Intro:
1. Application Bible, “The familiar phrase, ‘Like father, like son,’ implies that children turn out like their parents. But God warned Israel not to be like their fathers, who disobeyed him and reaped the consequences – His judgment.
We are responsible before God for our own actions. We aren’t trapped by our heredity or environment, and we can’t use these excuses for our sins. We can choose, and we must individually return to God and follow Him.”
2. Judah has seen God’s principle, laid out in the Palestinic Covenant, of obedience brings blessing and disobedience brings curse, played out in the Babylonian captivity. He appeals to them to learn from it!
3. The Prerequisite for Restoration is Repentance.
Zechariah 1:1-6 (NKJV)
1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
2 "The LORD has been very angry with your fathers.
3 Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Return to Me," says the LORD of hosts, "and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts.
4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds." ' But they did not hear nor heed Me," says the LORD.
5 "Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
6 Yet surely My words and My statutes, Which I commanded My servants the prophets, Did they not overtake your fathers? "So they returned and said: 'Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us, According to our ways and according to our deeds, So He has dealt with us.' " ' "
I. For starters, a Reaquaintance with the historical background.
II. Furthermore, a Reference to Zechariah’s time. 1:1
A. The Time – October 520 BC
Times of the Gentiles – “Significantly is the fact, that a Jewish prophet dated his prophecy according to the reign of a Gentile monarch. This was a vivid reminder that the ‘Times of the Gentiles,’ a term used by Jesus Himself had begun (Lu. 21:24).
This time, was initiated by the fall of Jerusalem, to the armies of armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. The prophet Daniel received the revelation that Gentile kingdoms would be dominant over Judah and Israel until God would set up His kingdom on earth, under the rule of the Messiah (Dan. 2 & 7). Before Messiah’s return no descendant of David, will sit on the throne in Jerusalem.” [Duane Lindsey]
The Persian king Darius reigned from 522-485 BC., he continued the policy of Cyrus of allowing the Jewish people to return to their homeland.
B. The Team.
1. Divine Source – “the Word of the LORD came…”
2. Human Spokesman – Zechariah.
Zechariah “the Lord Remembers” was a young man (2:4), but since God is the source his age is immaterial (Jer. 1:6-9).
Wiersbe said that a young pastor called him and said he felt inadequate because most of his membership was much older than he was. He replied, “As long as your delivering God’s messages don’t worry about how old you are. When you open your Bible your over 2,000 years old!”
C. The family Tree.
1. His Parents – his father was Berechiah, who is believed to have died young, and his grandfather is Iddo.
2. He is a Priest. (Neh. 12:4,16)
3. He was also a Prophet – God’s spokesman to Judah, to those Jews who have returned back to their land form the Babylonian captivity.
III. Next, the message of Repentance. 2-3
This must be taken in light of Palestinian Covenant (Deut. 29-30). The phrase “turn now” is found in Dt. 30:1,2,3,8,9,10…
Merrill, “The verb “turn” used 3 times in vv. 3-4, has a strong covenant connotation. This is confirmed by the technical terms in verse 6, “words” and “statues.” These nouns refer regularly to the stipulations of the covenant made with Israel at Sinai (Deut4:1-2; 17:19; 27:8/ Neh.9:8, 13-14). To turn from YHWH therefore is to break covenant with Him and to turn to evil ways and deeds (v.4). In a covenant context “ways” and “deeds” refer to a whole pattern of rebellion and disloyalty.”
A. The Principle is Deut. 30:1-10.
1. The Nation would be Removed. 30:1a
a. Babylon. Deut. 28:39
This would be by a nation, the nation is not identified, most take it to be a reference to Assyria or Babylon or even both.
New American Commentary, “The agent of the Lord’s curse is not specifically identified in the passage at hand except as a far away and fierce nation of an unknown language…Some argue that the Babylonians were in view, an identification supported by Jeremiah, who appears to link the Babylonians with the imagery of this cursed section…As time passed, the historical situations would clarify the specific applications so that Jeremiah, who witnessed the rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire would understand the prophecy to refer to Babylon.”
b. By the Romans. Deut. 28:64
Scattered among the peoples, not just removed by one nation like Babylon.
c. By the Revived-Roman empire under the Antichrist. Mt. 24:15-18/Rev.12:6
2. Next, the Nation would Repent. 30:1b-2
you call – lit. “cause them to return.” This happened to Judah while in the Babylonian captivity. Zech. 1:6b
But the ultimate repentance of Israel will take place at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Mt. 24:29-30).
3. Thirdly, the Nation will be Regathered by the Messiah at His Return. 30:3-4
(Mt. 24:31)
From Zechariah’s viewpoint he could not tell what was going on.
Sailhamer, “In the time after the Babylonian captivity, when the Israelites were allow to return to the land, much expectation arouse regarding the fulfillment of this promise in Deut. 30. For example, the words of Nehemiah’s prayer (Neh.9) reflects is hope that in his own day, after the Babylonian captivity, the promise would be fulfilled. As the book of Nehemiah goes on to show however, Nehemiah’s hope was not realized, and the time of the return from Babylonian captivity was not to be the time of its fulfillment.
In the NT the example of Simeon (Lu.2:25) shows that at the time of Christ’s coming, devout Israelites were still awaiting its fulfillment. Jesus Himself was quite clear that these tests in Deut and the Prophets, as well as many other statements in Scripture, were to be understood as pointers to His coming (Lu. 24:25-27).”
At His first coming Israel refused to repent but rejected her Messiah, and thus, this future hope awaits His Second Coming.
4. Fourthly, the nation of Israel will be Restored to her promised land. 30:5
Gen. 13:15; 17:7-8
5. Fifthly, the nation will be Regenerated. 6
Rom. 11:26-27
6. Sixth, the nation of Israel’s enemies will be Rebuked. 30:7
None of these took place in 70 AD but await future fulfillment (Rev. 19)
7. Finally, the nation’s blessings will be Received. 30:8-10
“While the repossession of the land can be said to some extent to have been fulfilled by the return of the Jews following the Babylonian exile, the greater prosperity and population was not achieved n the OT times. In fact, it still awaits realization in any literal sense. As for the radical work of regeneration described here as circumcision of the heart, that clearly awaits a day yet to come as far as the covenant nation as a whole is concerned.” [Merrill]
B. It is Possible only by God’s Power. Deut. 30:1,5
Kalland, “The Lords compassion makes possible the return from banishment even in the most distant lands. That compassion will not only return the people to their land; it also rehabilitates them more prosperous and more numerous than their fathers. Three times in verses 5,9 Israel is promised a new and greater prosperity than she ever has experienced before.”
Jack Deere, “Israel’s repentance would be insufficient to reverse the effects of their curses for they would still be under foreign domination. So, in response to their repentance, God Himself will intervene, and with tender compassion gather the nation and bring her back to her land.
He will restore Israel’s fortunes, a theme found frequently in the prophets. The prophets made it clear that this great restoration to the land would not take place until the Second Advent of the Messiah just before the beginning of His millennial reign on the earth…A new heart is an essential feature of the New Covenant, which will not be fulfilled for Israel as a nation, until there return of Jesus Christ.”
C. It is Personal – Return to Me! The land, the temple, the blessings would mean nothing without Him.
D. It has a Powerful motive – “I will return to you!” Ja. 4:8
E. Refusal would be Painful.
Baker, “In a bold personification, God’s word and decrees, including threats and curses for disobedience are pictured as “overtaking” the disobedient forefathers. God’s curse did, in fact, pursue and catch up with the wrongdoers. The exile was, so to speak, the death of the nation. This happened in direct fulfillment of the curse warnings in Deut. 28:15,45, where the same verb “overtake” is used. On the other hand, according to Deut. 28:2, blessings too, can overtake!”
IV. Finally, therefore a call for Remembrance. 4-6
Even we can learn from Israel’s rebellion – I Cor. 10:5-6
Con:
1. It does not have to be – like father, like son! Better to learn from another’s mistakes then to mimic them!
2. Reminds me of a pig that was allowed on a 6 hour US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Seattle. He didn’t ride coach but first class.
A passenger convinced the airline that the pig needed to fly with them as a therapeutic pet – sort of like a seeing-eye dog. Passengers described the 300 lb pig as “enormous, brown, angry, and honking!”
The stewardess said, “It became restless after takeoff and sauntered through the cabin. He kept rubbing his nose on peoples legs trying to get them to give him food and stroke him.”
Upon landing the pig panicked, running wild and squealing uncontrollable. It took four attendances to get him off the plane!
Asked to explain it all, US Airways spokesman David Castelveter said, “We can confirm that the pit traveled, and we can confirm that it will never happen again!”
That’s Repentance, an honest confession with a commitment not to let it happen again.
Johnny Palmer Jr.
www.strugglingthruscriptures.ning.com
www.blogtalkradio.com/strugglingthruscriptures
