August 1, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“He replied, ‘It is a basket.’ And he added, ‘This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.’” (Zechariah 5.6a)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

In this chapter, God reveals two works which are the means of purifying the people of Israel in Canaan/Palestine which is “The Promised Land.” The first work was the breath of God in His word which covered the land and literally moved into the houses of those who were thieves and liars. We are led to consider this act to be upon those who were the leaders in the seat of government. God’s system of governance on earth is a theocracy: a rule of righteousness. While all thieves and liars are confronted by the “scroll,” the designation of “houses” points to the centers of worship and government. There was a “searching out” of those who were evil and who lived against God. They were measured by the presence of the Word of God which became the rule of accountability. Even today, we know that the true test of truth is an alignment with the Word of God. This is why it is so important to be students of God’s Word so that we might know in our hearts and mind what is the will of God. Thus, the scroll is symbolic of the ultimate truth of God’s Word which stands in judgment of each person. We know further that this is the evidentiary presence of Jesus as the Christ. He is the Word of God made flesh to dwell among us. He was the authentic witness of “one who lived in righteousness.” He was the perfector of our faith demonstrating how each of us is intended to live on earth in our “natural” state of being. For this reason, we ought to consider there are only two categories, or forms, of life: natural, that which reflects life as God created it and blessed it, and unnatural, that which is the life turned away from God rejecting the blessing. Another way of describing this dichotomy is righteousness and unrighteousness, or sin. Righteousness represents the authentic or natural life. Unrighteousness represents sin or the unnatural life. The life of unrighteousness is culminated in death, or a life away from God. This is why the Devil is recognized as one who “steals, kills and destroys.” (John 10.10; hinted at in Mark 3.20+) So while there are thieves and liars everywhere, the greatest threat are those who sit in positions of leadership, i.e. the houses of governance. (Let the reader be on alert even now as we are fast approaching the election of leadership in the United States into the White House and into Congress which has parties vying for control.)

Following the prophecy of “the scroll,” we are introduced to the basket of iniquity. Through the midst of this reflection, I must tread lightly so as to not be misunderstood about the message of the imagery presented. Baskets are meant to be containers. Things are gathered up and put into baskets. They come in varying sizes and shapes but their purpose is the same. As Zechariah is given privilege to these revelations of how God is restoring the land for His people a basket appears. It is carried by two angels who have wings like a stork. A stork is a migratory bird capable of travelling great distances. Most of us grew up with the stories of stork delivering babies to their new homes. We smile at such images. But often in the Old Testament it is not “life” in its natural sense which is borne on the wings of storks. What is left then to be carried away but the unnatural lives. If we reflect back on the purging done by the Great Scroll, then we probably asked “What happened to the liars and thieves?” Were they incinerated as we hear in the requests of the sons of Boagenares to be upon the inhospitable Samaritans or even the consequences of the inhospitable residents of Sodom and Gomorrah? Were they collected together into chain gangs and marched into prisons, seas or distant lands? In this vein of thinking we may be led to the vision of “the basket of iniquity.” In this great basket, remembering it is a prophetic image and not meant to be taken literally as if the basket was a giant transport or a fleet of transports, is the presence of evil. They are the ones who stood against God and God’s will for His people. We know that the foreign nations had transplanted their own citizens into the countries they conquered and wanted to expand their influence. In Israel, in both the court and the Temple, there were those aligned by Persia, Babylon and Assyria. This included their Jewish sympathizers as well as representatives from their own governments. They certainly opposed any effort to restore Israel as a nation of power and the Temple as a symbol of Israel’s one true God. Their “pollution” of both the mind and the spirit of God’s people was catastrophic. For one segment of the Jewish population were the Samaritans. They not only had allegiance to the old guard of the Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom long since assimilated among the people of that territory but to the political alliances of foreign nations. Contempt for them would seem obvious among those loyal to Israel and faithful to God.

Now, as the vision of restoration was given and the political climate of Babylon/Persia was more favorable to Israel, the Word of the Lord was to create a different version of the exile. In the original version conducted by Babylon, it was both the political and spiritual leadership who was taken into Babylon in order to defeat any hope of Israel to remain a power in the Middle East. Now, it would be an exile of the foreign political and spiritual leadership back to Babylon (or wherever they may have come from.) Interestingly enough, it would be from some of that leadership, especially the spiritual representatives to those courts, that Magi would return to Israel following a Star and a Promise of the True King of Israel who would bring salvation to the world. Once again, we experience the truth of God’s Word first spoken by Joseph to his brothers “What you intended for evil, God has purposed for good; His will shall be accomplished.” So, the purge and the purification was being called out and called forward in Israel. As to the more “contentious” reflection on the “Basket of Iniquity,” let us leave that until tomorrow. In the meantime, I believe we can again hear wise counsel from God’s Word concerning the current situation which afflicts the United States of America. We can most certainly see a similar plan being implemented by the “ruling party” favorable to foreign nations that will pollute and dilute not only the American people but the American dream. The strategy proposed to Zechariah (remembering the two witnesses representing the Temple and the Church) ought to be passionately considered today. Let the truth of God’s vision be put forward: let those with eyes to see, see; and those with ears to hear, listen!

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.