God Gives the Gift of Hope
The Book of Zechariah (chapters 1-6)
Zechariah was one of
Gods’ prophets to the Jewish people and his ministry began in 520 B.C. A prophet did not deliver his own message,
but he was faithful to give only the message that God gave him. God used
Zechariah and other prophets to bring hope to Israel - hope for their future.
But these promises of hope in the future are for
us too. Many of God’s promises that were given to Israel by the prophets will
be fulfilled when Jesus comes again at the end of the age. These prophecies of
warnings and hope and promises are all there in our Bibles.
Today we will go over
a few of God’s promises, given through Zechariah to God’s people long ago. The
Jewish people had come back to their homeland after spending seventy years in
Babylonian captivity. Their city, Jerusalem
But it didn’t take
long for problems to arise and discouragement to set in. The people soon realized that the new temple
they were building would never compare with the old one that had been destroyed.
God had blessed their forefathers with gold
and riches so that they could build a grand temple. But these returning Jewish exiles were poor
and struggling. Why wasn’t God there
with more provisions for them to build?
Have we ever been discouraged when others don’t
give us the respect that we deserve? Or
when we don’t have the money to buy what we think we should have or the health
to go where we want? Why isn’t God giving us more when others seem to have it
all?
Another problem the
Jewish people had in 520 B.C. was with the cruel and powerful Persian king who
forbid them to rebuild God’s temple. (Ezra 4:5) The Israelites were afraid of
this powerful nation and became depressed and quit building. It was hard to keep the faith and build God’s
temple when so many forces were against them.
The Israelites quit
building because they believed that if God had been with them everything would
have gone smoothly! Do we ever stop
doing God’s work because we are persecuted, or things don’t go smoothly?
It was into this mix
that God gave a word of hope to His people through Zechariah. God comes to
Zechariah by night and gives him eight visions! These visions from God (Zechariah 1:8-6:7)
brought hope for the discouraged Israelites, and they also bring hope for us! Most of us want hope to show up right
now. We aren’t used to waiting. But some of God’s hope and some of His
promises will be completely fulfilled for us after we die and see Jesus. Not now.
These prophecies speak of the Hope (Jesus) at
the end of the age. Bible scholars
believe that some of these prophecies have a double fulfillment. Zechariahs’ prophecies were fulfilled back
then for the Jewish people in 520 B.C.
They did rebuild their temple and God prospered them. But Zechariahs’ prophecies also give us hope
for a time when wickedness is removed and Christ, the Messiah will come again,
and a new glorious temple will be built.
Basically, the
meaning in Zechariah’s eight visions from God is that God will save His people and
bring judgment on the nations who are trying to harm them. God promises His people that He will bless
their rebuilding. God will be a
protective wall of fire around Jerusalem.
God will judge their enemies and send “The Servant, the Branch, to save”-
Jesus Christ. (Zechariah 3:8:9)
In Zechariah’s fifth
vision - of the golden lamp stand and the olive tree, - the Lord promises that
He will empower His people and give them His Holy Spirit. (Zechariah 4:6) (He also
promises to give the Holy Spirit to each believer in Christ today)
Four of the eight
visions foretell that in the end of the age God will remove sin from His
followers and from the whole earth. The fourth vision shows Joshua, the high
priest, standing before God in filthy garments.
His sin is removed from him and he is given clean rich robes to wear.
The sixth vision shows that dishonesty will be
cursed, the seventh that wickedness will be removed from the earth and the last
vision tells that the spirits of heaven will execute judgment on the whole
Earth because of sin. (Zechariah 6:5,7)
Sin will be taken away from the earth before
God brings in His new day of victory and blessing! This truth is an important part of Zechariahs’
visions. God’s people in 520 B.C. who were given this promise are in their
graves and will receive these blessings at the same time that God’s people today
will receive them. – when Christ returns
at the end of the age.
The sixth vision of
the flying scroll is particularly graphic!
It is a vivid picture showing how dishonesty is cursed by God. “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten
cubits,” says Zechariah. Then God interpreted, “This is the curse that goes out
over the face of the whole earth: ‘I will send out the curse,’ says the Lord of
hosts: ‘It shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of the one who
swears falsely by My name. It shall
remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones.’”
Zechariah 5:2b, 3a, 4) According to Biblical scholars, a roll or scroll is
employed in Scripture for a pronouncement of judgment.
After Zechariahs’
visions, God shows him that Joshua is being crowned, but then the language
changes and the one being crowned is the Lord, and He is building the temple. Here
is that double meaning again. – a promise for the present – for the Jews in 520
B.C., and a fuller promise for the end of the age.
These Israelites from
long ago were given hope by Zechariah’s visions. and they started building God’s
temple again. Now they knew that God was
with them, even when their problems seemed so big. Do we sometimes make the
same mistake they did? Do we wonder
where God is when our problems overwhelm us?
These Israelites questioned whether their efforts in building Gods’ new
temple would ever be worth anything.
They compared their temple to the grand temple of their forefathers, and
it didn’t measure up.
Do we have those same problems? Do we sometimes wonder if our lives really
matter? Do we fear that our efforts
don’t compare with someone else’s? When
we have prayers that don’t seem to be answered in our time frame, do we think
that God won’t answer them in His time frame? The comforting words that God
gave His people through Zechariah long ago are for His people today also.
God tells us not to be discouraged if our work
seems small (or unimportant). (Zechariah 4:7-10) “For who has despised the day
of small things?” (Verse 10) We give importance to the size of things, but God doesn’t
see things that way. His ways are not our ways.
Zechariahs’ prophecy also reminds us that what
God has begun in us He will complete. And our prayers will be answered even if
it isn’t in our time frame. We are to
depend on the Holy Spirit to accomplish the things that God has called us to do.
And we are called upon to remember that
our work is important in building God’s Church.
Gods’ message to Zephaniah is a double
message. The promises of victory are for
Christians as we live our lives today. But these promises will be completely
fulfilled for us at a later time also. Only
at the end of time when Jesus has come again and all sin is completely removed,
will we have the total victory through Christ.
Let’s believe God’s Word and take these gifts of hope and blessing from
God into our hearts, and take joy and encouragement from them always.
.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment