Happy Easter Monday. Praise God for sending His Son. The greatest gift to humanity. Zechariah over 500 years earlier spoke of how this would be achieved. A King would come, firstly on a donkey and then in might and power to rule over the earth.
Zechariah 8: The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion
1 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying,
2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.
3 Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain.
4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.
6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvellous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvellous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts?
7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country,
8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness."
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbour.
11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the LORD of hosts.
12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong."
14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: "As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts,
15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not.
16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;
17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the LORD."
18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
19 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
20 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities.
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favour of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.'
22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favour of the LORD.
23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"
Zechariah 9: Judgment on Israel's Enemies
1 The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the LORD has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel,
2 and on Hamath also, which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid; Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish; Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza; Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard, so that none shall march to and fro; no oppressor shall again march over them, for now I see with my own eyes.
The Coming King of Zion
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior's sword.
The LORD Will Save His People
14 Then the LORD will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning; the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15 The LORD of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the LORD their God will save them, as the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.
Things to think about…
1. How many times does ‘Thus says the Lord’ appear in Zech 8? I counted 13 times. Unfortunately we live in a generation where these words are more and more left out. We find absolutes intolerant, yet the Lord does not change and His words will remain. Zechariah was still under OT law and he could legally have been stoned to death if his words were not from God. If you believe you have the gift of prophecy you will always agree with scripture and it will be confirmed in your use of the gift. Quoting scripture is always the safest option of course. The key is to have the discernment to rightly apply it into any given situation.
2. In Zech 8 you can see the Lord’s concern for His people and for His city Jerusalem. The Fasts of Zech 8:19 refer to the fourth month; wherein the city was taken by the Babylonians, who on the ninth day of this month broke into the city, Jeremiah 52:6,7. Of the fifth; of which on the tenth day the temple was burnt. Of the seventh; wherein Gedaliah was killed, Jeremiah 41:1. Of the tenth; on the tenth day whereof the king of Babylon’s army sat down before the city and besieged it. These days of lament would be days of joy.
3. The Lord does not mind the fasts, I.E the traditions, Zech 8:19, but only if their hearts honour Him, vss 16, 17. We have the direct favour of God in Christ, so how do you think vss 22 and 23 apply? Is Zechariah referring to the period before Christ or does it concern the Christian era as well? Jesus wept over Jerusalem, why? Why did he not also weep over the cities of Rome or Thebes – surely they had also rejected God. Our Lord’s heart was to call those who had the Law, the Covenants, the Prophets and the promises. Yet they rejected them, even the Author of Life Himself. One day their hearts will turn back to Him.
4. The nations will eventually flow into Jerusalem to celebrate, Zech 8:20-22. We see this every Easter and this last Easter was no different. But the period Zechariah is referring to is a greater peace that is brought upon Jerusalem through the actions of the Saviour. While it does happen every year in Jerusalem, the Jewish people are by and large separated from the festivities. The current peace in Jerusalem is only maintained through military might. Even this last week we saw the Israeli military storm the Temple Mount and rockets were fired into Gaza and Syria to counteract terrorist activities. Christ will rule over Jerusalem and the nations and bring peace in the Millennial kingdom.
5. All the towns mentioned in Zech 9:1-8 all immediately border Israel. They were the outlying cities of the Syrians, Philistines and coastal cities of Tyre and Sidon and shall be without their former glory. God stands guard over His house, Zech 9:8 and has an eye on mankind and Israel, Zech 9:1. We see that the Cities of the Philistines, modern day Gaza will have their king removed and lose their former glory. This has happened in our day. He makes a distinction between what He does for Israel as opposed to the other nations.
6. How would this be achieved? We know a king would come – initially this would be Alexander the Great, but Zech 9:9-13 clearly shows that Jesus is meant when He entered Jerusalem on a donkey, vs 9. He would be this king. The Greeks would be cut off, vs 13, this is likely a prophecy of the Maccabean rebellion, 167-160BC, that Jerusalem would be restored back to the Jews and then the real king would come. Jesus, the king that Zechariah is referring to would arrive in Jerusalem 200 years later riding on a donkey.
7. Has what is described in Zech 9:9-12 been perfectly fulfilled by Christ’s first coming? One only has to look at the nations that still surround and threaten Israel and conclude thast the answer is no. Certainly the promise that the King would rule “from the River to the ends of the earth”, has never been fulfilled Zech 9:10. Israel today the greatest military power in the Middle East. The peace described here will be fulfilled when Christ literally rules on a throne in Jerusalem in the Millennial kingdom over all the earth.
8. Looking at Zech 9:14-17 we see that Israel will again have its borders and people will be restored. Israel is being restored in our day, but most Jews are still secular and most are outside of Christ. Pray that Israel sees that their nation can only know true blessings and fulfilment of these OT prophecies, if they turn to Christ.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups on break over Easter and school holidays
Prayer Points
1. That the contacts made over Easter and the Family Fun Day will be maintained and that strong connections and discussions may draw people to Christ.
2. Been a big term for our teachers pray Rosie and our teachers get a good rest over these next 2 weeks.
3. Pray for Chuwar Youth and Jarrod’s ministry. Pray as he meets with youth at Westside, Ipswich and Bundamba high schools as well as developing senior leaders.
4. How you can serve in ministry this year.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for our Easter services. A number of visitors came to CBC over the weekend.
2. Graham’spreaching on Friday and Jarrod’s leading and the worship team on Sunday.
3. Kids@Church and Youth ministries are a great blessing. Keep praying for Rosie and Jarrod as they rest and recuperate for next term.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Chuwar Youth and Kids@Church on break over Easter and School holidays.
2. Remember to check your duty rosters.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for April...
Q. 7. In how many persons does this one God exist? A. In three persons.
