THE MESSAGE OF ZECHARIAH
Number 17
WHAT GOD WILL DO
Zechariah 8:4-8
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WHEN God returns to his people, the result is great blessing for his people. When people or a nation turn to the Lord in true repentance and seek him, then great blessing is the result. In this verse we have a positive and reviving message for the church and the world. If only it would be heeded what a difference it would make. However if people and nations will only seek their own selfish ends, and live for themselves, then there can be no hope of such blessing. Blessing such as is described in these verses is only found in the Lord, and can not come by human wisdom, or by political devices.

THE PICTURE.

The picture in verse 4 is truly beautiful. It is a scene set in a community of a city, town or village, where in the streets and precincts, the old and the young live in safety. This is described as the retired folk being able to relax in their retirement without any fear, and enjoy their time of retirement in peace; and at the same time there is seen children able to play in the streets with complete safety, and parents able to relax over their care for them.

In Great Britain we enjoy a society which is envied in the world, and people seek to take up residence here because they believe they will be safe, only to be rudely disillusioned as disasters hit, due to an evil and uncaring society. America boasts the greatest prosperity, but because of the claim of individual rights and political maneuvering people find that there is not real safety, and great disasters caused by the evil in the human heart engulf them. Both Britain and America claim to be godly, but this is far from the case, and the churches which claim to follow the Lord most closely are those which show often the least of the the love of Christ. The picture of this verse promised to Israel through Zechariah is far from us, and the church needs to revalue its life and turn to the Lord in true repentance.

For countries like Iraq and Afghanistan a picture as painted in verse 4 must seem like a wild dream, for they have nothing like this and such a picture seems to be an impossible dream. Such a picture can only exist where there is righteousness and love, for where these things do not exist, the first to suffer are the most vulnerable, such as the elderly and the children. Such blessing is only found in the Lord.

ONLY FROM THE LORD.

The first thing that needs to be said about such blessing is that it is only found by gift from the Lord God. When this is affirmed, it must be also affirmed that the Lord God spoken of is the Lord God who has revealed himself in the Bible, all other God's are not God's but figments of the the human imagination. Today this claim may appear to be unacceptable, but it is the truth. If people and the world are to find peace and safety, then it must be found in the creator of the world and the redeemer of mankind, which is the God who has revealed himself in the Bible. There is no other God, and no other revelation of him in truth, but in the Bible.

Who is it that makes this promise of peace and tranquility in verse 4; it is the Lord Almighty who is speaking and making the promise. The words "This is what the Lord almighty says" is repeated again and again, and it is so that we mighty remember it and take the message to heart. Only in the Lord Almighty, the one true God, can this blessing be found. Unless the world realises this, and politicians of all nations realise this, there will be no peace in the world. If only in Britain the political parties and their leaders believed this and our prime minister and cabinet governed under the authority of the Bible, and in prayer seek the guidance of God, there could be a beginning of peace in the land which would begin to stretch outward in the world.

IS THIS BLESSING POSSIBLE.

Is this blessing possible? This question was one that seems to have been in the minds of the Israelites who first received this promise through Zechariah. At least in verse 6 God seems to anticipate this doubting and answers it.

As we look out on the world, and even at the situation which exists in our own country, we may well say to ourselves that such a dream is simply a fantasy and can be nothing else. It is certainly true today that the ordinary people are sceptical and have lost faith in politicians and their promises. How can we believe such a dream so that it ceases to be a dream but a realisable reality. The first thing is to notice and take to heart that it is God in this passage who makes the promise of such blessing, and then to remember that God makes no rash promises he can't fulfill, and always keeps his promises. Then we need to take heed of the name which God uses here to speak of himself. He tells us that it is the Lord Almighty who makes this promise. His power is limitless and all things are possible to him.

But this is not all - see verse 6. God reads our minds and sees the doubts that are there. He sees we long for such a dream, but he sees that we have no faith that it can be realised. The picture of peace and prosperity is too marvelous to ever become a reality. God's reply to this doubt is to say that in his eyes the thing is so easy to achieve that it is not marvelous in any way. To God, with his infinite wisdom and power, nothing is impossible. The question then is why does not God engage his power to relieve the suffering in the world? and this is a question that is often asked, and it is prelude to unbelief in the goodness of God, and although people will still believe in the existence of God, they see only a God who does not care.

What we human beings don't realise or face is the fact that most of the trouble in the world, and the lack of this dream, which is described here and promised by God, is because of our sin and and evil thoughts and actions. The problem in Iraq is the evil of mankind and it can not be attributed to God. If human beings can't or will not admit the fault is theirs then there is no hope because God does not step in to give blessing so that evil may abound more and more. God only blesses when there is a turning to him in humble and genuine repentance, and acknowledging that our problems are the result of our own sinful actions. It is one of the evil's of the human heart that we always attribute blame to anyone rather than ourselves, and we seem able always to condemn others in a self righteous way.

HOW DOES GOD'S BLESSING COME?

The way God's blessing comes is by God's gracious action to save his people. In Zechariah's time the people of God were the nation of Israel. God had set this nation apart from all others for his special care for the purposes of bringing about the coming of the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ. As a nation they showed all the waywardness and evil of the fallen human spirit within us all, and in spite of God's patience and grace, they had continually and grievously departed from God who blest them, and so in the end God chastised them and gave power to other nations so that Israel was conquered and the people carried off as slaves in those other countries. God promises to save his people and bring them back to their home land in Palestine, and again establish them as a people blest by the Lord. Verses 7 and 8 is God's declaration that he will do this. Historically God promised that the exile and banishment of his people for their sin would end after 70 years, and this promise is the keeping of God's promise that the chastisement would end after that time.

Let us notice that God does the saving. He comes in grace and power to change the situation and deliver his people from their bondage in foreign lands. It is God keeping his promises and God sovereignly in grace giving his blessing. God has mercy even though there is no deserving on the part of Israel, and he promises to be the king of his people (v.8), to faithfully care and protect his people, and give them justice and good rule.

The passage looks beyond simply the situation historically at that time. The exile of Israel from which they had been saved at this time was from only one direction, the east. Here God speaks of bringing his people from the east and the west, which suggests from the whole world, and so this prophecy looks to the Gospel age where people from every nation and language are brought into the new Israel, the redeemed people of God. The people of God are not one nation, but a whole company of people from every nationality who have come to faith in the redeemer Jesus Christ. So what does it mean that God will save his people, and how do things work out from this salvation that brings about this peace and joy?

When we examine the history of the church down the centuries we see that God's salvation of his people is when in reviving grace God draws multitudes of people into the knowledge of their sins, and to faith in Jesus as the only God and Saviour from sin. God revives his church through blessing the preaching of the Gospel, and he raises up preachers who will preach his truth and make that preaching effective in conviction of sin and conversion to faith in Jesus as the sinners' redeemer and Saviour. Then as the church comes alive and increases its number in a nation, this causes two things to happen. 

The first is the effect of the reforming of society by the church. In the days of the reformation in England, and later in the puritan age, and again after the evangelical revival in the 18th century, the people of God, the true remnant of God's people, increased markedly. God called great numbers of people to repentance and faith in Jesus as their redeemer and Lord. These people showed changed lives, and this effected their immediate communities for good. The quality of life of these Christians was an example which took effect. Their way of life effected their communities, so that evil and unrighteousness was curbed. From this came the raising up of many to work for the betterment of society. In the days of the evangelical revival, men were raised up by God to work in Parliament and other institutions of state to change the way society acted. At this time came the abolition of slavery and acts of Parliament which changed the way industry worked and bettered the condition of the workers for good. The pace of social reform went ahead through the work and influence of the redeemed of God in a way much greater than is usual, and things were eradicated from society which made for better social justice and peace. Together with this the churches looked out on society and cared for the poor and the under-privileged. The Sunday School which was commenced at this time was an attempt not only to teach children of Christ, but give them a grounding in the three r's, reading writing and arithmetic. Children who had no schooling at last were being given a grounding in the basics of education. The work went further as charitable institutions were founded that helped the under privileged in a great number of ways.

From this direct benefit, which saw England experiencing something of the promise of this prophecy, there came a further blessing. This was the blessing of a nation through God's concern for the safety of his people. Where the true redeemed church of God is vital in a society, that society benefits from God's blessing on his people. God cares for his people and protects them, and this rubs off on the society in which the church lives. England has experienced this blessing through the revivals of religion in the past. It can be truly said that the greatness of England in its past history can be traced to the fact that God blessed the nation because of his church in its midst.

It also can be said with truth that the decline in Great Britain in recent years should be traced to the decline of true religion in the land, which has caused God to withdraw his protection and blessing. One of the features of today's society is that no one is ready to see the hand of God in the events of history, whether natural or man made disasters. There is every ground for understanding that in the disaster proliferating today God is speaking to us, and we are not listening.

CONCLUSION.

It is God who brings blessing to his people and to the world through his people. The promise made to Israel in Zechariah's time is still true for today through the Gospel of Christ. The only hope of the world is in Christ and the revival of his church.