WMD’s. Do you know what those are? Sure you do. You’ve been hearing about them for close to a year now. WMD’s, or Weapons of Mass Destruction were one of the reasons for the invasion of Iraq. It was believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and was willing to use them against its neighbors or give them to terrorists. Would you believe that the Bible talks about WMD’s? No, not Weapons of Mass Destruction, but Weapons for My Deliverance. These are the things God uses to win my salvation and to cleanse me for his service. Through our text this morning we’ll learn about the sword that struck down Jesus, and the fire that purifies us.
Zechariah, the prophet/priest who wrote our text, lived about four hundred years before Christ’s birth. He ministered to the small group of Israelites that had returned to Jerusalem after spending seventy years as captives in Babylon (present day Iraq). Zechariah’s main job was to encourage this small group of returnees for they had come home to a land devastated by war. They had to rebuild their city and temple from scratch and although they made a good beginning of this, they quickly became discouraged when others interfered. Zechariah, along with the prophet Malachi, encouraged the group to be brave in the face of opposition. They assured these returnees that, even though they were a small group, in time they would stand revealed as God’s glorious people.
To assure the people of God’s love for them, Zechariah spoke of the weapons God would use for their deliverance. In the first verse of our text God said through Zechariah: “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me… Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zech. 13:7a). In this verse God sends out a call for arms. While that isn’t unusual, the intended target is. God calls for the sword to strike his shepherd, the “man who is close to me”. Who is this shepherd, the man close to God? Thankfully we don’t have to guess because on the night he was betrayed, Jesus quoted these words when he told Peter how he and the other disciples would run away after his arrest (Mark 14:27). What this verse in Zechariah tells us is that, while Jesus’ arrest was carried out by sinful men, it was God’s will that his Son be struck. Does that mean there was infighting among the members of the Trinity? Did God the Father turn on God the Son? Not exactly. While God the Father called for his own Son to be struck by the sword, the Son suffered this willingly. He knew that this was all part of his Father’s loving plan to bring us rebellious people back into his fold.
“But,” many interject “I’m not rebellious! Jesus doesn’t need to be struck down because of me. I’ve done my best when it comes to living the way God wants me to!” What would you say, however, about a judge who lets a drunk driver go free because he testified that he tried to do his best while driving under the influence? You would be mad wouldn’t you, especially if this drunk driver ran into your car and totaled it! You would at least want the judge to make the drunk driver pay for the damages because someone has to. In the same way it’s foolish for us to think that as long as we do our best God will accept us. The truth is, our best isn’t very good because from the moment we are conceived we are under the influence of our sinful nature. What seems good to us is still repulsive to God. For example we may feel good that we didn’t gossip about our boss when our co-workers did, but if we did nothing to speak up for our boss, then we were complicit in breaking the Eighth Commandment and just as guilty of sin as our co-workers.
Friends, we all have sinned. We all are guilty of being rebellious against God. Thankfully we don’t have to pay for the damage we’ve caused while under the influence of our sinful nature. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins when he died on the cross. We are forgiven. Unfortunately many people reject this message of salvation. While that’s sad it’s not surprising. In fact God said in our text that two-thirds of the people would be cut down while a third would be saved (Zech. 13:8). That’s his way of saying that the majority of people in this world will reject what he has done to save them. Therefore it is not surprising that only a small group of believers gathers here every Sunday for worship. Neither should be we become discouraged when it seems that no one wants to listen to what we have to tell them about Jesus. God himself told us it would be this way.
Not all weapons are used for destructive purposes. While a sword or knife can cut down a person, it can also save when a surgeon uses it to cut through the skin of a patient so he can get at a tumor. In the same way God has “weapons” that he uses on us for our good. The one that is described in our text is fire. God said, “This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God” (Zech. 13:9).
I think you’re familiar with the process of refining precious metals like gold and silver. They’re put into fire to burn off the impurities. In the same God lets believers go through the fires of sickness, accident, and financial ruin to burn off the impurities in our life. When we go through such difficulty we need to remember that this fire is not meant to punish but to purify. God allows the fire so that we will come out of it and say with even more confidence and with more regularity: “The Lord is my God!”
Doesn’t it seem sometimes though that God forgets us in the fire? Sure we know we have impurities but doesn’t God sometimes go overboard in drawing them out? The answer of course is no. He promises not to give us more than we can handle (1 Cor. 10:13), and he guarantees to always do what is best for us (Rom. 8:28). You see, God works on our life the same way a carpenter works on our house. When he starts we’re not surprised that he attends to the leaky roof and the plugged drains, they were things we knew needed doing. But then he starts in on other things – things that hurt. He knocks out a wall here so he can add on another wing. Then he tears off the roof so he can throw up another floor. While we had it in our mind that God could come in and fix us up to be a nice little cottage, God himself has something much more grand in mind. He’s building a palace because he intends to live in us himself. Of course he won’t get us perfect until we get to heaven but that’s his intent (adapted from C.S. Lewis). Rejoice at the renovations God is doing in your life. Sure they hurt, but remember, these renovations will make you, not break you.
They’re still looking for the WMD’s in Iraq and may never find them. On the other hand you don’t have to look very hard to find God’s WMD’s. There’s a Weapon for My Deliverance (and yours) hanging in this church and maybe even around your neck. Thank God for the cross, for this “sword” that struck Jesus gives us the forgiveness of sins. The other WMD that purifies our faith may take many forms. Whatever form the fire of purification takes in your life remain confident that the temporary pain it causes will lead to eternal joy. That’s God’s promise. Amen.
