Milo

JULY 14

Reading 195

GOD’S PRIZED POSSESSION Malachi 3–4″

’They will be Mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ’in the day when I make up My treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him” (Mal. 3:17).The little Jewish community in Judea may have strayed from the Lord. But God kept careful track of individuals who loved and remembered Him. In the same way God maintains our names on His “scroll of remembrance.”

Background

Tithing.

Under Mosaic Law a tenth of all that the land produced belonged to the Lord. This tithe of flocks and produce was brought to the temple, where it was used to provide offerings and to support the priests and Levites who ministered there. An additional tithe was to be set aside every third year, and retained locally, for the support of widows and orphans and others in need. While the principle of the tithe can be seen before the Law was given (cf. Gen. 14:20), the concept underlying it is specific to the Old Testament Law. The Lord owned the Holy Land, in which His people were settled. As the One who gave them Canaan, God had a right to the “rent” due on the land His people worked. Malachi challenged his generation, calling on them to “test” God in this. Begin paying the tithe, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (3:10). While the tenth is not mentioned in the New Testament as a standard of giving (see 2 Cor. 8–9), certain basic principles are common to the teaching of each Testament. All we have comes from and belongs to God. We are but stewards of His possessions. We honor God by our giving, showing by our contributions to support modern ministries that the Lord is important to us. And showing too that we trust God enough not to rob Him of His share out of fear that we will not have enough.

Overview

Malachi predicted a day of purifying judgment (3:1–5). The Lord urged His people to show repentance by their tithes (vv. 6–12) and talk (vv. 13–15), and promised to bless individuals who fear Him (vv. 16–18). Malachi closed with a vivid image of the Day of the Lord (4:1–4), and a promise of Elijah’s return (vv. 5–6).

Understanding the Text

“The Lord you are seeking will come to His temple” Mal. 3:1. These words were not a promise, but a threat. The people of little Judah complained about God. “Where is the God of justice?” they asked (2:17). Now Malachi warned them that the One they said they desired, will come. We too look forward to the Day of the Lord and to Christ’s second coming. But we need to ask ourselves a question that these folks never thought to ask. “Are we ready?” There’s nothing we can do to speed His coming. But we can and must prepare ourselves for His appearance. In Judea in Malachi’s time the people talked about Messiah’s appearance. But they paid no attention to the commitment, the personal moral purity, and the zeal to do God’s work, which would prepare them for that day. It’s certain that the One whom we desire will come. Let’s make sure that when He appears, we will be filled with delight rather than regrets. “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”Mal. 3:2–5. Precious metals were placed in a crucible over hot fires. The ore melted, the impurities were skimmed off, and the unadulterated metal was poured into molds. “Launderer’s soap” was a powerful chemical compound that was used to soak newly woven cloth. The bits of gummy matter that remained were dissolved, and the new cloth was thus brightened and purified. Neither image suggests a pleasant experience. Each implies purification. As a result of God’s painful purifying work, Malachi said that “the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord.” Divine discipline today too may seem as uncomfortable as a refiner’s fire or as distasteful as a powerful launderer’s soap. So when undergoing discipline, you and I need to keep our eyes focused on the product. When God has purified and cleansed us, our offerings to Him—our worship, and our lives—will be acceptable once again. “I will come near to you for judgment” Mal. 3:5. How much better not to need purifying, because we already live pure lives! Here Malachi listed some of the attitudes and actions that call for judgment. More importantly, he summed up their cause: these things are done by those who “do not fear Me.” If you and I maintain a reverential awe of God as well as love for Him, we need not worry about judgment. If we truly fear and love God, we will always do right by others. “How do we rob You?” Mal. 3:6–12 It’s possible for a believer to say in all honesty when he hears a call to turn back to God, “How am I to return?” This is because we are often unaware of straying from the Lord. Like Saul, we don’t know that the Lord has departed from us (see 1 Sam. 16:14). Malachi suggested a simple test. Go through your checkbook! Are you giving God a fair portion of what you earn? Or are you robbing God by selfishly using what He has given you without concern for others or for the ministry of the Gospel? The question comes with a challenge. If you’ve been holding back because of fear that you won’t have enough, God invites you to test Him. After all, the wealth of the universe is His. Shake off your fear, God says, and “see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” God can be trusted. We need not hold back out of fear. “You have said harsh things against Me” Mal. 3:13–18. It’s not uncommon even for believers to wonder sometimes if faithfulness really pays. And as for unbelievers, they scoff loudly, preferring the ways of the arrogant rich to those of the humble. But there are two defects in all such thinking. First, the whole idea that we worship God in order to “gain” something is flawed. We keep God’s requirements because He is God, and we love Him. We do not obey God in order to be paid in the coin of earth’s realm. Second, the idea that God’s blessings are material is also flawed. And so Malachi said of those who feared the Lord and talked about His name, “They will be Mine . . . in the day when I make up My treasured possession” and “I will spare them.” The distinction between the righteous and the wicked can’t be determined by this world’s bottom line. The balance in our bank account has nothing to do with the treasure stored up for us in heaven. Yes, at times we may wonder if it pays to serve God. When we do, we have God’s Word that there is, and will be, a great distinction made between “those who serve God and those who do not” (v. 18). “The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” Mal. 4:1–4. Malachi closed with another distinction between the righteous and the wicked. When the Day of the Lord comes it will “burn like a furnace” for “every evildoer,” but will be like the warming and healing sun for those who revere God’s name. What a thought. When Jesus comes, He will seem beautiful to you and me. We will exult joyfully, and rush to be near Him. But the One we find so beautiful will strike terror into the hearts of those who have failed to bow the knee to Him. How can we be sure that we will welcome Christ with delight? Malachi said, “Remember the Law of My servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.” If we do those things that we know please God, we will have no fears nor regrets at His coming. “I will send you the Prophet Elijah” Mal. 4:5–6. The Old Testament closes with this promise. Jesus said that John the Baptist carried on an Elijah-like ministry. He preached repentance, and so turned hearts. But the people of Israel did not welcome their Messiah. They rejected Him, and turned Him over to the Romans to be crucified. Thus Malachi foretold another Elijah, destined to appear before Messiah returns and “that great and dreadful Day of the Lord[’s judgment] dawns” (v. 5). What a close to the Old Testament. The ancient issues are unchanged. God still struggles with men, calling His own to faith and obedience, warning the arrogant, and urging repentance. The history of God’s people is replete with cycles of revival and sin, of restoration and judgment. Through it all one would think we, and all His people, must surely learn the lesson so clearly taught. God does love us. He calls us to trust Him, and to display our trust in obedience. If we do, we can rest assured: there is blessing ahead. But for all who refuse to trust and turn to wickedness, the future holds only judgment. It is coming. Just beyond tomorrow lies a great and terrible Day of the Lord.

DEVOTIONAL

The Eye of the Beholder(Mal. 3)

Every once in a while, about every day, I tell my wife she’s beautiful. She usually smiles and says, “That’s what you think.” She suspects that I’m biased, even though I keep telling her that I’m totally objective about her. I must admit that in most cases, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What seems beautiful to one person won’t to another. It all depends on our perspective. That’s what Malachi said in this chapter of his little book. Our attitude depends on how we look at life. Malachi even identified three things that we need to look at from God’s perspective. The first is discipline (vv. 1–5). When some painful thing occurs, don’t despair. Look at it as a purifying fire. See the beauty that exists within you, that God is so eager to display. God is willing to burn away your impurities, even though it hurts you. Don’t think of the present experience. Look beyond it, and rejoice in what you will become. The second is finances (vv. 6–12). Don’t look at the little you have, and worry about how you’ll make ends meet. This will only shut your heart to the Lord, and make you stingy in your giving. Instead remember that God possesses all the wealth in the universe. Trust Him enough to give freely, and expect Him to provide all that you need. The third is blessings (vv. 14–18). Some media evangelists sound so much like the disgruntled of Malachi’s day. They ask us to measure blessings by financial well-being, and so beg us to give to their ministry, promising that God will more than repay in good, hard cash. But Malachi urged us to serve God not for profit, but out of love. Even so, we are abundantly repaid, not in cash here, but in blessings stored up for when Christ returns. Only in eternity will we see the distinction God makes between those who serve God and those who do not, so we should not expect large cash down payments now! And don’t expect those outside of Christ to see life as we do. Many Christians may not even share these perspectives. But you and I need to embrace the way of looking at life that Malachi adopted. We need to look beyond our pain, to look beyond limited resources, and to look beyond material rewards. When we see the beauty God seeks to create in us through discipline, the unlimited resources of our God, and the glory that awaits us in eternity, we will serve God with overflowing joy.

Personal Application

Be wise, and view life with spiritual eyes.

Quotable

God laid upon my back a grievous load, A heavy cross to bear along the road. I staggered on, and lo! one weary day, An angry lion sprang across my way. I prayed to God, and swift at His command, The cross became a weapon in my hand. It slew my raging enemy, and then Became a cross upon my back again. I reached a desert. O’er the burning track I persevered-the cross upon my back. No shade was there, and in the cruel sun I sank at last, and thought my day was done. But lo! The Lord works many a blest surprise, The cross became a tree before my very eyes! I slept—I woke—to feel the strength of ten, I found the cross upon my back again. And so through all my days from then to this, The cross—my burden—has become my bliss. Nor ever shall I lay my burden down. For God some day will make my cross a crown. -Amos R. Wells

Malachi

JULY 13

Reading 194

DISHONORING GOD Malachi 1–2

” ’If I am a father, where is the honor due Me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?’ says the Lord Almighty” (Mal. 1:6).How can we honor God in our worship and in our daily lives? The pointed questions that Malachi asked his generation help us evaluate our own relationship with the Lord, and point to ways that we as His people can honor Him.

Background

Postexilic life.

Some 50,000 Jews traveled from Babylon to Judea in 538B.C The Persian Cyrus had supplanted Babylonian rulers, and he decreed that captive peoples could return to their homelands. So a little group of Jewish pioneers, motivated by religious enthusiasm, set out for Judea. They were intent on rebuilding the temple of God and on building a faith-community in the land promised to Abraham’s offspring. The story, as told in Ezra and Nehemiah, and as reflected in the postexilic Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, is one of mixed triumph and tragedy. After the temple foundations were laid, the difficulties of reestablishing farms and homes on what was then a desolate frontier seemed overwhelming. Commitment to rebuild the temple waned as the exiles concentrated on meeting their own needs. Some 18 years later the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah rekindled the spiritual fires, and the temple was finished in 515B.C But again revival fires cooled. About 80 years after the first group returned home, the scribe Ezra led another small contingent back to the Holy Land. God later supplied another godly leader in Nehemiah, who served as governor and rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls. Each of these leaders, however, found a people less committed to God, with a lax lifestyle that revealed a marked lack of respect for the Lord. Most commentators believe that Malachi, whose words condemned the same spiritual maladies, ministered sometime after the governorship of Nehemiah. If so, we can’t help being amazed—and warned—by how quickly the Old Testament community drifted again from its commitment to the Lord. Perhaps this is the major contribution of Malachi to our own lives. We see how vulnerable all of us are to spiritual drift. We’re shown ways to find out if we ourselves are off course. And we are encouraged by the promise that as we remain true in our commitment to honor God always, we will be among those who make up God’s most treasured possession.

Overview

God had loved His people (1:1–5). Yet His priests treated Him with contempt (v. 6–2:9), and His people wearied God with their unfaithfulness (vv. 10–17).

Understanding the Text

” ‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord” Mal. 1:1–5.

The foundation of our relationship with the Lord is not our faith, but the fact of God’s love. It is the unshakable conviction that God loves us and has shown His love for us in Christ, that creates faith, and keeps our love for the Lord growing. How significant then that the people of Judah responded to God’s affirmation of love with a cynical question: “Love? Oh yeah? How have You loved us?” This is just the first of a series of seven such questions asked by the priests or people of Judah which revealed their spiritual lethargy. All talk of God, all occasions for worship, had become dreadfully boring to God’s own. In modern terminology, worship had become a drag! Unless you and I keep a clear focus on God’s love, and return that love, our faith too will soon become meaningless. We will lose our sense of joy, and those things we have done to please God will seem like meaningless chores. Keeping the “personal” in our personal relationship with God is our first and most important priority. “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated” Mal. 1:1–5. Here “Jacob” and “Esau” refer primarily to the peoples descended from the two brothers. God had demonstrated His love for the Jewish people (“Jacob”) by restoring them to their homeland. But the Edomites (“Esau”) had been displaced from their lands by the Nabateans, and the territory had become a “wasteland” inherited by “desert jackals.” This was a divine judgment on a people who had from early times been hostile to God’s chosen people, and merited punishment (cf. Ex. 17:8–16; Jdg. 3:12–13; 1 Sam. 27:8; Obad.). “I have loved” and “I have hated” is a way of expressing acceptance and rejection, and has two references. The saying describes God’s rejection of any claim Esau might have had to inherit God’s covenant promise to Abraham (Gen. 25:23; Rom. 9:13). And the saying contrasts what has happened to the Jewish people and the Edomites. Both the original choice of Jacob, and the subsequent experience of the Jewish people, display the love of God for His chosen race. Today if anyone were foolish enough to challenge God, saying, “How have You loved us?” we would point to the Cross. And we would testify how Jesus has changed our lives. God’s decision to sacrifice His Son, and the subsequent experience by Christians of the great salvation Jesus won for us, prove God’s love beyond any shadow of doubt. There may be times when you and I ask “why?” But we never need wonder whether God loves us. Grasping the extent of that love, we will say with the godly of Malachi’s day, “Great is the Lord.” “How have we despised Your name?” Mal. 1:6–14 When God through Malachi confronted the priests of Judea for failing to honor Him, they responded blandly with another cynical question. The response was the same as a denial: “Despise Your name? Not us!” Malachi went on to identify three ways these religious leaders showed contempt for the Lord. First, they demonstrated disrespect by placing “defiled food on My altar” (vv. 6–7). Old Testament Law described in detail how sacrifices were to be offered (cf. Lev. 1–6). This was not mere ritual: careful observance of the rules governing sacrifices was a way to show respect for the Lord. The priests, however, disregarded the Law’s regulations and so defiled the sacrifices (rendered them ritually unclean). It was as if our parents came over for dinner, and we served them a can of dog food. Second, they demonstrated disrespect by offering disqualified sacrifices (Mal. 1:8–9, 13–14). Old Testament Law required that sacrificial animals be unblemished. These priests accepted diseased or crippled animals for sacrifice. Malachi said pointedly, “Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?” Yet they dared to offer such beasts to God, who is no mere governor but the universe’s great King! Third, they disdained the privilege of leading in worship, finding it “a burden” and sniffing “at it contemptuously” (vv. 10–14). They had totally lost any sense of God’s presence, and were merely going through the motions of worship. What clear and simple—and yet overwhelming—tools for us to use in evaluating the quality of our own personal relationship with God. Are we careful to show respect for God in the way we worship, or are we careless in our church attendance and practice? Do we give Him our best, or does the Lord receive only our leftovers? Do we look foward to worshiping the Lord privately and with others, or has worship become boring and meaningless? If we have fallen into the ways of the priests of Malachi’s day, then we need to confess now. We need to focus again on God’s love for us in Jesus, and ask the Lord to fan our love for the Lord into flames. Then we need to return to worship filled with a vital sense of Christ’s living presence as we bow down to Him. “If you do not set your heart to honor My name . . . I will send a curse” Mal. 2:1–9. The failure of the priesthood was critical, for “a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction” (v. 7). Any flaw in the priesthood was bound to affect the people they were called to serve. Malachi charged the priests of his day, “You have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble” (v. 8). A priesthood that failed in its mission of serving God and instructing the people would surely be punished. The warning is directly applicable to us. New Testament believers are called a “holy priesthood,” serving under Jesus our High Priest (1 Peter 2:9). We too are charged with worshiping God and instructing others in His ways. Because our lives have such an impact on others, we must guard our commitment carefully. The higher the calling, the greater the responsibility. And ours is the highest calling of all! “You have wearied the Lord with your words” Mal. 2:17. Most of us remember how small children pick up a phrase or saying, and repeat it again and again and again. After a time it seems as if you can’t stand hearing it even one more time. I have that problem with popular music. Right now a group called “New Kids on the Block” has captivated our nine-year-old. All I hear is snatches of their songs hummed or sung over and over again, or “Joe likes pizza,” Joe this, and Joe that. I’m pretty sure I can’t stand it much longer. But at least I’ve learned what it means to be “wearied with words.” Malachi portrays God as fed up too. He heard His people talking, and they were saying the same things over and over again. But God was not just annoyed by what they said. God was slandered! His own people claimed He was pleased with this or that person who complained, “Where is the God of justice?” In other words, “God’s not being fair!” Somehow the perspective of the people of Judea had become distorted, and neither the Lord nor His ways were understood. How dangerous it is to suppose that we can judge what God does. How dangerous to suppose that we can relegislate morality, and pronounce “good” those who do what God says is wrong. There’s just this spirit loose in our land today, as moral issues are clouded by rhetoric and demands for the “right” to do wrong. As believers, we ourselves are bound by God’s Word. We must stand with God in His identification of what is right and of what is wrong.

DEVOTIONAL

Always Be True(Mal. 2)

A children’s song captures the meaning of the seventh commandment. “Always be true,” it says. “Always be true to one you’re married to.” Malachi too captured this meaning. “Judah has broken faith,” the prophet proclaimed. Men had married pagan wives. Men had discarded older wives to marry younger, more sexually attractive girls. In many ways, but particularly in these, the people of Malachi’s day showed that they totally misunderstood the concept of loyalty which lies at the root of every human relationship, and at the root of relationship with God Himself. You see, God had long ago made a commitment to Abraham and his offspring. Those offspring had often proven rebellious and disobedient. Yet through the long centuries God remained faithful to His covenant commitment. God would love, endlessly, even if His people did not love Him in return. That’s what covenant means. Commitment. Loyalty. Always being true. Marriage was intended by God to be a covenant relationship. It was to be a pact of loyalty, by which two of His people committed themselves to one another. Oh, there might be the unusual situation in which the hardness of one person ultimately made marriage impossible and divorce a necessity. But there could be no excuse for what was then going on in Judah. Men were obviously marrying to satisfy their passion, with no sense of the deeper meaning of marriage. They took foreign wives, who surely would not attract them by their character or faith! And they cast off older wives in a heated rush to find a younger bride, who would be no more to them than a sex object. Where was the commitment so essential to covenant relationship? Where was loyalty? Gone! And, Malachi said, God is a witness on the side of the wife who is treated so shabbily. Malachi said God no longer pays attention to the offerings of such a husband, nor accepts them. Such divorce God hates, for it is an act of violence, tearing at and destroying the very heart of the abandoned wife. Reading this passage I can’t help thinking of one couple I know. He began an affair with a fellow worker, and then decided to leave his wife and two teenagers to marry her. He did leave. And I’ve counseled with both the wife and the teens, and seen the terrible damage his choice has done. Seeing their hurt, I understand why God hates such a divorce. That husband has never faced the appalling nature of his betrayal, or acknowledged to any of the three he’s harmed that his abandonment was a sin. The husband and his new wife go to church regularly. They sing in the choir. But I wonder if he ever senses the terrible fact that the Lord “no longer pays attention to [his] offerings or accepts them with pleasure from [his] hands”?

Personal Application

We are to model our relationships with others on God’s covenant relationship with us.

Quotable

“There are more people who wish to be loved than there are willing to love.”—S.R.N. Chamfort

Malachi

INTRODUCTION

Malachi is the last of the three postexilic prophets. He ministered to descendants of those who returned to Judea from the Babylonian Captivity. When Malachi wrote, priests and people had become lax in their worship at the rebuilt temple, which had been completed in 515 B.C. Through a series of sharp rhetorical questions Malachi challenged his generation to shrug off its spiritual lethargy, and stir up the fires of complete commitment to the Lord. Malachi serves this same function for believers today. We too need to examine our hearts and our practices, and maintain that enthusiasm which is appropriate to a people of the living God.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I.	God’s Favored Nation	Mal. 1:1–5
II.	Disrespectful Priests	Mal. 1:6–2:9
III.	Unfaithful People	Mal. 2:10–3:12
IV.	God’s Promises	Mal. 3:13–4:6

JULY 12

Reading 193

MESSIAH’S REIGN Zechariah 10–14

“I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the One they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child” (Zech. 12:10).There is no passage in the Old Testament that explores more thoroughly the relationship of the Messiah to God’s plan for His Old Testament people. Nestled here we find vivid pictures of Christ in both His first and second comings.

Background

History’s end.

The Old Testament gives many dramatic visions of events to take place at history’s end. The focus of these visions is invariably on this earth, and on the Holy Land. These passages universally portray a special role for the people of Israel, and repeat God’s consistent commitment to restore Israel to a place of blessing. Students of prophecy who treat these passages in a literal way seek to put the different passages together, to gain as accurate a picture of God’s end-time plan as possible. Other Christians tend to treat such passages in an allegorical or spiritual way, and thus study them for personal application today. Both schools see the prophets’ messages as affirmations of God’s sovereign control of history, of His total commitment to His people, and of the ultimate triumph of righteousness. When coming to an extended passage like this one, we might take either approach. Or we might take a third. One of the most exciting aspects of these Zechariah chapters is that they focus on the person and role of the Messiah. Here we have intimations of what Jesus would do in His first coming, and of what He will do at His return. So for devotional reading of these chapters, it may be most meaningful to look at specific messianic images—and see what these images have to say to us about who our Saviour is, and what He will do. For a more traditional treatment of the picture of the future provided in Zechariah 10–14, see Victor Book’s Bible Knowledge Commentary or Teacher’s Commentary.

Overview

Zechariah portrayed God’s future care of Judah (10:1–12), despite rejection of their Shepherd-King (11:1–17). When Jerusalem is besieged and then saved (12:1–9), Israel will first recognize and then mourn for “the One they have pierced” (vv. 10–14). Judah will be cleansed from sin by the stricken Shepherd (13:1–9), who will return to reign forever (14:1–21).

Understanding the Text

“From Judah will come the cornerstone” Zech. 10:4. The Jewish Targum viewed the Person identified in this verse as the Messiah, who was destined to come from Judah (cf. Gen. 49:10; Jer. 30:21). Here Messiah is pictured as the cornerstone, or foundation of the future. He is also the “tent peg,” the chief support of the future state, and the “battle bow,” or its war leader. In essence Zechariah said that the future for Israel hinges on this one Person. How true this is for us. He is the foundation, the chief support, the only hope we have as well. “I will not be your Shepherd” Zech. 11:4–14. In the Old and New Testaments the “Good Shepherd” stands for a godly ruler. Christ specifically took this title for Himself (cf. John 10). Here Zechariah portrayed not only rejection of the Messiah, but His betrayal for the sum of 30 pieces of silver. The first overwhelming impression is simply this: Rejection of the Messiah brings diaster. The “dying die, and the perishing perish” (v. 9). It’s the same today. Our destiny depends on whether we accept or reject Christ, the Good Shepherd whom God has chosen to care for His flock. The 30 pieces of silver mentioned here are prophetic. This was the price that Judas received for betraying Jesus the night before He was crucified. In ancient Israel, 30 pieces of silver was the price of a slave (cf. Ex. 21:32). In later times it was used much like our “two cents.” Why do people reject Christ today? Essentially because they see Him as insignificant to them personally. They feel no need for personal salvation or for deliverance, and thus set no value on the Saviour’s cross (see DEVOTIONAL). Reference to the potter’s field is also prophetic. After Christ was taken, Judas found no pleasure in the money and tried to return it. The priests refused to take it, and so Judas threw the coins on the floor. Since it was the “price of blood,” the priests were unwilling to put it back in the temple treasury, and used it to buy a plot of land from a potter to be used for the burial of indigents, thus literally fulfilling the prediction of Zechariah. How strange that the priests tried to distance themselves from the money—when they themselves paid the money in the first place. There is no way that we can ever separate ourselves from responsibility for our response to Jesus—no matter how hard we may try. “They will look on Me, the One they have pierced” Zech. 12:10. This is an obvious reference to Christ, pierced by the nails on Calvary’s cross. The Hebrew preposition is perhaps better taken as “look to” rather than “look on.” The thought here is that at Christ’s second coming, after God has “set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem” (v. 9), Israel will look to Jesus in faith (as Num. 21:9; Isa. 45:22). “Strike the Shepherd” Zech. 13:7. This is another passage that the New Testament applies to Jesus (cf. Matt. 26:31–32). The Hebrew term “strike” clearly indicated the death of the Shepherd. The Babylonian Talmud, an ancient Jewish commentary, deals with the divergent images of the Messiah in His suffering and triumph by suggesting there are to be two Messiahs: a suffering Messiah, and a triumphant Messiah. Not until Christ’s resurrection was it clear how one Person could die for the sins of the people, and later appear in power to rescue them. “His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” Zech. 14:1–21. After the Shepherd is stricken, he returns as “the Lord” to fight against Israel’s enemies and stand physically on the earth. Again only New Testament events enable us to understand how this is possible. The Messiah is both man and God, both stricken and triumphant. When He returns He will stand on the mountains of Israel, and by His presence change their topography—and at the same time transform the whole land, until it at last is holy to the Lord.

DEVOTIONAL

The Cost of Salvation(Zech. 11)

The 30 pieces of silver that Judas accepted to betray Jesus reflected the value placed on His life by that disciple. That price, predicted here in Zechariah, was the amount paid for a slave in Moses’ day (cf. Ex. 21:32). In the first century, though it represented some 30 days of labor for a hired man, 30 pieces of silver was viewed by the well-to-do as an insignificant sum. The price tells us that, in the eyes of Christ’s enemies, His life and death were totally unimportant. What a contrast with the value implied in a story Jesus once told. Jesus told of a servant who owed his king “ten thousand talents.” Translated, the sum represents millions of dollars. No person, by working, could earn such a sum in a thousand lifetimes. And yet, in the story, Jesus portrayed the king—who stands for God—forgiving the debt completely. What’s significant, of course, is that God forgives sinners solely on the basis of the death of His Son. The value that God places on Jesus’ life and death is vastly greater than 30 pieces of silver. It is more than any human being could hope to earn, and yet it was not too great a price to pay for our salvation. How important is Jesus to you and me? That depends on how aware we are of our sins. And of the greatness of the forgiveness that Jesus won for us at the cost of His own life. When we understand this, nothing else in the universe has any value at all compared to Him.

Personal Application

Value nothing more than Jesus. Make Him your all in all.

Quotable

“I no longer wish to find happiness in myself or in created and perishable things, but in Jesus my Saviour. He is my All, and I desire to belong wholly to Him. It is the most extreme folly and delusion to look elsewhere for any true happiness. Let us, then, vehemently and courageously renounce all other things and seek only Him.”—Jean Eudes

JULY 11

Reading 192

JUSTICE, NOT FASTING Zechariah 7–9

“These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely” (Zech. 8:16–17).This passage deals with a repeated Old Testament theme. The measure of true religion is not in any outward observance, but in the quality of one’s daily life.

Background

Fasting.

Fasting in Old Testament times was never undertaken to lose weight. It always had a religious purpose. A fast might be undertaken by a person desperate for an answer to prayer, as in 2 Samuel 12:16–22 or Jeremiah 36:1–10. A fast often expressed deep grief and sorrow, as in 1 Samuel 31:13. Or fasting might indicate repentance, as in Joel 2:12–15. Fasting was also associated with the Day of Atonement. Fasting to show repentance is the only fast commanded in the Old Testament (Lev. 16:29, 31), and was intended to underline the solemn character of that high holy day. Fasting in biblical times usually meant going without food only from sunrise to sunset. In Christ’s time, especially religious Jews fasted each Monday and Thursday. One early church father encouraged Christians to fast too, but changed the days to Tuesday and Friday! The New Testament describes two kinds of fasting: one, a public display intended to promote the notion that the fasting person is especially spiritual (cf. Matt. 6:16–18; Luke 18:12), and the other Spirit—led when seeking divine guidance or empowerment (cf. Matt. 4:1–2; Luke 4:1–3; Acts 13:2; 14:23). Zechariah 7–8, which is Scripture’s most direct discussion of fasting, suggests that we carefully examine our motives before undertaking a fast and makes it clear that God is far more concerned that His people live righteous and holy lives than with fasting.

Overview

When a delegation from Bethel asked about fasting (7:1–3), God rebuked them (vv. 4–7) and called for commitment to justice (vv. 8–14). Still, God promised Israel His favor (8:1–17). She will know joy in worship (vv. 18–23) and her enemies will be punished (9:1–8) when her King comes (vv. 9–13) and her Lord appears (vv. 14–17).

Understanding the Text

“Should I mourn and fast?” Zech. 7:1–3 The fasts the men of Bethel inquired about were fasts instituted by the exiles to commemorate events associated with the fall of Jerusalem, some 68 years earlier. The first generation of exiles felt that fall deeply, and undoubtedly had mourned with great sincerity. But now another generation, just 2 years away from finishing a new Jerusalem temple, wondered if there were any reason to keep the traditional fasts. Note two things about the query. First, God had not commanded these fasts, so they were not binding. Yet it was right of the men of Bethel to raise the question with Jerusalem’s spiritual leaders and seek God’s guidance. However our religious traditions began, it is wise to seek God’s guidance before changing them. Second, the fasts had become mere tradition to the present generation. There is a difference between “tradition” and “mere tradition.” What may be a vital form by which to express a real spiritual experience can seldom be passed to the next generation without becoming a mere tradition: form without the meaning or vitality. Each generation should have freedom to find ways to express its personal experience with the Lord. “Was it really for Me that you fasted?” Zech. 7:4–7 God answered the question about fasting through the Prophet Zechariah. His answer was through a pointed question. Did the people really fast “for Me” all those years, or were they fasting for themselves? In essence, God asked, “Were you sorry for your sins—or just sorry you got caught!” Was the motive for fasting one of guilt for the sins that caused the Exile? Or was the grief simply self-pity, a selfish expression of that very attitude which had led earlier generations to desert God in the first place? What a question for us to ask ourselves when we experience the discipline of the Lord. We’re sorry. We hurt. But does our heart ache over the sin, or just over the punishment? Have we shifted the focus of our concern to God, or are we still concerned only about ourselves? “This is what the Lord Almighty says” Zech. 7:8–14. The men of Bethel had asked, “Should we fast?” God seemed to dismiss this question as unimportant, and responded, “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other” (vv. 9–10). How often we become passionately concerned about unimportant issues! In Jesus’ time the Pharisees were careful to tithe the leaves of tiny herbs grown by their doorsteps. But, Christ said, they neglected the weightier matters of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). One of Satan’s most effective ploys is to get believers to major on the minor. When the less significant dominates our thinking, we will ignore the truly central aspects of our faith. Note that both Zechariah and Jesus focused on a lifestyle marked by justice, mercy, and compassion. If we are faithful in showing our commitment to the Lord by living holy and loving lives, the “little things” will fall into place. Do you feel God wants you to fast? Then fast. But you know God wants you to do justice, show mercy, and care for the needy. Compared to these, fasting has at best a minor role in your spiritual life. “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem” Zech. 8:1–15. When God said, “I am very jealous for Zion” He meant, “I have a passionate desire to do her good.” The Hebrew word translated “jealous” is also rendered “zeal,” and depicts a deep and abiding passion for its object. What God said through His prophet to men concerned about fasting is this: “It’s My love that motivates Me to do you good, not whether or not you fast.” What will God’s love motivate Him to do for His Old Testament people? He will fill Jerusalem’s streets with healthy, happy people (vv. 4–5). He will bring those who are dispersed back home (vv. 7–8). He will make the land productive (v. 12), and the people a blessing to all nations (v. 13). We can have confidence that the Lord, in His love, will do the same for us. We may at times experience discipline. But we can claim for ourselves the promise that the Lord made to the little community in Judea: “Now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid” (v. 15). “These are the things you are to do” Zech. 8:16–17. How significant that this expression of God’s will follows rather than precedes the promise of verse 15. Why is that significant? If “the things you are to do” had come first, we might have concluded that God blesses us because of what we do for Him. Since, however, “the things you are to do” follow the promise, we understand that our obedience is prompted by gratitude. The legalist does what is right in an effort to win God’s favor. The believer does what is right because he knows that he has already obtained God’s favor through grace. We obey God because we love Him. We seek to please God because we understand all that He has done for us. “The fasts . . . will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals” Zech. 8:18–23. The Jewish Talmud links each of these fasts with a specific event related to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 G.p. The fast of the fourth month commemorated the day the walls of the city were breached, of the fifth the day the temple was burned, of the seventh, the date Gedaliah was assassinated (cf. Jer. 41:2), of the tenth, the day the siege of the city was begun. Why should these dates be celebrated joyfully, rather than remembered with sorrow? In part at least because these moments of intense anguish for the inhabitants of Jerusalem were at the same time occasions of divine purification. Out of the ruins of the city and temple came a spiritual revival that turned the Jewish people away from idolatry, back to Scripture and to God. In the last analysis, every purifying judgment God imposes on His own, no matter how painful it may seem, will one day be remembered with joy. In God’s time we will see its purpose, and will realize how the Lord used it to draw us closer to Him. Then, when joy floods in to force even the memory of anguish out, we will understand. “I will defend My house against marauding forces” Zech. 9:1–8. When God spoke through Zechariah, Judah was an utterly insignificant district in a mighty Gentile empire. Weak and helpless, the Jews could look back over centuries of oppression by many foreign powers. As the theme of blessing was continued, God promised to deal with Judah’s external enemies. You and I too are subject to two kinds of hostile forces. There are the hostile forces within us—the pull toward sin, the fascination with temptations—and the forces outside—circumstances, a corrupt society, personal enemies, Satan himself. We are responsible to deal with only one: the enemy within. As we commit our hearts and even our desires to the Lord, we can be sure that He will defend us too and “never again will an oppressor overrun My people.”

DEVOTIONAL

Gentle, but Oh So Tough (Zech. 9)

For years Nicholson ran ads picturing a big, rough-looking workman with a beatific smile holding up one of their files. And the ads always said, “Tough, but Oh So Gentle.” This chapter reminds me of those ads. Of course Zechariah turned the ads around in order to introduce us to the Person who will fulfill all those wonderful promises God made to His people. Yet in just a few verses, he showed a gentle and tough side of the coming Messiah. First there’s the gentle side (v. 9). The image is significant, for in the ancient East kings went to war riding horses. When they wished to signify peace, they traveled on a donkey. We think, of course, of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, which Zechariah predicted here. Jesus came in peace, to bring peace. But the Jewish people wanted a conqueror, who would lead an uprising against Rome. Yet only through the covenant sealed by the blood of the Man of Peace could all who are captive to sin within have a prospect of peace. But then Zechariah went on. The Man of Peace will appear again, this time as “the Lord . . . over them” (v. 14). Then He will sound the war trumpet, to shield His people and destroy all their enemies (v. 15). He will come again as the conqueror Israel yearned for, “save them on that day as the flock of His people.” Only then will all realize that that gentle King is also the Lord Almighty, the universe’s sovereign Lord. Gentle, yes. But God, and as God mighty to save. In a way, history is recapitulated in our experience with Jesus. We see Him first suffering and dying for our sins. We are moved by His love, we respond to His gentleness. Then, as we respond in faith, we discover His resurrection power. The suffering Saviour is also our resurrected Lord, and we kneel before Him in full surrender. How important not to have a one-sided vision of Jesus. The Old Testament’s quiet King is also Israel’s overpowering God. Our gentle Jesus is Lord of all. We know Jesus well only when we are familiar with both aspects of His identity. We know Jesus well only when we know Him both as Saviour and as Lord.

Personal Application

If you know Jesus only as Saviour, don’t miss knowing Him as Lord.

Quotable

“He only asks thee to yield thyself to Him, that He may work in thee to will and to do by His own mighty power. Thy part is to yield thyself, His part is to work; and never, never will He give thee any command which is not accompanied by ample power to obey it.”—Hannah Whithall Smith