Daily Thoughts from Zechariah: At Ease, Not at Rest (Zechariah 1:7-17)

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.’ And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’” (Zechariah 1:7-17, ESV)

This is Zechariah’s first vision. He sees angelic beings mounted on various color horses as vehicles for investigating the whole earth. They are under the charge of the angel of Yahweh, who is talking to Zechariah and explaining their significance. They have found the whole earth to be at rest, but this is bad, because “rest” is what is promised to the chosen people, Israel, and Israel is not at rest in her own land. The nations are at ease when they should be under judgment for overdoing the discipline God had for Israel through them. So the angel of Yahweh appeals to Yahweh for mercy on Jerusalem and Israel after 70 years of captivity.

Yahweh responds with a report of His jealousy for Israel aroused and His anger at the nations (He is emotionally committed), a report that He has returned to Jerusalem with mercy (He is spiritually committed), and a report that His house, the temple, will be rebuilt (He is willfully committed). Zechariah is commissioned to report to Israel that Yahweh’s prosperity will once again fill her cities as He comforts His people and again chooses Jerusalem as the city where His worship will be centered. This is the promised restoration that the prophets said would come when Israel repented.

The United States is not Israel. Nevertheless, our prosperity is directly related to Yahweh’s blessing, as is any nation’s prosperity, and Yahweh’s blessing is directly related to our dependence upon and obedience to Him. “Righteousness exalts a nation,” Proverbs 14:34 says. But do we recognize the Lord now in our prosperity? Are we at ease when we should be repenting? We cannot be righteous for our entire nation. But we can declare the Lord’s righteousness, pray for our nation and its leaders as Paul commanded (1 Timothy 2:1ff), and live righteous lives that are an attraction to the unrighteous. Right now our nation yearns for genuine love and family. We can show them the way.  But it will mean seeing how much we have yielded to our sinful culture and repentance from it on our part first.

Some of our issues?  These make my list.  What’s on yours?

• Addiction to entertainment
• Relational isolation
• Fear and an unhealthy yearning to return to yesteryear
• Looking for rescue from political leaders and choosing political leaders whose character is unrighteous
• Running our churches like corporations instead of like God’s family
• Not seeing ourselves as on mission to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission and obey his Great Commands