Day 284: Zechariah 9, 10 and 11

  NOTE: Sorry for the weird format today. I normally don't use my newer laptop to work on my blog, mostly because it plays tricks like this. My old laptop - which has now died - worked fine for blogging, games and email, but not much else. I'll see if I can figure something else out.

 

For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy . . . Woe to the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock (Zechariah 11:16,17).

 

Chapter 11 contains the allegory of the two shepherds. The people of Israel and Judah are in triple trouble: They have been sold by those who care only about profit; their buyers have slaughtered them; and their shepherds have abandoned them (v. 5). God instructs his shepherd to care for the flock.

 

God’s faithful shepherd honors his commitment, providing pasture and protection for the sheep, especially the weak and oppressed. But rather than appreciate the one who feeds and shelters them, the sheep resent the shepherd and rebel against his leadership. Upon firing him, they present to him his severance pay: 30 pieces of silver.

 

In place of the faithful shepherd, God gives them over to a worthless shepherd who abandons the lost sheep under his charge, lets the young wander off without exerting any effort to bring them home, refuses to salve their wounds, and leaves them to fend for themselves.

 

In John 10 Jesus declares that he is the Good Shepherd. In doing so, was he thinking about the writings of Zechariah? Likely. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).

 

Do you struggle against your Shepherd or gratefully rest in his tender care?

Day 283: Zechariah 5, 6, 7 and 8

In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take hold of one Jew by the edge of his robe and say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.” (Zechariah 8:23).

Now that exiles had returned to Jerusalem and were rebuilding the temple, Zechariah is asked if it is still necessary to fast during the fifth month (in which Jerusalem was destroyed). His answer shows they still don’t understand God’s priorities, which have not changed since before the exile.

Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts, do not think evil of each other (v. 9,10). No, God’s priorities are still the same.

Zechariah goes on to say: As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing (8:13). So disastrous were the consequences of their attitudes and behaviors, a popular curse would be, May you be cursed as Judah and Israel! But if they would just get their priorities right, the name of God’s people would be used as a blessing: May you be blessed like Judah and Israel! [1]

People from every nation and language would grab at their shirt sleeves and say, We want to be like you.

Want to be blessed? How will you administer justice and show mercy and compassion this week?

[1] Robert B. Chisholm. Handbook on the Prophets (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 467.

Day 282: Zechariah 1, 2, 3 and 4

Then [the angel] showed me Joshua the high priest . . . and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him (Zechariah 3:1).

Zechariah prophesies eight visions of good things to come among the Judean exiles returned from Babylon. In the first vision (1:7-17) of a man (the angel of the Lord) among the myrtle trees, the Lord affirms it is time for Judah to be forgiven.

In the second vision (1:18-21), four horns (probably the national powers responsible for the destruction and exile of Israel and Judah) are toppled by four craftsmen.

The third vision (2:1-13) depicts a man measuring Jerusalem. He is advised that Jerusalem’s population will be too large for a walled city, and that God himself will be Jerusalem’s wall of protection.

The fourth (3:1-10) introduces Joshua the high priest, whose robes are soiled, symbolic of Judah’s history of disobedience. Satan stands at his side to accuse him, but God decrees Joshua forgiven, in the stead of the nation. I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you (v. 4).

Vision five (4:1-14) describes a golden lampstand with seven lamps accompanied by two olive trees. The lamp may represent the rebuilt temple, while the olive trees represent Zerubbabel, Jerusalem’s governor, and Joshua the high priest. [1]

The point of all eight visions is that yesterday is forgiven, and tomorrow is filled with promise.

When Satan accuses you regarding your past, can you lean on God’s promises concerning your future?

Day 281b: Haggai 1 and 2

You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it (Haggai 1:6).

When Jerusalem was besieged, Solomon’s temple was destroyed before the final group of hostages was transported to Babylon. Over 50 years later, under King Cyrus, the exiles returned to their ancestral home.

Upon returning to Jerusalem, they were quick to plant crops and build houses for themselves, but they dragged their feet when it came to rebuilding the temple. God speaks to them through the prophet Haggai: Is it time for you to be living in your paneled houses, while [the temple] remains a ruin? (1:4)

Then Haggai, speaking on behalf of Yahweh, summarizes their financial portfolios: Your crops aren’t doing so good, you don’t have enough to eat or drink, the chilly breeze goes right through the holes in your clothes, and your paycheck never lasts until the end of the month. Kind of makes you say, “Hmmm.” (My Paraphrase, v. 6)

Today’s equivalent of building up God’s house before building our own would probably be giving financial support to the church. We could argue about whether or not the tithe (a tenth of our income) is still the standard, but we can’t argue with the results. Being generous with God and his children has a way of coming back to bless us.

When you have too much month at the end of the money, could it be because, in your attempt to look out for #1, you’ve forgotten who #1 really is?

Day 281a: Zephaniah 1, 2 and 3

The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad (Zephaniah 1:12).

The very first verse tells us Zephaniah ministered to Judah during the reign of Josiah, its last good king. Reading between the lines, we know it was in his early years because the prophet depicts a nation very unlike Judah subsequent to Josiah’s reforms (2 Kings 23, 2 Chronicles 34,35). [1]

Zephaniah describes a Judah in which the poor are oppressed by the rich; where people worship the false gods of other nations; where day in and day out business goes on as usual. No one is nervous about the possibility of divine action; no one is worried that God might show up and do something about it. The prevailing attitude is: God doesn’t care; he won’t get involved.

I was once in a discussion where another participant stated: I don’t believe in an interventionist god. Sounds smart… doesn’t make it correct.

The prophet tells another story. He says God is watching, and God does care. I will bring distress on the people . . . because they have sinned against the Lord (1:17). This pronouncement, though, is accompanied by promise of gathering and rescue (3:15,19-20). The distress appears to be exile under the Babylonians and rescue is those exiles coming home.

Yet again, judgment gives way to blessing. He will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

Have you ever thought, “God might see, but he won’t do anything about it”?

Day 280: Habakkuk 1, 2 and 3

Are you not from everlasting? (Habakkuk 1:12).

Put yourself in Habakkuk’s place. As a prophetic bridge between God and Jerusalem, you sound the alarm about the injustices in Judah foisted upon the poor and the weak by the rich and the powerful. God says, That’s okay. Even now I’m raising up a violent nation that will eradicate Judah. Problem solved. According to Robert Chisholm, that’s not the remedy Habakkuk had in mind. [1]

The prophet makes that quite clear in his ensuing dialog with the Almighty. O Lord, are you not from everlasting? . . . Why do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves? (1:12,13)

This is an important question: Are you not from everlasting? Habakkuk was betraying a weakness in human understanding. God looks at things on an epic scale, from everlasting to everlasting. We see only right now… and maybe the five minutes before and the five minutes after. But looking at the big picture, God – speaking to Babylon – says there is coming a time when the tables will be turned: Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you (2:8).

Habakkuk finally gets it: I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us (3:16).

How would things look differently if you could see the big picture?

[1] Robert B. Chisholm Jr. Handbook on the Prophets (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 435.

Day 279: Nahum 1, 2 and 3

Everyone who hears the news about you claps his hands at your fall (Nahum 3:19).

We can date Nahum to sometime after Assyria conquered the Egyptian city of Thebes (663 BC) and before Assyria was itself conquered by Babylon (612 BC). The weakening Assyrian Empire had wreaked havoc for over a hundred years as the most vicious military force ever known.

Not content to conquer, Assyria subdued her enemies by exiling them to the far reaches of the empire so that they could never again rally an army and fight back. Thus in 722 BC, Samaria (the capital of Israel – the northern kingdom) was conquered and its people relocated, never to be heard from again. For the next hundred years, Jerusalem (the capital of Judah – the southern kingdom) lived in fear it would be the next to suffer Assyria’s wrath.

Nahum speaks out against the aggressor empire, boldly proclaiming that Assyria would get a taste of its own medicine and that one day soon Nineveh (the empire’s capital) would be destroyed. The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him, but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh (1:7,8).

The prophet concludes by saying that no one will shed a tear for Assyria. No one will mourn for her, and no one will offer her comfort (3:7). Rather, there will be rejoicing at the news of her collapse.

What will people say about you after you’re gone?