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Devotional
Weekly Bible Devotion By Books
Sep.18-23, 2023
Enter the Presence of the Lord
(All) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9, NIV)
Confession
Our Lord, we confess that our hearts often easily wander away from you in the world chasing after worldly glories. Yes, we need to return to you again and again. We need to let your word remind us of who we are, how we are supposed to conduct our lives everywhere. Yes, you are more precious than gold and silver. Your word do refresh our lives, enlighten our minds, and point out the path we should go. Thanks and praises to you. Amen, we pray!
Scripture Reading: Zechariah
Zechariah1: 3- 4 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.
1 Peter 1:13-15 13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.
Thoughts to share: The vision of A New Israel
The book of Zechariah is composed of visions and oracles. Visions seemed very other world. Zechariah kept asking: What does it mean?” Fortunately, He was given the explanations and clarifications. But, we must admit, it is still very hard to comprehend for us 21th century people.
Visions in the Bible times were given often during the very difficult times. They intended to give hope to the receivers. So, we must ask, what difficult circumstances were those Jews in? We discover, those returned Jews had listened and obeyed God’s calling to rebuild the ruined Temple. They started. They paused. They restarted. They hesitated. They struggled. Somehow, in the process that they picked up their rebuilding work, they fell back to the steps of their ancestors. They greatly disappointed God. They could not complete the Temple rebuilding. Maybe, they would not complete the Temple. Why? Under their slow actions, they had many questions. They had many worries. Would the new Temple be as glorious as the Solomon Temple? Would they be able to do good not to evoke God’s anger again? Would be their new community survive in the hostile neighboring countries and peoples? What would they do with those world powers, one after another on the world stage? In what place would the Jews in God’s eternal plan?
Zechariah was raised by God not only to empower these Jews in their last miles to complete the Temple. He was also given the vision about the future Israel amid all disturbance and instabilities. The Temple and the vision of a new Israel meant to give these discouraged and fallen Jews the hope, to inspire them to move on. In the long run, all that had troubled the Jews and had evoked God’s anger in their past history will have ways to resolve. A New Israel will be emerging. But, this New Israel will be rising gradually. So, we can see the different stage of the formation of this New Israel in this book of Zechariah.
Of course, there is a concern of the immediate future of these returned exiles. God promised them that he will bless the work of their leader Zerubbabel. the Temple will be completed. The city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt and repopulated. A High priest Joshua from the branch of David House will be installed. But, the people will still need to choose to turn to God.
Then, there is a very interesting stage of this new Israel. In this stage, the solution of solving their sins and harden hearts will be revealed. A group of new Israelites will be birthed. A new type of the Temple will be emerging. Let us take a close look at this stage.
1) 3:8b-9 I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
What we know later is that Jesus came to remove the sin of the world. He was the descendent of David, from human point of view.
2) 6:12 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 will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’
What we know later is that Jesus is the descendent of David. He is the king. He is also a priest after the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrew 7:11) He did build a new temple based on his death and his resurrection- the New Testament church!
3) 9:9-10 9 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…. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
On a Sunday after 500 years or so, Jesus rode on the donkey on a colt, the foal of a donkey to enter the city of Jerusalem. Street people shout him with Hosanna. Jesus’s trip to Jerusalem was to complete the salvation of work which God assigned him.
4) 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
On the eve of Jesus’ ascending, Jesus instructed his disciples to wait on the pouring of the Holy Spirit at Jerusalem. On Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit came. Jesus’ disciples and the Jews from all nations received the Holy Spirit. Peter was raised to preach that Jesus who was crucified by the Jews was exactly the Christ that God had promised long ago. The people repented and accepted Jesus as Christ the Lord. (Acts1:4-5; 2)
6) 13:1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.
We know later that Jesus completed this mission on the cross. His blood flew down to cleanse the sin of human once for all and remove the wrath of God forever. (Matthew 1:21, John 19:30; Romans 5: 9 )
Finally, there is a final stage of the New Israel. In this stage, the Jews at Jerusalem will go through battles. The city of Jerusalem will be sieged by nations. Many Jews will be taken away or died. Only a small group of remnants will survive. But God will fight for the Israelites and smite all those nations against the city. The end is that the geography around city of Jerusalem will be reshaped. The city of Jerusalem will be delivered and raised. The living water will flow from the city of Jerusalem. No more hatred, curses and oppressions are to toward the city. People will reside there in peace. All people from nations will come to worship the Lord. All things will be special, dedicated, holy to the Lord. “The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.” (14: 9-10)
For us at 21 centuries, we fortunately have lived in the new Israel that Jesus has come. We are in awe that the prophecy of Zechariah was sure and true. Though we are still looking forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ, we can be strengthened that the last part of the prophecy of Zechariah will be fulfilled one day. On that day, we will worship our King the Lord with our Jewish brothers and sisters and many who come to the Lord. Today, much like those returned exiles, God’s people still encounter many challenges and temptations. we are waiting and expecting the glorious day when peace shall finally come to us. We do not know how long we need to wait. The book of Zechariah reminds us that we need to fix our hearts on the Lord and hold fast that final vision. We are a people with living hope and clear direction in a confusion world.
Prayer suggestions
Dear God, in our daily busy world and calendars, we are easy to lose a long view of our future. We find hope in wrong places. Thank you that your word gives us a vision as what is to come. You do love us very much. You have given us the best gift- your son and your word. Help us to live our lives in the light of your glorious coming. Help us to be your good children. Our entire lives be used by you and glorify you. For you are the King. You are worthy to be praised, followed and obeyed. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!
Prayer Request
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