Bible Reading

Zechariah Chapter 1 - Return, See God's Zeal And Power For His People

Throughout history, God's call to repentance echoes still. How will you respond?

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5 min read

Contemporaries with the prophet Haggai, Zechariah was written to encourage the captives who have returned to continue the work of rebuilding the temple (Ezra 5:1).

Though the people have physically returned to Jerusalem, persecution and unfaithfulness have caused their hearts to not fully return to God. Rather than build the house of God, they chose to focus on their own pursuits (Hag 1:2-9).

Introduction (1:1-6) - Return To Me, And I Will Return To You

Before going into the eight visions, the book of Zechariah opens up with a call to repent and return to God, a theme that we have already seen quite a few times in the earlier prophetic books.

The Lord reminds His people how He was angry with their fathers, who did not hear nor heed the former prophets (which God equates to not hearing or heeding His voice) (Zech 1:1-4).

Nevertheless, as time passes, we mortal men must one day die. Be it the stubborn people of God, or even the prophets of God, no one lives forever (Zech 1:5).

Yet, the words and commands of God, spoken through the prophets, endure beyond the people of those ancient generations. In fact, the word of God endures forever (Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17)!

What does this mean for us?

On one hand, this means that God's righteous standard, written in His word, is timeless and we are still measured against it.

On the other hand, it means that the promises of God, written down in the Bible thousands of years ago, are still just as true and real for us today!

More than 2000 years ago, God promised His people, "Return to Me, and I will return to you" (Zech 1:3).

This call to repentance is not unique to the time of Zechariah, but has been made time and time again (e.g., Deuteronomy 30:1-6, 2 Chronicles 7:13-14). Even to us today.

How do we respond? How should we respond?

Let us examine ourselves, recognise where we have fallen short, humbly repent before God and return to living a life pleasing in His sight.

In the first two visions, we see that God's promise holds true: When we return to God, God will indeed return to us (Zech 1:3)!

First Vision (1:7-17) - The Heart of God For His People

The first part of the vision from Zechariah 1:7-11 involves a few characters.

There is

  1. the man, later referred to as the Angel of the Lord, riding on a red horse standing among the myrtle trees,

  2. the other horses behind him, and

  3. the angel that talked to Zechariah.

In the darkness of the night (Zech 1:8), the horses behind the angel of the Lord were sent out to walk to and fro throughout the earth. They then returned and reported that all the earth was still and at rest (Zech 1:11).

This signifies that the time has come for God to arise and take action (Haggai 2:20, Zeph 1:7, Zech 2:13).

Zechariah 1:12-17 records the dialog between the Angel of the Lord (from Zech 1:8) and the Lord of hosts. The Angel of the Lord asks, how long will the Lord not have mercy, after being angry for 70 years while the chosen people were in exile (Zech 1:12)?

The Lord then answered with good and comforting words to the angel who talked to Zechariah (Zech 1:13) , who then speaks to the prophet.

Twice, the prophet is told to proclaim that God is zealous for Jerusalem, and will return to Jerusalem with mercy (Zech 1:14-16). Truly, as we read earlier in Zech 1:3, God promises to return if His people were to return.

And when God returns, His house shall be built in Jerusalem (Zech 1:16), assuring His people that the temple rebuilding project, the one that they put on hold, will definitely come to completion.

Though Jerusalem seemed far from prosperous or glorious (c.f. Nehemiah 1:3; 2:3), God promises that His cities be prosperous (Zech 1:17), and a surveyor's line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem (Zech 1:16).

This is related to the third vision, in particular, Zechariah 2:1-5, describing how vast and immeasurable Jerusalem will be.

From the first vision, we can see the heart of God towards His people.

God is determined to do whatever good He can to help us, with all His heart and His soul (Zech 8:15, Jer 32:41). His heart burns for us with such great zeal (Zech 1:14; 8:2).

Though we (individually or as a church) seem to be going through testing times in the dark of night (Zech 1:8), let us have faith that in God's time, God will act and finish His rebuilding work. He comforts us, promising to prosper us if we truly return to Him (Zech 1:13, 17).

Second Vision (1:18-21) - Controlling History For His People

The second vision is from Zechariah 1:18-21, where we see the absolute sovereignty and power of God as He works and takes action for His chosen people.

Although He raised four horns to punish and scatter His people, He also raises four craftsman to terrify and cast out the horns.

We see the Lord taking vengeance for His people, controlling the course of history, all for the sake of His chosen people (Prov 21:1).

If even the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires are all in His hands, what more do we need to fear today?

God is almighty and is in full control of history. He is in control of all things going on in the world (a chaotic as things may seem to be). He meticulously plans and shapes every geopolitical event, all for our sake.

And He is in full control, even more so in His church.

For example, the True Jesus Church came to be in an era where many Bible translations are already readily available. We were established in an era where technology was about to boom, with advances in aviation allowing our workers to more easily travel the world and preach the gospel.

Another example? The emergence of a pandemic so severe such as COVID-19 only took place in a time where video conferencing and streaming technology is available, allowing us to continue worshipping Him.

(Of course, we can never fully understand God's timing. But it is still edifying to reflect on how great the wisdom and power of God is.)

Hence, no matter what we see today, let us take heart. Let us not fret or worry but continue faithfully serving Him.

Reflection

Today, we may feel discouraged seeing the current state of the church. We may see many things in church that we do not understand.

But from the two visions, let us remember two things: Our merciful God is zealous for His people, and our almighty God is in full control of everything.

On our part, let us hence not be like the Israelites, who focused on their own ambitions and worldly pursuits rather than building up the house of God.

Let us always strive to reciprocate the zeal that God has towards us, and share the same zeal towards Him and His church.

Let us cling to His promise, "Return to Me, and I will return to you".

Related Topics

See Also

Haggai Chapter 1 - Consider Your Ways

Haggai Chapter 1 - Consider Your Ways

Prophet Haggai was sent to rekindle the zeal of God’s people, with his central message being God’s warning to them, and by extension us, to “consider your ways” (Haggai 1:5). Haggai 1 offers us 2 examples that we can use to consider our ways. The people of Israel were not always in a state of spiritual stagnation, in fact they were initially filled with zeal to do God’s work. When they first started rebuilding the temple, there were great shouts of joy and praise (Ezra 3:10-13), however the people soon got discouraged as opposition emerged, and they eventually stopped the rebuilding (Ezra 4:24). Meanwhile, they turned their focus onto their own livelihoods and comfort while the house of God lay in ruins. Despite working hard for their physical lives, the labour of their hands was futile, and they seemed to always be lacking (Haggai 1:6, 10-11). God revealed that the lack in their lives did not come from their method of working, but rather their relationship with Him that they neglected, causing Him to obstruct them from prospering. Today, we are the spiritual temples of God (1 Cor 3:16). While we may face ups and downs in our lives of faith, let us also reflect if we have neglected our spiritual temple and left it in ruins? When the people stopped the temple rebuilding, they may not have expected that what was meant to be a temporary pause would extend into a 14-year hiatus. Similarly, our faith may grow cold gradually, and perhaps even go unnoticed until we are far from God. Therefore, the Bible warns us to watch and pray always, that we may be counted worthy to stand before God. (Luke 21:36) Haggai 1 introduces us to the 2 main leaders: Joshua and Zerubbabel. As the High Priest, Joshua was to lead God’s people in the matters of their faith, while Zerubabbel was the governor leading the administrative state affairs. Being the leaders, they were partially responsible for the long pause in the temple rebuilding. If we were them, would we be able to accept the rebuke from Haggai? The Bible has many examples of people in positions of authority who were unable to accept correction. For example King Saul who made an unlawful sacrifice and pushed the blame to prophet Samuel (1 Sam 13:11-12), and King Ahab who accused prophet Elijah as the “troubler of Israel” though the lack of rain they faced was the outcome of his own sins (1 Kings 18:17). Unlike these kings, in response to God’s rebukes for leaving the work incomplete, Joshua and Zerubbabel simply “obeyed the voice of the Lord their God” (Haggai 1:12). And the result of their obedience was God’s abidance. God stirred up their spirits, strengthening them to complete the work. (Haggai 1:13-14) Let us learn from Joshua and Zerubbabel’s humility, for God gives grace to the humble (James 4:6), and abides with those who are obedient. Just as God warned the people to consider their ways, let us also take heed to this warning. May the Holy Spirit work in us to keep us sensitive to the state of our spiritual lives and to sin, that we may be humble and obedient to the voice of God, so that He would also be with us always.

Daniel Chapter 4 - Let the Most High God Reign in Your Life

Daniel Chapter 4 - Let the Most High God Reign in Your Life

The story in Daniel Chapter 4 is perhaps not unfamiliar to many of us. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the great Babylonian empire, the king of kings, being turned into a beast, how spectacular is that? It's not until we read through this chapter for ourselves that we realise something even more spectacular: this whole chapter is told by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel Chapter 4 is King Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony! Isn't King Nebuchadnezzar the infamous evil king? How is it that in this chapter he gives praise to the almighty God? Perhaps the first thing that should catch our attention from today's chapter is the repeated phrase in verses 17 and 32. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He wills. This phrase can even be said to be the theme of the whole Book of Daniel. This book is mostly set in the time of exile, when there seemingly was no longer any king over the people of God. Yet, in the Book of Daniel we see that though there was no earthly king ruling over Israel, God made it clear to these foreign kings that He is the almighty God. He was still the one who was truly the King. The outcome of this is that the evil king Nebuchadnezzar, probably the greatest and most powerful man during his time, writes this testimony for all peoples, nations, and languages to hear (Daniel 4:1-3). Imagine being a subject in the Babylonian empire, and receiving this declaration from king Nebuchadnezzar praising and glorifying the God of Israel. Though God's people sin against Him and are punished by being taken into exile, the name of God is still magnified. God is not put to shame. Today through baptism we have entered into the Kingdom of God. Yet, it is key for us to consider whether God truly is the King of our lives. It's natural to make many plans for our future, out of a desire to lead our dream lives. But for us Christians, the sovereignty and authority of God is something that we must be well-aware of and fully willing to submit to. If God doesn't let me get that job, are we able to accept it? If God closes the path towards our dreams, are we will to say "Let Thy will be done"? If God takes away all that we have, are we able to be like Job and say "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? If all this is causing us to struggle, remember this: God loves us. He knows what's best for us, He knows what we need. He has already given His life for us, and given us His precious Spirit to dwell within us. Having faith in God's love towards us gives us strength to submit to our King with full assurance that this is the best path for us, this is the way to blessing and to eternal life. Since our God is the highest and rules over the kingdom of man, what then should our response ought to be? Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his testimony by praising and glorifying God. Giving praises to God is something that we have been often taught but perhaps we have not given enough thought to or taken seriously enough. Yet, throughout the Bible, it's clear that praises are a key part of our worship to God (just read the Book of Psalms). What might we praise God for? Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can praise God for His greatness and His almightiness. Just consider the stars, or the intricacies of the human body. We can praise God for His love and wisdom as seen in His creation as well as in His word. The more we study into the holy scriptures, the more we are filled with awe at how complete, connected, and wonderful these life-giving words are. We can also glorify God for His salvation which He has so freely given to us. Imagine how different our lives might be today if not for His grace and mercy! It's when we decide to finally take the importance of praising God seriously and intentionally set aside some time in our daily prayers to praise God, that we truly experience the blessing that comes along with it. We go through life being filled with joy and gratitude, knowing that we have such a great and powerful Heavenly Father who loves us. In fact, it was when Nebuchadnezzar took the glory for Himself rather than giving all glory to God, that the infamous transformation into a beast took place. This brings us nicely to the final point of reflection for this devotional. Pride - when we take glory for ourselves rather than giving glory to God. Nebuchadnezzar's testimony serves as a stark warning for us. Even just a sentence or thought of pride can greatly displease God. How often have we unknowingly taken credit for ourselves for any achievements we have, or for any divine work that we do? Being puffed up with pride and not keeping to one's proper domain is precisely the sin of satan (1 Tim 3:6, Jude 6-7). If we are filled with pride, what difference is there between us and satan? In fact, while satan exalted himself, God on the contrary lowered Himself, coming in the likeness of man and humbling Himself even to the point of death (Phil 2:5-8). Whose example do we want to follow, that of God or of satan? Let us take warning from the story of Nebuchadnezzar and carefully consider who's example we want to follow. Indeed, God opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble. He blesses the meek, that they might inherit the earth .

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