Zechariah's Sixth Vision: Rebels Removed Series

Intro

In our study of Zechariah, we now come to chapter 5. In this chapter Zechariah is given two visions: the sixth and seventh of his eight visions.i We will only deal with the sixth vision today. It is recorded in the first four verses. In this vision Zechariah sees a flying scroll.ii What does it represent? What is God showing Zechariah? How does that revelation apply to our lives today?

Follow with me as we read Zechariah 5:1-4. “Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll. 2 And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I answered, ‘I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.’ 3 Then he said to me, ‘This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: 'Every thief shall be expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it.’iii 4’"I will send out the curse," says the Lord of hosts; It shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and stones.’”iv

I want us to first understand what this vision would have meant to Zechariah. Then we will apply the timeless truth embedded here to our own lives. I am approaching the passage this way as an example of how Scripture should be studied and understood. First, we determine what the message meant to the original audience in its historical context. Then we identify the timeless principles that are contained in the revelation. Then we apply those timeless truths to our own lives.

Preachers do not always demonstrate that methodology when preaching a sermon. Often, we have done the first two steps in our private study; then we preach the principles to the congregation. That can leave the impression that the first two steps are unnecessary. But it is necessary to understand a passage in its historical context so that we do not misinterpret the revelation. There is only one interpretation for a passage, but that can be many applications. First get the interpretation in its historical context; then apply the principles contained in the passage. As we proceed, notice that process.

I. The INTERPRETATION of this Vision in its Historical Context:v

In verse 3 the angel gives Zechariah the interpretation of the scroll: “Then he said to me, ‘This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth.” The next verse makes it clear that this curse is associated with the commandments of God. It is the curse contained in the Law—in the Torah—in God’s covenant with Israel.vi Galatians 3:10 says, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”

Violation of God’s commandments brings a curse on the transgressor. In Deuteronomy 28 Moses declared the blessings of obeying God’s commandments and the curses that follow disobedience.

The transition between the two occurs in Deuteronomy 28:15: “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.” So, the curse of the law is going out toward every person who refuses to obey God.

The two commandments mentioned in verse 3 are representative of all God’s commandments. They represent both tablets of the Ten Commandments. The 8th commandment says, “You shall not steal.” The 9th commandment forbids perjury. But verse 4 of our text connects perjury with a violation of the 3rd commandment to not take the Lord’s name in vain. The first half of the Ten Commandments has to do with our relationship with God, and the second half guides our relationship with our neighbor. So, the greatest commandment to love God with all our heart, and the second great commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves are represented in the text. What happens when a person violates the commandments of God? A curse brings judgment on that person.

Look at the consequences of this curse as stated in verses 3-4: “'Every thief shall be expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it.’ [The scroll covers every transgression, and it finds “every” thief and every perjurer. No one escapes the consequences of their disobedience.]

The word translated “expelled” is naqah. In other contexts, it is often understood to be an expelling or cleansing of sin. For that reason, Luther translated this, “for all thieves shall according to this letter be pronounced pious [just].”vii Other commentators follow Luther’s lead.viii But that understanding runs counter to the whole thrust of this vision. Certainly, God does forgive and cleanse sinners if they are repentant. We saw that truth in the 4th vision when Joshua was given a clean change of garments. But this vision is not a revelation of justification by faith. This is a revelation of God’s judgment on thieves and other sinners who persist in their disobedience.ix The NIV says, “every thief will be banished.” The KJV translates it, “every one that stealeth shall be cut off.”x