September 20, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“From Judah will come the cornerstone, from Him the tent peg,
from Him the battle bow, from Him every ruler.” (Zechariah 10.4)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We have the advantage of reading prophetic words with 20/20 hindsight. While many of the prophetic utterances which pointed to Jesus of Nazareth have been fulfilled, we know there are many yet to come with His return. So, we can capture the use of historical facts from before this rendering to Zechariah and focus on what is yet to come. God is not finished with the forming and shaping of Israel. Whether we are speaking of the nation of Israel in its theocratic presentation which is intended to exist even today or of the “new Israel” which is the Church, the imagery provided is of great import. Again, we are able to discern much of our own identity as mighty ones of God, followers of Jesus as the Christ, by driving deep into God’s Word of the past, for the present and speaking to the future. Let’s reflect on the images which are provided in Zechariah 10.4 with the aforementioned threads in mind.

“From Judah will come the cornerstone.” This may sound peculiar, in part, because Jesus being raised in Egypt and Nazareth, was born in Bethlehem. Egypt and Nazareth are not Judah; Bethlehem is. So it would not be strange at all if we are speaking of Jesus’ beginning point. Of course, I suspect that Mary, being a servant of the Temple having been surrendered there by her parents, was overcome by the Spirit of God and brought to light being with child. Joseph, as a hired craftsman of wood and stone, was working at the Temple when it came time for Mary to either be claimed as a bride or remain in the service of the Temple. Here we would see the full circle of Jesus’ incarnation from conception in Jerusalem to His resurrection in the same. We also know of Jesus’ teaching concerning “the stone which the builders rejected will become the cornerstone, or capstone.” Add to this the great confession of Peter in Caesarea Philippi at the headwaters of the Jordan when Jesus asked all the disciples “Who do people say I AM?” It was Peter who declared “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God [that is: Yeshua Yahweh Elohim.]” Jesus responded, “Well said, but know that flesh and blood has not revealed this to you [that is: not Jesus himself, the prophets beforehand or even John the Baptizer] but God in Heaven [He alone is the great I AM.] Upon this profession of faith I will build My Church and make of you Peter the rock aligned to be a foundation stone.” Such alignment would happen in respect to Jesus being the chief cornerstone. What greater demonstration of faith would it be than from Judah, that is- Jerusalem, Jesus would be raised from the dead and the one who denied Him would be brought back to faith and lead the building up of the Church of Jesus Christ on earth beginning there and going into all the world?

“From Him the tent peg.” For this imagery, I would call your attention to three passages: Judges 4.21 (Commander Sisera executed by Jael with a tent peg smashed through his skull); Isaiah 22.22 (where Eliakim was promised to be as a tent peg driven into the ground by which his father’s rule would hold and flourish but he failed to keep the faith and it didn’t) and then Isaiah 54.2 (the expansion of the land of God’s people as those who put their tent stakes in ground being the sign of the Messianic kingdom/community yet to come.) How do these three references relate to Jesus of Nazareth and of Judah? First, He is the judge and chief justice of faith with righteousness. By His word, being the Word, all will be judged. We know that Jesus Himself we judged cruelly by the world and crucified on a cross with nails/pegs driven into His wrists to affix Him to the cross to hang in agony and into His feet so that they were in such a place He could not use them to lift up His body to breathe. It is by His death on the cross that the sacrifice for our sins was effected. Second, He did not fail in this regard. He went as a lamb led to slaughter and uttered not a word except to ask the Lord’s blessing on His persecutors, His prosecutors and His executioners. He established on the Rock of Golgotha the foundation of true righteousness with His death so that in our lives we might become the righteousness of God. He demonstrated the fullest extent of God’s love to care for those who were family, friends, neighbors and enemies. He succeeded what all others had failed. No one but Jesus as the Christ could have done this. Finally, it is the faith He inspired by being true to the Word of God submitting to unmitigated death in this world trusting in God to raise Him up from the grave which then carried out the commissioning left with the disciples to go into all the world. The “stakes” were driven into the ground of Jerusalem to Judea (Judah) to the furthest corners of the world. The “tent of His presence” was established as tabernacles of faith in spirit and in truth so that the whole world would hear the gospel and be given the opportunity to believe in it themselves and become the righteousness of God.

“From Him the battle bow.” We know, mighty ones of God, that this effort would not be without a fight. The enemy of God and humanity is a fierce foe and relentless in his quest to cast doubt and shadow on God and all who would believe in Him. We must, as the apostle Paul, declared “Fight the good fight and run with race of faith with perseverance.” We also know that Paul imagined for the Church the vision of a “battle priesthood” fitted for the purpose of defending the truth, righteousness, peace and faith with the piercing elements of the gospel of salvation, the word of God and prayer by which the arrows of the enemy would be quieted and responded to in such a manner as to overcome them. These are the generational arrows (the legacy of a spiritual family) which fill the quiver of the righteous archer who pulls the bow of spirit and truth and defeats the enemy once and for all. It is Jesus alone who can strike the fatal blow. He does so, however, with those who have been fitted for service unto the Lord and fully equipped for the Day of Judgment to ring true from the bow to its target. May the Church “sing as its zings” to meet the mark.

“From Him every ruler.” Jesus spoke to His disciples as they struggled with leadership. He said to them, “Do not rule as the Gentiles do who exalt themselves above all others; rather, if you desire to lead then submit yourselves to be the servants of all.” (Matthew 20, Luke 22, Mark 10) It echoed the warning to Jeremiah which was to be shared with the rulers in the Temple of Israel and Israel’s courts “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them.’” (Jeremiah 10.2) It is the call for every disciple of Christ to take on such leadership being first, foremost and always the servants of God ministering to all those in need. Indeed, we are all in need for we all have fallen short of God’s intended glory. Yet, we are bound for glory as we share in the faith that Jesus is the Christ. It is from Him that we take “our lead” and go into all the world to make disciples as leaders of families, homes, neighborhoods, communities, cities, states and nations.

In this one verse, mighty ones of God, we see the past and the present and the future. They are being blended into one image and one act of a faithful God for His people to be successful in who they are, in what they are to do and in who they shall become: the righteousness of God. Let us remember this as we endure these days of trial and tribulation. These are the benchmarks of our faith and our faithfulness. By these we shall be known… or like Eliakim, Sisera and the Evil One we shall be felled. Seize the day of “Well done, My good and faithful servant!”

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.