God’s Vision For Israel – Part 2
Zechariah 8:4-8
January 15, 2017
As you know we are in a section in the book of Zechariah
Which was sparked by the arrival of that delegation from Bethel.
A group of men arrived and chapter 7 says
They were seeking the favor of the Lord.
What we are learning here is that they already have it.
And we are learning that they are recipients of God’s favor,
Not because they had done something to earn it,
But because God had chosen by His grace to give it to them.
• We saw the selection of Abraham…
• We saw God’s CHECED in Abraham’s life…
• We saw God stick with Isaac and Jacob and Israel…
• We’ve seen the Exodus…
• And even now God is bringing them out of Babylon…
You’d have to be blind not to see God’s favor on this people.
But beyond all of God’s gracious benefits He has given Israel in her past,
Here in Zechariah 8 God reveals His vision for her future
And it is also full of favor.
Zechariah 8 lists 10 revelations or visions that God has for Israel’s future.
We saw the first two last week.
1) GOD REVEALED HIS PASSION
Namely that He is “exceedingly jealous” for Israel.
And we noted that “jealous” was a term previously used
Referring to God and His own glory.
He told Israel not to worship idols because He is a jealous God
And will most certainly punish anyone who gives His glory to another.
Now we learn that God has that same jealousy for Israel.
He is passionate about her.
We even looked at God’s CHECED
(kindness, loyalty, faithfulness, preference) to Israel throughout her history.
God is passionate about her.
2) GOD REVEALED HIS PLAN
In verse 3 God revealed that His plan is to:
• Return
• Remain
• Renovate
Although God initially did this in the person of Jesus and was rejected,
It still has not changed God’s passion for her
And the fact that He will return again for her.
• No sooner do we have Jesus ascending in Acts 1,
• Then by Acts 2 Peter is reiterating the promise of salvation to the Jews in Jerusalem
• And again offering them “the time of restoration” in Acts 3.
Israel certainly delayed her blessing,
But the plan to give it her never changed.
• God still plans to return…
• God still plans to remain…
• God still plans to renovate them into a “City of Truth”
So we saw God’s Passion
We saw God’s Plan
#3 GOD REVEALS HIS PEACE
Zechariah 8:4-5
Peace in Israel?
That’s a novel idea!
When you read these two verses you must admit
It brings about a certain amount of nostalgia to the heart.
“Old men and old women will again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.”
Zechariah highlights the fact that there will be old people in the city.
Old age may not at first seem preferential,
But in this revelation it is very positive.
“Old men and old women” only reach that status because they have survived.
They have lived a long time.
You know it and I know it,
But there is only one alternative to growing old
And that is dying young.
Here we have men and women in Israel who have survived,
They have lived a long time.
Isaiah 65:17-25 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.”
And that is a remarkable promise from God regarding Israel,
Especially when you take into account the enormous amounts of persecution that they have endured as a people.
Generally speaking, life expectancy for a Jew has never been a good thing,
But the day is coming when it will.
Not only that, but the safety and prosperity of Israel is seen in the fact that “the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets.”
It sounds like Mayberry.
Friendly, safe, joyous, it’s the good ole days except way better.
And the reason is because the Lord will have returned
And renovated that place and made everything wonderful.
Isaiah 11:1-9 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.”
Because God is passionate about these people
And because His favor is clearly on them,
His plan is to return and renovate that place into a city of safety
Where people live a long time and children play safely in the streets.
God clearly has a wonderful plan for them.
Ezekiel 34:25-30 “I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. “I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing. “Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. “They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. “I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore. “Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord GOD.”
The struggles they currently face are not the final plan of God.
God has a prosperous future in view for them.
In fact God has always had this prosperous desire for them.
• From the day He called Abraham He was reiterating this blessing that He had in store.
• When He brought them out of Egypt He promised them a land flowing with milk and honey.
• And certainly the Messiah was coming to set all things right.
Now each and every time it has been their disobedience
Which has delayed these blessings,
But that does not mean that God won’t do it.
This prosperity; this peace and safety is still the plan
Because God has chosen to put His favor on them.
They certainly do not deserve it, but they will receive it none the less.
God Reveals His Passion, God Reveals His Plan, God Reveals His Peace
#4 GOD REVEALS HIS POWER
Zechariah 8:6
I love this one.
“If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight? Declares the LORD of hosts.”
Let’s be honest.
What God is referring to here frankly seems a little
Too good to be true and a tad bit impossible.
The thought that Israel could one day dwell safely inside her borders with no fear of those around them almost seems like a fairy tale.
The reality is…THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED.
• Abraham went there and was immediately labeled “the Hebrew” (one who crosses over; alien).
• He then had struggles with the kings who kidnapped Lot
• He had struggles with Abimelech who threatened his wife
• When Israel came out of Egypt it was one nation after another throughout the time of the Judges.
• Hittites, Jebusites, Moabites, Ammonites, Canaanites, Termites, Cellulites, etc.
• During the period of the Kings it was the same thing all over again.
• During the post-exilic period again they faced hostility from their neighbors
• Then it was Greece, then Rome
• And throughout present day history it has been England, Russia, Germany, Palestine, and on and on and on.
You are tempted to read about that reality in verse 4
About old people sitting in the streets and children playing in the streets
And it sounds like a fairy tale.
Seems like it will never happen…
Seems like it can’t happen…
And there are even theologies today which say that.
In my Old Testament class in Seminary my professor told us that he was an “Amillennialist”.
That means he doesn’t believe in a literal thousand year reign of Christ.
• So all of those promises (like the one in verses 4&5) will never literally happen.
In addition Amillennialism says that it is over for Israel.
• All of God’s promises were fulfilled in Jesus whom they rejected and so now
it’s only the church.
Point being, there are plenty of people both then and now
Who think the idea of Israel living in safety inside her land
Is impossible.
But God answers that pessimism right here.
“If it is too difficult in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be too difficult in My sight?”
“Just because it’s too hard for you, does that mean it’s too hard for Me?”
And of course the answer is NO
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
There we see the prophetic promise of the kingdom reign of Messiah over Israel and we are even told who will bring it to pass.
“The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
God will make it happen.
By our own efforts Israel’s peace is an impossibility.
As we are learning in Revelation (Satan just won’t let that happen)
But it is well within God’s prerogative to bring it to pass.
You may doubt it that it will happen, but God can most certainly do it.
Isaiah 59:15-20 “Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the LORD saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice. And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense. So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives. “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.”
His vision is for peace in Israel where each man and each woman can live out their days in peace and prosperity and He will bring it pass.
So God reveals His Passion, His Plan, His Peace, His Power
#5 GOD REVEALS HIS PROMISE
Zechariah 8:7-8
And this is where it all hinges.
It all hinges upon the integrity of God to honor His promises.
We just settled the issue regarding whether or not God can do what He says.
• We believe God is omnipotent, we believe God can do it.
• We do believe that “the zeal of the LORD of hosts” is enough to bring it about.
The next issue is “Will He do it?”
• We know He can, but will He keep His promise?
We are those who believe God keeps His word,
And in this belief we find our hope.
Remember what we learned in Hebrews:
Hebrews 6:13-18 “For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.” And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
We learned through Abraham, all the way into the New Testament
That when God makes a promise you can take it to the bank.
In fact, we learned that God cannot lie.
This gives us “strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”
We believe God will do what He says.
His promises mean everything to us.
And it is that promise we are confronted with here.
“Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.”
That is the equivalent of God saying “I promise!”
Notice all the definitive words there.
• “I am going to save My people…”
• “I will bring them back…”
• “they will live in the midst of Jerusalem…”
• “they shall be My people…”
• “I will be their God in truth and righteousness…”
These are God’s promises.
And if you doubt that it will happen
Then you either have to question God’s power
Or you have to question God’s integrity.
We choose to question neither.
We believe God will do what He says.
We believe God will bring Israel back and settle them securely in their land.
Zephaniah 3:14-20 “Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts — They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the LORD.”
Isaiah 35:8-10 “A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, Nor will any vicious beast go up on it; These will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, And the ransomed of the LORD will return And come with joyful shouting to Zion, With everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
Zechariah 10:8-12 “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. “I will bring them back from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. “And they will pass through the sea of distress And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down And the scepter of Egypt will depart. “And I will strengthen them in the LORD, And in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.”
We either believe those promises or we don’t.
And I might add that salvation is found in believing the promises of God.
• God made a promise to Abraham about the number of his descendants.
• The Bible says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as
righteousness.”
It’s not a safe thing to go around questioning the promises of God.
We are those who believe God can and God will do what He says.
• God will bring them back…
• God will put them in Jerusalem…
• God will dwell with them…
And “I will be their God in truth and righteousness.”
This is how we know it hasn’t happened yet.
Israel has often identified with the correct God,
But they have yet to correctly identify with Him.
Someone once said that Christians and Israel worship the same God.
That isn’t true.
• On one hand we believe Jesus is God and they clearly do not worship Him.
• On the other hand even though we both claim allegiance to the God of the Old Testament, they don’t really worship Him.
Isaiah nailed them when He said:
Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”
Jesus said:
John 4:23-24 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
Currently Israel doesn’t really worship the correct God.
But there is a day coming in which they will.
God promised it.
They are coming back, they will be Mine, and I will be theirs.
And if you are one of those in the delegation coming to seek God’s favor,
How much clearer could He make it?
This sounds almost like a marriage proposal.
• I am choosing you.
• I am jealous for you; you are the one I want.
• I am coming to you.
• I am going to make life great for you.
• I most certainly can do it.
• And I most certainly will do it.
To me that almost sounds like a groom at a wedding ceremony.
“I take you…to protect you, to provide for you, to cherish you, forever…”
CAN YOU NOT SEE WHAT FAVOR GOD HAS SHOWN?
They should be able to.
NOW PAUSE THERE FOR A SECOND.
Let’s zoom out and look at the situation
So we can make sure we get proper application here.
• When we read these verses we are literally blown away by the generosity of God and all that He plans to do for Israel.
• We would easily look at those people and say, “Wake up man! Can’t you see God’s favor toward you? He clearly cares for your deeply!”
• We have no trouble reading these verses and seeing that.
But back up and look them…
WHAT DO THEY HAVE RIGHT NOW?
I mean what do they have that they can tangibly hold in their hand?
The answer?
A broken city, half a temple,
And piece of paper which contains God’s promise of better days.
And yet, we have no problem telling these people
How much favor they have.
Now look at your own life.
• What do you have?
• What can you tangibly hold in your hand?
A broken world, some earthly possession,
The first fruits of the Spirit
And a paper which contains God’s promise of better days.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Can you see that we also are great recipients of God’s favor?
Listen to me here.
We all know what a bank statement is.
We look at our bank statement because
That is where the amount of or money is recorded.
Maybe you have another list of assets which measures how much you have.
But these are NOT the places you look
When you want to measure God’s favor in your life.
• God’s favor is not measured in money…
• God’s favor is not measured in health…
• God’s favor is not measured in earthly prosperity…
• God’s favor is not measured in comfort…
HOW DO WE MEASURE GOD’S FAVOR?
IN PROMISES.
To put it in earthly terms, God writes I.O.U’s
(They aren’t really “I Owe You’s” as much as they are
“I Have Freely Decided to Give You’s” but you get the idea)
God doesn’t demonstrate His favor in earthly prosperity.
God demonstrates His favor in promises of eternal prosperity
When this life is over.
If you have God’s promises you have God’s favor.
That is what these refugees needed to understand.
• No they didn’t have a city…
• No they didn’t have a wall around it…
• No they didn’t have a king…
• No they didn’t have an army…
• No they didn’t have a temple…
But they had something infinitely more valuable, they had God’s promise.
All that was left was to decide whether or not they believed He could
And whether or not they believed He would.
And that is the same for you.
We live in a world that wants God to prove His favor every day
Through temporal blessing, and that is the wrong way to go about it.
For that leaves you discouraged
When life brings its promised disappointments.
Instead understand that God reveals His favor in His promises
And in those we are rich indeed.
2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
Though the present life may be difficult,
The payout promises to be well worth it.
This remains God’s vision for the elect.
