September 13, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.” (Zechariah 9.13)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Most scholars believe that this prophecy was speaking about Alexander the Great from Macedonia who defeated the Persian Empire in 332 B.C. He did not “liberate” Israel and create a sovereign nation of Israel. He did introduce the population to Hellenistic ideologies and practices creating a new culture and climate. It is even said that he visited Jerusalem and made sacrifices to God in the Temple. Does that mean he believed in the God of the Jews? Undoubtedly the answer is “no.” But was there further freedoms and tolerance for the Jews to be free to recapture their own faith without repression? Undoubtedly the answer is “yes.” What is the problem then? The problem exists in that it would only be for a season until Alexander’s Kingdom would be defeated by Rome and their Pax Romana. Further, that false sense of peace which existed in the days of Darius the Mede which was addressed at the start of Zechariah only continued. Regardless of Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Medes, Greeks or Romans, there would be no authentic peace until the Messianic Kingdom was established. This is the framework we are being introduced to in the ninth chapter of Zechariah.

As we move into the thirteenth verse of chapter nine, we may be wondering if anything at all has changed. Verse ten speaks of removing chariots, warhorses and battle bows from the land of Israel. It indeed sounds like the foundations of a nation set for peace removed from the elements of war. Is that how peace is secured? It would seem that many in this country would believe so as the push for the removal of arms continues to be supported and encouraged for its citizenry. Of course, it is still the armaments of war which are wielded to secure peace in the world. Or is it? On one battle front we supply weapons. On another battle front we call for a ceasefire. Even in the midst of these theatres of war, the expectations of the actors is unbalanced as to who may have weapons and who may not. It is interesting to see the division of “the house” on these issues revealing perhaps an unspoken but well-defined intention. Who are we “for” and what are we “against.” Or is it, who are we “against” and what are we “for.” Therein lies the great debate in our foreign policy as well as in our domestic reality. So, in verse ten we hear of disarmament while in verse thirteen we will hear of rearmament. What is happening?

Could it be that verse ten is speaking of those foreign “investors” who have placed their own weapons of destruction in the land of Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom), in Judea (the Southern Kingdom) and in Jerusalem herself? It is God who speaks of such disarmament of those seemingly entrenched in the culture and climate of domination and control. Sadly, it will be presented by the image of “fight fire with fire” that such disarmament will be accomplished. Would that it was just a literal arms race that was being discussed. The images of horses, chariots and bows are real enough. They exist as powerfully as did Paul’s review of the roman soldier fitted for battle where he wrote to the community of faith in Ephesus about “put on the whole armor of God.” Was Paul speaking of a literal “arms race” against the forces of darkness? Of course not, this is not a Star Wars movie with the former James Earl Jones speaking out “Israel, I AM your Father.” Paul himself said “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Rather it is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness as against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6.12) Yes, we know there are manifestations of those dark spiritual forces in the flesh here on earth. In the days before Noah, there were the same, the Nephilim. They descended to earth and rose up to take the women as their own and brought in a race of giants to pollute and destroy the nations, subduing them with evil intent. That was the prelude to the call for Noah to build an ark and save the human race from utter destruction with “the Flood.” Now, there would have to be a different tactic taken but the battle was no less to be waged. Again, not so much against flesh and blood but against the forces of spiritual darkness which has been and continues to infest humankind on earth as it sought to do so with the angels in Heaven.

What then is said to happen? Now it is God’s preparation for the battle for the heart, mind and soul of His people. Remember, it is not just the descendants of Abraham who are His people. They will be all who will call upon the name of the Lord and be identified by His Name over them. When the land was cleared of those who stood against God, those who believed but were not of Israel would be gathered as a clan of Judah (verse 7). So, there will be a “fire fight” of sorts.

God will “bend” Judah like a bow. In English we can see the image clearly. The wordplay of “bow,” like a weapon being bent in the draw of an arrow to be fired at the enemy, lends itself to “bow” as in bowing at the waist to a dignitary or higher authority and ruler. The sense of such “bowing” represents repentance, seeking the favor and forgiveness of One who is the Judge and Sovereign of a people and land. In respect to others but in honor for God, the people will be used to show the true posture and posturing on one faithful to Yahweh Elohim. Of course, God bows to no one and no one will be able to withstand the “bow” of God.

It will be Ephraim constructed to be the “arrow” that fills the bow of Judah (which will later become known as Israel, a united kingdom as it once was under King David and King Solomon.) “Arrows” in scripture represent “divine guidance and protection.” Psalm 127 speaks of “the children born in our youth are like arrows in the hands of a mighty warrior.” Of course, those children must be raised up in the word of God so as they grow older they will not wonder far from it (Proverbs 22.6). Sadly, there is a tremendous deficit in the world today of such a generation which I believe accounts greatly for the problems we are facing now and in the foreseeable future. The current generations are so consumed with their own needs, wants and desires of avarice defining by their own passions which is right and what is wrong, that a sense of “realized future” is absent, or perhaps worse- ignored. Not so with God’s fashioning of Ephraim as the arrow of Judah’s bow! Of course, let us consider that if Ephraim is a prophesied representative of the Northern Kingdom and Nazareth is itself in Galilee of the north of Israel, then we would see such a generation as that of Jesus, John the Baptizer and the disciples as that quiver of arrows.

Finally, there is Zion, Jerusalem as the capital politically and theologically of Israel (both Northern and Southern Kingdoms). What God is doing with Jerusalem is to make of it “a sword.” The sword represents, of course, the Word of God and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in directive and commanding form. Paul speaks of that “double-edged” sword which cuts both ways judging the heart, mind and soul of the one who holds it and the one whom it is held against. In Zechariah, this sword is compared to the one wielded by the “sons of Greece.” One of the most dangerous heresies threatening the Judeo-Christian community was gnosticism. Gnostics were Greek philosophers who promoted “knowledge” as the key element to “living the perfect life.” The flip side was that a dualism developed creating a schism before “flesh and spirit” or “flesh and the mind.” Gnostics not only believed one must possess the right knowledge but that the body was of no concern and could be indulged in all vices as long as pure thought was maintained. Such is not the way of righteousness. A great example of this comes from the teaching of Jesus who told the Pharisees “even lusting in one’s heart/mind was the equivalent of committing adultery.” The application, of course, could be made to other vices such as murder, theft and contempt in court or “bearing false witness.” Obviously, one’s acts and one’s intents are both intended to work together for good and to promote the authoritative Word of God “in spirit and in truth.”

So, where does this take us? We are given further insight into the means of God’s plan of restoration of the people and nation of Israel. The purpose of such restoration is the establishment of a “priesthood of all believers” in a working community of faith. They are to be, as Jesus taught in The Sermon on the Mount, both salt and light to the world. As “light” they give direction and a “shining example” of pursuing God and living with excellence. Living in such a manner produces “good fruit,” the fruit that springs up to righteousness. Such spiritual prosperity spills out into a proficient and sufficient livelihood. As “salt” they give credence to the taste of authentic living focused on accomplishing what God has created humankind to be and to do. We have to focus on the simple reality of all that God did in order to bring about the creation of humankind (Genesis 1). We also have to focus on all that God did in order to bring fulfillment to His creation of the human community (Genesis 2). In both examples, it is the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit which enabled the “image” of God to be manifested fully in the world but with the hope of not being of the world. This leads to what did accomplished in Jesus Christ to restore creation to road of righteousness which leads to the very House of God, the House of His Word where all nations shall come to worship God in Spirit and in Truth. This is the work of the “new” community, the Messianic community, that is- the Church.

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.