Maranatha Grace Church
Book of Zechariah Challenge
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Hello:
Book of Haggai Challenge – Day 13 Zechariah 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
In the eighth month of 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 very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. 4 “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.”’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord. (Zechariah 1:1-4)
‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.” Would the Lord ever ask us to do something that he knew we were incapable of doing? Obviously not. He was asking to the Jewish people to turn expeditiously from their ways and their evil deeds because he knew they were capable to do it. God has given to every human being the possibility to choose between good and evil, to obey or to disable, to choose life over death.
The message of repentance was the first message that Jesus preached during his earthly ministry. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news” (Mark 1:15)! We believe in Jesus. We believe the good news that we have forgiveness of sin through the atoning death of Jesus, and that we are reconciled with God who loves us very much. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 17 Zechariah 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Then I looked up, and there before me was a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going?”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem, to find out how wide and how long it is.”
3 While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him 4 and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. 5 And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’ (Zechariah 2:1-5)
During the exit of the Israelites from Egypt and the bondage of slavery, the Lord provided them comfort and security by his presence manifested as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night” (Exodus 13:21). Later on we read, “Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long” (Exodus 14:20).
Here, in this passage of the book of Zechariah, the Lord is telling his people that a wall made of brick and mortar (a natural wall) is not enough for their protection, he himself will be their protection, “And I myself will be a wall of fire around it, ‘declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within (v. 5).” All they had to do was to trust in the Lord. All we have to do is to trust in the Lord. “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exodus 14:14).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 17 Zechariah 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.” 5 Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by. (Zechariah 3:1-5)
“See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you (v. 4).” This sounds so simple. It should be very simple for God to just take away someone’s sin, shouldn’t it? But this is not that simple, God is perfect, he rules his universe with spiritual laws. One such law regarding sin is, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). Forgiveness of sin necessitates a sacrifice.
David understood very well the far reaching implication of forgiveness of sin. Even in the Old Testament the forgiveness of sin was based on the merit of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. David was very happy about the forgiveness of his sin (Psalm 32:1). What about us, should we not be happier? Now that we get the full picture, should we not become better worshipers?
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 19 Zechariah 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”“No, my lord,” I replied.6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. (Zechariah 4:1-6)
We can try to live the spiritual life by our own might, or by our own power, but it will never work. Success in the spiritual life is not by the power of the will, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty (v. 6).” By ourselves we cannot do anything, with God we can do all things.
Jesus told his disciples, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). We can either believe these promises or choose not believe them, but we should not miss the fact that those statements of Jesus are life changing statements. They are true.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 20 Zechariah 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.2 He asked me, “What do you see? ”I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide,”
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. 4 The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’” (Zechariah 5:1-4)
There is enough wealth in the world for every human to live a decent life, free of chronic poverty and lack. God is a good Father, a good provider who loves and provides for all his children. But unfortunately the greed of a few powerful people of society keeps a vast majority of the poor and needy from enjoying the benefits provided by God for all humanity. God has set a time to punish corruption in society.
The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones (v. 4).’
Every Christian, no matter what country they live in, need to pray for honesty and integrity from the leadership of their country. And, since there is a direct correlation between the level of poverty and the “corruption perception index” of a country, only God can change the society by giving us competent and honest leaders to lead us.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 21 Zechariah 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he[e] will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai,[f] Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen[g] son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.” (Zechariah 6:9-15)
“Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you (1 Corinthians 3:16)? Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God (1 Corinthians 6:19)?” These are two rhetorical questions of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians Christians. If they did not know before that they were God’s temple, they should know after they were asked these questions. Every believer is God’s temple.
In the Old Testament, God cared a lot about the temple at Jerusalem. The importance that he gave to the temple should tell us a lot about us, the church, the temple of the Holy Spirit. God was eager to have the Old temple rebuilt. There was once condition required of the leader, Joshua son of Jozadak, “This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God (v.15).” God is eager to transform us into the image of Christ, the same condition holds, we must diligently obey the Lord our God.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 22 Zechariah 7 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” (Zechariah 7:8-14)
“As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts (v.13).” Is there anything blocking our prayers? The people of Israel were blocking their prayers by their lack of true judgments, by not showing kindness and mercy to one another. Could we be guilty of the same things? Why are our prayers not answered? We have no choice but to deal kindly to one another. “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5).”
The Lord is not far away from us. He is near. If we listen to him, he will listen to us, and he will hear our prayers, our supplications and our thanksgivings. Our paying attention to the Lord brings great blessings to us. “And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15).
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 23 Zechariah 8 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
18 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.19 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”
20 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, 21 and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ 22 And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”
23 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’”(Zechariah 8:18-23)
“Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). We know that the Lord is with us because he tells us so. But when will the world know that the Lord is with us? It is when we act like people who know that the Lord is with them.
We must be people who act with boldness and courage. People who walk in the love and power of the Almighty God to free the captives, and to mend the brokenhearted. Then the world will want to have what we have, they too will want a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ. There is a difference between the Christian and the world, what makes the difference is the presence of God in our lives.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 24 Zechariah 9 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth. (Zechariah 9:9-10)
Part of this chapter is a prophecy about the Triumphal Entry of Jesus at Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Jesus is the king riding on a donkey foretold by Zechariah. I can imagine the people prior to Palm Sunday scratching their heads every time they read about the king riding on a donkey. It must be figurative, they could have reasoned. Kings don’t ride on donkey. Kings can’t show any weakness or humility, they could have said.
But the Lord Jesus has a way to turn everything upside down. Let the weak say, "I am strong" (Joel 3:10), Let the poor say, "I am rich" Let the blind say, "I can see” because of what the Lord has done. We all can look at our difficult situations, prophesy the exact opposite, and see our own prophecy come to pass because of what the Lord has done. Let the sick say I am healed, “let the … you can add your own victory”. Jesus shows us that humility and complete obedience to God are the only guarantees for lasting victory.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 25 Zechariah 10 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;
it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.
He gives showers of rain to all people,
and plants of the field to everyone.
2 The idols speak deceitfully,
diviners see visions that lie;
they tell dreams that are false,
they give comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wander like sheep
oppressed for lack of a shepherd. (Zechariah 10:1-2)
He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to all people (v. 1). In Matthew 5:45, Jesus reminded his disciples the same truth about the benevolence of God toward mankind, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” But still, there is a difference between the just and the unjust. The just is on the inside information regarding God’s workings.
For seven years God blessed all the people of Egypt with abundance of food, but Joseph knew that the abundant time would come to a halt, and exactly the year that was going to happen. So he was able to plan accordingly to save Egypt and his family from a devastating famine. During the last day of the shipwreck on Acts 27, Paul alone was able to maintain his courage because God sent his angel the night before to tell him the outcome of the ordeal. We have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, interceding for us and leading us. That goes beyond common grace to special grace.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 26 Zechariah 11 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hooves.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,
who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm and his right eye!
May his arm be completely withered,
his right eye totally blinded!” (Zechariah 11:15-17)
We are puzzled about the fact that the Lord himself would give bad leaders to his people. The Lord told the prophet,” I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land (v. 16)”. Whether it’s a democratic or a non-democratic political system, there are times when the Lord bypass the system by raising up a leader of his liking to fulfill a predetermined plan. Do the people deserve a good or a bad leader? It is not for them to know. But their responsibility is to pray for their leaders. We can always ask the Lord to give us leaders according to his heart.
We see in verse 16 what the Lord expects from good shepherds. They should care for the lost, seek the young, heal the injured, and feed the healthy. Most of us operate to a certain degree as shepherds, we may be a father, a teacher, a manager, a Sunday school teacher, a pastor, or be in any position of influence over another human being. Then, we must decide what kind of shepherd we are going to be and work at it.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 27 Zechariah 12 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. (Zechariah 12:1)
10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10)
With enough prayer and supplications and thanksgiving people can overcome all kinds of difficulties (Philippians 4:6). The stories of the Bible and current personal testimonies of brothers and sisters in the church prove that assertion is true. Yet people in general do not engage themselves in prayer, supplications and thanksgiving to solve even their easiest problems. Simply because every spiritual disposition is a gift from God.
We can desire to be intercessors, but only God can make intercessors out of us by pouring upon us the spirit of grace and supplications. God gives us the invitation, what we need to do is to accept it.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 28 Zechariah 13 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
“On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. (Zechariah 13:1-2)
When I was a child growing up in the church, there was a hymn that had always confused me. “Geyen youn source tou plain ak sang, - There is a fountain full with blood.” The confusing part for my young mind was that they sang when sinners bath in it, they come out without blemish and pure. Naturally blood doesn’t clean, but the blood of Jesus is a special kind of blood. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold! The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
The death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ ushered the whole world into that day foretold by the prophet Zechariah. “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness (v. 1).” In the New Testament, we are told, “And the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
What is the result of this cleansing? “They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God (v. 9).’” Right relationship between God and man.
May the Lord richly bless you!
Hello:
We have reached the end of the Book of Zechariah Challenge, tomorrow we will start the Book of Exodus Challenge.
Book of Zechariah Challenge – Day 30 Zechariah 14 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. (Zechariah 14:1-5)
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee”(Psalms 122:6 ). We are living in the last days leading to the day of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It will be a great day for the believers, but a dreadful day for the unbelievers. While we are actively sharing the Gospel to the whole world, we can also pray just like John prayed in the book of Revelation for the return of the Lord, “He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)”
May the Lord richly bless you!
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