10-4-2025        Zechariah  Chapter 1

         

Israel had been in bondage for some time when God comes to Zechariah “Let’s start rebuilding my temple, my body”.

King Darius was a king who ruled between 522BC thru 486 BC which included Macedonia in the west to the Indus in the east, and from the Black Sea in the north to northeastern Africa in the south. 

On the eighth day of second year of King Darius’ reign, the Lord came to Zechariah, the grandson of the prophet Idda.  The Word of the Lord tells Zechariah that He is displeased with Israel.  They have not listened to the former prophets who warned their ancestors to turn from their evil ways and their evil doings and turn back unto God, the Lord of Hosts.  Have your ancestors lived forever?  Didn’t the words and statutes which My prophets proclaimed mean anything to your ancestors?  They even declared that God has dealt with them according to their works and deeds (1-6).

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah again “At night, I saw a man riding a red horse among the myrtle trees and it was twilight.  There were red, speckled and white horses”.  Zechariah asked “Oh, my Lord, what are these?”  And the angel said “I will show you.”  The man among the myrtle trees said “We had walked to and fro through the earth and behold, the earth sits still and is at rest” (7-11).

Then the angel of the Lord said “”Oh, Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah upon which you have shown your indignation these past seventy years?”    (12)

Then the Lord answered the angel with good and comforting words (13).   

Then the angel talked with me and said “Tell the people ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts; I have la great jealousy for Jerusalem and Zion.  I am sorely displeased with the heathen who are at ease (comfortable in their ways) and who had helped my children increase their affliction.  Therefore says the lord of hosts, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies.  My house shall be built in it and the Lord of hosts shall stretch a line (measuring) upon Jerusalem.  And yet says the Lord of hosts, through prosperity, my cities shall b be spread abroad and the Lord shall comfort Zion and yet choose Jerusalem.” (14-17)

I (Zechariah) lifted my eyes up and saw four horns and I asked the angel, who talked with me, what are these?  And the Angel responded “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem (18-19)

And the Lord showed me four carpenters, then I asked “what are these to do?”  And He said “These are the horns which scattered Judah so that no man could lift his head up.  But these (carpenters) who are come to frighten them and cast out the horns of the Gentiles which lifted up their horn to scatter Judah’ (20-21).   (the carpenters have come to repair the damage)

So, what do we care about what happened with Israel over 2000 years ago?

This passage implies that Israel is the “apple of God’s eye’.  But because of Gentile influence, Israel strayed from God’s laws and statutes.  Through His prophets, Father tried to get Israel back on the right track so He ‘reprimanded’ them (Israel). 

After He brought them out of Egypt and Israel strayed and God put them under subjection to other powers. 

However, consider that after God brought Israel out of Egypt (the Exodus), God allowed Israel to live among the Gentiles which yet remained in the land which God had promised them.  Gradually, Israel adopted the ways of those amongst whom they lived and forgot the ways of the Lord.  But, when Israel cried out God raised up judges to deliver them (Book of Judges).  Over time, God raised up twelve judges to deliver His people from oppression, a period which ended when finally, at the people’s request, God gave them a king, Saul (1Sam.chptr 10).

The people strayed from Father’s Word and statutes.  Father is love (1 John 4:8) and not a tyrant so He gives us a choice to follow Him or not.  Father told Israel that He has called heaven and earth to testify that on this day, He gave them a choice: life or death, blessings or cursings (Deut. 30:19).  Or if it seems evil to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, Joshua chose the Lord) … (Josh. 24:15).  Or Trust the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean unto your own understanding.  Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will direct your path (Prov. 3:5-6).  Temptation is common to man but God is faithful that He will not try us without providing an escape so we can bear it.  Beloved, flee idolatry, that is worshipping anything other than our heavenly Father (1 Corinth. 10:13-14).  Father tells us to rejoice in our temptations for this grows our faith.  When faith is perfected, we find ourselves wanting (needing) nothing.  Don’t revile people but freely give and ask God for wisdom and He will freely give it to us.  Don’t let our faith waver like the wind driven sea.  A double minded man is unstable in his ways and won’t receive anything from the Lord (James1:1-8). 

What kind of choices do we make today?  What about today’s churches?

Zechariah was commissioned by God to start gathering the materials and rebuild His church building, His temple.  We are God’s living temple (1 Corinth. 3:16).  Are we in a construction or even a reconstruction period in our lives?  Is Father foremost in our hearts and minds?  Our dads and moms gave us instruction and direction when we were young.  An heir does not differ from a servant when he is a child even though He inherits all things for he is yet under tutors land governors until Father’s appointed time. Are we still bound by the elements of the world (Gal. 4:1-2)?  In other words, we are still children until Father says otherwise.  Do we remember or teen years when we thought we knew everything?  But truly we knew nothing (in perspective).

 Father works in us and through us via the Holy Ghost.  Jesus tells us that the Holy Ghost will be in us (John 14:16-17).  Jesus tells us to receive the Holy Ghost (John 20:21-22).  Jesus received the Holy Ghost when John baptized Him in water, the Spirit of God came upon Jesus in the form of a dove (Matt. 3:13-17).  The apostles and about 108 disciples received the Holy Ghost in the upper room (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4).  Paul encountered twelve men on the road to Ephesus (who had been baptized by John) and the twelve received the Holy Ghost after their encounter with Paul (Acts 19:1-7).  Philip preached in Samaria and many received Jesus but it wasn’t until Peter and John came up from Jerusalem that they receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:5-17)  And how can we forget Cornelius and his household who received the Holy Ghost even while Peter was preaching, that is before water baptism (Acts 10:34-48).  Consider the thief on the cross beside Jesus who received neither water baptism nor baptism in the Holy Ghost, but he had received  Jesus in his heart so Jesus told him that “this day, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43).

Paul tells us not to quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19), that is prohibit the Holy Ghost from doing His job.  For the Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth (John 15:13), help say what needs to be said (Matt. 10:19-20), help us commune with the Lord (1 Corinth. 3:16) and confirms our salvation within our own hearts (Rom. 8:16) and even more.

Father gives us what we need to get the job done.  After all He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).  All we have to do is ask and follow His diection.

As Joshua said “This day me and my house, will serve he Lord (Josh. 24:15).  Zechariah was on his way in starting to construct the temple of God.  As we have Jesus into our lives, we ARE the living temple of our Lord (2 Corinth. 6:16).

Are we allowing the Holy Ghost to construct or perhaps reconstruct our temple?  How have our choices been?

 

Amen