ZECHARIAH 1:1-6
REPENTANCE PRECEDES RESTORATION
[Haggai 1:1-11 / 2 Chronicles 7:14]
The visions of God showering His people with the riches of divine treasure must first be prefaced by the message that travels parallel down the track, arm in arm with divine blessings. The eternal truth which the opening oracle enunciates is one which runs throughout the revealed ways of God’s dealings with man. The appropriation and enjoyment of God’s promised blessings must be preceded by genuine repentance (CIT). Only based upon heart changing repentance will Zechariah’s prophecies of assurance and blessing, centered in the Messiah be offered and promised.
Divine grace cannot be divorced from human responsibility. The bestowing of the riches of covenant grace are for those who are genuinely willing to turn away from sin to follow God alone. If the clarion call to repentance is not individually and corporately heeded by individual and churchwide repentance, then neither will the blessings which Zechariah proclaims throughout the book be ours. Until we are ready to obey God rather than self or the world we have no avenue to ask God to open up His storehouse upon us! The way of the Lord must be prepared before the Lord comes down. Repentance and blessing walk hand in hand.
Let us also realize who received this call to repentance. It was the faithful remnant who returned to the Promised Land. Those afar off would not have this opportunity to hear the divine call and thus lose the opportunity to heed it.
I. DIVINE AUTHORITY AND ASSURANCE, 1-3.
II. HUMAN ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND ACCEPTANCE, 4-6.
I. DIVINE AUTHORITY AND ASSURANCE, 1-3.
In verse 1 we encounter the first message of the Prophet Zechariah dated 520 B.C. or about eighteen years after the Babylonian exiles have returned to Palestine. In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Ber-e-kiah, the son of Iddo saying,
The chronological sign post is the second year of Darius the Great dating this prophecy in 520 B.C. Before the exile to Babylon the prophets reckoned time by Judah’s own kings. Now a heathen monarch is used to establish a date. Zechariah, which means "God Remembers", was a priest as well as a prophet.
The eighth month was about a month after Haggai’s second prophecy in which Haggai had encouraged the people who were in danger of being disheartened because they did not have the resources to construct as great a temple as the past one. Zechariah will now give another view of the past which will prove it not so glorious after all.
Here also is revealed the foundation of Zechariah’s ministry. The Word of the Lord came to him. His authority was established by a divine call, a divine commission to be God’s mouthpiece. His instructions which he delivered to the remnant were received straight from God. The Word of the Lord was in him for he delivered his message in demonstration of the Spirit’s moving. An evidence of all God’s anointed prophets.
Verse 2 reminds the people that they are in this mess because of the past disobedience of their forefathers. The Lord was very angry with your fathers.
The language is very strong in the Hebrew, literally angry with anger, meaning vehement displeasure which was nearly abhorrence. That fact could not be denied. All they had to do was look with their eyes at the desolations of the land which had lost the latter rains (Jer. 5:24-25; 14:1-4, 22) and had been leveled by invading armies and recall their seventy years in captivity.
When they looked about Jerusalem even 18 years after their return, it was still mostly in ruins. Houses, sewage system, water system, the palace, government buildings, the walls, towers, gates, and the temple were all torn asunder. The land in its devastated condition bore tearful testimony to the fact that "The Lord was thoroughly angered at your fathers."
The evil self-seeking of their fathers brought the judgment of God down upon themselves. For God’s wrath against evil is a permanent unalterable fact established before the foundations of the earth. God’s holy and righteous character must always deal with sin.
Yes, Zechariah was the prophet of restoration. His message changed a generation of people. So let us also hear and heed the first and most important Word of the Lord for restoration. For upon this message all the following words of the Lord of Hosts, the whole foundation for restoration is based!
The desire of God is to bless, but He doesn’t bless disobedience (Deut. 30:2-9). The Lord’s desire was to bring them back from exile, to make them prosperous, numerous, circumcise of heart that they might love and serve Him with all their soul and strength.
Thanks be to God, there is a way of dealing with the things that do not go right in our lives. Verse 3 proclaims God’s wonderful way of dealing with our shortcomings, failures, and iniquities. Therefore say to them, "Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ’Return to Me,’ declares the Lord of Hosts, ’that I may return to you,’ says the Lord of Hosts.
God proclaims that all this devastation was caused by the ‘failure of your fathers to do what I am now admonishing you to do.’ Thus the prophet in the name of the Lord of Hosts must solemnly invite them to return to God, informing the people that God desires to turn away His anger and offer comfort to the people if they would turn from their evil and return to Him.
They are to turn to the Lord in faith and repentance and make their peace with Him. If they will do this the Lord will extend His mercy to them. They will find peace and be reconciled to Him.
The Lord of Hosts is a military term meaning the controller of the militaries. It is used three times in this verse alone. The demands of such a monarch should be heeded with trembling earnestness.
This repetition of the formidable name of YHWH was meant to emphasize the divine authority and might backing the call to repentance and the blessed result of hearing and obeying it. For He is the Lord of Hosts, under whose hand all the created forces can be marshaled for the execution of His will. Yet He lovingly asks for the voluntary return into covenant relationship so He may have a people through whom He may continue His redemption history. He was only waiting for them to return so that He might be a gracious, strong, and mighty tower for His righteous ones.
But they must return. They must meet this requirement to be able to appropriate all the rich promises that are to be offered. But praise be to God for His call to repentance, for no return on man’s part is possible unless God calls man to Himself.
The RHONE RIVER begins its journey in the Switzerland Alps, some 5000 feet above sea level. It is one of the most important commercial waterways in France, stretching more than 500 miles in length. The river that glistens and sparkles through France, however, is much different than it was at its origin. As it begins its voyage, glacial clay is picked up from the Rhone Glacier in the Alps making the Rhone River very milky and murky and dirty in appearance. Just before it enters France, the Rhone River empties into Lake Geneva, and a wonderful transformation occurs, a wonder of nature, picturing to us a transformation of souls in the spiritual realm. Most of the clay sinks to the bottom of the lake, and the Rhone River emerges clear and blue! It is so clear and blue that Lord Byron, the English poet, was inspired to describe it as the "blue rushing of the arrowy Rhone."
Our lives are much like that river. Shortly after we begin our journey in life we find ourselves corrupted and polluted by the sins of the flesh. If the Lord hadn’t intervened in His mercy, we would’ve been destined to live out our sojourn unclean. But thanks be to God, when we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, He washes us and cleans us and throws our "sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19). The blood of the Lamb is much more effective in its working than Lake Geneva is with the Rhone River! Our sins are completely blotted out, forgiven, forgotten; and no sign of them ever emerges again! (Autoillustrator.com, THE RHONE RIVER).
The great message of the prophet Zechariah is that we need to turn back to God and when we do God will forgive us our sins, but it is better than that; it is as if we had never sinned in the first place.
II. HUMAN ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND ACCEPTANCE, 4-6.
Verse 4 teaches us that repentance is turning away from doing something that is wrong before God. Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed saying, "Thus says the Lord of Hosts, ’return now from your evil ways and your evil deeds, but they did not listen or give heed to Me,’ declares the Lord."
The gracious invitation and assurance of acceptance is followed by a warning concerning the grave danger of following in their fathers’ disobedient footsteps and incurring the displeasure of God and experiencing like punishment. Their fathers’ history had a solemn lesson to teach. Each person had opportunity to take advantage of the lesson that stared them in the face every time one looked around the ruined state of Israel. "Do not be like your fathers." They refused to listen and act on the Lord of Hosts’ demand for return to heart motivated worship and morality.
God had sent His prophets to them to proclaim righteousness and their constant cry was "Repent." The prophets revealed Israel as a man wandering ever farther from God. They cried, repent and return for you are straying from the source of true life and blessedness into death. (Isa. 55:6; Jer. 3:12,13; Ezek. 18:30,32; Hos. 14:1,2; Joel 2:12, 14a; Amos 5:4-6; Zeph. 2:1-3).
Yet the result of all the ministry of the former prophets to the old covenant people is summed up by God here saying, "‘But they did not listen or give heed to Me’ declares the Lord" (Ref. 2 Chron. 36:14-16).
Now that they have returned from captivity, from exile, the call is still the same, "Return to Me and I will return to you." It is with this same cry that the Old Testament prophecy stops in Malachi. 3:7. Malachi told the builders of the wall around Jerusalem "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statues and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you" (Malachai 3:7).
Then after four centuries of prophetic silence, we hear the voice of the prophet John the Baptist cry, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mt. 3:2,8,11). Then with the cry of repentance clearing the way for Christ’s coming we hear the Messiah Himself, the One who came to inaugurate the kingdom of heaven on earth cry, "Repent" (Mt. 4:17).
Yet they did not heed and believe then, nor do they today, but our message must not change, for it is part of our commission by Christ and not to be forsaken (Lk. 24:46-49). So preach the apostles, be it Peter (Acts 2:38), Paul (Acts 17:30), or James (James 4:8). For saving faith and the continuing growth of faith are always inextricably bound up with conviction of sin and repentance. Any man today that does not preach repentance is not following after the message of the prophets, the apostles, Christ and Christ’s Commission to service.
Zechariah’s word from God was, "Return now from your evil deeds." Man’s state is that of being turned away from God and every day he refuses to return so finds him further away from God. Man must cease ignoring God’s Word and turn so that every step in life will carry him nearer to God. But every repentance, every return on the part of God’s people to the Lord is imperfect at best. It is an experience which requires deepening and must be repeated time and again more sincerely and thoroughly. A godly life consists in perfecting repentance, in always following God closer.
Thus let us realize God’s supreme demand for all people, whether in the land of captivity or the promised land, whether lost or saved, for all time and all people is presented here. Repentance is always the prerequisite for restoration and for revival.
These backslidden people were told in verse 5; Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
Where are those today that did not heed the gracious and authoritative message of repentance? What was the consequence of their disbelief and disobedience of God’s Word? What good did they gain, what success did they experience in resisting God? Where are they? Did they not spend their days grovelling in misery and pinning away in captivity. How can they alter their condition once they are in the grave?
Four times in this short text the designation your fathers is used. People like to look with pride to their ancestors, but because of their disobedience and apostasy God absolutely forbade it. Spiritual opportunity neglected is spiritual opportunity lost--forever: the calamity of calamities.
"Where are the prophets?" If the people go that way what becomes of the righteous prophets. They too shared in some of the sorrows of the nation. Despite being God’s mouthpiece they were now gone also. The Word of God was in earthen vessels. We today have the treasure of God’s Holy Spirit but we have Him in perishing earthen vessels.
Do not follow any messenger of God but follow the eternal and unfailing Word of God! So many people today follow a simple messenger, especially one who will tickle the ears, telling you what you want to hear, what makes you feel good. But we are to follow the eternal Word of God. For even godly men will whither in like manner as the people of the land but the Word of the Lord will stand forever (1 Peter 1:24,25)!
The first part of verse 6 relays the response of the people of old to the Word of the Lord. But did not My words and My statutes which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers?
Here Zechariah in the call for repentance sets forth the permanency and unchangeableness of the Word of the Lord of Hosts. The prophets who faithfully minister the Word of God are called His servants. His words and statutes are the utterances of God which He has ordained and unalterably fixed. They cannot deny that the immutable Word of God overtook their fathers for their homeland furnished inescapable evidence of the truth of this statement. The fathers thought they could escape repentance but God sent forth His Word and it pursued and caught them. This fact is a prominent feature of the divine Word. The fulfillment of God’s Word is inescapable. This certainty the prophet wanted burned into their consciousness.
Notice in the second half of verse 6 what happened to the people who heeded the Word of the Lord that Zechariah was preaching. Then they repented and said, "As the Lord of Hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and deeds, so He has dealt with us."
Then they repented, meaning the remnant in Zechariah’s day repented and believed God’s Word. They acknowledged that God has fixed a plan to deal with each according to their deeds. They accepted that their ways, the ways they walked in everyday activities, were evil and that their actions were wrong. They accepted that they not only needed to change their actions but to change their actions by changing the way they were headed with their life. Fellowship with God in any age is dependent on that truth (Lam. 2:17-19).
God is ready and willing to forgive any that call upon Him. On a bright Sunday morning in 18th century ROBERT ROBINSON was walking despondently down a busy city street in London. The sound of church bells reminded him of years past when his faith in God was strong and the church was an integral part of his life. It had been years since he set foot in a church-years of wandering, disillusionment, and gradual defection from the God he once loved. That love for God- once fiery and passionate- had slowly died within him, leaving him dark and cold inside.
Robert Robinson heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horse drawn cab approaching behind him. Turning, he lifted his hand to hail the driver. But then he saw that the cab was occupied by a young woman dressed for the Lord’s Day. He waved the driver on, but the woman in the carriage ordered the carriage to be stopped.
"Sir, I’d be happy to share this carriage with you," she said to Robinson, "Are you going to church?" Robinson was about to decline, but then he paused. "Yes," he said at last. "I am going to church." He stepped into the carriage and sat down beside the young woman.
As the carriage rolled forward Robert Robinson and the woman exchanged introductions. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes when he stated his name. "That’s an interesting coincidence, she said I was just reading a verse by a poet named Robert Robinson."
He took the book, nodding. "Yes, I wrote these words years ago."
The words would one day be set to music and become a great hymn of the faith, familiar to generations of Christians.
Come, Thou Fount of every blessing Tune my heart to sing Thy grace’
Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise.
His eyes slipped to the bottom of the page where he read:Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it- Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above.
He could barely finish reading the words. "I wrote these words - and I’ve lived these words. "Prone to wander..... prone to leave the God I love."
The woman suddenly understood. "You also wrote, "here’s my heart, O take and seal it." You can offer your heart again to God, Mr. Robinson. It’s not too late. It wasn’t too late for Robert Robinson. In that moment he turned his heart back to God and walked with him for the rest of his days."
That is what God was saying to His people. It’s not too late to return to Me and be healed and to be forgiven
CONCLUSION
Man and his waywardness have not changed, so repentance for restoration is the message we still must proclaim to the lost and to the saved (Rev. 2:5; Acts 3:19; 17:30). The natural course of man’s life and works leads to death. It is the false prophet who proclaims "peace, peace, when there is no peace."
The Bible teaches that forgiveness for backsliding is based upon repentance and is central to man’s relationship with God. He who does not repent to follow God’s eternal word, be he saved or lost, will walk further and further from the will of God for his life till God’s word overtakes him. God demands that man change his outward deeds by changing his inward direction in life, that man believe and follow the eternal Word and not the fleeting and failing word of man.
Therefore, let us return to the Lord and He according to His promise will "return to us." If we turn to Him confessing our shortcomings and failing, then He turns to us with His restoring grace and forgiveness. We turn with our poverty and need to His glorious riches and satisfying fullness. We turn with our misery and fears to His everlasting comfort and hope, turn with our doubt to His faith, our hatred to His love, our anxiety to His peace, our sickness to His health, our sin to His cleansing, our despair to His encouragement. Then He restores His peace which passes all understanding and His joy unspeakable and full of glory will guard our hearts in Christ Jesus our Lord.
But the power to find help, the power to answer His call to restoration is in your repentant cry. (Lam. 5:21; Ps. 80:3).
