After reading chapter 12, and how the Jews will look on him whom they pierced and mourn as if for an only son, to read verse 1 here is awesome. On that day, the day when they look on Jesus, a fountain will be opened to the house of David and its inhabitants to cleanse them from their sin and impurity.
This is a never ending fountain of love and mercy, grace and forgiveness, and it will never run out. It is not a case of first come first served, if you miss the fountain when it first opens, you have missed your chance. No, it is for all time and for all peoples. It is the Living Water, Jesus Christ, through whom we are all forgiven, all cleansed, though many people deliberately choose not to accept this free gift of salvation.
The chapter goes on to talk about idols and false prophets, about how they will be removed form the land, bit the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them. This is not just true of the land in the time of Zechariah, because there are many false prophets in these days, seeking to mislead, turn people away from God instead of towards Him. It is a case of always being on the alert, reading our bibles to make sure we know the word of God and know when someone is not speaking the truth from the scriptures. I sit here and think of the various types of gospel that are being propounded today, how if you haven't got something, it is because you don't have enough faith. Try telling that to the starving in Africa, the women in the Sudan who daily face the threat of rape when they go to collect firewood for their family.
There is a house nearby that has recently placed signs outside offering tarot and spirit reading. It is on the main road, where loads of cars and lorries pass by each day, and yet I get a chill every time we drive past. People are hungry for God, yet they are searching in all the wrong places. Tarot cards and spirit readings are from the enemy, satan, the father of lies, and are not from God. I know a spiritualist/medium, who is a lovely woman, and yet she is mixed up with this and makes her living from it. I may well be the only Christian she knows, yet how often do we talk about this?
Then the promise that a remnant, a third will be saved. On the one hand, a third is not a lot, but on the other hand, who really deserves to be saved anyway? God is so gracious, so living, so merciful, and yet so pure and holy, that our sins have separated us from Him and it is only through Jesus that we can freely approach the throne of God, and have eternal life. He is so good, so awesome, so magnificent, that I am overwhelmed by all that He has done and is doing in my life. I just pray my family will open their eyes and see what they are missing out on before it is too late.
Friday, 8 August 2008
Tuesday, 5 August 2008
Zechariah chapter 12
One day, everyone will know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Not just Christians, but all unbelievers, they too will come to realise just what they have been turning their backs on all this time. But by then, it will be too late for many of them as their hearts will have become so hardened. I worry about my family, because they do not know Jesus, and yet it is all in God's hands, in His timing and I am trusting in Him that one day they will believe. After all, if a day is as a thousand years to the Lord, then ten years is only quarter of an hour (well 14.4 minutes to be exact!), so there is plenty of time….
But just read these words about a pouring out of the Holy Spirit. I read these and am reminded of Lakeland, Dudley, Wales, all that is happening in the world around us as there is real move of the Holy Spirit, if only we have the eyes to see. We are seeing bible prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes and there are things happening now, like the plans to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, that will only happen in the End Times.
But verse 10 here I think is full of such promise, with the outpouring of the Spirit, but such sorrow, when the Jews, the house of David and Jerusalem, look on Jesus and realise what really happened 2,000 years ago. When they look on the one they pierced, Jesus, they will mourn as if for an only child and grieve bitterly. How sorrowful that day will be - imagine looking the scars on Jesus' hands, his feet, and knowing that your ancestors were the ones that actually put the scars there. And yes, I know that we are each responsible for the scars because it is our sins, my sins, the sins of each one of us, that led to this, but the other aspect to this is how the Jews will feel when they acknowledge Jesus. Imagine knowing how you would feel, knowing that someone actually died because your ancestors refused to recognise who he was and deliberately plotted and schemed to kill him. I'm not for one minute saying the Jews are worse than anyone else, that this is all their fault. After all, it is because of all the mean and horrible things I have done that Jesus died, that he now carries those scars. But this is like last year, when people apologised for the slave trade and the harm that our ancestors did to those in Africa and other nations.
Like it says in verse 10, they will grieve bitterly as one grieves for a firstborn son.
But just read these words about a pouring out of the Holy Spirit. I read these and am reminded of Lakeland, Dudley, Wales, all that is happening in the world around us as there is real move of the Holy Spirit, if only we have the eyes to see. We are seeing bible prophecy being fulfilled before our very eyes and there are things happening now, like the plans to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, that will only happen in the End Times.
But verse 10 here I think is full of such promise, with the outpouring of the Spirit, but such sorrow, when the Jews, the house of David and Jerusalem, look on Jesus and realise what really happened 2,000 years ago. When they look on the one they pierced, Jesus, they will mourn as if for an only child and grieve bitterly. How sorrowful that day will be - imagine looking the scars on Jesus' hands, his feet, and knowing that your ancestors were the ones that actually put the scars there. And yes, I know that we are each responsible for the scars because it is our sins, my sins, the sins of each one of us, that led to this, but the other aspect to this is how the Jews will feel when they acknowledge Jesus. Imagine knowing how you would feel, knowing that someone actually died because your ancestors refused to recognise who he was and deliberately plotted and schemed to kill him. I'm not for one minute saying the Jews are worse than anyone else, that this is all their fault. After all, it is because of all the mean and horrible things I have done that Jesus died, that he now carries those scars. But this is like last year, when people apologised for the slave trade and the harm that our ancestors did to those in Africa and other nations.
Like it says in verse 10, they will grieve bitterly as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Sunday, 3 August 2008
Zechariah Chapter 11
Zechariah 11:10 -13 Then I took my staff called Favour and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord. I told them, If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it. So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, Throw it to the potter— the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter.
30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave gored by an ox, was the value placed on Jesus by the Pharisees. Judas, when he realised exactly what he had done, threw the money at the Pharisees:
Matthew 27: 6-10
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.
Coincidence or prophesy? I just think it is so amazing when you read something like this in Zechariah, and then see it actually happen in the New Testament.
But the while point of this chapter is the difference between a god and a bad shepherd and Zechariah has to act it out before the people. He makes two staffs, one called Favour, and the other called Union, and then breaks them in two, to show that God's covenant between him and his chosen people was broken (Favour) and that there is no unity between Israel and Judah (Union). And the thing is, these covenants were broken by the people, not by God, because the people, the Jews had turned away from God and started worshipping false gods. When Jesus, the Messiah, Came, the people, the Pharisees, rejected him, and he was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, no more than a slave was worth.
The chapter is also a warning to worthless shepherds, those who lead nations, people, churches, who do not care for the flock underneath them. This is like governments who are out to feather their own nests, who accept bribes, oppress the poor and do not seek justice. It is a warning for church leaders, who draw people away from God by their words, their preaching, their lifestyles. Being a leader is a position of great responsibility and not something that should be undertaken lightly.
30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave gored by an ox, was the value placed on Jesus by the Pharisees. Judas, when he realised exactly what he had done, threw the money at the Pharisees:
Matthew 27: 6-10
The chief priests picked up the coins and said, It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money. So they decided to use the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me.
Coincidence or prophesy? I just think it is so amazing when you read something like this in Zechariah, and then see it actually happen in the New Testament.
But the while point of this chapter is the difference between a god and a bad shepherd and Zechariah has to act it out before the people. He makes two staffs, one called Favour, and the other called Union, and then breaks them in two, to show that God's covenant between him and his chosen people was broken (Favour) and that there is no unity between Israel and Judah (Union). And the thing is, these covenants were broken by the people, not by God, because the people, the Jews had turned away from God and started worshipping false gods. When Jesus, the Messiah, Came, the people, the Pharisees, rejected him, and he was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, no more than a slave was worth.
The chapter is also a warning to worthless shepherds, those who lead nations, people, churches, who do not care for the flock underneath them. This is like governments who are out to feather their own nests, who accept bribes, oppress the poor and do not seek justice. It is a warning for church leaders, who draw people away from God by their words, their preaching, their lifestyles. Being a leader is a position of great responsibility and not something that should be undertaken lightly.
Zechariah chapter 10
People in authority, MP's, government ministers, local Councillors, pastors, priests, teachers, business leaders, the police, have such a responsibility under God that I don't think many of them truly appreciate that they will be held to account for how they use the power they hold. It is not just a case of priests, pastors, ministers, church leaders, being held to account for how they have led the congregation, the church, but those in positions of authority, no matter who they are, will be judged by God for how they dealt with people, how they led them in the good times and the bad.
People in authority have such a responsibility and many of them do not even realise it. They go into politics, business as a career move, a way of making money, not appreciating the full consequences of what they are doing. Yes, there are many who do realise the significance, and how they will be held to account, but you only have to look around at the number of politicians using the media to try and portray things in the best possible light, who very rarely answer a question but just confuse you with waffle, and who seek to bury bad news.
In these verses, God is criticising the leaders of Judah and Israel for leading his people astray. The people followed the example of the leaders, the priests, the teachers, and did as they saw. This is one very good reason why we as Christians should be seen to "walk the talk" and let our lifestyles match up with our words, our profession of faith. We too will be held accountable if our way of life causes someone else to stumble.
Jesus is the shepherd, the cornerstone, the tent peg and it is so sad that billions of people today do not realise this. There is so much evidence that Jesus Christ lived, died, was buried and rose again and yet people even doubt his very existence. I think I read somewhere that there is more evidence for the life of Jesus than for that of Shakespeare! And yes, the cynical may say that it was all a Roman plot, or a scheme devised by the disciples who stole Jesus' body and there is no real proof. But if that is the case, why did every single disciple refuse to deny the resurrection? All of them except John were martyred, having their heads chopped off, being crucified and goodness knows what else, but not one of them denied the resurrection, or confessed it was all a lie. I can't think of many people who would suffer an excruciating death because of a lie - they would only do that if it was the truth. After all, if you're lying there about to be tortured or killed in some really painful way, you are going to try and get out of it, and admitting the resurrection was a scam would be the one thing that your torturers/executioners would want to hear. But not one of the disciples ever admitted that. Would you go to your death because of a lie or would you admit the truth? The fact that none of the disciples ever said that Jesus did not rise from the dead has got to be proof it really happened. Nothing else explains it.
And then in verse 6, God has compassion on the people of Judah and Israel, they are reunited as one people, restored, and it is as if God had never rejected them in the first place, because He is the Lord their God, our God, my God, and He will answer them, you and me.
People in authority have such a responsibility and many of them do not even realise it. They go into politics, business as a career move, a way of making money, not appreciating the full consequences of what they are doing. Yes, there are many who do realise the significance, and how they will be held to account, but you only have to look around at the number of politicians using the media to try and portray things in the best possible light, who very rarely answer a question but just confuse you with waffle, and who seek to bury bad news.
In these verses, God is criticising the leaders of Judah and Israel for leading his people astray. The people followed the example of the leaders, the priests, the teachers, and did as they saw. This is one very good reason why we as Christians should be seen to "walk the talk" and let our lifestyles match up with our words, our profession of faith. We too will be held accountable if our way of life causes someone else to stumble.
Jesus is the shepherd, the cornerstone, the tent peg and it is so sad that billions of people today do not realise this. There is so much evidence that Jesus Christ lived, died, was buried and rose again and yet people even doubt his very existence. I think I read somewhere that there is more evidence for the life of Jesus than for that of Shakespeare! And yes, the cynical may say that it was all a Roman plot, or a scheme devised by the disciples who stole Jesus' body and there is no real proof. But if that is the case, why did every single disciple refuse to deny the resurrection? All of them except John were martyred, having their heads chopped off, being crucified and goodness knows what else, but not one of them denied the resurrection, or confessed it was all a lie. I can't think of many people who would suffer an excruciating death because of a lie - they would only do that if it was the truth. After all, if you're lying there about to be tortured or killed in some really painful way, you are going to try and get out of it, and admitting the resurrection was a scam would be the one thing that your torturers/executioners would want to hear. But not one of the disciples ever admitted that. Would you go to your death because of a lie or would you admit the truth? The fact that none of the disciples ever said that Jesus did not rise from the dead has got to be proof it really happened. Nothing else explains it.
And then in verse 6, God has compassion on the people of Judah and Israel, they are reunited as one people, restored, and it is as if God had never rejected them in the first place, because He is the Lord their God, our God, my God, and He will answer them, you and me.
Zechariah Chapter 9
As well as the doom and gloom prophesied for Aram and Damascus, Hamath, Tyre and Sidon, this chapter is also all about the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to think that these words were written some 500 years or more before Jesus was born, and yet it all came to pass just as it is written in verse 9. then in verse 10, this prophesy has yet to be fulfilled. I love the way the bible does that - like a huge Persian carpet with everything fitting together into one beautiful pattern. You can examine the detail here, the pattern there, but it is not until you step back and look at the whole thing, the whole bible, that you get the full picture. How can you understand the grace and mercy of God, the great sacrifice He made for us, if you do not read the New Testament, and how can you appreciate just how deeply and steadfastly he loves us, without reading the Old Testament? They fit together like pieces of a jigsaw, and the picture on the jigsaw is Jesus.
It is amazing to think that these words were written some 500 years or more before Jesus was born, and yet it all came to pass just as it is written in verse 9. then in verse 10, this prophesy has yet to be fulfilled. I love the way the bible does that - like a huge Persian carpet with everything fitting together into one beautiful pattern. You can examine the detail here, the pattern there, but it is not until you step back and look at the whole thing, the whole bible, that you get the full picture. How can you understand the grace and mercy of God, the great sacrifice He made for us, if you do not read the New Testament, and how can you appreciate just how deeply and steadfastly he loves us, without reading the Old Testament? They fit together like pieces of a jigsaw, and the picture on the jigsaw is Jesus.
Zechariah Chapter 8
2-3 This is what the Lord Almighty says: I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her. This is what the Lord says: I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.
7-8 This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.
This is how God feels about Jerusalem, about His people, His chosen nation (which includes us believers as descendants of Abraham) and how one day, Jesus will come to live in Jerusalem, the city he died for. He is passionate about us - sometimes that is hard to believe. After all, I know myself pretty well and sometimes, I don't like me, when I get cross and crabby, when I take out my stress and anxiety on others without meaning too, when I have no time for anyone else because I am so busy. I look in the mirror and wonder how anyone can be passionate about me, but it is just how God feels about each one of us believers.
He created us, designed every strand of our hair, every molecule on our body, the colour of our eyes, our height, the shape of our nose, our mouths, and face, anything and everything about us, He knew before we were born just how we would be. He sees us and sees someone who is beautiful, even on the inside, because we have been washed clean. He sees us as clothed in white robes of righteousness because of the sacrifice Jesus made for each and every one of us.
And one day, God and Jesus will be living in Jerusalem - just check out Revelation 21 for this. In that day, it will be as described here, people will be able to sit out in the sun, children will be able to play, it will be a safe place to live. Who can say that at the moment about Jerusalem with the news of the recent bombings and suicide bulldozer attacks and the like?
So this chapter is full of encouragement for the people, who had returned to Jerusalem, seen the devastation and were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task ahead of them. I get like that frequently, especially with the tax credit deadline at the end of this month and the amount of work I have to get through by then. But it is a case of remembering that anything is possible for God, and with God on our side, how can we fail?
7-8 This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.
This is how God feels about Jerusalem, about His people, His chosen nation (which includes us believers as descendants of Abraham) and how one day, Jesus will come to live in Jerusalem, the city he died for. He is passionate about us - sometimes that is hard to believe. After all, I know myself pretty well and sometimes, I don't like me, when I get cross and crabby, when I take out my stress and anxiety on others without meaning too, when I have no time for anyone else because I am so busy. I look in the mirror and wonder how anyone can be passionate about me, but it is just how God feels about each one of us believers.
He created us, designed every strand of our hair, every molecule on our body, the colour of our eyes, our height, the shape of our nose, our mouths, and face, anything and everything about us, He knew before we were born just how we would be. He sees us and sees someone who is beautiful, even on the inside, because we have been washed clean. He sees us as clothed in white robes of righteousness because of the sacrifice Jesus made for each and every one of us.
And one day, God and Jesus will be living in Jerusalem - just check out Revelation 21 for this. In that day, it will be as described here, people will be able to sit out in the sun, children will be able to play, it will be a safe place to live. Who can say that at the moment about Jerusalem with the news of the recent bombings and suicide bulldozer attacks and the like?
So this chapter is full of encouragement for the people, who had returned to Jerusalem, seen the devastation and were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task ahead of them. I get like that frequently, especially with the tax credit deadline at the end of this month and the amount of work I have to get through by then. But it is a case of remembering that anything is possible for God, and with God on our side, how can we fail?
Zechariah Chapter 7
What do you really feel when you go to church on Sunday? Is it a case of turning up because that's just what you do on Sunday, because all your friends go, your colleagues, business associates? Is it a case of going to impress the neighbours as to how holy your are, how good and righteous, how faithful? Or do you go to worship the one true Living God, to give Him your praise, your worship, your thanks? To seek his face, and to do his will?
And what about the rest of the week? Do you have a Christian face you wear on Sunday mornings, only to take it off the rest of the time when you lie, gossip, take part in shady business deals, beat your wife behind closed doors, abuse your children, your employees?
Here, God is telling the people of Bethel in no uncertain terms that they had a Sunday face, they were worshipping, fasting, but their hearts were not in it. They were doing it for show, and there was no meaning behind the ritual.
We need to get our hearts right, to turn to God and not just be a Sunday Christian. Our lives need to reflect our faith, whether we are with others or on our own. We may be able to fool others, to fool ourselves, but we are unable to fool God. He sees right inside each one of us, to those deep dark places we never even venture ourselves because they are too murky, too depressing, with all the hidden sins and secrets. He knows when we wear our Sunday faces, when our hearts are not in the worship, it is just meaningless words, and he also knows when our hearts are truly filled with worship, when our voices are raised to him in praise and we really mean it with every atom of our being.
We are called to love mercy, to seek justice and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8), just as much as the Israelites were when they went to Zechariah asking if they should keep the day of mourning as they had for the past 70 years. Our hearts need to be right with God, not our demonstrations and professions of faith.
And what about the rest of the week? Do you have a Christian face you wear on Sunday mornings, only to take it off the rest of the time when you lie, gossip, take part in shady business deals, beat your wife behind closed doors, abuse your children, your employees?
Here, God is telling the people of Bethel in no uncertain terms that they had a Sunday face, they were worshipping, fasting, but their hearts were not in it. They were doing it for show, and there was no meaning behind the ritual.
We need to get our hearts right, to turn to God and not just be a Sunday Christian. Our lives need to reflect our faith, whether we are with others or on our own. We may be able to fool others, to fool ourselves, but we are unable to fool God. He sees right inside each one of us, to those deep dark places we never even venture ourselves because they are too murky, too depressing, with all the hidden sins and secrets. He knows when we wear our Sunday faces, when our hearts are not in the worship, it is just meaningless words, and he also knows when our hearts are truly filled with worship, when our voices are raised to him in praise and we really mean it with every atom of our being.
We are called to love mercy, to seek justice and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8), just as much as the Israelites were when they went to Zechariah asking if they should keep the day of mourning as they had for the past 70 years. Our hearts need to be right with God, not our demonstrations and professions of faith.
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