August 5, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, ‘Go throughout the earth!‘ So they went throughout the earth. Then he called to me, ‘Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the north.’” (Zechariah 6.7-8)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

What has happened before this? We know that the “woman of infidelity” has been captured and sent back to the land from where she came. Do we remember the story of Ruth? Her husband was from the land of Bethlehem and was in the same line as that from which David, through Boaz, would be born. When Ruth’s husband died she made the decision to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi. This decision brought about changes in her life as she gave up the religion of her past and took on the religion of her future. If she was found to be a woman of infidelity, she would have been sent back to her home. However, Boaz found favor in her and ultimately took her to be his wife. In Ruth, we are given another example of women who represent foreign cultures being woven into the story of Israel and the Messiah because of their faith and faithfulness. The women represent that continuing identification of “helpmate” in the fulfillment of God’s plan for His people in right relationship to Him. The image of wife, bride and mate connect humanity to God in a loving and working image with the two becoming as one. The woman of infidelity stands in stark contrast to such women as Ruth and Rahab. Having not found favor, she is sent home sealed for the day of her revealing.

We also know of the horses and riders who were sent out by the Man in the Myrtles to search out the state of the kingdom. They are the prelude to the expression of God’s decision to bring Israel’s discipline to an end with the conclusion of the exile. Their report also initiates God’s judgment about those foreign nations which God used in discipling Israel for her infidelity to God. He stated clearly, “They have gone too far.” Their penalty for taking advantage of the situation which God had given to them was to empower another nation to take them over and reduce them to slavery to a foreign power. They would not respect God and feared only men was then their own sentencing of themselves. In this regard we can associate what happened to Egypt in the days of Moses when Pharaoh announced the penalty of sin which was visited upon him and all in the land of Egypt who did not have the blood of the lamb painted on their doorway. Additionally, we know how Saul became king of Israel at the behest of the people. Instead of trusting God and Samuel who was a judge, prophet, priest and leader in Israel, the people called for a king like those of the nations around them. In their desire to be like everyone else, they proved themselves to lack fidelity. God did not send them back to Egypt but allowed them to experience “what you asked for.”

Now that we have the report and the dispatch of the woman, a new chapter is revealed. In parallel to the four horses in chapter 1, we now have four chariots who come from the court of God. They are sent out to the four corners of the world to carry the Spirit of God. Such as those we are introduced to in John’s Revelation by the Resurrected Jesus, each color of the horse represents a part of the judgment and the blessing which comes from God to dwell in the land. We know that the black-horsed chariot (sometimes representing death and pestilence) was sent to the north. The white-horsed chariot (sometimes representing spirituality and thought) was sent to the west. The dappled-horsed chariot (sometimes representing the vascillating nature of the world as it trusts in itself but calls upon God in times of dire trouble) was sent to the south. By default, though it is never mentioned, the red-horsed chariot must have be sent to the east. There are some interpretations that the “four corners” or “four winds” represent nations or kingdoms: west- the islands and the peoples of the seas (could be the Philistines and the Phonecians); south- the peoples of the Arabah and Africa (specifically Egypt and Ethiopia); the east is more problematic because of the desert which lies on the far side of the Jordan; and the north- this most certainly pertains to those who travelled the trade routes of the Fertile Crescent such as the Persians, the Medes and the Babylonians. In this vision of Zechariah, we hear of the directive given to the south, west and north. In particular, it is the northern directive which gets the “lion’s share” of attention. Strangely enough, it is the eastern directive and the red-horsed chariot which is silent. Is this left to assumption and interpretation to be revealed at a later time? Could it be a combination of fates as determined in co-labor with that of the black-horsed chariot? That scenario bears further reflection which is not the subject of this word today. Today, we are drawn by the Word of God to Zechariah to the consequence of the message sent to the north by the black-horsed chariot. In summation, the scriptural reference specifically says, “Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit [of] rest in the land of the north.”

Are we to assume that the judgment on the north is fulfilled by the indwelling or on-dwelling of God’s spirit? Has the satisfaction of God’s intent and purpose on those nations “who have exceeded the allotted dispensation against Israel” been completed? The word “rest” would lead us in that direction. Consequently, what follows in the directive as it pertains to anointing Joshua as “priest and king” to rule in Jerusalem so that the temple would be rebuilt might allow us to entertain such an interpretation. I say this because we know that in short order, the exiles are returned and Darius has exacted his rule over the Persians and the Babylonians. He has not real issue with the Hebrews of Israel and not only releases the exiles to return home but financially bankrolls their expedition and restoration. Further, the word “rest” also should cause us to hear “sabbath” as a part of God’s declaration. A “sabbath rest” elicits a season of peace where God is honored, remembered and worshiped. It is also way of intimating a type of jubilee which would happen after seventy years (which is the length of time the exile occurred.) I cannot help but hear the teaching of Jesus on the aspect of forgiveness as Peter questioned Him “How many times must I forgive a person before enough is enough?” Jesus replies, depending on the translation, “…not seven times but seventy times.” Other interpretations offer seventy-seven times or seventy times seven. In each of these there is the intimating of “jubilee.” Jubilee is that time, as God commanded, when all debts would be forgiven and all residents would return to the “point of origin” according to the assignment of lands for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. This “jubilee,” which was rarely if ever instituted, could have been used as part of the reasoning in the birth narrative for Joseph and Mary to leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem since they were of the house and lineage of David. We know that when Jesus returns to Nazareth after His wilderness experience and the baptismal anointing by John, He preaches from the Isaiah text which was the pretext for “jubilee.” Further, it is speculated that the Revelation of John was written in a format which would also give credence to jubilee with seven acts containing seven scenes culminating in one grand season of jubilee where Jesus brings down a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem in which He and the Church, His bride, dwell in forever and ever. That spirit of “rest” comes upon the disciples in the Upper Room who were directed to wait in Jerusalem for the Day of Pentecost which the Holy Spirit, as promised would fall upon them and empower them to complete the great commission sending them out to the four corners of the world to preach the good news.

In all of this, we are safe to see that God remains in control of the future and the blessing of His people. Whether it is old Israel, new Israel, the Church or the Messianic community the bottom line does not change: God’s will will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

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.