Delegation from Bethel

Zech 7

Time to

Review!

Time to

Review!

Time to

Review!

Time to

Review!

Time to

Review!

Time to

Review!

Zechariah 6:1-8Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four

chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses — strong steeds. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?"

5 And the angel answered and said to me, "These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country." 7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, "Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth." So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. 8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, "See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country."

7th Vision

What Zechariah saw:• 4 chariots coming between

2 mountains• Red, black, white and speckled

horses• They are the 4 spirits of heaven

(angels on patrol)• Black & white go north, speckled go

south, red stick around (like man on red horse under myrtle tree in 1:8)

• Chariots bring rest to the north

7th Vision

The 2 Mountains: seemingly impassible

barriers

Persian army Samarita

ns

The Chariots• Symbols of power in war. In

this case God’s angels enforcing His will on earth (Psa 68:17; Zech 1).– Red = violence & bloodshed– Black = mourning & woe– White = victory & peace– Speckled = mix of mourning & victory

• Darius’ wars against Babylon, Scythians, Macedonia and India

Chariots were a comforting reminder that….

The Long-term Fulfillment

• The Angels are excited and can’t wait for the time when they can patrol the earth and bring the peace of God’s kingdom

• The mountains of religious and political opposition will be demolished

Your Kingdom Come…

Even so Come Lord Jesus!

End of the Night Visions

• 6:9 Is the normal opening of prophecy: “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying”

• Night visions end on the encouraging note that God will continue to provide peace for the returned captives building God’s house.

• 6:9-15 is connected to the night visions, but not necessarily part of them.

The Coronation of Joshua

• Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah return from Babylon and bring a gift of silver & gold.

• Zechariah is told to make a crown and set it on Joshua

• Joshua is crowned as “the man whose name is the Branch”

Joshua’s Role• He shall “branch out” (same

word in Jer 33:15 'I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.

• He shall build the temple of the Lord• He shall bear the glory (honor)• He shall sit and rule on his throne• He shall be a priest on his throne• Counsel of peace will be between both offices

(priest and king)

Why Joshua is King/Priest

• Israel had no king at this time.

• Role of the High Priest was going to become extremely powerful and valuable.

Great way to predict that the true Messiah would perfectly blend the offices of king & priest.

Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah & Hen

• Captives who returned at this time to finish the temple

• Obeyed the call of 2:7 “up, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon”

• They were important examples of God’s promise to bring back more captives to finish the work on His house

“Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you”

• Moses to Pharaoh (Ex 3:13, 14,15; 7:16)

• Angel’s words to Zechariah (2:9,11; 4:9; 6:15)

• Probably Zechariah’s words to his people• God’s support for His messengers and

prophets. He is faithful and will do it!

Final exhortation & warning

• This will come to pass IF you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God

• The discouraged, disappointed, fearful returned captives did obey God’s voice and they got to work and finished His house.

God is looking to see if we WANT to

obey!

Zechariah 7:1-31 Now in the fourth year of King Darius it

came to pass that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, 2 when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the Lord, 3 and to ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, "Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?"

Should we keep weeping & fasting?

They did this for over 60 years!

You are here!

4

Where are we in Zechariah 7?

New King James (NKJV & KJV)2 when the people sent Sherezer, with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God, to pray before the LORD,

New American Standard (NASB)2 Now the town of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to seek the favor of the LORD,

Revised Standard Version (RSV)2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Share'zer and Reg'em-mel'ech and their men, to entreat the favor of the LORD,

House of God OR Bethel

Contextual Scholars Only How can you tell from the context of 6:14 - 7:3 that the “house of God” (KJV and NKJV) is not the temple???Temple is referred to as

“house of the Lord of hosts” (v.3)

Contrast the two Delegations of Zechariah 6 & 7

Zech 6:10 The gifts from the captives – from

Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah

What differences do you notice???

Zech 7:2 The question from Bethel – from Sherezer, Regem-Melech, and his men

Contrast the two groups

Zechariah 6 From Babylon Jewish names Give gifts Focused on temple Operate on faith

Zechariah 7 From Bethel Babylonian names Ask questions Focused on

themselves Concerned about

works

Delegation from Bethel

Some of Bethel did return (Ezra 2:20) 223 of Bethel and Ai.

Sent official delegation to ask about information that temple builders would have discussed while on the job!

Should have helped build the temple, but seems they were out of touch.

Probably stayed in Bethel & kept the rituals going.

Uninvolved in ecclesial life. Worried about formal rituals that take away personal time!

The Question

about Fasting The people only ask

about the 5th month fast God’s response covers all their

ritualistic fasts – 7th month, 4th month, 10th month (see 7:5; 8:19)

Zechariah 8:18-1918 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came

to me, saying, 19 "Thus says the Lord of hosts:'The fast of the fourth month,The fast of the fifth,The fast of the seventh,And the fast of the tenth,Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feastsFor the house of Judah.Therefore love truth and peace.'

The other fasts

God will turn them to joy

Jewish fasts to remember

Jerusalem’s downfall (7:5; 8:19)

5th Month: Jer 1:3 Judah taken captive 7th Day – 2 Kgs 25:8-9 Nebuzaradan burned temple,

broke wall of city10th Day – Jer 52:12-15 Nebuzaradan burned temple, burned king’s house, broke wall of city

7th Month:2 Kgs 25:25 Ishmael rebelled, killed Gedaliah & Jews at Mizpeh, escaped to EgyptJer 41:1-3, 10 Ishmael rebelled, killed Gedaliah, carried some Jews from Mizpeh away captive

Jewish fasts to remember

Jerusalem’s downfall (8:19)4th Month: Probably 9th day

Jer 52:6-8 Zedekiah broke thru wall, tried to escape, but was capturedJer 39:1-2 Nebuchadnezzar penetrated wall of Jerusalem

10th Month: Prob 10th day2 Kgs 25:1; Jer 39:1; 52:4 Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in Zedekiah’s 9th year

Zechariah 7:4-74 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to

me, saying, 5 "Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me — for Me? 6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?'"

God’s response!

God wanted obedience, not ritual observance!

God’s Response:

to “all the people of the land” (v.5)

Did you really fast for Me – for Me??? You really do what pleases you! You should have obeyed the message

given to you from the prophets years ago God cares about

our motives, not our motions!

God cares about our Motives!

Their motives for fasts: self pity – they mourned their suffering, not their

sins! Looked righteous – but no real caring for others

Their motives for feasts Pleasure for themselves – not for God or others! Social gatherings and parties

God’s intent – 8:19-23 Joyful feasts Love truth and peace Invite others to join in worshipping Him!

“having a form of godliness, but denying its power” 2 Tim 3:5

Why do you read the Bible?

God’s intent for fasts (Isa 58)

Loose the bonds of wickedness & let the oppressed go free (v.6)

Feed the hungry, give shelter to the homeless, clothe the naked (v.7)

Not a time for putting yokes on others, pointing fingers or speaking wickedness (v.9)

Do God’s work instead of our ownv.14 - I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. Taken from Deut 32:13,9 when Moses tried to get Israel to see beyond the letter of the Law!

Who are the rituals for?

Amos 4:4-54 "Come to Bethel and transgress, at Gilgal multiply transgression; bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days.5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; for this you love, you children of Israel!" Says the Lord GOD.

Amos 5:25-2625 "Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?26 You also carried Sikkuth your king and Chiun, your idols, the star of your gods, which you made for yourselves. (used by Stephen in Acts 7:42-43)

Zechariah 7:8-108 Then the word of the Lord came to

Zechariah, saying, 9 "Thus says the Lord of hosts:'Execute true justice,Show mercy and compassionEveryone to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the

fatherless,The alien or the poor.Let none of you plan evil in his heartAgainst his brother.'

What God really wants

God expects us to live like Him!

Live the Truth! (vs 9-10)

Don’t just act it out!

Execute true justice (in our decisions)

Show mercy & compassion Don’t oppress the poor, fatherless,

widows Don’t plan evil in our hearts against a

brother or sister!The Truth is a way of

life, not a club or church!

I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

Micah 6:6-86 With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

What does God really want?

God wants Godly behavior, not rituals

God didn’t really want sacrifices!

Ex 19:5 Obey My voice, keep covenant

Jer 7:21-23 Obey My voice! Amos 5:21-25 I will not accept

them! Hos 6:6 Mercy…not sacrifice! Note Christ’s use in Mat 9:13; 12:7 Compare the fasts of Zech 7

Zechariah 8:14-1714 "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Just as I

determined to punish you When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,‘ Says the Lord of hosts, 'And I would not relent, 15 So again in these days I am determined to do good To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.

16 These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;

Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; 17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,‘ Says the Lord."

Same message in Zechariah 8

When God does us good, He expects good behavior from us!

Listen to the Bible and

respond! (vs 7 and 12) Listen to the prophets when we read

our Bibles in our homes Don’t just read and walk away! Read…think….consider how to put it into

practice today How can I live more like God? What can I do today to help

God’s family?

Zechariah 7:13'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty. (NIV cp RSV, NASB)

God’s Warning!

The way we respond to God now may be the way He responds to us in the

days to comeDon’t wait until a tragedy occurs, to

listen to God speaking to us today thru His word, and events He brings into

our lives

Zechariah 7:14"But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate."

God warns the Nation

He did it before and He will do it again!

Lessons from Zechariah 7 Don’t let your worship deteriorate into

ritual worship – let it affect how you live! God cares about our motives – make

sure we are serving Him for the right reasons

Work on justice & mercy, and walk humbly before God

Listen to the warnings in God’s word Don’t be an actor – live God’s way all

the time

Let’s leave camp, thankful we have a

loving Heavenly Father, and His son who showed us how

to live, and His angels that work for us everyday, all the

timeAnd we know that God causes all

things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who

are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)