I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 11-14.

    There are bits and pieces of this passage which speak clearly to me, but the whole of the passage eludes my understanding. I know that at least part of the reason for this is that the author used imagery which would have been clear to his contemporaries, but which does not transfer well to the way we think today. I will continue to read this passage because I know that the Holy Spirit will use it to speak to me when the time is right. Having said that I want to comment on the parts of this passage which I do understand.

    There is clear Messianic prophecy in this passage, probably even in the parts I do not understand. There is the 30 pieces of silver, which the New Testament writers tell us was a reference to Judas. There is the passage about mourning for the one “whom they have pierced.” A reference to Jesus’ death on the cross. One thing we do not often look at is the reference to God breaking His covenant in the middle of this passage about Jesus. I sure that I do not fully understand what the prophet is telling us here. However, part of the message is that, with the Crucifixion of Jesus, God is entering into a new covenant with the human race. There is also the message about the coming fountain of cleansing which will wash away sin and idolatry. Part of me wants to connect that fountain to the life-giving waters which the prophet refers to a few verses later. I think this is an example which most clearly shows how Zechariah uses a metaphor one way to give one message than turns around and takes a similar metaphor to give a different message…and yet the second message is somehow connected to the first. The waters of that cleansing fountain become the life-giving waters. It is only when we allow the cleansing waters which are Jesus’ blood to wash us and scour us that we can experience the life-giving waters which are also Jesus’ blood. The cleansing water and the life-giving water are different things…and yet they are the same thing. A paradox that never be fully understood by our limited minds.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 7-10.

    After the rebuilding of the Temple got under way some of the people came to Zechariah to ask if they should continue to hold days of fasting and mourning to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah’s answer was to ask them if it was really for God that they were fasting. Further, he asked them if they were really holding their feast days for God. Weren’t they really doing that because they enjoyed it? That is the question we need to ask ourselves when we conduct the various ceremonies/sacraments we have. When we take Communion, are we doing it for God, or for ourselves? When we baptize new believers, who are we really doing it for?

    When we conduct ceremonies/rituals/sacraments we need to remember that none of them have value to God in and of themselves. Their value to God lies in the degree to which they remind us to judge fairly and treat each other with mercy and compassion. If we get the ceremonies, rituals, and sacraments exactly right, but oppress the fatherless, or widows, or foreigners, or the poor, we would have been better off to not have even tried in the first place. When we take Communion, when we baptize new believers, when we do any of the other religious observances we follow, let us remember to think about showing mercy and compassion to those around us. If in any way the performance of our religious observances make us feel better than others, we are not listening to God, and therefore He will not listen to us.

    I almost stopped after that, but I have to comment on the fact that Zechariah emphasizes the lesson of Haggai from a different perspective. Haggai told the people not to wait until every thing else was taken care of before doing God’s will. Zechariah reminds us to keep on doing God’s will. He reminds the people that before they started on doing God’s will (rebuilding the Temple) there were no jobs and no money. No one was safe because there were bandits everywhere, people were turned against each other. Once they started to do God’s will people became unified and prospered. When we do God’s will, we will find that all of our efforts prosper.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Zechariah 1-6.

    There are several statements in today’s passage that I find inspiring (that is not quite the right word, but the best I can come up with). The first is: ” ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’…” There are two basic and important messages for us. The first is that if we return to God, He is not only there waiting for us, He will come to meet us. It is never too late to return to God. The second message is that at some point in our life we have been close to God, even if we did not know it. everyone of us has at one point or another in our life known God.

    The next one which inspires me/makes me feel God’s call in my life is this: “Shout and rejoice, O beautiful Jerusalem, for I am coming to live among you. Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on that day, and they, too, will be my people.” The day to which the prophet is referring is today. Yes, God has a special place in His heart for the Jewish people, but He will graft into them all who come to Him and wish to be His people. The Jews are God’s people, His children, but God has adopted all who put their faith in Jesus into His family. Let us spread this good news throughout the earth.

    The final one is this: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” When we look at the trials, troubles, and challenges we face, let us remember this. We do not need to overcome the obstacles in our path by our own might or power. If we trust and rely on God, His Spirit will overcome any obstacle which might get in the way of our doing His will. When we turn from sin and seek to return to God we will see all sorts of obstacles in our path, mountains and crevices. However, God’s Spirit will turn those obstacles into level ground for us as long as we keep our eyes on God.