October 28, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“’[On that Day] A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. I [the Lord] will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city…. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.’” (Zechariah 14.1-2, 7)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

I will say upfront that I added verse 14.7 to the passage intended for today’s reflection on God’s Word to Zechariah for the sole purpose of making it known how difficult this entire chapter is for us to grasp. There are some who will read chapter 14 and because they dare not attempt to fathom the depth of it, they will bypass wrestling with what is being said. As we have noticed from the very beginning with the appearance of the “The Man in the Myrtles,” there is uniqueness in the revelation given to Zechariah. And it is a “revelation” and not merely a prophecy. What might the difference be? “Prophecy” is a word given for a time which speaks the truth of a current people and place. The “future” of that time is not always specific as to months in advance, years or a distant age. What is specific is “the truth” that is spoken. Prophecy takes the positions of present, past and future and brings them into harmony. It postulates “what is happening in the moment” is connected with the past as to “how did we get to this moment.” It then delineates the consequences upon people and place over and against the baseline of God’s desire for righteousness. Those consequences are seen in the future at some point in time. They are inescapable and unavoidable. What we are given is the overarching truth: God is sovereign and there is only One God (infinite) and the lesson of truth for that people and place (finite): this will happen. In other words, there is an end to the discussion, the end is spoken to us as a warning and an opportunity to repent and the discussion will end. A “revelation” is the given insight not only to what will happen in light of what has and is happening but the why, how, when and where. We spoke of those elements a couple of weeks ago as descriptors of faith and faithfulness. We might add the “aha” moment to our understanding of “revelation.” That is the point where it all makes sense. We may have known it in a hinting fashion but then it becomes suddenly clear. Paul mentions this when describing the real presence of authentic love in 1 Corinthians 13.12, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” He began that descriptor by saying prophecies and knowledge will cease but love remains immutable and undefeatable. This is the sense of revelation as it was given to John. He was able to see the resurrected Jesus face to face in heaven as he did on earth. The whole of time was spread out before him. It was from one end to the other as far as the east is from the west. Yet, in its vastness it was condensed into just a span as from one outstretched hand to the other. It became a matter of fact. Literally for John, it was at hand from a heavenly perspective: the hand of God made known in Jesus Christ. Jesus showed His hand to John and John shared it then with the world. How we play our hands after that is and has always been up to us. With the cards on the table, we will never be able to outtrump God no matter what. We will not change the nature of God nor His desire for all of creation. We can, however, change our nature and our circumstance (at least the consequence of it) by aligning ourselves with Him and has aligned Himself with us in Immanuel.

So, there is this difficulty to conceive of what God is revealing to Zechariah the prophet. He is telling the truth of the moment as it is caught between the past (a recent past, at least within the last one hundred years) and the future (a time determined only by “on that Day.”) To press forward in reflection on those beginning words we must rest on the principle which is difficult for many to grasp and that is: God is in control. This is the evidence of sovereignty. God alone is sovereign, truly sovereign. Nothing escapes His vision, His perception, His conception and His interaction. He is a God of purpose, meaning and mission. Nothing exists outside the realm of God. He has considered all contingencies and outcomes. He abides within the confines of His power and ability and His nature which is authentic love. Ultimately, God who is in control will act on His behalf, the behalf of those who choose to be His people and on those who choose otherwise. Woe to those who choose otherwise for there can be nothing apart from God. We cannot think of, as David so aptly sung, “of a place where God is not.” This is frustrating to so many people who want to live apart from accountability meaning they do not want to abide by a will that is greater than their own. They desire to be true only to themselves believing that singular existence is real regardless of the presence of others. While I have difficulty in conceiving of it myself, I know the process of trying to and the purpose I wished for it to serve. It leads to failure. I can only imagine that is what Hell must truly be. Now to the point of comparison/contrast with the first verses of Zechariah 14, we see God claiming the responsibility for it. It is so easy for people of faith to blame Satan and cast God in a solely benevolent role. The fact is that God is the judge of all things. Because of Jesus’ faithfulness to God in becoming flesh, living out the life of righteousness before “all the world,” committing Himself to the cross for crucifixion, enduring the cross to the very end of His physical and spiritual life and trusting in the word of His Father that He would be raised from the dead, God confers on Jesus the title of “Judge.” Jesus is God-appointed and anointed. So we see such “appointments” of others in their roles of completing God’s will such as Cyrus in the book of Zechariah. We know of others such as Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joseph, David, Judas of Kerioth and Paul to name a few. God sees their heart, soul and mind. He is aware of their character and intent as well as the same for nations, too. He is the one who executes perfect justice because He is the same yesterday, today and forever. When God says something is cursed it is cursed. When God says something is blessed it is blessed. When God defines consequences to actions, they remain the same. Can God change the results based on the choices to repent and turn away from sin? Yes! Can God allow someone to forsake Him once knowing Him and trusting in Him? Do we dare say, “No”? Jesus mentions the unforgivable sin as the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. That lends itself to the denial of the One who proclaims and instills truth into the human heart, mind and soul. How, or why, someone would do that is virtually inconceivable to me. But if God says it is possible, then I will not argue the point. I will lament it greatly. So, for Zechariah, the revelation is that God will put into effect the discipline which the faithless have chosen. It will be a “one of a kind, unique” day of the Lord.

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.