DEVOTIONAL

Today, we begin reading the prophesy of God spoken through Zechariah to the people in Jerusalem. The book begins with eight visions that the prophet Zechariah describes to illustrate the promises of God specifically for his people Judah. Initially, I read each vision multiple times and leaned on notes from my study Bible. For you, I suggest doing the same thing to commit to reading the visions a few times and give yourself time to digest them. The visions are important to comprehend what is going on. God is declaring good for his people and justice to those who do not call on the name of Yahweh. This is good news! After the visions, the rest of the book of Zechariah covers God’s return to dwell with Judah, God following through with his commitment, and God’s rescue of Judah from their sin to make them into a new people for the glory of God.

For a lot of us, Zechariah might not be as familiar to us as the Gospels like Matthew. This is my first time studying Zechariah after only reading a few verses here and there over the years. To ease our way into it, let’s read and discuss the first two chapters. My big takeaway themes from the passage are return to God with your whole heart, God has big plans of growth for his people, and judgement is coming for the nations that are against God and his people.

The invitation from God comes quickly in 1:3, “Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” God is jealous for his people that he led out of Babylon after 70 years of exile and back home to Jerusalem. The people returned physically to Jerusalem, but their hearts lack zeal for Yahweh. Remember how the temple foundation is laid, but the house of God is not built? People are weary, discouraged in their faith in Yahweh. 

Therefore say to them, 'Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.'

Zechariah 1:3

And yet, I like how God is the one to pursue his people. We see this over and over in the scriptures. Also, over and over in my own life. God promises if they return, he will be there. He promises to meet them. How do I know? God repeats himself about four times in Zechariah 1-2 that God is returning to Jerusalem, God chooses his people, and God absolutely delights in his people.

In the visions of the horseman, the horns, and the measuring line God displays his power and love for his people. The horseman rides around the earth and reports back to God the condition of the earth. All the nations that worship other gods are at rest while Judah is the opposite of at rest. Judah is disheveled. They are in Jerusalem, but running on fumes is maybe a better way to put it. However, it is time to lift their weary heads. Zechariah tells the people that God is coming back to Jerusalem. God promises the nation of Judah will once again flourish and that God will comfort and choose Judah (1:16-17). What could be better than this? Well, let’s keep reading. God builds onto what he is doing with the next vision. The second vision of the horns and craftsmen is brief in 1:18-21 but packs a punch to declare the enemies of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem will be smashed to pieces. Well, “cast down” is in the text, but I imagine a craftsman with a mallet smashing clay to pieces. The horns are the nations, and the craftsmen represent the wrath of God they will face. Victory is forever in the hands of Yahweh.

And the last layer God adds to his prophecy through Zechariah that we will look at today is the third vision of the man with a measuring line. This also feels random, but surprise it is not! Territory lines for cities, states, and nations are very important. They were back then, and they still are today. As Jerusalem settles back into their city after exile, one step toward putting life back in order is to measure out their territory. Then, the natural next step is to build a wall around the city to protect from outside enemies. Zechariah calls off the man from measuring the width and length of Jerusalem. God declares through the third vision that his people will grow into a multitude that cannot be contained (2:4-5). Also, God promises in the vision to be the protection and refuge around his people. Jerusalem is to be a city without walls. In Zechariah 2:8-13, I see the fatherly protector characteristic of God when he says Judah is the apple of his eye. This translates to the “pupil” which is the sensitive part of the eye. God is saying Jerusalem is the most precious and tender part of him. If anyone tries to so much as touch his people, God is going to deal with them. Like a father protects his child from bullying or danger, multiply that intensity by 1,000 and you can start to imagine what God is saying here.

I feel like the initial three visions are a great pep rally speech. Imagine, Zechariah gathers everyone in Jerusalem at the sight of the temple foundation. The first vision might not put a lot of wind in their sails, but I believe after the combination of the second and third vision we see fist pumps in the crowd. “Yeah, let’s go! Our God is Yahweh!” Maybe hearts are beginning to return to God. Maybe zeal for God is stirring. Maybe the people of God are believing that God is doing a new thing. My hope is that you stick around to study the rest of Zechariah because it is filled with encouragement for the people of God. It is growing my faith. Maybe it will speak to you too.

 

Q: Do you resonate with the people in Jerusalem that are discouraged and lack zeal for God? What does it look like to take a step toward God and believe God will meet you right where you are?

Additional reading: Isaiah 42:6-9