You made it! Today, we will spend our time in the last chapter in the prophesy God spoke through Zechariah. If you remember at the beginning of the book a few themes developed for us to consider like: the invitation to return to God, God is sovereign even when our sight is limited, and judgement is coming that appear again in the passage today.

One of the things I like to do after I study a book of the Bible is to skim back through the pages to reminisce what I learned contextually, but also what attributes of God I saw on repeat over the course of the book. When I let my eyes wander to the words underlined in Zechariah during my weeks of study by chapter, a beautiful story pieces together. Although God judges the forefathers of Israel for their persistent rebellion and disobedience, in the end God showers good, peace, and gladness on Israel (Zechariah 8:14-16). Why would God do that? Proverbs 3:11-12 comes to mind which says, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” God chose Israel to be his people. This means Israel is forever claimed as the children of God not on their merit, but on God’s merit.

Now, how does the book of Zechariah end? It ends on a really good note! No cliff hanger. No gloom and doom, but full of hope like what Paul describes in Romans 8. In my Bible, Zechariah 14 is titled “The Coming Day of the Lord” that I see pieced together in four sections. First, God comes to the rescue of Jerusalem to fully restore the people and city back to a peaceful state. The prophesy in Zechariah 14:1-11 describes living waters flowing from Jerusalem that are referenced in Ezekiel 47 and Revelation 22. The living water, abundant life, comes when God take his rightful place as king over all the earth. When God comes not only will Jerusalem be secure, but all nations will finally and forever bow to one Lord, one God, Yahweh (14:9). This leads into the next section in 14:12-15 where the enemies at war against Jerusalem are met by the vengeance of God. What do I learn in these verses? God loves his people deeply and goes to great lengths to protect the children of God. Also, the wrath of God is relentless for people that are against God. Maybe you started reading the plagues and thought, “where is the mercy of God?” because it sounds brutal. Let me encourage you to keep reading.

The next section in 14:16-19 celebrates the mercy of God. The nations that repent, surrender, and allow God to change their hearts will “go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of the Booths.” God does not wipe out all the nations with the plagues. Kind of like with Israel there is a remnant from the nations that survive and turn to worship Yahweh. If you think that transformation is pretty cool to think about, get excited for the last section. It blows my mind to imagine the peaceful state Zechariah describes in 14:20-21. There will be a day when God forever removes sin to make things new so that everywhere you turn your eyes behold holiness. There will no longer be a need to purify bowls or pots for sacrifices because sin will not exist. Idolatry, war, pride, comforts, and every other sin will be cast out by God. And finally, God will dwell with his people. Let’s rejoice that the coming of the Lord is full of hope, mercy, and celebration!

As we live in the middle of a story being pieced together by God, Zechariah shares the ending. We know where the story is going. For believers in God, we have the mercy of God and the future hope of his glory coming on that day. The question to ask ourselves is: how do our lives look different this coming week (throughout this year) that tells others the coming of the Lord is good news? Our sight is limited, but the attributes of God I see in the book of Zechariah give me confidence to trust in God’s merit and not my own. Hopefully that encourages you to live in the good, peace, and gladness of God instead of the sin, anxiety, and temporary happiness of the world.