Bible Reading Challenge Blog

December 9, 2019: Day 86 – Zechariah 14

As we  close  out Zechariah we begin with destruction and then end with eternal peace and eternal prosperity for the people and the city of Jerusalem.  Remember when Hoover promised a chicken in every pot?  Well this Scripture promises that every pot of every household would be as blessed and holy as the cooking pots which are found in the temple.  This  sense that the Lord will reach out of the temple and come into every home and be a blessing is somewhat unique in this Scripture for this concept of God with us is seen later in the coming of Christ.  

But we find God casting plagues upon the people who  rise up against Jerusalem and the people of Israel as well as a plague on those who do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the one true God.  This promise is given in vs.11 where we read that Jerusalem will never again be destroyed and it will abide in history.  Now, we know that this has not been the case.  Jerusalem has been conquered and destroyed and conquered and destroyed numerous times in history.  But these promises in the OT often are conditional on the faithfulness of the people of Israel.  We know that this does not last long.

So Zechariah ends with a scene from the Mount of Olives which then becomes a very important location in the New Testament Gospels where Jesus is often found there praying, teaching, with his disciples, and telling parables.  But for now, we end with the coming days where we find promises from the Lord upon which we can rely.

December 8, 2019: Day 85 – Zechariah 13

We are given another image, and that of a fountain.  The purpose of this fountain is for cleansing of sin and impurity.  An image that I have ingrained in my mind is outside the blue mosque in Istanbul there are rows and rows of spigots where men are lined up to wash their feet and their arms before they are allowed to enter the mosque.  In Islam there is a real understanding that if you are going to be before the Lord you are not to come as you are, you are to make sure that you are cleansed from all  sin and impurity, and the ritual to do that is literally water cleansing.  It is a neat ritual which a part of me wishes we had.

The chapter goes on further to describe the one who was pierced for our sake.  Those are my words, or at least Scripture’s words in Isaiah and in the Gospels, but we can almost see them here as well if you look at vs.6.  These wounds depicted are prophetic wound which we see also mentioned in I Kings 18:28 where the prophets cut themselves with swords.

But in this chapter we see that the prophets are no longer, they are no longer speaking the word of the Lord.  They are all put to shame and they all are silenced.  What a sad day that would be.  But I wonder who is speaking out today about certain things that we do understand to not be in the will of God.  Are not the shepherds supporting that which is not of God?  This prophecy is not far from where we are today.

December 7, 2019: Day 84 – Zechariah 12

We get a hopeful word today that the Lord will come back and be on the side of Israel once again.  I know, it can make your head spin, but there are some really nice verses here, especially for those who are down and destitute.  The Lord says in vs.3 that Jerusalem will be a heavy stone for those who against it.  Meaning, it will be able to withstand any who come up against it, either by crushing them or being in place and unmovable.  As a result the Lord will give victory to the people of God.

I love vs.8 which describes that “on that day the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David.”  Then later on in vs.10 we read that God will pour out his spirit of compassion.  You get the sense that God has come back completely on our side, to the point that even the weakest is able to slay Goliath.  This compassion will come as a result of seeing the one that they had pierced.

This should ring a bell for those of us who know someone who was pierced for our sake.  Look at John 19:37 and you will see a direct reference to our Lord.  It is interesting how Zechariah is replete with images and Scriptures which are used consistently in the New Testament by the Gospel writers.  

December 6, 2019: Day 83 – Zechariah 11

We have another oracle, replete with images and visions, against the shepherd, those charged with caring for the flock.  These would be the priests and those who had charge of the souls of the people of Israel.  The Lord says basically that he has had enough and will not deliver the people from their bondage and from their plight.  

He uses the examples of staffs broken to describe what is to happen.  He speaks about a staff named Favor, with the meaning that over the years the Lord has shown His favor to the people of Israel.  They were His chosen ones, they were the ones that he said would be under his care.  But with the breaking of this staff he states in vs.10: “I took my staff Favor and broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all peoples.”  The covenant that the Lord had made with the people of Israel was broken.  

The next depiction is that of 30 pieces of silver which were supposed to be the wages that the Lord would be given to care for his people.  It was about the price of an ox, so not an exorbitant amount of money.  It is the same amount that in Matthew 26:15 Judas is given to betray Jesus.  The thinking was that God cannot be paid  for the care that he gives to us, and in like manner the amount Judas was given was a pittance for the changing of human history.

The next staff that is broken is that which is called Unity.  This broke the ties between the northern and the southern kingdoms and thus destroying the bond that had been present ever since Jacob had been called Israel by the Lord.  

December 5, 2019: Day 82 – Zechariah 10

We have transitioned from apocalyptic visions to a pretty routine prophecy about what will be and what has been.  We see a picture of the provision of the Lord as the one who provides rain which allows the fields to grow.  But then the quick transition to what the Lord is able to do to what the Lord’s shepherds, those who are responsible for watching over His flock, are not doing.  He is hot, he is angry, against his shepherds. 

In spite of the lack of care which his shepherds are showing for His people, he will still raise up his people and allow them to take on the role that they previously had, which was the cornerstone of the Lord’s kingdom.  This will take place so that all future generations will be able to see the hand of the Lord and be able to pass through their own seas of distress with the Lord by their side.  I love that image.  Look at vs.11.  

This chapter ends with vs.12: “I will make them strong in the Lord, and they shall walk in his name, says the Lord.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QR2KGmL50k

December 4, 2019: Day 81 – Zechariah 9

In the midst of a pretty dark chapter, what is called an oracle here, we find verses that we have used for centuries which shape and mold our understanding of the joyous and victorious entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Read vs.9 and you will hear a verse that I bet you have heard at some time in your life if you have been in church on Palm  Sunday.  Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, but Matthew in chapter 21:7 states: “they brought the donkey and the colt (italics mine).”  

I think the safest thing to say is that Matthew misunderstood Zechariah’s descriptive terms which called out a donkey, nay a colt, nay a foal of a donkey.  We are lucky Matthew doesn’t have Jesus riding three animals the way Zechariah described it.  But it seems like these verses nestled in this chapter are the only ones which give us warm fuzzies as we think of the way in which we have celebrated Palm Sunday in the past.  The rest of this chapter is pretty intense.

Look at vs.15 where we read that the battle will be fierce and as a result “they will drink their blood like wine…”  But then there is a stark transition in vs.16 where we read that the Lord God will save them.  The reason given for him saving them is that they are the jewels of his crown.  What an image of who we are in God’s eyes.

December 3, 2019: Day 80 – Zechariah 8

What an idyllic vision of the way things could and should be.  Keep in  mind that the people to whom this prophet is writing are coming back from one of the most traumatic times in their nation’s history.   They had family members who did not make the journey from the land of exile back to home. They have to rebuild all of their structures, all of their institutions, reshape and fashion government and even religion.  For some of you reading this it may sound pretty appealing.  But trust me, if you ever live in a context where these things are missing, it is not appealing.  It is the wild west and you never know when you might be targeted next.  But the picture that is depicted in this chapter is that one day things will come together again.

But there is a very focused understanding on what will allow that to take place.  Look at vs.5 before we get that answer. Who wouldn’t want: “boys and girls playing in the streets”?  He says it may seem impossible to you who have just returned from decades in exile, but who is to say to the Lord that it isn’t possible, that He can’t make it happen?  He charges them with these words in vs.13: “Do not be afraid, and let your hands be strong.”  

Then he says: “This is what you should do.”  We have to read these verses to understand what the Lord requires us to do.  Read this chapter with new eyes and understand what is expected of us.  Let’s list some of the things.  Speak the truth to one another, do not devise evil.  Love truth and peace.  Gather your neighbors and go worship.  When that happens then those around us will say: “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”  What a great legacy to leave behind.  People followed him/her because they could tell that God was with him/her.

December 2, 2019: Day 79 – Zechariah 7

In this Scripture we are told exactly when Zechariah received this word from the Lord.  In vs. 1 all those funny words translate to December 7, 518 BC.  Zechariah is given a reminder of the way that things used to be.  “Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity along with the towns around it.”  We get in the following verses an understanding of what created this time of prosperity.  It was not right thinking, it was right acting.

If you look at vs.9 we see that in the time of prosperity people rendered true judgment, showed kindness and mercy to one another, did not oppress the widow or the orphan or the immigrant or the poor.  Instead, the opposite happened, they looked internally and tried to make sure that they had what they needed at the expense of those above.  God doesn’t play that way.  God doesn’t like that.  God moves in a different direction than those who are selfishly focused on their own needs.  It is a good lesson for all of us today.

December 1, 2019: Day 78 – Zechariah 6

All of this Scripture is tucked into the narrative of the people of Israel having returned from exile and their need to build a temple.  The horses that we see in this chapter are scouting the land and those who come back from the north are able to put the mind at ease of the person who has sent them out.  It is important to note that the exile took place in the north and that those who were returning from exile were coming from the north.  This could be an attempt to say: this is now behind us, let us move forward.

From there we have an attempt to instill a new ruler, but one that historically is not known.  All of it is summarized in vs.15 where we read that those from far away shall come and rebuild the temple.  But none of this will take place if the people of Israel turn their back on the Lord.  All of this will happen if they diligently obey the voice of the Lord.  

Just imagine what could happen if we were turn our eyes upon Jesus and recognize that when we turn away, so does our ability to follow his desires and our ability to understand what His desires for us might be.

November 30, 2019: Day 77 – Zechariah 5

The term that is used in this Scripture for basket is ephah.  Ephah is a measurement that is equal to about 5 gallons.  Most scholars understand this reference to be in relationship to the measurement and what Zechariah is seeing is the weight of the sin of the people of the land and the need to eliminate that sin.  You see that eventually that sin is brought to a certain place and it is destroyed.  

But the ephah is not the only vision in this chapter, it is actually the second one for this chapter.  The first is that of a flying scroll which is used to judge against those who would steal.  Any who steal have as their recompense a curse which is in the form of this scroll which is  flying.  At the root of these Scriptures and these visions, we are now up to 7 visions in all, is the need for God and humanity to come to terms with each other and for humanity to recognize its sinfulness and its need for a God who will forgive and allow to live.