Zechariah 10

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“Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain.” The God who made the heavens and the earth was able to give necessary gifts for the life of His people, yet they turned to other spiritual hopes rather than approach Jehovah in prayer. False religion would yield only confusion and hunger, “for the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies.”

Israel needed a servant of God who would take them home, but their pastors had failed them. The Lord said, “My anger is hot against the shepherds.” He would punish those who had led His loved ones astray, but He would provide a far better Guide in a future Messiah. “The Cornerstone” of a holy temple would come from the tribe of Judah, and He would be with His chosen ones and teach them how to prosper in the fight of faith.

The blessing of the coming King would not only be for Judeans, but would extend to the other tribes of Israel who had wandered from their God for so many years. “I will bring them back because I have compassion on them, and they shall be as though I had not rejected them.” The bounty of the Almighty would be extended to future generations, for “their children shall see it and be glad; their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.”

How could sinful people ever find a way back to God after years of bondage? The Lord proclaimed that He would pay the price for their freedom, for “I have redeemed them.” What would their fellowship with God and each other be like after their rebellion and death? “They shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return.”

A promise as great as this one could never be achieved without the resurrection of those who had long rested in the grave. God insisted that He would do what seemed entirely impossible. Not only would those who had long ago departed this world exist again in the land of the living, but even their foreign oppressors would be humbled and included among those who would be “strong in the Lord” and “walk in His Name.”

We are filled with gratitude for the work of our Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, who is the King and Head of His church. His resurrection gives us hope for the fulfillment of all of God's marvelous decrees. Because of His power and love, we are emboldened even now to turn to Him in prayer, knowing that whatever we ask according to His will, we shall receive.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, You send rain and sunshine even upon those who worship false gods, but You care especially for Your own flock. You have sent us the great Cornerstone of our salvation. He has saved us and strengthened us. He will bring us back to a safe and bountiful land, and we shall rejoice and be glad in You. We shall live there with our children and with all Your chosen people. You will strike down anyone or anything that could threaten us, and we shall walk in Your Name forever.

Zechariah 9

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“The Lord has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel.” God had an eternal plan to humble those who imagined that their success came by their own wealth and power. He would “strip” them of their “possessions” and “strike down” those who harbored ill will toward His chosen flock, yet He would also bestow grace upon people groups that were once far away from His covenant blessings. Even cities of the Philistines would be “a remnant for our God.”

How would this future day of prosperity and security for Israel and those among the Gentiles associated with Jehovah be achieved? There would come a new beginning for the world when the “King” of the Jews would come into Jerusalem “humble and mounted on a donkey.” (See Matthew 21:5.) He would be “righteous” and would achieve “salvation” for all who would put their trust in Him.

Zachariah proclaimed the public appearing of a Messiah who would judge the enemies of Yahweh, but would also “speak peace to the nations.” By the “blood” of God's sacrificial “covenant” with His people, the elect would be delivered from a “waterless pit” of despair and would become “prisoners of hope.” God would give these happy captives heavenly shalom as He restrained men and angels who had once been their powerful adversaries.

Zechariah's words of blessing could only have been achieved by Jehovah. It would be the Lord alone who would “save them” and “protect them.” Through the ministry of Jesus, the King of the Jews, the people of God's “flock” have become “like jewels of a crown.” The Lord's “beauty” will “shine on His land” forever in the resurrection lives of His redeemed children. A renewed humanity will “flourish” in a bountiful environment of joy and peace because of the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Creator God, all the nations will come before You. There is no safety in the might of men. The hopes of many earthly powers shall perish when You come to cut off the pride of the arrogant. You will bring Your loved ones to a place of great security. Your Son will be our King, and He will give to us an age of perfect wholeness. He will rule to the very ends of the earth. We long for the fullest coming of His holy reign. Stir up Your sons, O Lord, that we might move forward even now in Christian love. Others may seek to kill, but we come as agents of salvation. How great is Your goodness! How wonderful is Your beauty!

Zechariah 8

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“I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy.” The Lord was deeply committed in love to His people. This was not a character defect, but a trait that was essential for the eternal well-being of His chosen ones. Despite the sin of Israel and Judah, God would never abandon His covenant love toward His elect.

The Almighty would make Jerusalem into “the faithful city.” The center of the Lord's presence on earth would be filled with the elderly who would enjoy the wholesome activity of young boys and girls happily and safely playing in the streets. God would bring back His scattered children from the east and the west so that they could “dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.” All of the citizens there would be counted as the Lord's beloved family, and He would be “their God in faithfulness and righteousness.”

Even in the days of Zechariah there was evidence that life could be better if Jehovah's subjects devoted themselves to worship. When they turned their attention toward the construction of the temple, their earlier frustrations were lifted. The Lord promised the Jews that there would be “a sowing of peace,” and that they would be a “blessing” to many others just as God had told Abraham so many centuries earlier. Yet if they did not attend to His Law concerning daily ethical standards, they would never find stability and joy. If they desired feasts rather then the familiar fasts commemorating historical disasters, they needed to “love truth and peace.”

Zechariah announced the good news to His listeners that even far-off people groups all over the earth would one day see connection with the God of Israel as being the very best choice of their lives. They would announce to their friends, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord,” and they would encourage others by saying, “I myself am going.” This invitation to worship Yahweh would bear great fruit among the Gentiles, so that eventually “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.'”

That might have sounded like too extravagant a promise in the centuries before the coming of the Messiah, but today the church is living proof that millions who have fled for refuge to Jesus have been grafted into Jehovah's covenant community. Like the unclean woman who secretly touched the hem of His garment in hope that she might be healed, countless men, women, and children have found their place in a new Jerusalem. This could only have been accomplished through the saving work of one God/Man, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Our Father, You are jealous for Your people. You discipline those You love, but You will accomplish the fullness of Your wonderful promises. You will rescue us and we will dwell with You forever. Help us to be strong, that Your temple might be built up in our place and time. We shall live in the midst of a great and fruitful land, and we will speak kindly to those all around us. We long for the day when You will grant the greatest blessing to Your church. In response to Your clear commandment, we commit our lives to justice and truth. Fill us with joy and peace, and assemble us together as those who will seek Your favor with confidence. May we take hold of our Redeemer’s robe with assurance, for He is powerful to save, and He is bringing us to Your city.

Zechariah 7

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During the years that God's people were in exile in Babylon, some observant Jews developed a custom of fasting to commemorate the month when the place of God's presence in Jerusalem had been destroyed by invading armies. In the time of Zechariah they wondered whether they should continue with that practice now that a new temple was being rebuilt.

The Lord answered them with a question. “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month ... was it for Me that you fasted?” A second probing inquiry from God concerned their times of feasting. “And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?”

How would they know whether they were living for themselves or for the glory of Jehovah? True repentance would be a more accurate indication of their spiritual condition than any prolonged habit of ceremonial holiness.

The Lord directed their attention to the words and history surrounding former prophets like Jeremiah. How had God instructed His chosen ones in earlier years before their deportation, and what was their response to His Word? The Lord had given their fathers simple directions consistent with His moral Law and His own character. “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.” How had Judah reacted to these commandments? “They refused to pay attention.”

God's children had been very stubborn during those earlier decades. “Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts.” Jehovah had spoken to them, but they had ignored Him to their own peril. What was the discipline of the Lord concerning their rebellion? When “they called” out to Him, He “would not hear.” He “scattered them” among “the nations,” and their homeland “was made desolate.”

In every generation from the days of righteous Job to the present hour, distressed human beings have come to God with their questions. He confronts our confusion with His own simply clarity. Frequently His responses have to do with knowing and trusting Him. Like the apostle Paul, we are at our best when we learn to see grace in our sufferings, remembering that God has addressed our deepest needs through the life and death of His beloved Son. As Paul wrote from a prison cell in 2 Timothy 1:12, “I know whom I have believed.” Our God is able to guard our lives and our ministries until the moment when our temporary afflictions are more than overwhelmed by the wonder of His eternal glory.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, Your people of old pretended to be diligent concerning matters of obedience to Your Law, yet they made up commandments that You had not given to them. Though they claimed to serve You, they would not listen to Your Word. Will we go the same way? Take away our hypocrisy. Soften our hearts to hear You. Make us generous to the poor, and use us as ambassadors of Your loving-kindness wherever You send us.

Zechariah 6

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“Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots.” The vehicles that the prophet gazed upon were driven by mighty stallions. They went out “to the four winds of the heaven” after appearing “before the Lord of all the earth.” Jehovah sent some to the superpowers in the north and others to their counterparts in the south. Yahweh's “strong horses” were “impatient” to set forth on their mission to “patrol the earth.” After receiving the command to “go,” a final word of explanation was given regarding those traveling toward Babylon: They were to “set My Spirit at rest in the north country.” These heavenly steeds would restrain the larger imperial powers there, preventing them from destroying the fledgling efforts of the small community of returning Jewish exiles.

The Word of the Lord accompanying this powerful picture concerned the immediate hope of God's people. Joshua (the highest religious official at the time) and the figure referred to in Zechariah 3 as “the Branch” would be used by the Almighty to “build the temple of the Lord.” A “man” from God would sit on a “royal throne,” and priest and king would have a “counsel of peace between them both.”

The Jews would not do the work on this enterprise alone. Those who were “far off” would “come and help.” The Lord's sanctuary would only be completed “if” the covenant community would actually “obey the voice of the Lord.” But would that ever happen? The history of even the most holy of the returned exiles forces us to admit that God's people have never obeyed Him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength.

The promise of shalom would have to await the provision of a perfect Keeper of the Law. Our Prophet, Priest, and King did the works necessary in order to secure heaven's blessings for us. The temple that Jesus would build would begin with His own resurrection body and would extend throughout the earth to include all those who put their trust in Him.

The Lord's church continues to rely on the strength of the Almighty to restrain our own sin as well as those formidable authorities arrayed against His children in every era. We pray for all those in “high positions” in civil realms with confidence that it will be best for all the believers to live a “peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:2-3). We seek the salvation of a great multitude from all over the globe, and we are filled with gratitude for the perfect obedience of Jesus and the gospel of saving grace secured for us by the blood of the cross.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father, You are sovereign over every event in all places and ages. You make Your messengers strong for Your eternal purposes. You will protect Your people, and the earth will know Your almighty justice. Your Son, the Branch, will build His church as a holy temple. Use us in the gathering of this great assembly. We will diligently obey Your voice, O Lord our God.

Zechariah 5

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“I see a flying scroll.” Zechariah received a vision from God for the good of the Lord's covenant assembly. This billboard in the sky contained at least two commandments, the Lord's prohibitions against stealing and false witness, but the message was also a “curse” that went out against the land. In those homes where thieves and liars resided, ignoring God's Law would have devastating consequences. Evildoers would be “cleaned out” of the nation and their houses would be destroyed.

Jehovah gave His prophet another message through a different powerful metaphor. This time Zechariah saw a big “basket” with a “leaden cover” and “a woman” sitting inside. Her name was “Wickedness,” and she was taken east to what had once been Babylon where her little prison was placed on a special foundation far away from the Promised Land.

The meanings behind these two heaven-sent pictures were related to each other. First, sin was destructive in the lives of those who claimed to be worshipers of God but who were actually dedicated to dishonest behavior. Second, the Lord was powerful enough to remove wickedness from His vulnerable children.

The “flying scroll” reminds us that at the center of our faith is the gift of the Word of God who came to us in person from heaven. The Old Covenant Scriptures were a great revelation of Yahweh and His standards, but we have never had a fuller visual display of righteousness than the God/Man Jesus Christ. He was, and always will be, honesty and truth incarnate, and the story of His cross is an eternal reminder that He has taken the penalty for us that we deserved.

This same Jesus is the only King who can reign sovereignly over the extensive depravity lodged in the hearts of human beings. He knows how to restrain our immorality and our false boasting. We love to make a parade of our own supposed ethical superiority while we flatter ourselves with our imagined ability to hide our sin from God. The Lord not only atoned for our trespasses, He also showed us what we had to see about our need for holiness in the present age. Most delightfully, the day is swiftly approaching when all of our transgressions will be entirely removed from us. This is better than a temporary container for “Wickedness.” He will take all evil away from us forever.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Sovereign Lord, bring the Word to us in power. Show us how the curse of the covenant has come upon our Redeemer so that the fullness of Your blessings would rest upon Your humble servants. Take away our iniquity now and forever. Remove the ugliness of our sin very far from us. Though we were once enslaved in wickedness, Jesus Christ has made us free.

Zechariah 4

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The Lord showed Zechariah another vision with a “lampstand all of gold” and “two olive trees” by it. The prophet did not understand the meaning of the vision, and so he asked for interpretive help.

God's explanation surprisingly focused on Zerubbabel, the descendant of King David in the days of the return of the Jews from exile. The New Testament uses of these two images from Zechariah help us to know that both the lampstand and the olive trees stand for Christ and His witnesses upon the earth (Revelation 1:12, 1:20, 11:4). What did that have to do with Zerubbabel?

Zerubbabel, the Christ figure in his day, needed to have spiritual faith in the power and promises of God. Though he might be discouraged by the “day of small things,” great progress would come based on God's plans for Jerusalem. The physical temple that Zerubbabel had begun to construct would be finished in his lifetime. More than that, every “mountain” of unbelief and falsehood would be no match for the “grace” of the Almighty and the holy praise of His people.

God's purposes would extend far beyond the days of Zechariah and Zerubbabel. The latter's ultimate descendant, Jesus, would build a temple of faithful worshipers in the centuries ahead. Christ and His people would be a lampstand for the world (John 1:4, Matthew 5:14), and they would move mountains by prayer (Matthew 21:21-22). By God's design, they would be a part of a new kingdom for the praise of His glorious grace. Every achievement in the Lord's worldwide church would happen “not by might, nor by power” originating in men or women. As God had promised through Zechariah so long ago, true heavenly fruit would be a gift of God, “by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, purify Your church. Make it a lampstand of the finest gold. Give life to Your people by the power and presence of Your Holy Spirit. Fill us with Your grace, and build us up as a living temple. Establish us as true witnesses of Your holiness and Your goodness, for You have blessed us through our glorious King.

Zechariah 3

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The name “Joshua” is important in the Bible. It means “Jehovah is salvation.” The most famous Joshua in the Old Testament is the warrior who led the people of Israel into the Promised Land after the death of Moses. The other significant Joshua in the Hebrew Scriptures is the focus of Zechariah 3, the high priest in the time of Israel's restoration to Canaan after decades of exile. A priest in those days was the person who offered up animal sacrifices to God through a system of devotion that insisted that worshipers bring the blood of a substitute to shield them from the wrath of God.

In this chapter the presenting problem was that Joshua the priest was not holy enough to stand before the Lord. Satan, the chief of fallen angels, was making an accusation against him when God said, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!” Then referring to Joshua, Jehovah said, “Is this not a brand (burning stick) plucked from the fire?”

The I-AM goes on to vividly illustrate the two essentials of how an unclean sinner like Joshua could safely live in the presence of a holy God. First the Lord said, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Joshua's guilt had to be taken away. Second, “I will clothe you with pure vestments.” God required the positive signs of a clean life that Joshua could not produce in himself. He need a holiness that could only be given to him as a gift.

Where would those heavenly clothes come from? The Lord indicated the future Savior would come who would be called “the Branch.” The promised royal descendant of David would do the work of a perfect Priest on behalf of the covenant community. This Son of David would be a new “Joshua,” the Hebrew equivalent of “Jesus,” the name given from God for the Messiah (Matthew 1:21).

The earlier prophets prepared the faithful for a special “Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5, 33:15) descended from “the root of Jesse” (King David's father). Jesus, our Priest and King is making us a fruitful “branch” (Isaiah 11:1-2, 61:11, and John 15:1-11). Our final “Joshua” fulfills the meaning of His name exactly. He is “the Lord” Himself who is truly “our salvation.” His death on the cross took away our filthy rags and His life supplied us with everything that we need from His own flawless holiness. The gift of Jesus is the only rational answer to both Satan's accusations against us and our own self-recriminations.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father God, Jesus is our great High Priest. He has removed our filthy garments and has carried away our sins. Through His death our debt is paid, and by His resurrection we have been credited with a righteousness that is not our own. O Lord, we long to live with You forever. Our salvation has been accomplished in a single day, and now there is room in Your house for all who rest in Your Son.

Zechariah 2

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God sent a heavenly messenger to Zechariah to instruct the Lord's covenant community about a future “Jerusalem” that would be full of the presence of the Almighty. “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.” Who would dwell in this city of peace? Exiles fleeing “from the land of the north” would come, but they would be joined by “many nations” from the other tribes of the earth who would seek to “join themselves to the Lord.”

All those foreigners who would eventually love the God of Israel would do whatever was necessary to “escape to Zion.” The “Babylon” of the powers of this world would no longer be a safe haven. A multitude of diverse worshipers would turn to “the Lord of Hosts” and would be recognized as rightly taking their place among those who were “the apple of His eye.”

How would this miracle come to pass in which countless non-Jews would be fellow citizens in the kingdom of Jehovah? The great I-AM would be commissioned by a being called here “the Lord.” This sovereign work of the only One who could ever be what the Nicene Creed calls “God from God,” would build up a new gathering of the elect. They would be His “Judah” and the Lord's own “Jerusalem” despite the fact that they would not be the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

In John 1 New Testament readers are introduced to “the Word” who is both “God” and “with God.” We hear of the Father and the Son also in Psalm 110 which begins, “The Lord says to My Lord: 'Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool.'” Jesus confounded His foes by asking them how the Messiah of Psalm 110 could be both David's son and David's Lord.” The same mystery of at least two persons in one Godhead is preserved for us in the words of Zechariah 2.

The Lord Jesus who was sent by His Father to build up a holy Jerusalem has now revealed Himself to Israel and the world. God is very much at work through His Son. “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.”

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord God, what is the measure of Your church? Will we be like a nation without walls? Will we be faithful to Your commands? You alone are the glory in our midst, O Lord. Be with us forever, and gather Your people from every tribe and tongue and nation. Protect us, for we are the apple of Your eye. Come to us, and dwell with us. May we be a glorious inheritance for Your Son. We are Yours, O Lord.

Zechariah 1

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“The Lord was very angry with your fathers.” Zechariah, writing this in 520 B.C., was waiting for the reestablishment of the chosen people of God in the Promised Land. After decades of exile, the time was long overdue for the Lord's covenant people to acknowledge their disobedience and to repent of all known sin. God gave them an invitation: “Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” The repetition of God's title in this simple sentence reinforces the solemn command and the promise attached to it. While God is everywhere (Psalm 139:8), the Lord was assuring His holy remnant that He would respond with blessing to their steps toward greater obedience.

“So they repented and said, As the Lord of hosts purposed to deal with us for our words and deeds, so He has dealt with us.” Who gave them their change of heart? We can have no doubt that such a good gift came from above (James 1:17 and Acts 5:31). Yet the fact that the grace of God is always at root in every true spiritual progress that human beings make will not change the truth that the Lord may choose to reward obedience as He sees fit. The Lord would indeed bring comfort and aid to the returning exiles.

God communicated His favor through visions of horses, horns, and craftsmen. Though the detailed interpretations of each part of the story may elude us, the main point was clear: The Almighty would punish those powers once used by Him in disciplining His sheep. The nations of the world were at ease, but their peace would not last forever. What about Israel? The Lord had “comforting and gracious words” for the faithful who listened to Zechariah.

Our Father in heaven sees the enemies of His covenant family in every generation. We may endure a period of discipline for a season, but His gracious commitment toward us will never be overturned. He calls us to a true relationship with Him even during the most challenging moments of divine chastening. The God who sent forth His Son to die for our sins will certainly not abandon us forever.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Lord of Hosts, You are right to be angry concerning every violation of Your commandments. We must return to You, and You will surely return to us. Grant us the gift of repentance that we would rejoice in You and obey Your precepts. Give us perfect rest in Your Son Jesus Christ. Build up Your Jerusalem through Your great mercy. Bring us prosperity, comfort, and joy, even in this age of suffering. Will we be able to endure the rage of the nations that come against us? Defend Your church, O Lord. Make the ministry of Your Word powerful for the restoration of Your people.

Haggai 2

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The Lord brought some of His people back into the Promised Land after a period of exile. He gave instructions through Haggai to the leaders and the entire community to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Some of the older citizens had actually seen the prior house of worship that had been demolished decades earlier. The foundation now before them was smaller. It would have been easy to believe that the best years for the Jews were long gone.

The Lord insisted that they look forward to a coming future age of glory. They were to “be strong” and to do what God had commanded with confidence in Him. He said to them, “I am with you,” and “My Spirit remains in your midst.” He said, “Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth” in a way that would involve the Gentile nations of the world and the worship of the God of the Jews. The Lord would bring the wealth of the nations into a better “house.” The Almighty revealed that an era of majestic splendor and safety was coming. “In this place I will give peace.”

The New Testament teaches us that Jesus and His church are the fulfillment of these great promises. We are not seeking to build another shining edifice on the top of Mount Zion, since we ourselves are living stones built upon the Cornerstone of Christ. The worldwide assembly of resurrected worshipers will be far greater than any facility that man could ever construct. (See John 2:18-22, Revelation 21:22-27, and Ephesians 2:11-22.)

In the world of Old Testament ceremonies, that which was declared to be “unclean” had a power of destruction that turned everything it touched into an object that God could never be near. Yet by the blood of Jesus, heaven is making the unholy to be holy. The One who cleansed lepers has made us acceptable so that we will not destroy the spotless land that Christ is bringing down from above.

Our Messiah is greater than Zerubbabel, the leading descendant of David back in the days of Haggai. He is the Lord's own “signet ring,” precious to our everlasting Father. Jehovah gave the Israelites a new beginning in the time of Zerubbabel. We have been granted something more: life from the dead through the perfect Son of David. Jesus is the King of a kingdom that will never fail. In Him we are forever blessed.

Prayer from A Book of Prayers

Father, give us a vision for the glory of Your house. Grant to us strength for the work that You have called us to do. Forgive us when we consider the remnant of Your Kingdom as something too small for our most fervent desires and efforts. Touch us day by day by Your Spirit. Take away the unclean impulse of inner rebellion within us, and bless us from this day forward. Shake the heavens and the earth to accomplish Your perfect purposes. May Your Son be the delight of all who call upon His Name.