Gold for the heart

Zechariah 1

The Lord turns to us when we turn to Him

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 2 The LORD has been greatly displeased with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, The Lord of hosts says this: Turn to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will turn to you, says the LORD of hosts.

The book of Zechariah was written about 520 BC.
God’s plans are long range. He plans to give eternal life to as many as will receive His free gift (John 10:28).
This Word from the Lord is a word from the top of the top: from the highest echelon of existence.
This is bigger than congress or the President. And it is to you.
God set Israel in the center of the known world as His light to the world but they followed the world into worshipping idols.
Idols steal God’s glory for themselves.

Matthew 4:4 Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

4 Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets have cried, saying, The Lord of hosts says this; Turn now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, or listen to me, says the LORD. 5 Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? 6 But my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? And they returned and said, As the LORD of hosts thought to do to us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so he has dealt with us.

God is not the bad guy in the drama of life. We are, we bring most suffering on ourselves. God uses it for good.

God sends angel scouts throughout the earth

7 On the 24^th day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding on a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the shade; and behind him were red horses, speckled, and white. 9 Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said to me, I will show you what these are. 10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are those whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro through the earth. 11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sits still, and is at rest. 12 Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which you have had indignation these seventy years?

He answers good words and comfortable words

13 And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. 14 So the angel that communed with me said to me, Proclaim saying, The Lord of hosts says this; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

He is greatly jealous because He loves us greatly.
Jerusalem symbolizes peace, Zion symbolizes total victory.
God is jealous with a great jealousy because He wants us each to live in Him, in His great peace and His total victory that His Son died to provide for us.

Exodus 34:14 For you will worship no other god: for the LORD, whose na me is Jealous, is a jealous God.

He is displeased with those who afflict His people

15 And I am very greatly displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. 16 Therefore the Lord says this; I have returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house will be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and a line will be stretched out on Jerusalem.

Psalm 36:5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and your faithfulness reaches to he clouds.

17 Proclaim again saying, The Lord of hosts says this; through prosperity my cities will be spread abroad again; and the LORD will again comfort Zion, and will again choose Jerusalem. 18 Then lifted I up my eyes and saw, and behold four horns.19 And I said to the angel that talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. 20 And the LORD showed me four carpenters. 21 Then said I, What have these come to do? And he spoke, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man lifted up his head: but these have come to cut them off, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn/power over the land of Judah to scatter it.

Horns are power.
Here God is destroying those who destroyed His people.
He will choose Jerusalem to be His royal city, His capital city in the age to come.

Zechariah 2

The Lord will be a wall of fire around His people

1 I lifted up my eyes again, and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 Then I said, Where are you going? And he said to me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width, and what is its length. 3 And, behold, the angel that talked with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him, 4 And said to him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem will be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and its cattle: 5 For I, says the LORD, will be to her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. 6 Up, up, come out, and flee from the land of the north, says the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, says the LORD. 7 Deliver yourself, O Zion, that dwell with the daughter of Babylon.

The Lord scatters idolaters.
Babylon was the origin of idolatry in Genesis 11.
God used Babylonia to discipline His idolatrous people.
Now the time has come to discipline Babylon.
God was warning His people to get out before the judgment began.

His own are the center of His focus

8 For the Lord of hosts says this; After the glory he has sent me to the nations that plundered you: for he that touches you touches the apple. 9 For, behold, I will shake my hand on them, and they will be a plunder to their servants: and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD.

The word apple is the Hebrew is ‘pupil’ of the eye. The pupil is the very center of the eye. It has five protections—the bones, the eyebrow, the eyelashes, the eyelids, and the cornea.
You are the center of God’s eye and He protects you in many ways.
1 Corinthians 10:11 tells us that these things are for us who believe. ‘spoil to their servants’ is like the French and Bolshevik revolutions when the peasants took over the government.
The Lord dwelling with us is life’s greatest blessing.
Wouldn’t we rejoice if the person we admire most in life came to live with us.
God made all people and all things so He is greatest.

Revelation 21:7 He that overcomes will inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he will be my son.

The Lord will dwell within

11 And many nations will be joined to the LORD in that day, and will be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. 12 And the LORD will inherit, Judah his portion in the holy land, and will choose Jerusalem again. 13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

He cast them off in their idolatry that they might return to Him. He is life. Without Him is death.
Our hearts are also His dwelling place.

Deuteronomy 30:1 And it will come to pass, when all these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you, and you will call them to mind among all the nations, where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 And return to the LORD your God, and obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 3 That then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you

Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Zechariah 3

The Lord rebukes Satan when he tries to hinder us

1 And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: isn’t this a brand plucked out of the fire?

Like Joshua the high priest, God has made us priests (Revelation 1:6).
That means we go to God with requests on behalf of mankind.
Satan resists this. His forces of evil try to keep us from prayer.
Verse 4 shows us that this ‘angel of the Lord’ is the Lord. He causes our iniquity to pass from us.

1John 2:1 My little children, these things write I to you, that you not sin. And if any sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 4 And he answered and spoke to those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And to him he said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with change of garments.

Everything literal in the Bible is a picture of something spiritual.
If we want our whole hearts to be clean before God then we must fill our hearts with His whole word.

John 15:3 Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

He causes the obedient to walk among His mighty ones

5 And I said, Let them set a clean/pure/beautiful turban on his head. So they set a clean turban on his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by. 6 And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, 7 The Lord of hosts says this; If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you will also judge my house, and guard my courts, and I will give you places to walk among these that stand by.

‘Walking among’ is ruling or leadership in Job 1:7 and Zechariah 1:10. There are five eternal crowns named in scripture.

Zechariah 1:10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro through the earth.

2Timothy 4:8 From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all those that love his appearing.

8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you, and your fellows that sit before you: for those men who are a symbol: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

Isaiah 11:1 And there will come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch will grow out of his roots

Zechariah 6:12 And speak to him, saying, The LORD of hosts speaks this, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he will grow up out of his place, and he will build the temple of the LORD

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.

9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; on one stone will be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave its engraving, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 In that day, says the LORD of hosts, every man will invite his neighbor to sit under the vine and under the fig tree.

The stone is Jesus Christ.
Zechariah 4:10 explains the seven eyes, they are the eyes of the Lord seeing everything on earth.
Each person in the Lord’s kingdom will have their own property with grapevines and fig trees—unimagined prosperity.

Revelation 5:6 And I looked, and, behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes will not make haste.

Daniel 2:34You watched until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces… and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Zechariah 4

The Lord works by His Spirit not our strength

1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and wakened me as a man is wakened out of his sleep, 2 And said to me, What do you see? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it. With seven lamps on it, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are on the top of it: 3 And two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side of it. 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 6 Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

In Zechariah 3:4 we see that this angel is the Lord.
Zerubbabel led 50,000 Israelites to Jerusalem in 536 BC.
He was the political leader but refused a crown because he knew the curse on Coniah (Jeremiah 22:30).
He believed god’s word and feared the curse.
The candlestick is the golden lamp stand of the tabernacle made of a piece of solid gold with seven branches.
There is a free flow of oil so that the light of God never goes out.
God’s word in them by the Holy Spirit gives light to the nation and the world to lead them into a relationship with God, their Maker and by this light they receive eternal life.

Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breast with a golden girdle.

John 16:13 when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth: for he will not speak of himself; but whatever he hears, that he will speak: and he will show you things to come.

God flattens the mountain of evil against us by His Holy Spirit

7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain: and he will bring forth its headstone with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace to it. 8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands will also finish it; and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.

God flattens the mountains of opposition by His grace.
He promises completion.
The surrounding nations were in opposition to rebuilding the temple and rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem.
They sent letters to ruling kings to stop the work (Ezra + Nehemiah).
God’s enabling grace benefits are too vital to be predicated on man’s ability to surrender His will over to God. God’s will is done in, around, through, or in spite of man’s will.

Zechariah 3:1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said to them, Truly I say to you, If you have faith, and doubt not, you will not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; it will be done.

Colossians 2:10 And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.

The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth

10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand. For these seven lamps represent the eyes of the LORD that search all around the world. 11 Then I asked him, What are these two olive trees on the right side of the candlestick and on the left side of it? 12 And I spoke again, and asked to him, What are these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13 And he answered me and said, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.

Joshua was the high priest. Zerubbabel was the political leader of the people. These two were appointed by God to lead His people.

Revelation 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

2Chronicles 16:9 the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him.

Daniel 2:21 he changes the times and the seasons: he removes kings, and sets up kings: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

Zechariah 5

1 Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and saw a flying roll. 2 And he said to me, What do you see? And I answered, I see a flying scroll; its length is 35 feet, and its width fifteen feet. 3 Then he said to me, This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: for every one that steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side; and every one that swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.

In Genesis 3:14-19 God cursed the ground because of Adam’s disobedience to what God had said.
This curse was against those who broke God’s laws, especially stealing and lying, making false business deals and cheating others.

4 I will bring it out, says the LORD of hosts, and it will enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name: and it will remain in the midst of his house, and will consume it with its timber and its stones. 5 Then the angel that talked with me went out and said to me, Now lift up your eyes, and see what is this that goes forth. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is a basket that goes forth. He said moreover, This is their form through all the earth. 7 And behold, a talent of lead was lifted up: and this is a woman that sits in the midst of the basket. 8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the basket; and he cast the weight of lead on its mouth.

The ephah was the measure of grain. It was the symbol of commerce in Zechariah’s day.
Godless commercialism and hedonistic worship of luxury and pleasure.’ (Hal Lindsay, New World Coming, p.233)

God restricts and removes wickedness

9 Then lifted I up my eyes and looked, and behold, two women came out, and the wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel that talked with me, Where do these carry the basket? 11 And he said to me, To build it a house in the land of Shinar: it will be established there, and set on her own base.

God showed the dwelling place of wickedness.
This verse tells us the Babylon will be rebuilt in the end times. Saddam Hussein spent millions on this project.
‘upon her own base,’ speaks of the beginning of organized wickedness or rebellion against God which was the tower of Babel in Genesis 11 in the land of Shinar.

Revelation 18:21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Like this, with violence, that great city Babylon will be thrown down, and will be found no more at all.

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Zechariah 6

God showed Zechariah the four spirits of the heavens that stand before the Lord

1 And I turned and lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were red horses; and with the second chariot black horses; 3 And with the third chariot white horses; and with the fourth chariot spotted and bay horses. 4 Then I spoke and said to the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said to me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, that go out from standing before the Lord of all the earth.

Brass is a symbol of judgment.
God’s judgment is always right and merciful.
These verses tell us that there are many things going on in the universe that we do not hear about in the news.
God is still in charge of His universe!

2Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

2Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I beg you, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

6 The black horses that are in it go into the north country; and the white go after them; and the spotted go toward the south country. 7 And the bay went and sought to walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Go, patrol the earth. So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried out to me, and spoke to me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

Notice that this angel that talked with Zechariah was God.
The patrolling horses quieted His Holy Spirit.

Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit will not always strive with man, for he is flesh: yet his days will be 120 years.

The Lord Jesus will build God’s temple at Jerusalem and reign in glory

9 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 10 Take from those of the captivity, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon, and come the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold and make crowns, and set them on the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak to him, saying, The Lord of hosts speaks this, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; he will grow up out of his place and he will build the temple of the LORD: 13 He will build the temple of the LORD. He will bear the glory and will sit and rule on his throne; and he will be a priest on his throne: and the counsel of peace will be between them both.

Today we separate church and state.
Christ as King will not do that. God is life; only the rebellious take God out of life and government.
Christ will represent the people to God and God to the people as He rules from His glorious throne.
The glory He bears is the glory of God described in Ezekiel 1.

Ezekiel 1:26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and on the throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from his loins upward, and from his loins downward, I saw the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

Isaiah 11:1 And there will come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch will grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD will rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And he will delight/make him breathe in the fear of the LORD: and he will not judge according to what his eyes see, nor reprove according to what his ears hear: 4 But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and reprimand with equity for the meek of the earth: and he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness will encircle his thighs, and faithfulness will encircle of his heart.

Revelation 1:6 And has made us kings and priests to God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

14 And the crowns will be to Helem, to Tobijah, to Jedaiah, and to Hen, the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 15 And they that are far off will come and build in the temple of the LORD, and you will know that the LORD of hosts sent me to you. And this will come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

The Bible contains 7,000 wonderful promises for us.
If we listen and believe them, God, our Father, will bring them to pass in our lives.

2Timothy 4:8 From now on there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all those also that love his appearing.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

1Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that does not fade away.

Revelation 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold fast to what you have, that no man take your crown.

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SUMMARY: Zechariah 1-6

The Lord turns to us when we turn to Him
God sends angel scouts throughout the earth
He answers good words and comfortable words
He is displeased with those who afflict His people
The Lord will be a wall of fire around His people
His own are the center of His focus
The Lord will dwell within
The Lord rebukes Satan when he tries to hinder us
He causes the obedient to walk among His mighty ones
The Lord works by His Spirit not our strength
God flattens the mountain of evil against us by His Holy Spirit
The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth
God restricts and removes wickedness
God showed Zechariah the four spirits of the heavens that stand before the Lord
The Lord Jesus will build God’s temple at Jerusalem and reign in glory