July 31, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll. He asked me, ‘What do you see?‘ I answered, ‘I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.’ And he said to me, ‘This is the curse that is going out over the whole land.‘” (Zechariah 5.1-3a)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Do you remember the final conflict between God and Pharaoh in Egypt which caused Pharaoh to send the Hebrews out of Goshen and on their way back to Canaan? Pharaoh declared what the final act would be himself. In speaking a harsh penalty against God’s people, as Moses warned it would happen, it was paid back on to his own people. He brought the curse upon the first born in all of Egypt, both Egyptian and Hebrew. In fact, race didn’t matter at all because the curse against the first born was applied to any who lived in Egypt at the time. We are told of the means of protection by which the first born would be saved. the instruction was to sacrifice a lamb and paint the door mantels with its blood. They would take the meat and prepare it for a meal to be shared by the family of that house in a form of communion (a common union.) That evening, after sunset and thus the beginning of a new day, the Spirit of God moved across the face of the earth. Mighty ones, we ought to sense a remembrance of how the earth was created as recorded in the teachings of Moses. In the first creation, there was an ordering of all the elements present into that which seemed purposeful for the dawning of new life. At God’s command, the Holy Spirit moved across the waters (or the deep) and His command took force and form. So it was in Egypt on that night when the bondage of Israel to Egypt would come to an end. I believe it was not merely the beginning of the season of Passover but it was on the Sabbath as well. The justice of God vindicated and validated the will of the Lord for His people. It separated and celebrated those who believed in the one True God from those who did not.

Now, in the days of Zechariah, the people who “dwelt in darkness,” the season of exile (both foreign and domestic) were going to “see a great light.” (I refer to the prophecy of Isaiah as to the coming of the Messianic Age.) The time of restoration, the returning of the exiles from Babylon, was a sign of confirmation that God’s will was being done. No other authority could bring this to pass. As such evidence now existed, it would be up to the people to respond accordingly to return to the rules of righteousness and humble themselves before God. It was time to receive God’s grace and again be the people of God as was intended from the beginning. They were to be a holy nation; a light to the world; a beacon to those who dwelt in the darkness of shame, guilt and doubt as well as a royal priesthood of all believers. The intimation of the “giant scroll” which would hover over the face of the kingdom at hand and render judgment against the “thief” and the “liar” (those who took the name of God in vain swearing falsely against God and one another) was a time of personal reckoning. The history of judgment against the nation of Israel at the hands of foreign nations was to be the motivator that a transformation was necessary, undeniable and inescapable. The Word of God would command it and the people themselves would demand it. While we do not know exactly how God woud effect this transformation, it was clear that the toleration of such abhorrent behavior was to come to an end. The reality was that God had shown His determination to discipline not only His people but His enemies, and theirs as well, with exacting power. So exacting, in fact, that it would discipline individuals (as we would hear from Ezekiel that each person would not be accountable for their own sins eschewing generational curses) and “houses.” The term for “houses” refers to the seats of government and not merely local dwelling places. It was a time of political and spiritual accountability and transformation.

No one would be exempt from the scrutiny of God’s eye for mercy, justice and the Kingdom way. All nations and all peoples would be sifted and threshed. The Word of God which was to be planted in the heart, mind and soul of those who called upon His name as their God was being called back to remembrance. Its testimony and its promise was reestablished as irrefutable. God Himself was establishing the paradigm by which life would prosper and bring glory to the will which He had established from the beginning of time. All would see it and be determined by it. The question may well be for us at this point “What is that Scroll?” It is presented in a prophetic sense not meant to be taken literally, though not denying it could happen as God says. It points to the abiding presence of God’s Word which will judge everyone everywhere. For me it is prophetic in calling our attention to the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. The representation of that Kingdom and that Word can be none other than the Messiah. He is the ruler of all. He is the judge of the just and the unjust. He is the Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the light which searches out all the dark places and reveals evil for what it is and good for what it is. He will stand at the door and knock until the inhabitants relent and open the door to be found. His persistence will prevail. His Will, the will of His Father, will be done. Authentic peace will dwell in that place. Absolute truth will be the guiding light. Pure love will abide and abound. Life will be confirmed. Worship of the One True God will be offered. There will ultimately be only One House and all who believe shall dwell in it forever. It is a warning and a promise. And we would do well to heed them both in these days and in the days to come. It is inevitable. We must be ready and prepared.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.