Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for The Bible Recap.
We ended yesterday halfway through Zechariah's strange night of multiple visions. Today we pick up where we left off, with vision number six. In this vision, he sees a giant flying scroll, roughly the size of a billboard. And we know it's a papyrus scroll, not an animal skin parchment, since it has writing on both sides. It's flying over the city, bringing judgment to everyone who disobeys God's laws. While there are only two laws mentioned in the vision, it seems they may represent the two types of sin—
Horizontal sin, sin against our neighbor, and vertical sin, sin against God. If that's the case, that would mean they ultimately represent all of God's laws.
The angel calls the scroll a curse. Some say this means the scroll only held the curses for breaking the covenant, not the benefits of keeping it. And others say the fact that it's called a curse just serves to remind us all over again that the purpose of the law is to reveal that we all deserve death. Only in Christ do we find life. Only in Christ are we redeemed from the curse of the law, like Galatians 3.13 says.
In Vision 7, I had a hard time not picturing a hot air balloon ride, but that's apparently not it at all. First, we see a woman who represents wickedness in a basket. The angel seals her up in the basket before she's carried away by stork-like women to Babylon, where they'll build a house for her and the basket. First, we should address that this isn't an actual woman. The basket referred to here isn't even big enough to hold a woman. It's about the size of your kitchen trash can.
Some believe this woman represents the pagan goddess Asherah, and others say she's just a symbol. Second, the whole image seems to speak to the fact that Babylon is the new representation for evil. After all, it's where evil's home is being built. The Book of Revelation spends a lot of time talking about the wickedness of Babylon. In vision number eight, we get more horses, just like in vision number one.
These horse visions serve as bookends on Zach's strange night of dreams. Horses symbolize power and strength, and as these four chariots go to the four corners of the earth, it demonstrates that Yahweh's great power extends over the whole earth, even in the directions associated with his enemies.
Chapter 6 wraps up with God telling Zach to get some gold and silver from a few of the exiles, fashion a crown out of it, and set it on the head of Jeshua the high priest. Then Zach gets a bonus vision, and this whole section is filled with a mixing of royal and priestly imagery. First of all, they're putting a crown, which is for kings, on the head of a priest, who traditionally wears a turban. Second, there's a priest sitting on a throne. Third, there's a crown in the temple.
All this blending together is a foreshadowing of Jesus, the messianic king. We also saw this blended imagery in Isaiah 6:1 when he recounts his vision of God on a throne in the temple. And here, Jeshua the high priest is the branch that is the forerunner of the branch. And here's something you may have picked up on already. The names Joshua and Jeshua are actually the same name as Yeshua or Yeshua, which is the way you pronounce the name of Jesus in Hebrew. They even share a name.
In chapter 7, some men come to Zechariah to ask for advice. They've been in the habit of fasting for two months out of the year, and they're like, should we keep this up or not? Commentators speculate on their motivation behind asking. Either they want to be praised for the fact that they're still fasting so regularly, or they're looking to get a pass on keeping up their religious practices, since things in Jerusalem aren't quite up to their standards and just checking the boxes is starting to seem fruitless.
Zach replies with a story comparing them to their ancestors. God basically says, when you fasted, you weren't fasting with me in mind. And when you ate, you weren't eating with me in mind. Everything you do is self-serving. I don't want your religious actions without heart change. And it'll be super evident when your hearts have changed because you'll care about the things I care about. Things like justice and kindness and mercy.
Your ancestors never quite got there, and instead of becoming more like me, their hearts grew harder, so I scattered them. Then God spends chapter 8 reminding them of the great things he has in store for them. He speaks to their lost hope with promises of restoration.
All the promises he has made their people that haven't yet been fulfilled, all the things their ancestors lost, he knows it has traumatized them. He speaks truth to those aches. He paints beautiful pictures of children playing in the streets, and I wish they could see it now because this prophecy has been fulfilled, at least in part, today. He says even though it's hard to believe now, there will come a day when foreigners will long to travel to Jerusalem. Check.
And he keeps telling them not only that it's coming, but that they play a vital role in his plan for restoration. He reminds them twice, let your hands be strong.
Chapter 9 recounts God's promise to bring judgment to Israel's enemies, like we've read in lots of the other books of prophecy. And my God shot is in the back half of chapter 9, where we see prophecies of the coming Messiah King Jesus. Verse 9 says, 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.
We recognize the donkey part because Jesus rode through Jerusalem on a donkey in Matthew 21. But even without the donkey, I recognize him. He's unmistakable. He speaks peace to the nations in verse 10. He rules to the end of the earth. Through the blood of his covenant in verse 11, he sets prisoners free. He restores double to prisoners of hope in verse 12.
He saves his people and they shine like jewels in his crown in verse 16. And in verse 17, it says, how great is his goodness and how great his beauty. When we stare into the face of who he is, we can't deny it. Everything about him is what our souls know is missing. He's where the joy is.
Do you want something that will serve as an easy on-ramp for your friends and family into reading the Bible? Something that's maybe a little less daunting than reading through the whole Bible? Well then, I've got great news for you. In just a few weeks, I'm releasing a book called The God Shot, 100 Snapshots of God's Character in Scripture.
It's a 100-day devotional that walks you through some of my favorite passages from each book of the New Testament in context, verse by verse, pointing to the character of God in each day's reading. It's like the bite-sized version of the Bible Recap, and it comes out on October 4th. To pre-order a copy for yourself or your friends, click the store link at thebiblerecap.com or check the link in the show notes.