want more wealth and better opportunities for our kids.  We want grand buildings with all kinds of comforts.  But in the end, what is the only thing that lasts the test of time?  It is God’s Word.  We spend so much of our time chasing after things that in 80 years – much less a millennia or so – won’t even exist anymore!  Our hearts are indeed easily distracted.

Zechariah’s Vision of the Horses

Here Zechariah has a vision of a red horse rider who stands among the myrtle trees.  This passage and a passage in Zechariah 6 are the likely sources of inspiration for the famous passage of the four horseman of the Apocalypse we find in the book of Revelation.  Notice that as we find in Revelation, the horseman here is an agent of God.

The angel among the myrtle trees is standing beside his horse as though waiting for a report from the riders of the other horses.  As Zechariah meets him, this angel hears the report.  The nations of the world are at rest.  This is an interesting juxtaposition.  The world is at rest while the Hebrew people – God’s people! – are not at rest.

There are three possible understandings for this passage, and I believe all three are correct.  First, this describes the peace brought onto the known world by the military conquest of the Persian people under Darius.  Second, I believe this is a future hint towards the condition of the world under Caesar when the Messiah would first appear. The Roman armies in the time of Jesus had quite proficiently brought peace to the known world through their warfare.  Third, I believe this is also a comment looking forwards to the second coming of the Messiah.  There will be peace across the known world and like the peace of the first two interpretations of this passage I look for that peace to be manmade peace brought about through military conquest.

God looks down upon this condition at the report of the angelic messengers.  God makes a bold pronouncement that He is jealous for His people.  His people will be rebuilt.  His cities will overflow with abundance.  People will once more choose Jerusalem – that is, choose to dwell with God.

As with the report of peace, I believe this declaration would have the same three interpretations.  At the time of Darius, the city and the temple will be rebuilt.  A few centuries into the future around the time of Christ the temple will be enlarged and even among the Roman Empire there was great interest in Judaism among God-fearers.  But I believe the greatest fulfillment of this prophecy will come when Christ returns.  The world will fall into judgment and those who have chosen Christ will dwell with Him.

Zechariah’s Second Vision

Zechariah now looks up and sees four horns.  These four horns represent the people that scattered Judah.  The horn was often used as a symbolic reference to Gentile power.  Thus, many people believe these to be Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, and Persia – but while likely it is uncertain.

Then Zechariah sees four craftsmen.  Craftsmen were people who took natural resources and inflicted upon them their will.  In this case, the craftsmen come to follow the horns to inflict upon them God’s will.  The point of the vision is extremely subtle but powerful.  There is natural power in the world, but God can send agents to tame the natural power of mankind so that His will is done.

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Year 3, Day 259: Haggai 2

Haggai’s Second Message from the Lord

Chapter 2 begins with Haggai’s next message from the Lord.  This message is dated a month later than the prior message.  The work on rebuilding the temple is continuing, but the work is slow.

You might wonder why the work would be slow if so many people are dedicated to the effort.  Remember first of all that we are talking about the ancient world.  They didn’t have earth movers and cranes to lift heavy loads.  Everything had to be done by hand, by oxen, and at best with the knowledge of things like levers and fulcrums.

Also, remember that the Hebrew people had been exiled for several decades.  There were foreigners living on the land for at least 40 years.  They would not have had any respect for the temple area.  Therefore, not only did the people under Zerubabbel have to build a new temple, they had to clear what debris remained from the old temple and from the interlopers.

Furthermore, as we know from the book of Nehemiah, there was also armed resistance from the interlopers in the land and the surrounding non-Hebrew inhabitants.  The Hebrew people coming back to the land needed to defend themselves.  This need for defense will also slow down the repair effort.

This explains why the reconstruction effort was going slow.  There was much work to do and it was heavy and dangerous work.  This also explains the message that God sends here through Haggai.  God wants the people to know that He is with them.  He wants them to know that He will provide for them.  This message from Haggai is not a message of condemnation but of encouragement.

What is also true about this message from Haggai is that there is a promise.  God gives the Hebrew people a little vision to keep the morale high.  God says that there will come a day when the glory of God will fill the temple.  Their hard work will pay off. 

Haggai’s Third Message

A third time Haggai gives a message to the Lord.  This message focuses on ritual purity.  The verses begin with a legal question that is intended to get the people to focus on the past.  The truth is that the Hebrew people had spent time in captivity because of their past impurity.  Haggai doesn’t want the people to lose sight of this fact.

As Haggai then turns to the present, he makes sure that the people understand that their current surplus of harvest is very small.  The do not have much upon which to rely.  The reality is that until a few months ago the people had once more been in rebellion.  Haggai wants them to think seriously about this as well.  Turning their back on God didn’t work in the past generations.  Turning their back on God hadn’t worked very well for the current generation.  Now that they were repenting it is the right time to have them consider the genuineness of their repentance. 

What is important is that the people continue in their repentance.  God comes and tells them that so long as they continue in their repentance and humbleness with God that things will go well with them. 

Haggai’s Last Message

In Haggai’s last message, Zerubbabel receives a personal message.  We know historically that Zerubbabel was Jehoiachin’s grandson.  Jehoiachin was taken captive under Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon.  Yet in Jeremiah 22:24-25 we hear that before the fall God promises to tear of the signet ring off of His finger.  In other words, God is removing the kings of Judah from His presence.  Yet in this passage, we hear God re-establishing that promise in Zerubbabel.  God is a God of forgiveness and reinstatement to the genuinely penitent.

However, in the greater scope of what God is doing in the world this passage is about something far bigger.  God is not just reinstating the kings; God is reinstating the promise of the Messiah.  God is once more telling His people where to look for the Messiah.  Yes, God forgives individually.  But God is also saying that the individual rebellion of a people cannot counter the overarching work of God’s salvation.  His Messiah shall still come.  The world will be saved.  It starts once more with Zerubbabel.

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Year 3, Day 258: Haggai 1

Haggai - Background

Haggai is the second shortest book in the Old Testament – only Obadiah is shorter.  Haggai is often described as a series of four messages by a seemingly insignificant prophet whose ministry was apparently of a rather limited duration.  However, I believe there is something more to Haggai than this.  Size does not always determine worth.  Haggai is the prophet who ushers us into the study of the Hebrew people as they return to captivity.  Few prophets have packed as much spiritual common sense into their words as Haggai is able to do here. 

Also remember that much of Haggai’s style mimics the time in which he lived.  Resources were scarce, there was a job to do, and there often wasn’t time to do much else except defend the land from invaders and those who would seek to defeat the Hebrew return.  It is in that light that we find ourselves reading these words.

Haggai’s First Message

Haggai sends his words to those who are in charge of the rebuilding effort – and in effect to the whole group of refugees returning to the land.  The Persian king in charge, Darius, had allowed people to return to Jerusalem, but they had not yet rebuilt the temple.  They had taken time to build themselves homes but had not given consideration to God.

Haggai shows God’s irritation about this.  Certainly the people needed shelter.  God isn’t irritated that the people erected shelters for survival prior to rebuilding a place to worship Him.  God is irritated that they not only build shelters but nice homes!  It is likely that Haggai’s condemnation of creating “paneled homes” means that they had built some elaborate constructions.

Remember what it was that sent the Hebrew people into exile.  They had neglected the Lord and pursued the desires of their own hearts.  Is it not this same sin that rears its ugly head as soon as the refugees return to their homeland?  As soon as the people are free from their oppression are they not thinking of themselves and their own desires?

The message of verse 5 haunts me.  “You have sown much and reaped little.”  In other words, they have put in much effort bringing about what they desire without putting in much effort in producing the works that God desires.

Then we turn to the rest of verse 5.  “You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill.”  Haggai is declaring from the Lord that the people are more focused on their own satisfaction before looking to the Lord.  The Lord has provided for them, but they aren’t satisfied.  Rather than taking what the Lord has given to them and responding, they take what the Lord gives and want more.  This is a serious dynamic to understand, because it is largely what humanity is often about.

In fact, the Lord convicts the people about it.  He says, “You looked for much, and behold it came to little.”  I think that this is an incredible comment as it pertains to people who desire to follow the Lord.  We can so easily make such grand plans, but we fall short and often come to nothing.  It all has to do with our focus.  God causes us to prosper and instead of prospering in ways He desires our hearts turn to prospering in ways that we desire.  When that happens, we come to nothing.

The People Respond

It is rare to find such an immediate response to a prophetic message.  But here we hear that Zerrubabel and Joshua hear Haggai’s message and lead the people into repentance.  They fear the Lord.

Haggai gives them a response to their response.  God says that He is with them.  God causes them to renew their vigor and focus upon the house of the Lord.  The work begins in earnest.

I think we can really learn two lessons from this portion of text.  First of all, human beings are prone to mistakes.  We are going to occasionally have a flaw in perspective.  We will focus on the wrong things.  It is who we are; it will happen.  But this does not mean that God abandons us and leaves us to wallow in our sin.  He comes to us and gives us opportunities to respond.  God is a God of second chances.

The second lesson that I believe we can learn is that it is God who empowers us to be great.  It is God who reinvigorates the spirit of the people.  It is God who is at the core of our being.  We should be slow in forgetting this fact and quick to return to it when we do.

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Year 3, Day 257: Zephaniah 3

Judgment Upon Jerusalem

Zephaniah begins this last chapter in his book with a statement of judgment as he returns to Jerusalem.  Again we see the typical complaints.  The leaders are corrupt.  The people are oppressed.  The religious nature of God’s people has become profaned.

If we look at the leadership of the country, we see two analogies here.  First, the political leaders are compared to roaring lions.  The roaring lion is a symbol of the person who boasts about their great and even unchallengeable position.  The political leaders were proud and self-centered, boasting in arrogance of their own greatness.  There was no humbleness to be found among them.

If we look at the religious leaders, we hear that they are to be compared to evening wolves.  What do wolves do?  They hunt in packs.  They run around picking off the weak, the sick, and the young.  They divide the herd until some can be isolated and then devoured.  Such are the religious leaders of Zephaniah’s day.  The religious leaders had been called to unify, to bring people together, and to look out for the oppressed and the orphan.  Instead, the religious leaders looked out for the weak in the culture so that they could devour them and corrupt them.

This has created a corrupt religious culture that was no longer open to hearing God’s word.  They were no longer open to correction.  They would only respond to appeasement.  The people would only respond when they were encouraged and told that they were right.

As I have often done in my journey along the Minor Prophets I once more turn to look at modern society.  How many people do you know that are self-centered and really only interested in listening to themselves and to those who validate themselves?  Who knows, perhaps I am among them!  Human beings – not just in modern times – have always had a knack for finding those people who would agree with them.  The mature person isn’t one who thinks that those who agree with them are wise.  The mature person is the one who realizes that wisdom is something that lies outside of them and then has the strength to conform themselves to wisdom.  True maturity is one who looks to improve themselves rather than one who looks to surround themselves with people who already agree with them in every way.

Conversion out of the Nations

The ESV gives the middle section of text in Zephaniah 3 the title “Conversion of the Nations.”  I believe that is a bit incorrect.  This passage isn’t about the nations turning to God.  Rather, this passage is about the fact that there will be some among the nations who respond to the call to come to God.  Among all the nations there will be talk of God’s greatness and salvation.  Out of those nations will come the worshippers of God to bring offering to Him.

Of course, as Christians we believe the ultimate fulfillment of this text is in Christ.  Through Christ, God has brought the means of salvation to humanity.  The message of Christ is spreading throughout the globe.  Throughout the globe, people within every nation are turning to Jesus Christ.  Throughout the globe, people are turning to relationship with God.  Whole nations may not be turning, but certainly people within such nations are turning!

In the midst of this passage of return, take a look at what God says in verses 11-12.  Who will God remove?  Who will God install?  God says that He will remove the proudly exultant and the haughty.  In their place, God will leave the humble and the lowly.  God’s point here is clear.  If we want to be close to Him, it is about submission.  If we want to be close to Him, it is about removing the spotlight away from our lives.  If we want to be close to Him, it is about coming to Him.

Restoration of Fortune

One of the things that I absolutely love about the close of Zephaniah is its focus.  As you read through these concluding words, you hear words of restoration.  You hear words of peace and joy and love.  But what you also hear is a clear quality of focus.

And where is this focus?  It is upon the Lord, of course!  It is the Lord who takes away our judgments against us.  He clears away our enemies.  He is in our midst.  It is on account of Him that we shall not fear our enemies.  He saves us.  He rejoices over us!  {Yeah, like we deserve that…}  He quiets us with His love.  He sings over us.  He gathers us so that we no longer suffer reproach.  He deals with the oppressors.  He tends the lame and gathers the outcast.  He changes shame into praise.  He brings us in.  He restores our fortune.

I don’t know about you, but I needed to hear those words today.  It is so difficult to live under my own strength.  It is so easy to only see my failure.  It is so easy to be swallowed up in the oppressiveness of the future vision.  I need to hear that it is about Him and His work, not mine.  He is in control.  He is mighty.  He is powerful.  The world rests in His hands, not mine.  Thanks be to God!

How great is that!  We don’t deserve any of it, yet that is His promise to us.  May His name be praised for all that He does!

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Year 3, Day 256: Zephaniah 2

Despair or Repair

After reading a dark chapter like Zephaniah 1, a person can’t help but feel despair.  With such wrath, anger, violence, and judgment coming from the Lord, who can hope to stand?  Who can possibly hope for a better day?  If we are all so sinful, what’s the point?  If nations always fall, what’s the point?  If we are not careful, we turn to despair fairly quickly.

As we open up Zephaniah 2 we see that despair is the natural consequence of prophetic words, but it isn’t the desired consequence.  Read that statement again, because it is really that important.  We as human beings always have a moment of despair when confronted with bad, grim, or even evil news.  We despair naturally.  I personally think that this is the reason that we struggle with depression so much in our modern world.  As our world shrinks, it is so much easier to be flooded with all the negative news of the world.  Since we despair easily as people, we writhe in depression.

But in the opening verses of Zephaniah 2 we see that there is a different desired outcome of prophecy.  Zephaniah doesn’t want people to be overcome with despair and depression.  He wants them to be driven to humble repentance.  He wants to confront them with reality so that upon gazing into the mirror they might genuinely turn to God.  It is humbleness and repentance that is the prophet’s goal – not despair!

Here we see another truth about humanity.  The only time we genuinely do look in the mirror is when confronted with truth.  When life is going well, we look into the mirror and see the future we envision.  When life is going well, we look into the mirror and see the glory of the mountaintop experiences.  It is when we stumble in life that we look into the mirror and see what is really going on.  It is when we are confronted with evil, pain, or seriousness that we actually pause and see in the mirror the reality that we should have seen all along.  Left in our natural state, the only time we focus on a true picture of reality is when we are confronted with it.

Judgment upon Philistia

After pausing to remind the Hebrew people that humble repentance is the goal of his words, Zephaniah turns to give warnings to the surrounding lands.  As we have seen throughout this whole year, this is a very common practice among the prophetic books.  The first such victim – often the first such victim – is Philistia and the Canaanites.

The Philistines and Canaanites are often the first because they shared the land with the Hebrew people.  Remember that the Hebrew people were told by God under Joshua to drive them out of the land forever.  The Hebrew people didn’t.  As a result, the Canaanites intermingled with the Hebrew people and taught them to worship false gods and live under bad practices.  The Hebrew people fell from God’s grace and the prophets were sent to try and reclaim them.  Because the fall of the Hebrew people is so intimately tied to the Canaanites, many prophetic books begin their condemnations of foreign lands with them.

Notice what God says about the land.  Yes, the Philistines and the Canaanites will come to destruction.  But their land will finally be taken from them and given to the Hebrew people.  The Hebrew people will eventually turn that land into pasture where their animals will graze upon it.  It takes Assyrian, Babylonian, and eventually Persian conquest in order to produce such a result.  But eventually God will bring about what God had originally desired almost a millennium prior to the Persian domination.

Moab and Ammon

Here we see another condemnation against the ancient enemies of God and His people.  Remember that Moab was also one of the greatest influences with respect to the corruption of the Hebrew religious society.  As for Ammon, well, Ammon was always looking with greedy eyes upon the land controlled by the Hebrew people.  They were always raiding the land, fighting border squabbles, and seeking to gain what land they could when a foreign power came to conquer a part of the Hebrew people.

God turns to Moab and Ammon and tells them that they will be utterly destroyed.  They are indeed.  Where are the Moabites and the Ammonites today?  They have been fully assimilated into other cultures that dominated over them.  They are like Sodom and Gomorrah – utterly destroyed.  Such is the price that is paid when we stand against God.

Assyria

This may be one of the more profound prophecies of destruction found in Zephaniah.  Normally prophetic utterances take lifetimes to come about.  This is just how God’s hand works.  God sends a prophet to warn and then He sits back and watches to see if the people listen and repent or if they prove their human sinfulness and need judgment.  But not so with Assyria.  They have reached the end of their rope.  God has sent other prophets long ago – remember the story of Jonah?  Assyria has proven their character and the time for judgment has come.

Yesterday I mentioned that the book of Zephaniah was probably written around 622 BC.  We know that Assyria falls to an alliance between the Babylonians and the Medes in 612 BC.  An Assyrian remnant was again destroyed in 609 BC.  God’s judgment came swift after Zephaniah spoke about Assyria.

What was Assyria’s main fault?  They exalted in themselves.  They believed that they were the greatest and there was none like them.  If this isn’t a warning against the human propensity for pride I don’t know what is!

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Year 3, Day 255: Zephaniah 1

Zephaniah – Background and History

Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah (640-609 BC) and this book was likely written around 622 BC.  Remember that Josiah was the last great reforming king.  Josiah was the last king in Judah to fight against the worship of false gods.  Under Josiah the temple practices were restored (at least at the public level) and the people were called to accountability.  Of course, we know that after Josiah died that the country fell back into turmoil on account of their worldly practices.

With respect to theme and purpose, the expression “The Day of the Lord” occurs more frequently in Zephaniah than in any other book of the Bible.  This implies that judgment is a dominant theme within Zephaniah.  However, as a part of this greater focus on the Day of the Lord Zephaniah also focuses on the salvation of a faithful remnant.

Judgment

As promised in my introduction, we don’t have to go too far in Zephaniah before we get to a passage about judgment.  Zephaniah warns the Hebrew people that judgment is not far off.  The day is coming swiftly when God will oppose the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

Again, we look at what it is that God finds so offensive.  Here again we see the increase of idolatry as one of God’s primary concerns.  However, let’s make sure that we look closely at the idolatry about which God speaks.

If we look closely at verses 4-6 we see that God is upset about Ba’al worship (Canaanite religion) and the worship of Milcom (Ammonite religion).  Certainly there is worship of foreign gods.  But if we look at verse 5 we see that the truly grievous error is that the priests who are worshipping Ba’al and Milcom also claim to be worshipping God.  We have priests who are coming and worshipping God and then turning and worshipping Ba’al and Milcom and likely a host of other foreign deities.  It isn’t that people are worshipping other gods as much as it is that people who claim to be loyal to God are worshipping other gods!

Let’s talk about why this is important.  From a modern western mindset, this probably sounds preposterous.  After all, we are a people who understand the worship of a single God.  But most of the ancient world – save the Hebrew people – was polytheistic.  They were accustomed to the worship of multiple gods.  Each family would have a few personal gods that they revered.  Each town would have their own town gods.  Each nation would have gods over the whole nation.  So an individual might find themselves worshipping even as many as a dozen gods based on their self, family, town, and nation.  So clearly we see the Hebrew people adopting the practices of the ancient world in their polytheism.  Yes, God has an issue with that.

However, I can’t help but wonder if we are any better.  Sure, we only have one “official” God.  Officially, we only go to one church building and only kneel before a single symbol: the cross of Christ.  But is that really all we worship in life?  Is the cross really the only thing to which our heart bows in reverence?  Like those ancient priests who made a public display of worshipping God and then worshiped all their other family gods in secret, what do we worship in secret?  Have we unhealthy love for things other than God?  Are we any less polytheistic in our practice?

The Day of the Lord

Zephaniah proclaimed that a day of judgment was coming.  We know it did in 586 BC.  However, keep in mind that this Day of Judgment came between 23-38 years after Zephaniah gave this proclamation.  God’s timing is certainly different than ours.  Imagine how much scorn Zephaniah received as he proclaimed a day of coming judgment that he himself may not have even lived to see!  I can only imagine the people who convinced themselves that because Zephaniah’s predictions didn’t come immediately true that Zephaniah’s words were empty and flat.  How many people must have heard Zephaniah, looked around, and concluded, “The Lord will do no good nor evil” as we hear in verse 12!  We must remember that God works on a different scale than humans have the ability to measure except in hindsight.

As for the Day of the Lord, let us look upon Zephaniah’s description of such a day.  Look at the vocabulary used: bitter, crying aloud, wrath, distress, anguish, ruin, destruction, darkness, gloom, clouds, battle, walk like the blind, pour out blood, fire, jealousy, consummation, and a full and sudden end.  Those are some fairly serious words.  Again, knowing what happens to Jerusalem under the Babylonians we know that all of these words are accurate.

Judgment is serious business in God’s eyes.  The people brought this judgment upon themselves by focusing on the desires of their own heart and not upon the ways of God.  Of course I look at the span of history and see this pattern again and again.  Faithful slide into unfaithful.  Judgment comes.  A remnant is born.  Eventually the fruit of that faithful remnant falls into rebellion away from God and the cycle repeats.  I believe it is something to be aware.  I believe it is something to mourn.

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