Reflections
A “REFLECTION” TO END THE READING CYCLE
A “REFLECTION” TO END THE READING CYCLE
A “reflection” to end the reading cycle
This week sees the end of the annual reading cycle. The final parashah for the year. Moses had just died. The faithful Joshua, son of Nun, colleague of Caleb, is appointed by God to lead the new nation of Israel into the land of Promise. God had appeared to Abraham at Elon Moreh on his journey south. There, from that mountain location, Abraham was able to see the extent of the land. It was much larger than the nation we know as Israel today. To my mind it seems symbolic. Abraham shown the extent, but not the detail, of what God had promised him. And as we begin our journey into Torah again next week, a new year of readings, and a new year of discovery of what God has in store for us. It looks like a huge undertaking. But as we look, week by week, at the detail God had in store for them, and for us, we will be blessed.
God showed immense faith in Joshua. The promises of God, given at this inauguration were unequivocal, unconditional, and plain. “Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you (not will give you, but have given you) as I said to Moses.” It was a done deal. ‘From the Euphrates River, all the land of the Hittites, to the Mediterranean.’ The Hittites were descendants of Heth, they were an important Canaanite group, and their land was extensive. It was a Hittite, Ephron, who sold the ‘cave at Machpelah’ to Abraham as a burial place!
Now it is interesting that the Land of Promise is specified in a number of places in Scripture, (students among us, look at Genesis 15, Exodus 23, Numbers 34, Deuteronomy 11 and Ezekiel 47), so here in Joshua 1 it seems that the Lord instructed Joshua that in order to possess the land all he had to do is to set foot in it. He cannot, (i.e. will not be able to), take more than is promised. I am reminded of that injunction in the Living Bible paraphrase of Jude 20 “Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and protect you”.
However, from other Scriptures we know that the Canaanites would not simply walk off the land, they would have to be driven out, sometimes with significant loss of life. But God had not finished with His proclamation to Joshua. He went on to bolster him with many encouraging statements. They are words which are often appropriated to ourselves as a timely encouragement for the fulfilment of some perceived God given task. Perhaps we should take careful note of the relationship God had with Joshua before making overly presumptive claims for ourselves! But they are very encouraging words anyway. Just look at them. “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life” “As I was with Moses, so shall I be to you” “I will not leave you nor forsake you”
These are immensely reassuring words from Almighty God. They are words, which, to a lesser person, might engender pride and even arrogance. But not to Joshua. Because there is an over-riding clause in this encouragement. When we presumptuously appropriate these promises to ourselves, we should, but often do not, look at the condition God made for the success which Joshua was to enjoy.
“Be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do all the Torah which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go”. And if that was not enough, the Lord continued “This Book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.”
Dear friends, God is not encouraging Joshua to fight battles, to do exploits, to clear the Land of the Canaanites, to lead a great army in warfare, or even to stand before the people in judgement. This is an encouragement to Joshua to be strong and faithful to God’s Word. To have the courage to stand up to the dissenters in his midst. To put scoffers in their place, so to speak. To be strong in upholding the Torah of Moses before the people. Inevitably, that would require Joshua to be an example. Unwavering. Steadfast. Consistent. When we see such a record of God’s promises to His servants, like Joshua, are we ready to also take on board the conditions under which such promises are given?
If you doubt God’s righteous judgement in His promises, move on a few chapters and read how and why God chastised the people by defeat in the battle for Ai.
As we enter a new year of study in God’s Word, let us covenant with Him to learn the lessons which are contained therein. Let us ask God to prompt us by His Holy Spirit, to be the kind of believers, doers of His Word, that He has called us to be.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 53
J o e l
“Now therefore”. Thus begins this final ‘reflection’ on the fourteen writing prophets we have been considering this year. Those words are indicative of things which have gone before. Things which needed to be evaluated and dealt with. Last week we looked at the devastation caused by a locust plague. The prophet compared that with events which are to take place ‘in the last days’, when God will draw a mighty army of invasion against Israel. In the battle which ensues, those armies meet their own catastrophic judgment. But the “now therefore" which the prophets speaks here relates to the action the people of the land should consider for their own safety and wellbeing.
“Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning”. The implication? God is eagerly awaiting that outpouring of penitence with His own longing, ready to uphold the covenant of love He had made with them and their forefathers many years earlier. He goes on “So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm”. This is an amazing statement. So much of it we take for granted and glory in these attributes of God, from which we all benefit. But to get those innermost feelings expressed in terms of ‘repentance’, a deep feeling of sadness on God’s part for the actions taken in correction of the people, just speaks of the boundless love of God for those who are His. Praise His name. We know that the people were slow to respond as God wished, but it did not prevent Him from making major prophetic promises to that generation, in respect of the ultimate salvation of Israel as a nation.
In the manner of a final plea, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children and the nursing babes; ….. Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar.” A direct urging from God to the people for repentance. Then comes a complete change of emphasis between verses 17 and 18 of our text. The promise of His complete forgiveness. “Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, and will pity (spare) His people. The LORD will answer and say to His people, ‘behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations’.” Please try to understand the circumstances of the nation at the time the LORD sent his servant Joel to speak to them. It was a time of complete devastation as a result of the locust invasion. All vegetation stripped bare. And here is the word of God promising complete restoration of their land and their livelihood. An offer too good to reject one would think. And, dear friend, before we harshly judge these people with our perfect 20/20 hindsight, remember they were in the midst of desperate circumstances. Try to imagine this word being spoken in one of Hitler’s concentration camps in 1942 when thousands were being slaughtered every day. It is easier to trust in God for others than it is to trust for oneself!! BUT that does not diminish God’s promise one bit. Neither does it diminish His power to perform His promises. It speaks more of the frailty of human faith, faced with the immediate evidence of one’s eyes, and satan’s power to sow doubt (a strong weapon of his against believers). I am always challenged by God when I ‘reflect’ on these historical events. “How do you think you would have responded in such circumstances?” Is the question God invariably poses to me.
But to finalise this ‘reflection’ we need to look at exactly what God has said He will do. Because some of this prophetic word is still unfulfilled."I will restore to you the years the swarming locust has eaten … you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God … Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame”. That seems to me to be a complete statement of God’s embrace of His people. But there is more blessing to come as the promise continued. “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh”. And wonder of wonders, “and it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls”. I carefully note here that God is NOT an enforcer. It is always the fact that God expects that those who would to be saved need to “call on the name of the LORD”.
Joel chapter 3 has to be read carefully to absorb the totality, and finality, of God’s judgement on the nations of this earth. There is a most interesting parody there. Isaiah envisaged the end of days in terms of peace and harmony among the nations. A time when Messiah will reign. “Beat your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4) But before this comes about, Joel speaks of God drawing the nations into judgment. Encouraging them to “Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears” (Joel 3:10)
The very last word the LORD gave to Joel to speak in this farsighted prophecy ends our “reflection”. “But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I have not acquitted: For the LORD dwells in Zion”. Count on it.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 52
J o e l
This prophecy of Joel may be ‘technically’ out of place here. Scholars are divided about the timing of this message, but there is circumstantial and textual evidence that Joel was probably an early prophet, (a contemporary of Jeremiah) functioning during the reign of the child king Joash, who was the last of the eight ‘good’ kings of Judah. Others date this prophecy as very late (which would justify its inclusion right here in this order). BUT, the timing of the prophetic message has little impact on the message itself. There had recently been a most disastrous plague of locusts in Judah. Whilst Joel has plenty to say about that, the main message is in the comparison of that disaster with the judgements of the LORD during the last days. The time still future to us. If an ‘early date’ prophecy is correct, however, then the life of Joel preceded both the capture of the northern kingdom of Israel (722 BCE) and the exile of the southern kingdom of Judah (586 BCE). That makes this prophetic message all the more remarkable. In any event I have chosen to ‘reflect’ on the prophecy of Joel here, at the end of our study of the “Minor Prophets”.
“Has anything like this happened in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?” Joel said it was a story that would be told for generations to come. It is still being told today! The ‘chewing’ locust, the ‘swarming’ locust, the ‘crawling’ locust, the ‘consuming’ locust. I didn’t know there were so many kinds of locust. But they turned up in great numbers and devastated the land. Not as bad as the plague of locusts in Moses’ day (Exodus 8:14) when God was intent on rescuing His people out of Egypt, but that was many centuries earlier. In Joel’s day, there was economic disaster on a national scale. Wine drinkers were mentioned because they would wail about the absence of grapes to produce wine. Vines and fig trees stripped bare. It was compared to the ‘raping’ of the land by a mighty enemy army, likened to the ‘teeth of a lion’. Or a young woman widowed by the loss of her husband in battle. A priest who mourns because his source of sustenance (food in the form of sacrifices and offerings) is removed. And so the prophet seeks to institute correct order into the situation.
“Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD”. There are recollections here of the instructions God gave to Moses when He wanted to communicate with the people (Numbers 10:3). It was important that the people understood that their only hope was to trust in God for direction and counsel. A good lesson for us to learn right there. But rather than be an action of ‘last resort’ it should be ‘continuous dialogue’, which is exactly what God had expected of the people in the first place. (A personal recollection from my childhood. I was brought up in a small Welsh mining village. A tight knit community, where it was often the case that the villagers would congregate in the local chapel to pray for some one, or some matter of need, in the community. Even as a young child I was always struck by the ease with which such gatherings were arranged, and disappointed by the absence of any follow up to give thanks when the need was satisfied!!) God always seems so gracious and caring in His response to the heart cry from those who are His. It would not be an exaggeration to note that ‘He longs to hear our heart cry out to him’.
And then we get to the heart of the ‘burden’ of Joel for his people. “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, for it is at hand:” It is at this point that the comparisons are made between that which they had seen with their eyes, the devastation of the locust invasion, and the events which will unfold when that final ‘trumpet of alarm’ is sounded. It will be “a day of darkness and gloominess”, reminiscent of the blotting out of the light of the sun as those locusts swarmed in their multitudes. But this will be different! Not locusts, but “a people, great and strong”. Before them a land ‘like the Garden of Eden’. A land of abundance. Behind them, ‘a desolate wilderness’. Even as I ‘reflect’ on this scene, the closest I can actually imagine comes from pictures of devastation following air raids on cities in Europe during the last great war, but worse. Referring to that invading force the prophet says “The like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them”. And so it goes on, devastatingly descriptive.
We are not able to see it as the people of Joel’s day saw it. They were living in the aftermath of the devastation caused by the invasion of the locusts. It was real. They lived it. What to us is an imaginary situation, was very much an everyday scene as the whole country struggled to recover from the carnage. For the farmer, the widow, the priest, and the ordinary citizen referred to earlier, this was their life. Try now to imagine, if you and I had lived through that experience, would we say ‘ho hum’ and act as nothing had happened? Or would we be desperate to avoid such a situation ever happening again. The answer is obvious. BUT, that does not avoid the inevitability of the coming “day of the LORD” does it? That day which the prophet Malachi described as “the great and dreadful day of the LORD”. (Malachi 4:5)
So what should WE do? Firstly, we heed the word of the prophet and “cry out to the LORD”. Look to Him for guidance and counsel, which comes by studying His word and engaging Him in dialogue (prayer). Look for the signs which He has clearly laid out for our understanding. Signs which have already begun to be evident (like the return of His people to the land), and then TRUST HIM.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 51
M a l a c h i
“Behold I will send My messenger; and he will prepare the way before Me. And the LORD whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold He is coming”. Last week we saw that Malachi was given a message of great challenge to the people, and maybe especially to those who were leaders. Certainly, with some significant exceptions, it is difficult to think that they actually ‘delighted’ in the covenant, or its messenger. And there did not seem to be any apparent ‘delight’ in the message of any of the previous prophets God had sent to them. In the historical accounts of time subsequent to this prophetic word, we can identify the occasion of at least one prominent messenger (John the baptizer) openly declaring his mission of preparation. But this word appears to belong to a still future date. Adding to that possibility is the fact that the word makes reference to the “refiners fire” and the “launderers’ soap”. Is it too much to think that once the “refiners fire” has done its work, that which is “refined” remains “refined”. And that which is laundered remains clean.
The word is clear. “Who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?” Well, those ‘refined and laundered’. And the LORD will ensure that those who are teachers will be ones so dealt with. We must honestly ask ourselves the question ‘Do we see that in our time?’ My answer is .. not yet, or at best, only partially. Furthermore, the list of those to be dealt with, in verse 5, is probably incomplete, but made complete by the all embracing characteristic “because they do not fear Me”. So, we might consider that those who will “endure the day of His coming” are those who have learned to “fear the LORD”. And that, my friends, Solomon told us, is the beginning of wisdom.
Regular readers of these ‘reflections’ will know that I have many times quoted Malachi 3:6. It is very important to our understanding of our Creator. “I am the LORD, I do not change.” It is a standalone statement which speaks into many situations. In the context of this word however, it takes on its protective face. In paraphrase, God is saying to these people “for the way you have behaved you should be utterly consumed. You have neglected, violated, and downright ignored, the covenant you made with Me. You ‘don’t have a leg to stand on’. But I also made another covenant, not with you but with your father Abraham. It is because of that covenant that you are not being dealt with as you deserve. ‘Return to Me and I will return to you’.” Do you get the sense of God’s frustration with these people? (I can’t help wondering how frustrated He must be with me at times too.) And then the rhetorical questions come again. “In what way have we robbed you?” This statement has become the source of the most blatantly, and deliberately, dishonest application of Scripture in our modern day churches. It is actually a reprimand against the people’s neglect of specific Torah commands regarding the care of the poor and needy in the community. It is dishonestly used in attempts to embarrass people into financial support for all manner of purposes, rarely, if ever, for its original purpose. And there is a day of reckoning coming .. which is where Malachi now turns.
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming will burn them up”. How can ANYONE read that and not immediately fall down before God and seek forgiveness? Selah !
“But to you who fear My name the Sun (the Hebrew word here is ‘shemesh’ which means ‘brilliant’ as in shining, and is universally taken to refer to Yeshua) of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this ‘says the LORD of hosts’.”
It is quite clear that this refers to a future time, because if it had already happened we would read it in our history books. So with that fact firmly in our minds, it would seem sensible to also read what follows as applicable to that future time.
Malachi continues “Remember the Torah of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements. Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”
We have almost finished our series of ‘reflections’ in the minor prophets of God. The constant theme of these messages has been to provide warning and encouragement to a people who, for a variety of reasons, had been found in neglect of the covenant to which they had agreed. The message of the prophet has been consistent. God is longing for a restoration of relationship with His chosen people. They are special to Him. BUT, we also know, from the gifted teachers who were raised up after our Saviour ascended into heaven to be with the Father, that there is place for gentiles too. Paul used the words “grafted in”. That means, in very simple terms, “joined into and become part of”. That is how we non Jews might participate in the blessing God has prepared for His own people. Ask HIM what that means for you.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 50
M a l a c h i
An understanding of the timing of a particular prophecy allows one to discern a reason why God considered that message important and necessary. It might also give some pointers regarding the relevance of that prophetic message to our present generation, if similar social, religious and relational conditions can be identified. History records that this prophecy of Malachi would be God’s last prophetic word to them for about 400 years until He would speak again through His servant John the Baptizer. (Compare Yeshua’s parable of the absentee landlord in Matthew 21) There has been similar silence, other than that already given, as we discover, in the study of these ancient prophets, during the time since Yeshua left this earth. And that is why our discernment of a possible word for today is so important.
Malachi, Haggai and Zechariah prophesied during the days of Nehemiah. He had returned from Babylon to Judah, with about 50,000 others, in order to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and restore the temple. About 50 years had passed since Zerubbabel and Ezra had arrived to commence that work. So the temple was functioning. The sacrificial system was operating. But there was such corruption and slackness, clearly evident to the people who took that as an example, in the priesthood. This was having a disastrous effect in their community. Specifically, Torah observance (or lack of it), was again a major issue for which they had already been exiled from the land 100 years earlier.
Malachi was shown a long series of rhetorical questions with which to challenge the people. God Himself providing both question and answer. The very love of God for His people is brought into focus, by comparing the families of Jacob (themselves) with Esua (their traditional enemy). Jacob was exiled for disobedience. Esau (Edom) seemingly untouched by God. What is not stated of course is that God has not, even today, finished with Edom, which is one of two places destined to become perpetually desolate and uninhabitable (Babylon is the other). Further, that God does not have a covenant with Esua such as He has with Jacob.
Another question to the priests who ‘despise’ My name. “A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honour? And if I am the Master, where is My reverence? The indignant rhetorical response from the priests. “In what way have we despised Your name?” I comment in paraphrase of the words which follow. It had, seemingly, become their abhorrent practise of treating sacrifices to God as inconsequential. Torah required that sacrifices to God would only be taken from unblemished animals. Perfect to the human eye. The very best that was available. It was one of the conditions which God had made in order that they would receive His ongoing bountiful provision of ‘blessing’. It was a command of Torah. Evidently they had been presenting lame and blind animals, even ones which they had stolen from someone else, to the priests for sacrifice … and the priests themselves turned the ‘proverbial’ blind eye. Totally unacceptable. That is treating God with utter contempt. It is like stealing money from others to put in the offering plate at your church !! The way in which this might be brought into focus is the suggestion that they offer to their governor such imperfect and inadequate payment for their obligatory taxes or dues. Then see what he makes of it.
But the real issue was with the priests. The leaders of that community. Those who are required, or expected, in any society, to have exemplary behaviour. Now doesn’t that ring a loud BELL today. God caused Malachi to remind the people of the covenant He had made with the house of Levi. It was a covenant of ‘life and peace’. A covenant which in former times was honoured and respected. “The Torah of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity”. What a wonderful testimony of honour and uprightness in a leader of the people. “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the Torah from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts”. Is there a lesson for today in this passage of Scripture? Is God pleased with what He sees in our communities of believers today? This is what He said about the community in Malachi’s day. “But you have departed from the way; you have caused many to stumble at the Torah …. Therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the Torah”. Can we see respect, honour, and wisdom seeking from the community in our ‘spiritual’ leaders today? Or are they treated with contempt. So is this word of God from Malachi relevant to our society as it was for Judah in his day?
I commend to you a careful reading of this whole prophetic message. The Scriptures warn of a great ‘falling away’ before that ‘great and terrible day of the LORD”. Malachi gets to that in our reading next week! But many of the teachers, especially those who inhabit our TV screens, preach great revival! With the accompanying appeal for funds to facilitate it! What Malachi taught and was quickened by God to prophesy, was the need for repentant hearts and minds. A return to God’s ways of obedience to His commandments. A people who would know their obligations to the God with whom they had made covenant. That is the kind of people God was seeking, and He sent many faithful prophets, like Malachi, to proclaim it.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 49
Z e c h a r I a h
“In that day” our reading this week begins. Which day? The day in which “I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zech 12:9). In that same day, as we read last week, there will be much grief, mourning, and ‘soul searching’ by the inhabitants of that city. So, “a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness”. That represents a kind of communal ‘mikvah’, a bath or body of water connected to ‘running’ water, well understood in Jewish society, often in homes, as the means of becoming ‘ritually clean’. (The christian equivalent is water baptism). We commented last week that this ‘day’ is also the day mentioned by Paul in Romans 11 as the day when “all Israel shall be saved”. IF that is the case, then possibly, it may also be the day, spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah, when the LORD will make His new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
To add some credence to that possibility, we note that immediately following this mass ‘cleansing’ of the whole population (the house of David), and still ‘in that day’, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no more be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land”. There are two ways this proclamation may be interpreted. Many commentators consider this to refer to ‘false prophets’. And certainly there will be no place in a ‘new covenant’ community for false prophets. But neither will there be any need for the kind of prophets which are the subject of this series of ‘reflections’ either. The role of such prophets has been to provide warning and counsel regarding the manner in which people had forsaken the ‘Mosaic’ covenant they had willingly made with God. A careful reading of the conditions of the coming “new” covenant, reveal that “the Torah will be written on the heart and put in the mind of everyone”. It will be unteachable, because everyone with know it, and be observant, “from the greatest to the least”. That being the case, ‘prophecy’ (speaking words given by God) will no longer be part of God’s way of communication. Therefore anyone who engages in such will, by definition, be ‘a false prophet’.
The prophecy “that in all the land … two thirds of it shall be cut off and die, but one third shall be left in it: I will bring the one third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say ‘This is My people’; and each one will say ‘the LORD is my God’” has caused great controversy in the community of believers, even today. (By way of illustration, the late, and gifted, bible teacher David Pawson had been a regular speaker at the I.C.E.J. Feast of Tabernacles annual gathering since its inception in 1980. About six years ago I was present when he spoke on this subject. It was his LAST invitation to speak at that gathering!) What we, as individuals believe, bears no influence on the outcomes God has determined. I refer you to the wisdom of Solomon. Proverbs 17:14 “The beginning of strife is like releasing water; therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts”. But we must not be delinquent in our responsibility to “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). And doing that, I perceive that this testing by fire comes immediately before the “day of the LORD” arrives, when He “will go forth and fight against those nations (who have come to do battle against Jerusalem).
To conclude this ‘reflection’ on the prophecy of Zechariah, we look to the time immediately following that great battle. On one of my early visits to the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem, I recall looking from my hotel directly across the Kiddron Valley towards the Mount of Olives and trying to imagine the scene which Zechariah now describes.
The map (1985) here shows that there is an earthquake fault line which passes between the temple mount area and the Himmon Valley to the south of the City of David, very close to the Gihon Spring. Zechariah tells us that when the feet of Messiah Yeshua stand on the Mount of Olives, it will split into two from east to west (exactly as the fault line indicates). The mountain itself will move, half northward and half southward. “And in that day it shall be that living water shall flow from Jerusalem (compare Ezekiel 47 about fish in the Dead Sea and water flowing from the temple yet to be built), half of them toward the eastern (Dead) sea and half of them toward the western (Mediterranean) sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur”.
“In that day it shall be - “The LORD is one, and His name is one” (Deut 6:4). And that my dear friends will be the colloquial ‘game, set, and match’!! The whole purpose of God, in His dealings with His ancient people, and those of us who have willing joined them in faith, worshipping God in that special place which he chose at the time of King David to be the place of His dwelling on earth. It is a Kingdom set to reign for 1,000 years with Yeshua as King. But there are still some things left for Zechariah to tell us.
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, one them there will be no rain”. Please take time to read the whole chapter. You may be surprised to discover that part of the worship of the LORD involves presenting sacrifices to Him! At least, that’s what Zechariah says.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
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REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 48
Z e c h a r I a h
The language of the prophet is colourful and poetic. Taken in isolation, the reading this week is challenging to understand. However, in the context of the entire prophetic message of Zechariah, it fits into a period of the future of Israel (but in the past for our generation today). The promised Messiah and King, which we triumphantly ‘reflected’ upon last week, is subsequently rejected by the generation to whom He came. Isaiah used the words “despised and rejected” (Isaiah 53:3). The Apostle John used the words “He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Zechariah describes the aftermath of that rejection and its effect on the whole nation from top (Lebanon), through its centre (Bashan), to its southern regions (Jordan). It is a devastatingly bleak word of prophecy, indicating the frustration of God with His chosen people, with whom He has made a uniquely unconditional covenant of love and commitment (The Abrahamic Covenant). But, we should also carefully note that God made a specific conditional covenant (The Mosaic Covenant), with the same people. It was this Mosaic Covenant (which does not provide license to abandon all lifestyle responsibilities which are an integral part of that covenant), which caused God to act in the corrective action of dispelling (albeit temporarily) the people from the land. And it is the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant which causes Him, in love and commitment, and in His perfect timing, to restore them to the land.
The picture of the two staffs is a likely reference to the practise of shepherds who normally carried such. A ‘rod’ which was used as a weapon with which to ward off predators of the flock, and a ‘staff’’ which was used as a means of rest for himself, and guidance to the flock. Breaking those ‘staffs’ implied that the flock would be abandoned (by the shepherd) to care for itself. It would be at peril by losing the protection of the shepherd. God uses the words “that I might break the covenant which I made with all the peoples”. Sounds ominous. But I believe that to be consistent with the proclamations of God in Deuteronomy 28/29 (the blessings and the curses chapters), see specifically Deuteronomy 28:13 “And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them”. So my understanding is that God considered that to be a ‘covenant with all the peoples’ that they would always be the ‘tail’. Clearly, the Israelites had not kept and observed the commandments of the LORD, so they would no longer ‘always be the head’. We do not require great insight to see that this situation prevails up to the present day. However, the LORD is gathering His people back into the land in our generation, and that is a sign (to me at least) that we are moving forward to the next phase of God’s plan for Israel, which is where the prophecy of Zechariah takes us next.
The introduction to this chapter of prophecy is interesting. “Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him”. It is that spirit which facilitates communication with God, and allows the exercise of free choice regarding our relationship with God. It is abundantly evident in our reading this week that our choices determine God’s responses to us in that relationship. However, as we have commented earlier, God is also bound in covenant with Israel, and that determines His ultimate action in relationship to them. So it is that Zechariah gives us a glimpse into the future which God has planned for Israel. “Behold I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth are gathered against it”. An unimaginable result of a battle, so one-sided in concept, so unequal a contest. Big World v Little Israel. Except that that is a misunderstanding of the contestants. It should be written “The World v The God of Israel”. Also a one-sided and unequal contest! And we today, have a choice to make. Which side do I decide to be on?
That is not the end however. In other Scriptures there are accounts of the fierceness of the battle and the carnage which will take place. But Zechariah here gives us a picture of the distress, YES, the distress of those who are the victors in this battle. “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem”. Now I need to be careful in my ‘reflection’ on this outpouring of grief. This great battle is associated with the end of this age and the promised return of Yeshua to rule and reign in Jerusalem. For that reason, commentators have associated the grief of “the house of David” with their recognition of their Messiah, who was thoroughly rejected by them when He first came to them. It is the time which Paul alludes to in Romans 11 when “all Israel will be saved”. But the literal reading of the Hebrew text is less explicit in its identity of Messiah. It more points to the fact that so many people, avowed enemies of Israel, have been slaughtered in battle, that the “house of David” is consumed by compassionate grief on behalf of those who so needlessly lost their lives in that battle.
Whatever the situation will be at that time, it certainly will be a time when the might of God is visible to all.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 47
Z e c h a r I a h
We closed our ‘reflection’ last week on a high note of encouragement for the Israelites as Zechariah spoke prophetic words about the end of this age and the coming salvation of the Jews. Reminding ourselves that the Scriptures did not originally have chapters and verses, the switch to a burdensome oracle about nations and people groups close to Israel is a bit of a surprise. But there is a ‘sting in the tail’ . This prophecy is really about God’s judgement of those nations and people groups. We do not know the location of Hadrach, except that it was in Assyria, ancient enemies of Israel. Damascus and Hamath also in Assyria were conquered by Alexander the Great. This justifies the descriptor that “The eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD” as they witnessed the judgment of the LORD on those people. Tyre (at that time a small island about 1/2 mile off shore) and Sidon (in today’s Lebanon) are described as “very wise” because they built watch towers and fortifications against attack. Ezekiel mentions this wisdom (Ezekiel 28:12), but also talks of the satanic influences which caused them to falter (Ezekiel 28: 18,19). These cities were situated in land allotted to Asher when the Israelites occupied the land, but the Asherites found the resistance too great and gave up on attempts to occupy them (Joshua 19:24).
The oracle continued with the mention of cities in the south of the land. Gaza, (well known today as home to over 2 million muslims), Ashkelon (just north of Gaza) and Ashdod* “a mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines …. But he who remains , even he shall be for our God, and shall be like a leader in Judah” *(a modern port city today with a large Moroccan Jewish population) and Ekron (a Philistine stronghold in those days), all came under the scrutiny of the LORD because of their opposition to Israel. And then comes the “sting in the tail”. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold your King is coming to you: He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, a foal of a donkey” (See Matthew 21:2) .This prophecy in Zechariah, which speaks of a day over 500 years later, was given to the people who had just returned to the land after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. They had been expelled from the land of Israel for disobedience and idolatry. Is it possible to imagine a more encouraging word for them? Down for the count … and now raised from the proverbial ‘canvas’ to be victors. We have the advantage, which they did not, of knowing that prophecy was fulfilled in Yeshua when He came to this earth 2,000 years ago. To them however, it was expectantly very close. No human timeframe accompanied that prophetic word. An herein is another important lesson. Each generation after receiving that prophecy had that to look forward to. Their promised King was coming. And again, because we have the advantage of hindsight, we know that the intervening period was not easy. They were overcome, successively, by Greek and Roman conquerors. We might say they were justified in growing weary of ever seeing their King taking His place and ruling over them. And when He did come to them, He did not fulfil their expectations. They expected a battle hardened warrior, maybe riding on a red horse, who would rid them of their conquerors, the Romans at that time. They got a baby boy, born in Bethlehem. A short time later, taken by His parents to Egypt to avoid being killed by Herod. They did not connect Him with the words given, by the LORD, to Zerubbabel. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit”. And had they forgotten that their King would come “lowly, and riding on a donkey”? So the lesson? God’s timing is His alone. What He expects of us is what He expected of them, trust in Him. For that lack of trust, we know they were once more, but this time for the last time, expelled from the land. But now they are returning in droves. We cannot leave this without remembering the prophetic words STILL to be fulfilled. Let us not repeat the mistake of those Jewish people of 2,000 years ago. God said it and it WILL happen. Our Messiah IS coming back to Jerusalem to reign and rule with a rod of iron.
Now notice the repetition of these promises as we continue in our ‘reflection’. In God’s word, repetition means emphasis. “I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them, they shall be as though I had not cast them aside; for I am the LORD their God, and I will hear them”. It is true that God did bring them back from Babylon. It had already begun. That in itself is a fulfillment of prophecy which was observed by the people of that day. But there are some words a little later in our text which speak of a future time. I believe that time to be with us now. “I will whistle for them and gather them, for I will redeem them; and they shall increase as they once increased (Genesis 15:5) I will sow them among the peoples, and they shall remember Me in far countries; they shall live, together with their children, and they shall return”. There is no suggestion that such a situation prevailed when they came back from Babylon was there? We are seeing that great surge of immigration to the land in our generation.
Zechariah’s prophetic words changed from being an encourager, urging the people to continue the building of the walls of Jerusalem and the temple courts. He now is given a much greater vision and message about the drawing to a close of the days of this age and preparation for the age to come. In our world of today, we are beset by systemic anti semitism. God’s people throughout the ages have paid a heavy price for their faithful adherence to Torah observance, the most obvious outward sign of their allegiance. Do you think God expects believers to offer them support?
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 46
Z e c h a r i a h
Just two years after Zechariah first heard the LORD’s prophetic message, He spoke to Zechariah again. The restoration of the temple was well advanced, but the reconstruction of the walls was still only making slow progress. It seems that since the fall of Judea, 70 years earlier, national remembrances of mourning and fasting had been instituted in the fifth and the seventh month of the calendar. Now that the work was proceeding, a delegation from Bethel came to Jerusalem to enquire of the priests and prophets whether or not those fasts should continue. Thus Zechariah heard from the LORD. And His message was unflattering! I am reminded, as I write, of the response the LORD gave to Samuel (1 Sam 16:7) in relation to the choice of David as king. “For the LORD does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”. In similar manner the LORD questioned the motivation of the people in that act of national mourning. In paraphrase “Are you sure you did that for ME? When you eat and drink do you not do that for yourselves? I would have been more impressed if you had taken heed to the words of the many prophets I sent to counsel you to change your lifestyle in conformity to the covenant you made with Me”.
Then He gave Zechariah some specific, and very direct, words to convey to the delegation from Bethel. “Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow and the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother”. I am sure that if we stopped to think carefully about those words (which are all words directly quoted from the Torah of God), we would readily find parallels which apply just as much today as they did in the circumstances of the people in Zechariah’s day. Then comes the shock. For many today, regardless of the circumstance, the reaction of the people is identical. “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law (Torah) and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts”. Now my dear friends, we need to ask ourselves an important question. How relevant to us are the prophetic words of God conveyed through His esteemed prophets? And IF they are not for us, why are they so prominently recorded in the Scriptures? Remember yet again, these are words from our Creator, who said of Himself “I am the LORD, I do not change (Malachi 3:6). Any who conclude that these words are not for today (and there are many believers in that category), according to this word from Zechariah, it will bring “great wrath from the LORD of hosts”.
As chapter 7 closes, Zechariah moves from a word for the generation of his day to a prophetic word for generations which are both past for us, and still future for us. The scattering of the people among the nations, and the great desolation of the land, which took place during the years of terrible drought in the land, from about 137 CE up until the very late 1,800’s, is prophesied. But then we have a resounding word of immense encouragement. “I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervour I am zealous for her”. Take a moment to let that sink in. The word ‘zealous’ is an adjective describing a person’s attitude. It means to be “ardently active in support of”. And “Zion” is broadly a descriptor of Israel, but specifically the place where the temple stood in Jerusalem. So as we read the words which follow that statement of ‘zeal’, we may be sure that they are sincere and heartfelt words of the LORD. “I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain”. I note that the temple which was in the process of restoration did not have “the Ark of the Covenant” in the Most Holy place. Or at least it is not mentioned. And the prophet Jeremiah, writing about 100 years earlier told us that “It will come to pass … that they will say no more ‘the ark of the covenant of the LORD’ it shall not come to mind nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made ever more” (Jeremiah 3:16). My conclusion is that this promise of God to return to Zion refers to the time when He, in the person of Messiah Yeshua, will reign from Jerusalem.
Adding to this amazing prophetic word, Zechariah is told “Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east (which is where Babylon was situated) and from the land of the west (just look at any map of the world); I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, they shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness”. It is worthy of our careful consideration that the population growth of the land of Israel in the last 70 years, from about 800,000 in 1948 to 9,500,000 today (2022), leads to a conclusion that only now, in our generation, are we seeing clear evidence of the fulfilment of this prophetic word of Zechariah. ALL believers should view this situation with excitement and zeal. The truth is different. But there is still more to come according to this prophetic word. There is a day coming when “In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you’. I make NO claims of prophetic insight such as God gave to Zechariah, but I do not think we have to wait for that day. God speaks to us now, through this prophecy of Zechariah. We are free to join with His beloved people now, sharing the blessings of truth which God so zealously seeks people who are His to embrace.
Shabbat Shalom
RS
REFLECTIONS ON THE WRITING PROPHETS
‘Reflections’ on the Writing Prophets 45
Z e c h a r I a h
The sixth vision given to Zechariah is that of a flying scroll. He was even able to quote the exact dimension of that scroll. Surprise surprise! It just happens to be the same size as the Holy Place in the Tabernacle of God. Because we are told it represents curses applicable to “thieves and perjurers” we conclude that it is representative of a “Godly standard”. Bringing judgment on those guilty of violation of that standard. It represents the divine standard by which men are measured. Now it would be comforting if this applied only to the ones to whom Zechariah was sent. But it goes further. “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth … it shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones”. No-one is exempt from this judgement, not then, not now. This IS the word of the LORD. “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).
Then a seventh vision. A woman sitting in a basket. Zechariah was told that the woman represented “wickedness”. This is seen as a sign that some of the darker elements of the life the people had lived while in exile in Babylon had been brought back to the land with them on their return. Evidently that wickedness needed to be dealt with decisively. So in the vision two more women, likened to having wings like a stork, an unclean bird (Deut 14:18), so representing an evil force, carry the basket away. And where do they take it? Back to Babylon, (the ‘Babel’ of Genesis 10:10) in the land of Shinar. Why? “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar, when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base”. And if only Zechariah had been privy to the Revelation of Yeshua given to John, (Rev 18) he would have known that there will be great rejoicing in heaven (Rev 19) when Babylon is finally dealt with.
Finally an eighth vision about chariots and horses coming from between two mountains. We are not told where or what these mountains represent. Some commentators have speculated that they could possibly be Mt Zion and the Mount of Olives, because that is where Yeshua is destined to return to rule and reign for 1,000 years. Babylon would have been been defeated, and the battle for Jerusalem won. Beyond speculation is that these chariots represent “Four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth”. It is presumed that this charge will be given to angelic bodies to accomplish. It will be their responsibility to execute judgement on behalf of the King. Two of the chariots will head towards the north and two towards the south. We may be certain that no place will be hidden from them. It will be the time of separation for the “sheep nations and the goat nations’ (Matt 25). There are a number of places in the Scriptures which allude to and describe the severity of God’s judgement. But ‘severity’ does not imply unfairness. And here is a timely lesson for us today. God sent prophets to utter warnings and to counsel change in people’s relationship to Himself. This whole series of ‘reflections’ has dealt with them. Later He sent His Son Yeshua, and followed that up with Apostles and teachers. He has given many signs of the end of days, some of which we see happening in our lifetime. And this is a lesson from Zechariah. There will be a day of reckoning. God’s judgment will be fair … but exactly as He has said.
As we come to the end of our ‘reflection’ on this passage of Scripture, we come to a prophecy which goes well into the future, some of which we have seen, but those in Zechariah’s day did not! “Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the LORD”. The Hebrew word (‘tsemach’) translated ‘branch’ here, is literally and figuratively “a sprout”, something which starts small and grows. It is mostly associated with Messiah Yeshua, as in this translation. That is amplified by reference to the temple and the description of priestly activity which follows. But it also has the meaning of a growing relationship. It is a relationship which began when Yeshua first came to this earth and called people to Himself in worship. Moving from what had become a strict religious code, identified by Yeshua as the ‘traditions of men’ in Pharasaic Judaism. In contrast, the focus on true Torah observance and worship, centred on the teaching of Yeshua in Matthew 5 to 7, known as ‘the sermon on the mount’. It is the way of discipleship which is sometimes referred to as Messianic Judaism. And the final words of our passage today seem to encapsulate a test of how we might know exactly where we stand on this matter.
“Now the elaborate crown (which was placed on the head of Joshua the High Priest in Zechariah’s day, but will one day in the future be placed on the head of King and High Priest Yeshua) shall be for a memorial in the temple of the LORD (which they were restoring at that time ,but which was subsequently burned down again in 70 CE) … Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God”. It is a sad fact that many believers today do not consider that there will even be another temple built. The prophecy of Zechariah challenges us in a personal way. We need to consider who are “those from afar”, who are prophesied to ‘come and build that temple’? Or do we reject the prophecy out of hand?
I am always challenged by the way in which God speaks through His anointed prophets. And seemingly to every generation!
Shabbat Shalom
RS