“Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates carried it out with diligence. So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo.”
(Ezra 6:13-14a)
The king had spoken and he was serious. Armed with not only permission to continue, but a command that no one messes with them, our exiles kept on keeping on “under the preaching of Haggai…and Zechariah…”
Back to our prophets.
Last we heard from Haggai it was December 520. The letter to King Darius and his answer took some time, and now it is roughly two months later, February 519. And we’re returning to Zechariah, our Remembering Prophet, three months after his last message.
Let’s hear what God has to say through him:
“On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.
During the night I had a vision – and there before me was a man riding a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.
I asked, ‘What are these, my lord?’
The angel who was talking with me answered, ‘I will show you what they are.’
Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, ‘They are the ones the LORD has sent to go throughout the earth.’
And they reported to the angel of the LORD, who was standing among the myrtle trees, ‘We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.’
Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?’ So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.
Then the angel who was speaking to me said, ‘Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD Almighty says: I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.’
‘Therefore, this is what the LORD says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the LORD Almighty.
‘Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.'”
(Zechariah 1:7-17)
Our jealous God. Jealous for His people. Comforting those who seek refuge in Him.
The phrase in verse 15 translated “added to the calamity” is no joke. The Hebrew for this word means adversity with the intent to harm.
I like how the NLT states this verse: “I was only a little angry with my people, but the nations inflicted harm on them far beyond my intentions.”
Remember what Zechariah’s name means? “The LORD remembers.”
Even when God is remembering His people’s rebellion, it is so they will learn to obey. So they won’t repeat the same mistakes and end up in captivity.
Is that the same way we remember? Or do we look more like those who don’t know Him: Choosing to remember others’ sin to punish them?
I have been acutely aware lately of when my words and actions misrepresent Him to others. When I do not look like someone who loves much because I have been forgiven much. Or when I don’t trust and it results in anger or anxiety rather than peace.
How about you? Do your words bless others? Or do they tear down and judge with the intent to harm?
And your actions? Do they result from freely receiving that you may freely give? To whomever God is asking you?
I struggle in God’s process to become a person who is quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. But I want to be that more and more.
After all, He is returning with mercy and rebuilding His House.
I want to be among those He comforts.