Today we come to one of the strangest passages in Scripture. It is recorded in Zechariah 5:5-11. Here Zechariah sees a vision of a basket, a woman in the basket, and two women with wings carrying the basket to Babylon. What does the basket represent? What about the woman in the basket? Are the two women with wings angels or evil spirits? Those are some of the questions we need answered for a sound understanding of the revelation in this text.
Zechariah 5 contains two visions that are closely related. Both visions deal with the removal of evil from Israel so that the blessings promised in the previous visions can be realized. I want to read the whole chapter so that we can see the connection between vision 6 and vision 7. I am reading from the New International Version because it captures the meaning of both visions accurately.
“I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.” 3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. 4 The LORD Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’”
Now we come to today’s text:
5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.” 6 I asked, “What is it?” He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.” 7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! 8 He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it. 9 Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. 10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel who was speaking to me. 11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”i
In our last message, we dealt with the vision of the flying scroll. That vision revealed God’s removal of rebellious Israelites so that blessing could come upon the nation. It is something God does with groups, churches, nations, etc. The ultimate fulfillment of the vision happens at the end of the age when Messiah returns and leads Israel into the golden Millennial age. It is an end-time prophecy which had partial fulfillment in Zechariah’s day and has timeless application throughout the ages. God judges sin. Just as Achan was removed before Israel could defeat Ai, just as Ananias and Sapphira were removed in judgment in Acts 5, one side of God blessing a nation or group is the judgment of hypocrites and rebels. The vision of the flying scroll focused on the individuals (represented by the thief and perjurer) who would be destroyed for their persistent sin.
In this vision of the basket, the focus in on the collective evil influence that must be removed. This vision addresses the evil system of greed and deception that drives the iniquity. We will deal with our text under three headings.
I. The Basket in verses 5-6
II. The Contents of the Basket in verses 7-8
III. The Destination of the Basket in verses 9-11
I. The BASKET (vs 5-6)
In verse 5, the Interpreting Angel alerts Zechariah to something that is appearing on the horizon and moving toward them.ii Zechariah sees something coming, but at that point cannot tell what it is. So, he asks the angel, “What is it?” The angel replied, “It is a basket.” The Hebrew word translated basket is ‘ephah: something similar to our bushel basket.iii Some versions simply translate it ephah (KJV, RSV). The Christian Standard Bible translates it “measuring basket.”iv Since the word here points to a container used to measure the sale of grain, it probably communicates the idea of commerce.v The other measurement for commerce in this vision is the talent (vs 7) which was a weight measurement. It too was symbolic of business and trade.vi The significance of this basket is not found in the material it is made of, but in its common use as a standard measurement for business transactions in the agrarian society.
The theme in this vision is wickedness. So, what would the ephah represent in the context of God dealing with sin? It is probably pointing to the selfish greed that drives much of the world’s commerce. In Ezekiel 45 God is confronting the merchants for their oppression of the poor, including the use of an undersized ephah for cheating customers. In verse 10 God says to them, “You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah [same word as in Zech. 5:6] and an accurate bath [a bath was a standard measurement for liquid]. Similarly, in Micah 6 God condemns Israel’s use of inaccurate measurements in their business dealings.vii
In verse 6, the Interpreting Angel then gives Zechariah the interpretation of the measuring basket. Zechariah 5:6 says, “And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.” As in the previous vision, “the land” refers to the Holy Land of Israel.viii As in the previous vision, this vision is about purging the Holy Land from sin so God can send his blessing. Zechariah would have understood it that way. However, there is a greater end-time purging being predicted. It will remove iniquity from the whole earth in preparation for the Millennium.
The word translated “iniquity” is a problem for translators because some ancient texts have the Hebrew word meaning “iniquity,” and others have the word meaning “eye” or “appearance.” There is only one letter difference between the two Hebrew words. Therefore, the New King James Version reads, “This is the resemblance [NASB: appearance] throughout the earth.”ix As with most textual variances, the difference does not change the basic meaning of the passage. In either case, the basket is symbolic of evil, especially greedy, dishonest commerce.x The NIV translation fits the overall revelation best. “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”
II. The CONTENTS of the Basket is revealed in verses 7-8
“Then the cover of lead was raised [That would allow Zechariah to see what is inside the basket], and there in the basket sat a woman!” That must have been a surprise for Zechariah. The word translated “cover” can be translated “talent” as in the NKJV.xi The fact that it was made of lead lets us know it was heavy enough to keep the woman in the container.xii
As in the previous vision, the proportion of objects in the vision are abnormal. The law of physics prohibits a woman from fitting into a bushel basket. But dreams and visions don’t always follow the law of physics. You know that from your own dreaming experience. The focus of the vision is not on the size of the woman but on her containment.
Apparently, when the Interpreting Angel lifted the lid, the woman tried to escape from the basket. Verse 8 tells us the Interpreting Angel aggressively pushed her back down in the basket and put the heavy lid back on it. Verse 8 says, “and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it.”xiii
In verse 8, the Interpreting Angel tells Zechariah what this woman represents: “He said, ‘This is wickedness.’” She is the personification of evil. There is probably an allusion to idolatry, pagan worship that was introduced to Israel primarily through foreign women.xiv First Kings 11:4 explicitly says Solomon’s foreign wives led him into idolatry. Later in Israel’s history, Jezebel was central in leading the nation into Baal worship. First Kings 21:25-26 makes this comment about Ahab and Jezebel, “(There was never anyone like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. 26 He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.)”
In the remainder of this vision, this woman will be transported to Babylon where we will see her in Revelation 17 as “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” She is the epitome of spiritual wickedness. Merrill Unger says, “The woman represents ecclesiastical Babylon and as personified religious wickedness. . . .” (emphasis Unger’s).xv
So, in this vision Zechariah is seeing the wicked world system of Satan that that had infiltrated Israel and would be eradicated by God himself. The basket pointed to the evil commerce system, and the woman pointed to the wicked religious system. As the Mother of Harlots, this woman represents all ungodly worship systems including false religions and the apostate church.
In Zechariah’s context, the basket with the woman in it symbolized the principle of wickedness that pushed Israelites into sinful behavior. The removal of that wickedness from the land would pave the way for blessing. The remainder of the chapter describes that action.
III. The DESTINATION of the Basket in verses 9-11
In verse 9 Zechariah says, “Thenxvi I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings!” These two angelic beings will be the means God uses to take the basket out of the Holy Land. Some commentators erroneously think the two women are evil spirits because the next verse says, “They had wings like those of a stork.” Their reasoning is: Since a stork is a ceremonially unclean bird, there must be unclean spirits.xvii But our passage does not say they were storks. It only likens their wings to those of a stork. The wings of a stork were known to be strong and able to fly long distances. These two angels have the strength in their wings to carry this basket with its lead lid all the way from Israel to Babylon. The comment that they have “the wind in their wings” may indicate that the Spirit of God gives them strength, since the word for wind can also be translated spirit.xviii
These are an unusual order of angels. They are female whereas many other angels are portrayed as masculine. They have wings whereas some other angels do not have wings. The Seraphim have six wings (Isaiah 6:2). Cherubim have two wings (1 Kings 6:27; Ezek. 10). There is beautiful diversity among the angelic host of God. These angels are strong and are entrusted with a significant assignment. They are to carry the woman with the basket out of the land (Israel) to Babylon.
“Where are they taking the basket?” Zechariah asked the Interpreting Angel in verse 10. The short answer is: ““To the country of Babylonia.” The text uses the ancient word for Babylon, Shinar. It is the same term used for Nimrod’s kingdom at Babel. After God had cleansed the earth of sin through the flood, Nimrod (the grandson of Ham)xix raised up a kingdom in opposition to God. The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 was place where this evil system originated and spread throughout the earth. The wickedness represented by the basket and the woman inside originated in Babylon.
In this vision God is taking the basket back to Babylon where it belongs. It does not belong with the people of God. He is taking it back to its place of origin where he will judge it. The details of that judgment are given to us in Revelation 17 and 18. The wicked commercial system and religious system will be destroyed there. There is probably judgment on a literal city since some of the Old Testament prophecies have not been fulfilled (Isa. 13:19-20; Jer. 51:26, 43).xx But the judgment is primarily on the worldwide, corrupt system that began at the Tower of Babel.
First John 5:19 acknowledges the control Satan has over this ungodly world system. “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.”xxi As God’s children we are to be separate spiritually from that system. John heard a voice in Revelation 18:4 saying, “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.” That is consistent with the admonition we are given in 1 John 2:15-16: “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”xxii
For a time, this Antichrist system will seem to thrive. God will allow the wickedness to come to the full before he destroys it. Zechariah 5:11 tells us the basket is taken “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.” There will be a consolidation of power during the Tribulation period in which the false religious system and evil political power exercise great control in the earth. According to Revelation 17, the Antichrist beast will turn against the wicked religious system at some point and destroy it. God destroys the political/commercial system in Revelation 18. Revelation 18:12 says the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over that destruction.
So, the basket represents the worldly anti-God system of wickedness that will ultimately be destroyed in preparation for the Millennium. In this vision, Zechariah sees that system removed from Israel as part of God cleansing and restoration of his people. The partial fulfillment of that in Zechariah’s day is exemplified by the eradication of idolatry among the Jews. But the complete fulfillment will not be realized until the end of the age.
I want to quickly point out three timeless truths inherent in this passage.
1. The Sovereignty of God over Evil
At times it seems like the devil is having his way. In Psalm 13 David was in one of those time. Hear his prayer in that Psalm: “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” Job had the same kind of questions during his trial. During the Tribulation Period it will seem like the Antichrist is unstoppable. But God never loses control of the world as a whole or of the events in your life and mine.
In his own timing he brings the enemy down. He already knows when that will be. In Revelation 11 the Antichrist manages to kill the two witnesses. The wicked world is celebrating their victory. It looked like evil had won out. God allowed their bodies to lie in Jerusalem, open for all to see. But God set a limit on that, and after 3½ days he resurrected them in front of the whole world. God never lost control of the situation.
In Zechariah’s vision, the woman who personified wickedness tried to get out of the basket. But God used his angel to push her back down, and he used two other angels to take her out of the land.
2. The Wisdom of God in Exercising his Sovereignty over Evil
We do not always understand the wisdom of God in the way he asserts his sovereignty. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Why does God allow evil to exist in the first place? Why do his interventions seem so slow in coming at times?
In his wisdom, he is working all things together for our good. He is always able to turn the tables on the devil. The devil thought he would defeat the three Hebrew children by throwing them in the fiery furnace. But instead God is glorified by miraculously delivering them. The devil thought he would neutralize Paul and Silas by throwing them in prison. Instead, the jailer gets saved and a church is established in Philippi. The devil thought he would rid himself of Christ at the cross. But instead, Jesus is raised from the dead, and in that process utterly crushes the head of the serpent. God does exercise his sovereignty. But it is always on his terms.
The trial designed by Satan to destroy is used by God to refine you and fully equip you for his purposes. The devil meant it for evil, but God worked it together for your good.
3. The faithfulness of God to cleanse his elect from evil.
This vision in Zechariah constitutes a promise to God’s people. It is a promise to box evil up, transport it out of your territory, and ultimately destroy it. This is fully played out for Israel during the Tribulation Period in preparation for the Millennium. Not only that, but God will eradicate evil from the whole planet. At the end of the Tribulation Period, the Antichrist will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Satan will be confined in the Bottomless Pit during the Millennium. Why does God release Satan from that pit at the end of the Millennium? Satan doesn’t escape. Satan can’t escape. God releases him so that the people living at that time could choose good or evil.
Satan is no threat to God. He is useful for testing the choices people need to make. When that usefulness is fulfilled, At that end-time battle of Gog and Magog, all who have choses to follow Satan will be destroyed. Revelation 20:10 says, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
God will clean house. The elements will melt with fervent heat. Evil will be permanently and completely eradicated. Revelation 21:1-4: “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”
It will all end well, just like God planned it to end. Do not fret yourself when evil people bring wicked devices to pass. Psalm 37:2: “for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.” Verse 10: “A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.” Is the end of the matter—that matters most!
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New International Version (2020) unless indicated otherwise.
ii “In v. 5 the object was described only as something which was approaching. In v. 6 the identity of the object is revealed only by the discourse of the mal’ak [messenger/angel].” David Petersen, Haggai and Zechariah 1-8, 255.
iii “The ephah holds ‘according to the latest authorities 38.86 American quarts’ (Mitchell) and very closely resembles our bushel as to size.” (italics by Leupold). Leupold, Exposition of Zechariah, 104. The Living Bible paraphrases it “bushel basket.” Cf. Unger, Zechariah, 93. There are differences of opinion as to the exact size of the ephah.
iv “The word for ‘measuring basket’ (‘epah) denotes commonly accepted measurement (‘ephah’) that in time came to denote a container that hold this amount.” Boda, Haggai, Zechariah, The NIV Application Commentary, 305.
v “Found twenty-seven times in the Hebrew Bible, ‘ephah’ is in every case but this one clearly a technical designation for a volume of dry measure.” Meyers and Meyers, 295.
vi “The talent like the ephah, is transparently a symbol of business and commerce, being a weight employed both for ordinary items of trade and for precious metals weighed as a medium of exchange.” Unger, Zechariah, 94.
vii “The condemnation of an unjust ephah or measure and evil is a logical one (Ezek.45:10; Mic. 6:10).” Hill, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, 166. Cf. Lev. 19:36; Deut. 25:15; Prov. 20:10; Amos 8:5.
viii “The land refers to the territory of post-exilic Judah, especially Jerusalem and its environs, echoing the flight of the unrolled scroll over the land (5:3).” Hill, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, 167.
ix For a technical evaluation of this see Meyers and Meyers, 297-298.
x “Zechariah saw the ephah as the symbol of the evil system (and the ephah is evil, whether one follows the Masoretic reading, This is their appearance, or the Syriac and the Septuagint, “This is their iniquity”)” (emphasis Unger’s). Unger, 93-94.
xi “As a term for weight, kikkär normally represents a talent. Meyers and Meyers, 299.
xii Perhaps the inappropriateness of lead for a cover is meant to emphasize the fact that an extraordinary device is being used to enlose forcefully and unalterably the Ephah’s strange contents.” Meyers and Meyers, 299.
xiii As Merrill points out (p. 162), the urgency of keeping this woman confined is “magnified by the double use of the verb šâlak.”
xiv After discussing associations of the Hebrew word härišâ with idolatry in Scripture (Deut. 8:18-20; 9:4; Mal. 3:15, 19) and the destination of the woman to Babylon, Meyers and Meyers say, “it is reasonable in the light of the above usages to understand the word as a technical term for idolatry” (p. 302).
xv Unger, 96.
xvi The Hebrew word indicates “temporal sequence.” Unger, 07.
xvii Cf. Lev. 11:13, 19. Baron, Zechariah, 165 and Unger, 98 are representative of those who understand these two women to be evil. However, most commentators understand them to be angelic agents of God.
xviii Cf. Hill, 169.
xix Gen. 10:6-10.
xx See David M. Levy, Zechariah, 51-52 for an analysis of this.
xxi Cf. Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 398-411.
xxiixxii Cf. Tow, Authentic Christianity, 95-110.
