Zechariah 1:7-17 says...Bible reading week 29, day 1

Today's verses are Zechariah 1:7-17 which read,

7  - On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: 

8 -  I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. 

9 -  Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 

10 - And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.” 

11 -  So they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”

12 - Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” 

13 - The Lord answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. 

14 - So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 

15 -  But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” 

16 -  Therefore thus says the Lord, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ 

17 -  Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

This is a little longer passage than we usually cover but it encompasses the first vision of eight that Zechariah has.  It is received 3 months after Zechariah's first call to the people to repent and to return to God  The result was that the remnant of Israel who returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple did just that.  They repented and returned to the worship of God.  The month of Shebat lands during our January/February and the year would be 519 B.C.

The first vision involves a man on a red horse and the man is later identified as an angel of the Lord.  He is riding a red horse in which the color red can signify blood and judgement.  He is among the myrtle trees that were used to make the booths or tents during the Festival of the Booths or Tabernacles to remember the time that they spent in the Wilderness before coming to the Promise Land.  It was a time to remember how God had provided for their needs when they were not yet in their homeland.  They are in a ravine, so a low place physically and there are some other horses of different colors and riders there.  The color white sometimes is associated with victory and the color sorrel is brownish in nature.  We have examples of this in the book of Revelation so this in not an isolated event to have a vision and have some colored horses.  These are behind the first rider so it seems he is in charge.

Zechariah needs an explanation and so the angel gives what is going on here.  The other angels on the other colored horses patrol the earth to see how the enemy is doing and the report is that they are quiet at the moment.  They are not making movements against Israel or against each other.  There is a quietness among the nations of the earth.  So the angel of the Lord speaks to God about bringing compassion upon the people of Jerusalem who have been in bondage for 70 years to the Babylonians.  

God responds with gracious and comforting words.  Remember when God was angry with them, very angry.  Now God has gracious and comforting words for them who have repented and returned to Him.  God is not only gracious and comforting with His words but He is also jealous for them.  We usually don't think of jealousy as a good thing but God was jealous for His people in Exodus 20:5 and 6, 

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 

We see it again in Exodus 34:14,

...for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God...

God is jealous for their love and obedience to being loyal to Him and going to show His protection to those who honor Him as He commands in His word.  God's anger is now directed toward those who have taken advantage of His people.  They were used to bring judgment on the people of God for not following after Him but now they took this position to benefit themselves and enslave them and even sometimes try to eliminate them as a people.  God is stepping in to protect them.

God made a way for them to return to Jerusalem.  God made a way for them to rebuild the temple which was their structure to conduct worship of Him.  God would make a way to rebuild the wall around the city to protect them.  God was going to re-establish Jerusalem's importance in the world among the nations.  A rebuilding of the nation of Israel was going to happen because God said so.

I think this could be one of those pictures of what was to come in the near future but also a picture of the end of time.  Jesus will return and He will bring final judgment.  He will bring about a new heaven and a new earth.  He will show compassion and graciousness on those who follow after Him and He will show anger on those who have been in it for themselves.  His kingdom will be established that will reign forever.  Will you be receiving His gracious and compassionate words or His words of anger.  Will you experience the jealously of God who provides eternally for those who love Him or will you experience the wrath of God who rights the wrong of those who love themselves and promote a furtherance from Him?   

This first vision is all about God providing a prosperity for those who follow after Him.  He is speaking through Zechariah to the people of Israel but also the words of the Bible are speaking to us to see how God operates.  To go against God is to experience His anger.  To go with God is to experience His grace and compassion.  Are you going with God or against God today?  Let us pray.

"Lord, a vision in the night to Zechariah to help him communicate to those who were listening to know more about You.  Thank You for these visions recorded so that we can grasp how important it is to honor and obey what You say.  Even though we need correction at times like the Israelites for 70 years, may we keep our mind set that this too is for our good to be brought back around to the One who truly loves us and provides all that we need.  Amen."

Pastor Adam