August 30, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.” (Zechariah 7.4, 8; 8.1, 18)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

It may not seem unusual to hear this phrase in prophetic writing, “The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.” Yet it’s presence in the literal middle of the prophetic wisdom given to Zechariah may well speak volumes for the mighty ones of God. Around this recognition by Zechariah are the words of God spoken for instructional purposes. The warnings, admonitions, laments, historical remembrances and future observations become the very core of understanding the transition from an “old” Israel to a “new” Israel. We have heard a similar pattern before in our own discipleship as mighty ones of God in Jesus the Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote to the faith in Christ community in Corinth “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation for the old has passed away and the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5.17) Jesus Himself said “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10.10) The meaning of “abundance” stands in contrast to “destroyed, impotent and consuming.” These are the attributes of a life governed by and surrendered to “sin.” Jesus, in contrast, does not surrender to self nor the ways of “the Thief.” He rebukes Satan in His wilderness sojourn. He refutes Satan with the “word of God.” He rested fully on the knowledge of God’s provision which came to Him with the anointing of the Holy Spirit at His baptism at the hands of His cousin John the Baptizer. His purpose for baptism, if you remember, was not to wash away His sins because He was without sin. His purpose, as He consoled the troubled John, was “to fulfill all righteousness.” What is the purpose of righteousness? The purpose of righteousness is to live in such a manner that God is pleased and magnified. Another word for “magnified” is abundance. What happens when something is magnified? Does it not seem larger? Does it not feel bigger? Does it not make small things seem more real because they are more visible? In the visibility do we not sense a newness? Consider that sunrise or sunset when the sun seems far bigger than it does during the rest of the day as it journeys across the sky. (Yes, we are actually travelling under the sun as the earth rotates in its 24 hour revolution.) As the light is bent through the atmosphere just above the horizons it allows the measure of the sun to be in our eyes in abundance. Of course, it is nothing compared to the size of the Sun if we were 93 million miles closer. And our lives are intended to magnify the vision and presence of God in a similar fashion. Our abundance comes when we are declaring and exampling our vision of the goodness of God with obedience and trust. We feel the fullness of life and express it with awe and gratitude. In a fashion, we feel the nearness of God coming to us.

John spoke of this abundant closeness of God in his gospel introduction: “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word became flesh to dwell among us. We have seen [its abundance] its fullness of grace and truth.” (John 1.1, 14) That Word of God was the beginning of a new life restored to righteousness by magnifying the fullness of God’s grace and truth. When the angel declared the coming birth of Jesus to Mary, it was said His name was “Immanuel, God with us.” In Zechariah, we hear four times, “The Word of the Lord Almighty came to me.” In it is not merely an ethereal presence or awareness that Zechariah was speaking of. It was a presence as real to him as life itself. Like the sun and the moon looming large on the horizons as far as the east is from the west, there are visions of distant truths so present we almost believe we can reach out and touch them. Zechariah’s own experience, expressed four times in the heart of that season of prophecy, gave credence to what God was saying to him to be shared with the people of Israel. It wasn’t just a “word” that came near to him. It was “the Word” which came near to him. It confirmed the validity of what was said about the past, the present and the future. It was an indicator of the intentionality of God to act for and with His people. It was a realization that there was no misunderstanding as to the will of God for His people and through His people to the whole world. It was not merely an uttered word but a living presence which magnified God in grace and in truth. We might even consider that what Zechariah was experiencing was none other than the “Word of God,” God’s Son who appeared in His doxa soma– His glory body. After all, the words given so far to Zechariah speak of the Messiah and the Messianic Kingdom beginning with “the man in the myrtles.”

Mighty ones of God, the “Word of the Lord” has come to us as well. We each have been given a prophetic truth to share with the world. The purpose of that truth is to bear witness to “the Word.” It is intended to magnify the vision and reality of Immanuel, God with us. It is intended to glorify God’s desire to make all people new and whole again in grace and truth. It is intended to recenter our focus on living in authentic abundance. As Jesus said “Peace I give to you. I do not give you peace as the world gives it.” (John 14.27), we can accept the truth that He has an abundance to give us as well in the midst of that peace which the world not only can’t give us but can’t overcome, overwhelm or out do that which Christ has done, is doing and will do for those who put their truth in Him. Such a promise echoes the Old Testament wisdom teaching “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3.5) Jesus not only spoke this word to the world with the hope of the world coming to be the people of God but He trusted in the Lord with all His heart that it would happen. He trusted it so much that He gave His heart to the people and His spirit back to God. The old was passing away so that the new would come. What was coming? The resurrection and the life which abides in abundance in Jesus Christ who is “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Behold, “the Word of the Lord came to me.” Let’s own the recognition which Zechariah had and live in the abundance it has to give.

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.