Zechariah 8:18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,
19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.
20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Once again the LORD began by reminding Zechariah Who was directing him. He was the LORD of hosts. The LORD of hosts had a continuing message to those who had been released from captivity. During their captivity, they had invented four different times of fasting. The fast of the fourth month commemorated the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (II Kings 25:3-4). The fast of the fifth month reminded them of the day the Temple was destroyed. The fast of the seventh month commemorated when Gedaliah was killed (II Kings 25:25). The fast of the tenth month reminded them of the tenth month and the tenth day in the ninth year of king Zedekiah, when the siege began (Jeremiah 52:4).
The captives were not told to commemorate those events. They were supposed to think of why those events had taken place. They were to think of their rebellion and turn to God in repentance, seeking His forgiveness. Instead, they chose to dwell on the destruction, but without the proper context.
As we mentioned yesterday, our current government is very good at distracting us from the reason for the disaster that is Canada. They are hoping that they can convince enough people that the mess we are in is not their fault. They are lying and suggesting that there were circumstances beyond their control that just hit us harder than anyone could have suspected. Now, they are going to take some of the millions they have stolen from us and throw it back at us, acting like they are the compassionate people who care deeply about the taxpayers. They have to try to convince us of that because they want to steal much more of our hard earned cash for their worthless ventures.
The fact is that God is in charge. We are not Israel and we are not living in the promised land. However, the LORD is the Lord over all the earth. He is giving our country a taste of what we have been plotting for. It is just a matter of His timing as to when this country will fall. The only hope we have is to know the true God, rather than fight against Him.
In our text, God said He would turn the mourning into joy and gladness and cheerful feasts, rather than somber fasting. God told them to love truth and peace. That was the key to fixing their misery. God had to punish them for their sins. He had to remind them that He could bless, but He could also inflict sorrow and pain and even death.
In verses 20-21 the LORD of hosts reminded them that there was change coming. There would be a people coming, from many cities, and the inhabitants from one city would go from one city to another and encourage the people to hurry up and pray before the LORD. They needed to seek the LORD of hosts. There was no time for delay. This was an urgent matter and it required immediate attention.
The command here is given to the nation, to people, but the response must come from the individual “I will go also”.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The invitation is to all people “the world”, but the response must come from the individual “whosoever believeth”. Salvation and blessing is always available to all, but the reception of salvation and the blessing must be received by the individual. Every individual must determine and decide whether they will receive the blessing God has to offer.
In verse 22 we read that many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and pray before the LORD. We know that has not happened yet. It was available to the nation of Israel in Zechariah’s day. It was available to the nation of Israel in Jesus’ day. The Jews and the Romans could have repented toward God and been blessed. However, that did not happen. But God says it will happen. Thus again, we know that Zechariah had a message for the people of his day, but he also had a message for a future time. That time, we know is the time of the Millennium.
Understanding the Scriptures properly requires an absolute faith in the infallibility of the Scriptures. There is no mythology and there are no idle words. God warns against vain repetition. He never uses that. If He repeats something it is because He knows we are slow of learning.
In verse 23 the LORD of hosts spoke of a future time again. Ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations. They shall take hold of the skirt of the Jew. They will want to go with them. They will know that the LORD is with the Jews.
The world certainly does not believe that now. Even in Israel there is division as to who to follow. Since the re-formation of the nation of Israel, they have never had a majority government. They have always had to form a coalition government. Those coalition governments are very fragile. They can break up at any time.
However, God says there is a time coming when the Jews will be respected and people will want to simply hang on to the skirt of a Jew in order to know the blessings of the LORD that are promised to the Jews.
God tells us many times, that the Millennium will be a different time in the history of the world. There have been a few times in the past where Jews were respected, such as the early days of king Solomon. There have also been many times when the Jews have been despised such as the time of Hitler.
In the Millennium, it will be different. Jesus Christ will set up His kingdom, and He will rule over it. Gentiles that enter the Millennium will want to stick close to the Jews so they can receive the blessings as well.
Today, Christians should be living in such a way as to show the world the blessings of knowing the true God. When professing Christians wallow in the mud of the world, they cannot show the greatness of God. True Christians are different. We have been redeemed and we are blessed! We have a hope now and beyond the grave. We can rejoice in God’s blessings now and into the future. As we do that, we can be a help to the many who are desperate for some hope. They need to know there is real hope available and it does not come in a bottle or a pill or some other drug. It does not come from a political party. It comes only through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. If you are looking for that hope, we are here to help you to know that hope. Jesus Christ is the Only Saviour. Our privilege is to point people to Him.
Pastor Bartel