In Zechariah 1:3, the Lord commands Zechariah, “Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’”
A wise pastor once told me, “Always know what the therefore is there for.” The only words of God before this are in verse 2, “I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors.” With this alone, all we can see is that the people before Zechariah’s generation had messed up a lot, and now God wants the present generation to return to seeking him. Add to this the context: Zechariah is from the same time period as Ezra and Haggai, the time when the entirety of God’s people had been taken captive from their homelands because they were pursuing sin and idolatry instead of God, and now some Israelites have moved back to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the temple. The Lord says, because of this past perversion of your worship, you need to return to Me and I will return to you. The fact that God has to say this means that it hadn’t happened yet. This generation had not yet returned to God. I know that we’re not the Israelites, but this message is as far reaching as the love of God: people before you have messed up and refused to listen to Me. Return to Me, listen to what I have to say, and My favor will rest on you.
Jump down to Zechariah 1:14 now, and read it, especially the part that should in your bible look similar to “My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong.” I want to just tackle that little thought right now. Jerusalem and Mount Zion, from my little bit of research as I write this, are both near each other if not actually sharing space somewhere in Israel. Jerusalem is the Holy City and Mount Zion was a spot in or near Jerusalem where the Temple was built. So, God’s love for where his people are gathered and the Temple he indwells is passionate and strong. Let’s look at this under New Covenant ideas: today, the Lord’s people gather in churches, in the Church, and he lives in those people. So, God’s love for the Church and for the Christ-followers is passionate and strong. As much as it is hard to put God into words and ideas, can you imagine the strong, passionate love God has for us? I have nowhere near the passion or the strength God has for even one person, and He has both for us all. He is active pursuit of us, to lift us up to our potential, if only we return.
The end times is a scary and confusing idea. The Bible either has the strangest metaphors or the most incomprehensibly wonderful truth stored up in its final book, John’s Revelation. I have to admit, most of the time, I’m pretty lost when I’m reading Revelation. Today though, there was a very plainly written passage in my devotionals that gives all of mankind challenge and encouragement. Revelation 12 includes a story about a seven-headed, ten-horned dragon, whose name is Satan (see Rev. 12:9).
The dragon first appears in verse three, and then takes his action in Revelation 12:4, where he destroys part of the cosmos with his tail, and then “stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.” The metaphor is fairly loose here. One study bible I consulted suggested that the woman was Israel and the baby was Jesus. This view makes the most sense. It could also refer directly to the virgin Mary, although probably not. Despite it not being quite in line with the passage, what this made me think of, especially taken in with later bits of this passage, was how in spiritual warfare, Satan wants us as soon as we are born, and wants to devour us with sin unto death.
The woman has her child and it is kept safe from the dragon in verses 5-6. Immediately after that is a key point of spiritual warfare. Revelation 7:9 reads: “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” Satan and all his angels lost the battle against the forces of God. We can look forward to the day where good does ultimately triumph. But as for now, we are still at war, and even after this battle (see Rev. 12:17) there will still be war between Satan and all who keep God’s commandments and stay true to their belief in Jesus. Just remember that we are backed by the strong, passionate love of God in this war, and God is the strong one who rescues us and protects us in the days of our battles (Psalm 140:7).
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you, (1 Peter 5:10)
-Zachariah