Ide Congregational Church
REPENTANCE PEACE
ZECHARIAH 1:1-6
INTRODUCTION.
The start of a series of studies going through the prophecy of Zechariah.
Not an easy prophecy to follow through. Jerome wrote “… that most obscure book of the prophet Zechariah, and of the Twelve the longest …”
Despite this obscurity, the last six chapters are the most quoted section of the prophets in the passion narratives of the Gospels, and Zechariah has significantly influenced the author of Revelation. Thus, as we are looking at Zechariah, we will be visiting other parts of scripture quite extensively, as we seek the relevance and meaning for us today. This prophecy deals with the situation of the Jews of that time, and how they arrived at that situation, but then takes them forward to the end of time and the Return of the Messiah and the Day of Judgement.
Who is this Zechariah? (v1) “son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo”. In Ezra, just the son of Iddo. Did Ezra just miss out Berekiah, or had Berekiah died at an early age, leaving Zekariah to become the head of the priestly family after Iddo? It is not clear.
We can be sure that he was a prophet (v1) and a priest.
The beginning of Zechariah’s preaching can be dated to about Oct/Nov 520 BC.
He was born in Babylonia and was amongst those who returned to Jerusalem in 538 BC, under the leadership of Zerabbabel and Joshua. Zechariah later succeeded Iddo as head of the priestly family when Joiakim was High Priest.
Zechariah started prophesying during the time of Haggai, whose final recorded message has been dated to Dec 520 BC, a month or so after Zechariah started. Zechariah continued to prophesy and preach until some time after 480 BC.
What was the situation for Israel? Remarkably similar to what it is today. A small nation in the Middle East without a temple, surrounded by powerful enemies and in need of spiritual renewal.
In 605 BC the Babylonian armies under King Nebuchadnezzar had invaded and carried off many of the young men to Babylon, leaving the remainder of the nation to carry on much as before, but as a vassal state. In 597 BC the Jews revolted and Nebuchadnezzar’s soldiers returned, killing many people and carrying off yet more young men; they also installed as king a 21-year old descendant of David as king, Zedekiah.
False prophets managed to convince Zedekiah to make an alliance with Egypt, to fortify Jerusalem and to break his agreement of loyalty to Babylon. Yet another army was sent to quell the uprising, but they could not enter Jerusalem so easily, so they subjected it to a major siege. After 18 months, during which many died of disease and starvation, Jerusalem was entered and destroyed. The army took out its vengeance on the people and the city. They took everything of value, even stripping the temple of all its valuables. They then destroyed the city and the temple. They took off to Babylon all but the poorest.
The Jewish people were settled in a fertile area and prospered under Babylonian rule. Many did not forget their God, and continued to worship Him, looking forward to a time when they could return to Jerusalem.
Then the Persians defeated the Babylonians and it was under this rule that the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem in 537 BC. This was about 68 years after the first invasion of the Babylonians.
17 years later, Zechariah started his prophecy, in 520 BC.
A nation looking forward to great things, but still lost in seeking an earthly kingdom with a worldly king. Very similar to the current situation with Israel today.
Past Disobedience.
(V2) “The LORD was very angry with your forefathers.” Why was He angry? Look at how the rulers and people of Israel had treated their God. Had they trusted Him for their salvation? No!!
2 Kings 23:36,37 “36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. 37And he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as his fathers had done.” Jehoiakim was an evil ruler, as had the rulers before him. In fact, if you read through the book of Kings, virtually all the kings have the epitaph “And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”
Then see 2 Kings 24:1-4. A punishment for disobedience and evil, past and present, amongst His people Israel.
Not just a punishment upon the people because of the sin of the king. The king merely reflected the mood and ways of the people of Israel, who had become materialistic and were coming to believe that God’s law applied to others, but not to them. They were the chosen ones, therefore, God would overlook their wrongdoings. They could atone for their sins through sacrifice. The rest of the world was condemned to death because they were not God’s chosen people, Israel.
God used the Babylonians to punish His people, Israel. It was an awful punishment, 2 Kings 25 gives the record of the final invasion and the defeat of Jerusalem and the death of so many because of their rebellion.
God cannot tolerate disobedience. He will not accept any trace of sin in His kingdom whatsoever. It has to be rooted out. As we see in Revelation, those who will stand before God’s throne will be the righteous, without any sin.
Remember what God said to Solomon when the temple had been finished and dedicated 2 Chronicles 7:19-21. The people turned away and forsook the decrees and commands God had given them and they served and worshiped other gods. God fulfilled His promise to Solomon.
Here is a warning for each one of us. If there is disobedience or evil in our lives, we need to deal with it; we need to get rid of it, and quickly. We do not know when our ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ will come and invade our lives and carry us off to ‘Babylon’ .
Current Repentance.
Thanks be to God, there is a way of dealing with the things that do not go right in our lives.
(v3) “Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty.” This is very reminiscent of the words spoken to Solomon 2 Chronicles 7:12-14. A penitent heart God will hear and respond to. He will forgive and heal His people when they come to Him. And He wants them to come to Him. Look at Ps 51:16, 17 “You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
To repent is to turn away from doing something wrong (v4) ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ God was calling their forefathers to turn away from evil, but they would not listen. Then God asks, “Where are your forefathers now?” Then God reminds them that He fulfills His promises. The forefathers were punished.
Future Acceptance.
It is easy to focus on the negative aspect, but note what happened to the people to whom Zechariah was preaching, (v6) “Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as He determined to do.’”
God heard their words of repentance, just as he heard those words of repentance from David when he saw how much he had sinned. 2 Samuel 12:13 “Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.”
We have Ps 51 as that great cry to God, as David realized his sinfulness and the evil that he had done in the sight of God. A great cry from the heart, which realized that no sacrifices by man could get rid of the awfulness of sin.
In fact there is only one sacrifice that can cleanse us of sin and guilt and that is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the Cross of Calvary.
We cannot work our own salvation. Jesus has paid our debt, and we are free and deemed innocent. We are looked upon, by God, as completely free of all sin, when we accept the sacrifice of His son Jesus.
Billy Graham, the great evangelist, tells of driving through a small southern town and being stopped by a policeman and being charged with speeding. Graham admitted his quilt, but was told by the officer that he would have to appear in court. The judge asked, "Guilty, or not guilty?" When Graham pleaded guilty, the judge replied, "That’ll be ten dollars -- a dollar for every mile you went over the limit." Suddenly the judge recognized the famous minister. "You have violated the law," he said. "The fine must be paid--but I am going to pay it for you." The judge took a ten dollar bill from his own wallet, attached it to the ticket, and then took Graham out and bought him a steak dinner! And Billy Graham used that illustration in his sermons to explain God’s grace. That is how God treats us as repentant sinners! He paid for our sins with his son and now we get to dine with him in heaven....
This is the great message of the prophet Zechariah. 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.
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. At the first of 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 leans 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)...
CONCLUSION.
The big question this evening is, ‘What will you do with the grace of God?’ He has offered you salvation, free and complete in every way. His love is so great that He is willing to forget your sinful ways, utterly and completely, through the sacrifice of His only beloved Son.
Bryn and Sally Haworth, Mission Praise 750
Will you accept or reject?
