Zechariah 12 reminds me of learning to
read. I was way behind the curve, and the most embarrassing thing
imaginable was being asked to stand and read out loud in school. I
was quickly moved into the slow track. Even into high school,
reading was a chore that I did not enjoy; it was probably the least
significant thing in the world to me at that time. In today’s
chapter we see that God makes insignificant things important for His
purposes. It begins, “The
Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the
earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares…”
This one short phrase simultaneously describes the limitless God
that desires intimacy with each of us. Next God speaks prophesy
about Israel. “I am going to
make Jerusalem a
cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling“.
Not because of what is in the cup, but because it belongs to God.
He adds, “I will make Jerusalem
an immovable rock… All
who try to move it will injure themselves“.
It is interesting to me that today; no other nation besides Israel
recognizes Jerusalem as the Capital city, yet God declares, “The
people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their
God“.
The prophesy continues, “On
that day I will make… Judah like a firepot in a woodpile“.
The picture is a raging fire, burning out of control. It will
“consume all the surrounding
peoples… but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place“.
“On that day the Lord will
shield those who live in Jerusalem“.
For those of us struggling to understand, He adds, “the
house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD going
before them. On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations
that attack Jerusalem“. I
rarely asked questions in class, but this sounds important. Everyone
is wondering, on what day?
Great mystery novels give clues early and
often to help the reader find the answer in the end. Every Jewish
festival and ritual foreshadowed how Messiah would redeem His people.
God declares, “I will pour
out… a
spirit of grace and supplication“.
Supplication is not a math term, it means to humbly ask; and grace
is God’s abundant answer. Knowing some of us will never finish the
book, He flips to the end for us. “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“. Some will
mourn the fact that they waited so long to receive Salvation. All
will mourn the suffering of the Savior whose hands, feet and brow
will still bear the scars. “On
that day the
weeping in Jerusalem will be as great“.
That Day is approaching, and attendance is mandatory. Are you
behind the curve? The Bible is written for you. It is “the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Blessed
is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed
are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it,
because the time is near”
(Revelation 1:3). Friend, are you too embarrassed to stand and be
recognized with Christ?