Zechariah Overview

Transcript

GR 1001
1/30/1977
Zechariah Overview
Zechariah 1:1-6
Gil Rugh

The book of Zechariah in your Bibles. Zechariah, that's the next to the last book in your Old Testament. The prophet Zechariah. We're going to begin the study of this book this evening, and I'd encourage you to read through the book as often as you can make time to do it, just to get a feel for what he is saying. Now ah, not necessary that you understand everything you're reading, when you're reading in this kind of situation. The purpose is to familiarize yourself at least with the content. Then as we move through it, with the explanations, why they'll be fixed more firmly in your mind. A book like Zechariah often if not very familiar to us in content, let alone in interpretation, but I trust it will be as we move through.

Next week, I hope to give you an outline of the book that will help you think your way through it. It's a rather simple book, as far as progression of thought, is concerned. Basically, there are eight visions, there are four messages, and there are two burdens. So, you have eight, four, and two, and you've thought your way through the book. Next week I'll give you, an outline that'll help us think our way through the book.

You have Zechariah in the middle of two contemporaries, Haggai and Zechariah. Now I say contemporaries, Haggai and Malachi, rather. Malachi is about a hundred years later, but they are the three prophets who are after the Babylonian captivity. They're often called post-exilic prophets. They were after the exile in Babylon. Haggai and Zechariah are contemporaries, writing at the same time, preaching at the same time. Malachi comes about a hundred years later. His message is a little bit different, some more time has lapsed, some more decay has set in.

The book opens up in the first verse. There is some material that gives us a little bit of background. "In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo." Now that dates it very clearly for us. The second year of Darius. Well, we know when Darius assumed the throne of the Persian empire and that would make this date 520. 521 I believe the date is for Darius, and in the second year of his reign, we would be in 520 BC. Now, it had been in 539 that the Persians had defeated the Babylonians and had become the power in the world. Now we're down to one of their very powerful rulers, the man Darius.

Now, if you just look over in the book of Haggai. That's the book right before Zechariah, the first chapter, you'll note, Haggai 1:1. "In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel,---" So just two months separating the beginning of these two ministries. Haggai begins his ministry two months later. Zechariah comes on the scene with his message. The difference, Haggai evidently is a relatively older man, ah, evidently, ah, had lived long enough to be familiar with the previous temple. Zechariah is a young man. We'll note something about that in a moment.

Just let me give you a brief overview of the history of the time. Some key dates that you might jot down if you don't have them fixed in your mind. First date, ah, that we'll pick up with is 1043 BC, one thousand forty-three BC is when Saul becomes king of Israel. So, the beginning of the monarchy in the nation Israel, 1043. So, you can see we are about 500 years down the road. Then in 931 BC the kingdom divides into the northern and southern kingdom, so you had Saul, David, and Solomon, the only three kings that rule over a united empire, as far as Israel is concerned. Then in 931, under Solomon's son the empire divides into the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, then tribes in the north and two in the south, Benjamin and Judah in the south. The southern kingdom becomes known as Judah.

All right, moving along, ah, 722 BC. That's when the northern kingdom goes into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians. The northern kingdom is finished as an entity in 722, another major date. 606 BC, the southern kingdom goes into captivity. That's the Babylonian captivity. 606 BC, the Babylonians conquer Israel, and you have the first of three deportations of the people in 606. The last of those was in 586 BC, but the Babylonian captivity begins in 606. In 536, you have the return to the land, ah, by a remnant of the people. Fifty thousand people returned to Palestine in 536.

The Persians had a reverse policy from some other empires, like the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The Assyrians and Babylonians practiced deportation. In other words, when they would move in and conquer an area, they would take a bulk of, a large bulk of the people, and all the important people and move them from that place to another part of the empire. And take people from other parts of the empire and bring them into that place. The purpose being the idea, that is you weren't in your familiar home territory, there'd be less chance of rebellion in trying to ah, resist, so they deported. The Persians were a very kind empire, in comparison to like the Assyrians. Ah, they're very gracious. They allowed the people who had been, been deported by the Babylonians to go back home if they wanted to. So, a very ah, open policy.

So, the Persian defeated the Babylonians in 539. In 536, the Jews are permitted to return to Palestine. So, you can see from 606 to 536. 606, the first deportation by the Babylonians. 536, the return to the land, a seventy-year period, just as Jeremiah said it would be. Seventy years. The reason being that is was for seventy years, was for 490 years they Jews had not kept the seven year Sabbath. Every seventh year was to be a Sabbath to God. For 490 years, they thought they'd do better just to keep that year going as the other years, so God just collected them all at once. You take every seven years for 490 years, you owe me seventy years. You didn't want to do it every seven years, I'll take it all at once. So the Jews weren't ahead at all, it was just that they were storing it up for the right time.


So, we come to Zechariah. Now, we're in 520 BC, five hundred twenty BC. The Jews have been back from the captivity for sixteen years. Evidently Zechariah was one of those who came back in 536 from the captivity, having been born in the Babylonian captivity. This is when Haggai and Zechariah begin their ministries. Now Haggai focuses on the building of the temple because what has happened? When they've come back in 536, there's a great move to rebuild the temple. That goes until there's some real strong opposition, the Samaritans. And then with opposition, other things come in, pretty soon the people lose interest, and get involved in other things.

Haggai comes on with his rather strong message, asking "is it now the time for you to dwell in paneled houses---, in verse four of chapter one, when the Lord's house is desolate? They had gotten taken up with their own things. So, Haggai comes on strong giving attention to the temple, their relationship and responsibility in regard to God's house.

Now Zechariah, too, encourages in the building of the temple, but his message goes beyond that. His message is one of consolation and encourage, to encourage the people
regarding God's plan for the nation Israel. God is going to bless the nation. He is going to fulfill His promises. So, the message of Zechariah is a very positive message, a message of comfort and encouragement, but it is in the context of having the temple rebuilt.

Look back to the book of Nehemiah, Ezra rather, Ezra Nehemiah are the two books of the background for these prophets. The book of Ezra, chapter six, page six hundred seventy-six, page 676, the book of Ezra. And if you want to have the background in your mind of this time period, read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah sometime in the next week. That will give you the historical setting for the prophecies of Zechariah, particularly chapters five and six of the book of Ezra.

While you're there, you might look at Ezra, chapter five, verse one where Haggai and Zechariah are mentioned. Zechariah is mentioned three time outside of his own book, and these are two of them in Ezra. In Ezra, chapter five, verse one, "When the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of God, the God of Israel, who was over them, then Zerubbabel, ---" And so on, they proceed to rebuild the house, as you read on, the house of God. Then in over in verse fourteen of chapter six, "And the elders of the Jews were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel, and the decree of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes kings of Persia."

So, here you can see that Zechariah is instrumental along with Haggai in having the temple rebuilt, but as you read Haggai the stress is much stronger on building the temple. In Zechariah, it's much stronger on encouraging the people of what God is going to do in blessing them, and in prospering them, and in ultimately in the bringing in of the millennial kingdom.

Now, Zechariah name means, remembered of Jehovah, for whom Jehovah remembers, and that really becomes a theme of his book, that God will remember his people, and the prophet whose name means “God remembers,” is also the one who brings the message of remembrance. God hasn't forgotten His people and thus Zechariah's message one of God fulfilling His promises.


I mentioned earlier that Zechariah was a young man when he received his initial visions and that comes out of chapter two, verse four, Zechariah 2:4, and an angel is speaking here. We'll talk about that when we get there. The angel said to him, "Run, speak to that young man, ---"and the young man that he is to speak to is Zechariah, and it's the word that means a youth, translated young man here. Now, that doesn't have to be pushed to the extreme, but it does make clear that Zechariah is a young man as he begins his ministry.

As often was the case, God picked out young men to convey the message and their lack of experience wasn't a crucial detriment because the message that they were to proclaim was the message that God gave. So, they didn't need a lot of experience. All they needed to do was be obedient and do what God said. Jeremiah in his call by God you know, can't say, I can't do it, I'm just a child. God says don't tell me you're a child, I put my word in your mouth and you go do what I tell you. What's the difference whether you're a child or an old man, all you got to do is do what I told you. Say what I said, that's adequate. So, here again, Zechariah is a young man, and you can appreciate something of his message as you see what God had revealed to him. And from a young man, we don't know how long. His prophecy, the last date, really is only two years later. Evidently his prophecy, his prophesying, carried on much longer than that, but it's not dated, so we don't know how long his ministry carried on.

As we mentioned this morning the thrust of the book or a major emphasis of the book is the person and work of the Messiah. It's going to come out again and again. We're not going to take the time to look at each of these references as we move through. At the end, we'll collect them all together after we've moved through them. We'll have a list then of what they are, but some of the key passages referred to in the New Testament come out of the book of Zechariah, the key Messianic prophecies. Some of the clearest teaching on the kingdom that Christ will establish, when He is coming back like His feet touching on the Mount of Olives, comes out of the book of Zechariah.

The first six verses are an introduction to the whole book, and that's what we are going to focus on this evening. Then you move into the visions, and a series of eight visions that Zechariah receives moving through the first six chapters of the book forming the initial part of the book, and the first major section. The first six verses are the introduction to the whole book, and the thrust of these six verses is repentance. Now that's strange in light of the fact that his book, his letter, his message centers on encouragement and comfort, but he starts out by telling them to repent. And that's consistent, even though it seems contradictory to begin with, because Zechariah's concern, God's concern through Zechariah, is that the people of God be in the place where God can bless them as he wants to. And that necessitates a turning from sin, so that they would be where God wants them, so He can bless them as He wants to. So, the starting point in the first six verses is repent, to be sure to be where God wants you to be, so He can bless you as He promises to bless you when you are in the appointed place.


In verse one, we noted some of the facts here, but just pick up "the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet--." Again, a clear statement of the inspiration of the Scripture. The prophet is simply a spokesman of God. That's what a prophet is-God's spokesman. He is to speak what God gives him. It's God's word that came to Zechariah. That ties with what Peter says in Second Peter in the New Testament. You can jot down, Second Peter, chapter one, verses twenty and twenty-one, I'll just read those verses to you. "But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, (or of private origin), for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." That tells you how the prophets worked. The Spirit of God moved them and they spoke from God. Ah, they didn't speak from them self. They spoke as the Spirit of God moved them. So, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah. The Spirit of God moved Zechariah to speak, and He gave him the words to say.

Now he's "the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo". One of the passages we read in Ezra, he's just called the son of Iddo. Evidently, his father Berechiah died before he could assume the priestly office. Iddo is the head of a group of priests, so Zechariah is not only a prophet, he's a priest. But evidently Berechiah died before he could assume the position of his father Iddo, and so it goes right from Iddo to Zechariah which isn't unusual.

All right. The content of the message then, picking up with verse two and running down through verse six. It starts out in a very negative way. Remember we said one of the difficulties of about the prophets is-they're so negative. Well, Zechariah is more pro- more positive than most because he's an encouraging prophet. But note where he starts out. "The Lord was very angry with your fathers." Now that's a negative starting point. Here comes a young man that God takes. I'm going to make you a prophet. Where would we have started him? God loves you, and has a plan for your life. I don't have any problem with that, but that's not where God chose to start Zechariah. Zechariah may have wanted to adjust it, but remember the prophet doesn't have that option. He's God's spokesman. So, here Zechariah, you go tell them. So, here's Zechariah. Now a young man has to stand up before the people and say, "The Lord was very angry with your fathers." Well, we don't like hear that. That's not one of the considerations.

"Very angry" and you can underline that. This is an intense word! There are three things that put stress on this word. The first is the position that it has in the sentence. It begins the sentence. "Angry was the Lord with your fathers." The stress is on the anger. So, that's the first things that draws attention and shows the intensity of anger, the position it has in the sentence, it's first. "Angry was the Lord"

Second thing is the Hebrew way of expressing it. You have a verb and you have a noun. "Angry with anger was the Lord". Now for us in English, it sounds redundant. That was the Hebrew of saying, He was very angry. He was angry with anger. So again, stressing the intensity of the anger.

And the third means of giving intensity to this word is just the word that's used. The word itself means to be wrathful. It's a strong word for anger. An intense type of anger, so very angry. It's not just that the Lord was upset a little bit. Ah, Zechariah comes and says, "The Lord was extremely angry with your fathers". This wrath is a natural follow-through from the holiness of God. Some theologians have a tremendous problem, that's just one of their problems, but they have a tremendous problem with the wrath of God in the Old Testament. And they can't correlate it with the God of love, as they see it in the New Testament. And the God of the Old Testament is revealed as a God of wrath, but He's the same God as new, as the God of the New Testament. His holiness demands the manifestation of wrath. God is always angry and wrathful in the context of sin. That is never mild. It is always severe, as the anger is here.


Ah, two passages in the New Testament. Just so we see that this in the New Testament. Romans, chapter one, page 233, verse 18, in Romans 1:18, we read that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness". God hasn't changed. His wrath is still manifest when unrighteousness, when sin is present. So, it's still the same as the Old Testament. He hasn't changed. He's still a God of holiness. And the God of holiness cannot tolerate sin.

You can jot down Hebrews chapter twelve, verse twenty-nine. We won't turn there. Very simple, concise statement. "Our God is a consuming fire." "Our God is a consuming fire." So, He hasn't changed character at all. He is a God of love. He also a God of wrath, and that's where Zechariah begins. That He is a God of wrath.

One thing to pick up back in Zechariah, chapter one, verse two. "He was very angry with your fathers." We'll be saying something about that expression, “with your fathers” a little bit later. But the object of God's anger consistently throughout the Old Testament, God’s anger is directed toward people, not toward sin as some abstract concept. Now this is contrary to the idea that sometimes expressed, God hates sin, but loves the sinner. Now, when you first hear that, that sounds all right. The problem is it's not true, because here we're told that "He was very angry with your fathers." It doesn't say "very angry with your father's" sin. Now the danger of that statement, God hates sin, but loves the sinner, is it gives the idea that you can disassociate the two. But let me ask you, if you took all the sinners out of the world, would you have any sin left? Where does sin come from? Sinners. You can't talk about sin as an abstract concept. There is no such thing. You cannot talk about sin apart from me a sinner. Because you take me, the sinner out of the way, there is not sin. That flower never sinned in its life. That seat you are sitting on never sinned in its life. You know who sins, people sin. So, you cannot hate sin, and not the sinner. They are inseparable. Sin and the sinner are one and the same thing. And sin is present because sinners sin. So, God hates the sinner. Now we don't like that. Ah, I don't like to hear that. But that's what He said, "He was very angry with your fathers." Ah. The objects of God's wrath are the people who sin, are sinning, because you can't have sin apart from the people. As though that was some extraneous concept, something imposed upon them. You cannot divide the person. " The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things." So God wants to hate sin, He has to hate the sinner, because the sinner is the source of sin.

"The Lord was very angry with your fathers." He doesn't have to elaborate that. That's a very concise statement. The Babylonian captivity is not that far removed from these people's minds. And that's the great evidence of the wrath of God. You want to know how angry God was? You go back and read Nebuchadnezzar's sweeping in and just destroying the land. You read about the final king of Israel standing before Nebuchadnezzar, having his sons executed before his eyes, then having his eyes put out, then being dragged off in chains. You get some idea of how angry God was. He doesn't leave anything left in the land but the poorest of the people. Then they're left with nothing, because the Babylonians have simply destroyed everything. So he says "God was very angry with your fathers." These people don't need to have it explained. It's fresh enough in their minds that they can remember the concept of God's anger and what it involved.


Now, verse three. The warning of anger in verse two is followed by a clear manifestation of God's grace in verse three. "Therefore, say to them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Return to Me, that I may return to you,' says the Lord of Hosts." You know God has taken the initiative here. There's responsibility placed on the people. They are to return to God, so that God can return to them, but the initial act of grace was taken by God in revealing Himself through the prophets to them in the first place. The very fact that God brings this message to the nation Israel through Zechariah is a demonstration of grace. That God has taken the initiative in presenting Himself through His prophet to His people. And now He puts responsibility on them to listen, to hearken to the message that has been given. "Return to Me that I may return you."

You note, where the responsibility is put as it is consistently put, Old and New Testament, on the people. You're responsible to return to Me that I may return to you. Now, again don't lose sight of the fact that God has taken the initiative, but the responsibility still rests with the person. The reason that Israel was not enjoying the blessings of God was not God's fault, it was Israel's fault. They continued to rebel against Him, so that He could not bless them. What He is saying is, "turn to Me", and this is word that we would have translated in the Greek, repent, "that I may turn to you." But the responsibility is yours. So we're coming here now, Zechariah's going to lay out, beginning in verse seven through chapter fourteen, the blessings that God has for the nation. The reason you haven't experienced them yet is not my fault, God says, it's your fault. "You turn to Me, and I'll turn to you." But He's taken the initiative in bringing the blessing.

Now that's no different than a basic message that we have today. Positionally we have been brought near to God. In our practice, or experientially, the message is still that we must draw near to God. Two passages. Look at the book of Ephesians, page 296 in your New Testament, Ephesians, chapter two, page 296. Ephesians 2:13, just so that we're clear we haven't lost sight of positional truth, and I haven't fallen from grace. I want to read Ephesians 2:13, "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." That's my position. I've" been brought near by the blood of Christ", the position I have.

But look over in the book of James, chapter four, page 352, keep going toward the back of your Bible, page 352, the book of James. James, chapter four, verse seven. "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you ---". That's not saying anything different than Zechariah says in chapter one, verse three. "Return to me that I may return to you" "Draw near to God that He may draw near to you. Now wait a minute, I just read in Ephesians two, I am near. I was brought near by the blood of Christ, but if you read the context of James, he is talking about practice that is to come out of position. The responsibility is put on believers. We are to be drawing near to God. Our practice is to conform to our position. We are not to say positionally I'm near to God, but in my walk I'm living way out here. I have to walk where I am. I am near to Him in position. I am to walk near to Him in all that I do. So, the personal responsibility is that is placed upon God's children. It’s no different than He says to His children in the Old Testament. "turn to Me that I may turn to you."


Back to Zechariah. You note a repeated expression here, "the Lord of Hosts," or as one commentator translates, the Lord of armies denoting His power. Again in the context of the captivity and so on, this would be meaningful to the Jews and His authority over the armies. The armies of heaven, the armies of the earth, everything, all the hosts are under His control. You note, three times in one verse, he uses that expression, “return, therefore say to them, thus says the Lord of Hosts, return to Me declares the Lord of Hosts, that I may return to you, says the Lord of Hosts." You get the idea that maybe God is afraid, if I can use that expression, that the Jews are going to miss the point. That Zechariah isn't coming to proclaim something that he thinks is a good idea. He is coming to tell them what the Lord of Hosts has said. So, it lays weight to the importance to this turning. You must turn completely and the authority for it is the Lord of Hosts. And three times, think how short that verse would be if you took out all those "thus says the Lord of Hosts", "declares the Lord of Hosts", "says the Lord of Hosts". "Therefore, say to them return to Me that I may return to you." That would have been simpler and quicker, but God wants to lay stress on the fact that He is the authority behind this statement. And it emphases the importance. It's essential that you do this so that you can experience the blessings that I am about to announce so that you can enjoy the full blessings of My grace as it is bestowed upon you. Here you have a clear statement. God's authority stands behind God's Word. He is the authority for it, and it's final. So, you want God's blessing, then you heed God's Word. Israel tried and tried and tried to do it their own way. And we can still look at Israel as an example today of the people of God who are determined to get God's blessing their own way. It's hard going, the way of the transgressor is hard. Believers today, we look at Israel and say, how foolish. Here God's saying, I want to give you all the blessings that I've promised you. Why won't you let me? We say, what a foolish people. They just get battered around from place to place and they're still not done. Wouldn't it be so simple, just to submit to God and allow God to pour out all the blessings He wants to? Then I look at myself. I’m more like the foolish nation Israel than I like to admit. That's the hard thing about reading the Old Testament. I keep seeing myself, and that's disconcerting. Here God says, you know, I want to pour out all my blessings on you, and here I find myself going my own way. I'm going do it, you know, I'm sure it's going to work out for me. And the Jews weren't any different. It didn't work out for them back there, but it will work out for us. We still go through the same thing. You know, it's different for me. I'll do it my way. I'll get God's blessing. It'll be OK. God hasn't changed. It's going to be His way. You might as well as just make up your mind and do it.


All right, that's the authority for it. Verse four. Two more times, I should mention the Lord of Hosts is mentioned. Again, in verse four and again in verse six. So, five times in the first six verses this title "the Lord of Hosts, or the Lord of armies" is used as the authority for what Zechariah says. "Do not be like your fathers,---" That's tragic. Ah, you got to start out and say don't be like your fathers. You know, we like to think of our fathers as examples. But for the Jews their fathers were an example, but a negative example. You want to know what not to be like, don't be like your fathers. Too often that's continued to be the case today, I guess, that fathers present less than desirable example to follow. So, if we're going to be honest, we want to really give an example, we'd have to say, don't be like your father. When it ought to be just the opposite, be just like your father. Well, for the nation Israel, don't be like you fathers, don't use them as your pattern. He mentions them four times in these first six verses as an example of what not to be. Don't be like your fathers. Why? Rebellion characterized them. Apostasy characterized them. Unfaithfulness characterized them. You don't want to be like them. I don't need to apply that. You can ask yourself what kind of example you are. Most of us have children. I don't know. If God was going to thunder forth this evening, would he say to my kids, be like your father? Or would He say, don't be like your father? You answer that one.

"Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying “Thus says the Lord of Hosts, return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds. But they did not listen or give heed to Me, declares the Lord." The situation has not greatly changed. The fathers had the prophets come and proclaim to them. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, all the other prophets that preceded. They came and proclaimed basically, the same message, repent. Turn from your evil ways and turn to the Lord, and the people refused to hear. Their message went unheeded. So, God's wrath and anger was poured out upon them. Now the warning of Zechariah - don't be like them - makes the implication obvious. God's anger will be poured out on you like it was them. Here is a prophet of God. You disobey his message, then you'll be in the same position as your fathers who disobeyed the prophets' messages.

Now He says, breaking it down in two things here, "return now from you evil ways and your evil deeds." That was the proclamation of the prophets, repent, basically. Evil ways, their way of living, the path that they were on. The evil deeds are an outgrowth of the manner of life, so a little different emphasis. The evil path or evil ways, their manner of living, and out of their manner of living came evil deeds, rebellious acts of sin. They were encouraged to turn from both.

There are a number of messages. Let me just take you to two passages quickly from the former prophets that preceded. Isaiah, back toward the front of your Bible, about the middle of the Old Testament, Isaiah 55, page 1,033. I thought Zechariah might be discouraging to start some of you, so I was careful to jot down all the page numbers. I wouldn't want to add burden upon burden, so page 1,033 at Isaiah 55, is where we are. And note verses six and seven, "Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thought; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." That was a message of one of the prophets that preceded Zechariah. Would the nation Israel hear? This was even before the northern kingdom went into captivity. Yet the northern kingdom wouldn't hear, but the message was repent, turn to God. He will be compassionate. But they chose not to, so they experienced the wrath of God. People misunderstand and confuse the two. God is compassionate, but to experience His compassion, you must turn when He says. There comes a time, as we'll note in a moment, when you go by the time of compassion, and it's too late for compassion. The only thing left is wrath.

Look in the book of Jeremiah. Isaiah, Jeremiah, the next book past Isaiah, page 1,054. Jeremiah, chapter three verse twelve. I picked Jeremiah, because here you've come down now quite a few years. Isaiah is back even before the northern kingdom goes into captivity. Now the southern kingdom has had the chance to observe the wrath of God poured out on the northern kingdom. Jeremiah prophecies basically the same message to the people who are left. Will they listen? No. Jeremiah, chapter three, verse twelve, "Go, and proclaim these words toward the north and say, return faithless Israel, declares the Lord; I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever." "Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the Lord you God and have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice, declares the Lord." "Return, O faithless son---." You get the idea of God's pleading. Isn't it amazing that God, the Creator, should be there pleading with people to return to Him? We don't even do that with our own children. You know, we don't beg our children to listen, listen or else. But God in love, does. Please come back. And if it had been me, I'd have wiped them out. You know, I wouldn't ask them. I wouldn't beg them, but God's a God of love, and compassion, and mercy. Please return! No. So, we have the Babylonian captivity.

Now, the message hasn't changed. Here's Zechariah coming now after the Babylonian captivity is over. Return! The message doesn't change. We are the thickest people. You can see how sinful we are. God doesn't change the message, we still don't get the point. Return! So, He has not changed. Isaiah eight hundred years before Christ. Jeremiah five or six hundred years before Christ. Zechariah five hundred years before Christ. Message is RETURN! RETURN!! And you can follow that through, in a number of places throughout the Old Testament.

So, back in Zechariah, chapter one. What ends up being said is that the prelude to God's blessing is dealing with sin. That's always the case. The message of repentance can be preached to unbeliever and believer alike. The unbeliever must make that initial turning to God, in effect faith in Jesus Christ. That initial change of mind. For us as God's children as we read in James, the message is still the same. In my practice, I must be walking by Him day by day, moment by moment, to experience all the fullness of blessing that is mine as His child. A Christian living in sin cannot experience the blessings of God in his life. That hasn't changed, so the message of God is still the same. Turn from your sin.

Verse five. "Your fathers, where are they?" Good question. "Your fathers, where are they?" They're dead. The prophets, did they live forever? Hardly, they're gone, too. Now the stress here is on a contrast with verse six. The fathers, they don't live forever. The prophets, they don't live forever, but God's Word is permanent. Now there is another thing carried through when he stresses the point that the fathers died. That's obviously judgment. The prophets passing, that's a contrast with verse six, but it's also is a warning of the passing of the time of opportunity. Because with the passing of the prophet and the proclamation of the message of redemption comes the anger that was promised. So, there is a warning that the prophets are temporary, and so you must heed their message while you have opportunity.

Paul refers to this fact in Second Corinthians, chapter six, when he says, "now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation" while the message is being proclaimed to you. I was speaking of this passage considering what I was talking about with someone after the service this morning. Someone was saying, they'd invited a member of the family to come to the service this morning. And he said no, maybe I'll come when the weather gets warmer. The response being, maybe you won't have opportunity when the weather gets warmer. That's a very perceptive observation. God gives opportunity now. He doesn't promise opportunity in June. He promises opportunity now, while it's available. And so there is a warning, the prophets don't live forever. And that in, and of itself, is a warning. While you hear the message, you better respond to it or maybe you won't have opportunity to respond when you're ready.


Here the contrast is with verse six, God's word. "But didn't My words and My statues, which I commanded My servants, the prophets,---." You note that expression, My servants, the prophets. The prophets were God's servants. They were doing God's bidding. "--did not My Words and My statues, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, As the Lord of Hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us." You note, the prophets don't live forever. The passing of prophets was the passing of their opportunity, and the words of the prophets overtook them. It's put very picturesque here. Again, there's a stress on My words, and My statues. They're emphatic in their position. "My words, and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets. Did they not overtake your fathers?" Very picturesque here as the picture of God's Word relentlessly pursuing them, and they couldn't get away because it relentlessly pursued them to accomplish God's purposes. That's the thrust here. God's word always accomplishes God's purposes. Whether they're good or evil, they always are accomplished.

Just a couple of examples as we draw to a close this evening. God's word accomplishing God's purposes, always, whether it is good or evil, both are true. Look at Isaiah 55. We were back in Isaiah 55 a little bit ago, Isaiah 55, page 1,033. We want to just look down just a few verses from where we were, Isaiah 55, verses ten and eleven. "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So, My word shall be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." God's guarantee. My Word never comes back without accomplishing My purpose. If My purpose is salvation, it's accomplished. If My purpose is judgment, it's accomplished. It always is successful. God's word never goes forth unsuccessfully.

Look at Lamentations. Now Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, so just over two books, page 1150, chapter two, Lamentations, chapter two, verse seventeen. The Lamentations of Jeremiah are just that. They are lamentations because of the destructive judgment of God, because the people would not heed the message of Jeremiah. Verse seventeen, "The Lord has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without sparing, and He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the might of your adversaries." He gives Israel into the hands of their enemies.


One other passage. Deuteronomy, chapter twenty-eight, fifth book in your Old Testament, page 298, Deuteronomy twenty-eight. Deuteronomy twenty-eight. Here you'll see the promise of God, if you obey, my word will overtake you with blessing. If you disobey, my word will overtake you. And He uses the same word overtake as He uses in Zechariah, where My word overtook your fathers. Look in Deuteronomy twenty-eight, verse two, "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the Lord your God." Then He goes on to talk about their blessings. So, the word will overtake them for blessing, if they obey. Look at verse twenty-eight, a, verse fifteen, chapter twenty-eight, verse fifteen, "But it shall come about, if you will not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statues with which I charge you today, that all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you." Look at verse forty-five, "So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statues which He commanded you."

That's a rather awesome picture as you see it as God's word is pictured as that relentless pursuer, and man is temporal, but God's word is eternal. Man is always overtaken by God's word, either for good or for evil. Men who think that they can live their lives for themselves and they're successful in doing it for eighty, ninety years, but they die, and they find out that the word of God overtook them.

*Recording ended here.