February 13, 2022 | Zechariah 1:7 - 2:13 |
Have you ever asked the Lord, “How long?” How long must I be stuck here? How long must I endure this pain? How long must I feel so alone and lonely? How long will the wicked be allowed to prosper without justice? How long before Your return? How long, Lord?
In Zechariah chapter 1 and 2, the prophet saw three visions from the LORD that offered gracious comfort to him and the people of Israel.
February 6, 2022 | Zechariah 1:1-6 |
How close are you to God today? If I were to ask you to rank your closeness right now on a scale of 1-10, what would you say?
Even before God sent Jesus, He was already at work calling His people to return to Him. In the book of Zechariah, God spoke through the prophet to the Jewish exiles who had returned from Babylonian captivity. When they first returned, they were passionate and excited to be back home and had started to rebuild the Temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Yet their passion had grown cold when they faced the difficulties of rebuilding and the work had ceased. Years had gone by since any work had been done. So God sent the prophet Haggai, who encouraged the people to get back to work on the Temple. And He sent the prophet Zechariah, who called them to an even deeper purpose. In Zechariah 1:1-6, God told the Jewish exiles that had returned to Jerusalem that it was even more important that they recognize how He had called them to return to Him.
December 21, 2020
REPENTANCE PRECEDES REVIVAL The prophet Zechariah prophesied to the Jewish exiles, who had returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Yet, returning to Jerusalem wasn’t the same as returning to God. The Lord commanded Zechariah to “Say to them.” In other words, “Preach to them: Return to Me and I’ll return to
December 21, 2016
The prophet Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. Both of them wrote to encourage the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem from their 70 years of Babylonian exile. Zechariah began to prophesy during the reign of Darius, king of Persia (Zech. 1:1), under whose governance the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem. He instructed them not only to return to Jerusalem, but to return to the Lord! This is a word to those who have gone astray. Return! Repent of your sins and return to the Lord of Hosts and He will surely return to you.
December 21, 2014
This is God’s Word. It is what it claims to be. It can do what it says it can do. The prophet Zechariah had the privilege of speaking to the returning exiles to Jerusalem. Their forefathers had been overthrown and taken captive 70 years before as the old prophets had predicted. Unlike their forefathers, the returning children were repentant and ready to believe. Along with the book of Daniel, this little book is filled with images that aren’t seen again until John takes them up again in his revelation of Jesus. Zechariah is filled with Messianic prophecy that Jesus fulfilled. What God revealed to and through Zechariah, He has done. Yet prophecy in the Scriptures tends to have a threefold fulfillment: Present (or immediate), ongoing and future. Our faith is built up by the fulfillment already seen, and our hearts are filled with hope by taking hold of those promises that we can apply now and look for in the future.