Zechariah 8

Well....I'm almost to the point that I can spell the name of this chapter....hahahaha....

I read in the commentary that the part about Jerusalem being a good place to grow old....it's really a reflection of the fact that famine and war had decimated the male population, and there weren't many elderly people around.  So for God to say that it would be a great place to live out the golden years, said a lot about the stability of the city.....no way....plenty of food....and so on.

¹⁶ These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; ¹⁷ do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.

This is really straight forward, tactical stuff.  I love instructions like these.  No interpretation needed.  It would seem that this is common sense instructions.  But, these are things we all struggle with.  The one that seems a littel out of place is the one that says, "do not love to swear falsely."  Does anyone really LOVE to do that?  I think most people hate that behaviour in themselves, but just can't seem to stop the lie-ing.

that's about all I got today.

Zechariah 7

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.

Pretty basic, go to God daily and involve him in all parts of my life.  Don't just show up on days when I have issues or needs that I have determined are beyond my own control and would like to invite him to get a little temporary assistance.

knut

Zechariah 5 - 6

I just kept reading this morning.  It's weird.  I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be gleaning here.  I read this one in a couple different translations.  It seems like a peoty trip or something.  This one will require a little research to understand what's being talked about.....because we've already established that I'm really lazy....I'm counting on you to do it!

Just kidding.  I'll poke around and see what I can find.

here's a commentary that I found.  It's easy to navigate through the chapters.
http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?com=mhc&b=38&c=5

It still doesn't make sense to me.
What's the message to us?

tp

Zechariah 4

6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’says the Lord Almighty.

6-7 Then he said, “This is God’s Message to Zerubbabel: ‘You can’t force these things. They only come about through my Spirit,’ says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. ‘So, big mountain, who do you think you are? Next to Zerubbabel you’re nothing but a molehill...


We can do great things in this world, but we need to be filled up first with the Holy Spirit.  

At my church we continue our search for a Pastor of Discipleship and Mission.  The gentleman we are believe is being called to Westview is so full of the Spirit, I can see how much he waits on it to direct him.  It is so inspiring and attractive to see someone that full of the Spirit, and it makes me know I need to see to be filled much more than I already am.

knut

Zechariah 3

3-4 Joshua, standing before the angel, was dressed in dirty clothes. The angel spoke to his attendants, “Get him out of those filthy clothes,” and then said to Joshua, “Look, I’ve stripped you of your sin and dressed you up in clean clothes.”

No specific take today, i just enjoyed the imagery throughout the chapter especially the thought of being pulled out of my own dirty clothes and that fresh feeling of a good shower and nice clean clothes to start a new day--all the worries of the sins staining those clothes completely washed away.

knut

Zechariah 2

¹⁰ “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord.

Zechariah was written around 590BC.  He is given a vision the God will be coming to live among us, and sure enough 600 years later he did.  I wonder if by the time Zechariah died if he understood this would still happen or if he thought his prophesy was just off.

I could see it being the latter if he was anything like me and much of our current world.  I tend to think of things in my time line, not His.  Last week our sermon was out of James -

-14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

I wonder if Zechariah had this perspective?  If so I'm sure he was confident Jesus was still on his way, if not maybe he had doubts.  Today's chapter makes me think about events of life being on his timeline not mine.

knut

Zechariah 1

⁸ During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.


I got nothin, today.  But I do plan to ask God what's up with the colored horses when I see him.  I thought for sure there was some meaning there but in my brief research I find many people have tried to unlock the message but their thoughts to me appear nothing more than that...their thoughts.

I guess I don't have to wait to see him I can ask him now to show me the meaning of these colors and if he gives me a response that I understand i will share.

knut