The Flying Scroll and the Filthy Basket – part 1
Zechariah 5:1-11
October 16, 2016
Last time we looked at that famous fourth chapter here in Zechariah
Where we were reminded that it’s
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit” says the Lord.
But beyond that I would remind you of exactly what Zechariah saw.
• If you’ll remember he saw a sort of gravity fed candelabra which was tapped in directly to the olive trees that supplied the oil.
Now certainly we learned about how God works through His people
And accomplishes His purposes even when they seem impossible.
But it is also important that you remember
That it was a lampstand that Zechariah saw.
We are reminded by this that there is a purpose in all of what God is doing through His people and that is that they are a light to the world.
DON’T MISS THAT POINT.
God was rebuilding His temple
And promising to once again dwell in their midst
Namely so that they would be a light that shines in the darkness.
It is important that you grasp this to understand these next two visions.
Because these visions also address the issue of
Making God’s people a light to the world.
TO SORT OF SET THE STAGE let’s examine the Sermon on the Mount
Where He addressed this issue with the Jews to whom He was preaching.
Matthew 5:14-17 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
I know these verse are almost always quoted
In reference to the church being a light in darkness.
While it is true that believers do now shine as lights in the world,
That was not the whole point of what Jesus was saying there.
JESUS WAS ADDRESSING ISRAEL
AND MORE SPECIFICALLY HER LACK OF TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS.
That is in reality the theme of the sermon.
That Israel is not righteous and that she must be in order to please God.
It was a set up sermon meant to drive them to Him.
And in this process Jesus makes the statement about light in darkness.
You must understand that He is speaking with a certain SARCASM here.
He says, “You are the light of the world.”
The problem with that is that their light is hidden or not shining.
Which is why He immediately goes into rebuke mode.
“A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket.”
That was the problem.
Israel claimed to be the light of the world, but they weren’t shining.
The reason they weren’t shining according to the Sermon on the Mount, was a lack of righteousness.
Their light wasn’t really light and therefore could not shine.
See Jesus reference it again later in the sermon:
Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. “But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
That time referencing their carnal lust for the things of the world.
Jesus was reiterating that they had no light at all, but rather darkness
And thus were not fulfilling their purpose.
Their lack of righteousness kept their light from shining.
Paul reiterated this as well in Romans 2
Romans 2:17-24 “But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,” just as it is written.”
There again you hear Paul reference the Jewish belief
That they were “a light to those who are in darkness”
And yet Paul says that they are anything but a light
Because of their unrighteous living.
They actually commit the sins they so openly condemn
And instead of bringing glory to God
They actually are guilty of blaspheming Him.
So we are understanding the problems we are facing.
• According to Zechariah’s last message we would say that we have no light to
shine without the indwelling Holy Spirit and that would be true.
BUT WE MUST ALSO LEARN THAT
We have no light to shine apart from a righteous life.
Obviously the two run hand in hand since it is the Holy Spirit
That accomplishes that sanctifying work in our lives.
And that is what makes these next two visions so fitting to the flow.
God will address Israel’s lack of light
And it is directly linked to their unrighteous lives.
Now we are going to try and cover these next two visions together
Because I really think they work together,
But there is no way we can get through them both in one sermon.
So let me give you sort of AN OVERVIEW
Which we can come back and flesh out a little more.
You have here two more visions (numbers 6 & 7 on the night)
• The first is the vision of THE FLYING SCROLL
• The second is the vision of THE FILTHY BASKET
(that’s what an “ephah” was, it was a basket used to hold grain or other valuables and thus became synonymous with commerce or treasure or valuable things)
I also want you to understand that the first vision
Is given in response to the second.
Now that seems backward, for we would think that the second vision would be given in response to the first, but that is not the case here.
Let me show you.
• In the vision of “The Flying Scroll” we have a scroll which is the word of God which is a penetrating force that is coming to purify Israel.
And of this scroll God says in verse 4,
“I will make it go forth, declares the LORD of hosts…”
So God is going to intervene according to His sovereign power
And cause His word to go forth throughout the land.
The reason is because something else is currently
Going forth throughout the land which should not be.
In verse 5 we read, “Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.”
That is to say, there is something that is going forth in the world.
In verse 6, “I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.”
Then later in verse 8 we find out that “This is wickedness!”
SO FOLLOW ME HERE.
• We currently have something that is going forth throughout the land and
it is wickedness.
• In response to that reality God will cause His word to go forth in order to
purify the people.
That is why I say that the first vision
Is actually given in response to the second.
God is correcting a terrible reality in the nation of Israel.
They are a people who love wickedness
Which will obviously prevent their light from shining,
And God is therefore going to purify them with His word.
He is going to turn them into a light in the midst of darkness
By means of the sanctification of His word.
And incidentally, this fits perfectly with the theme of this book.
We have said all along that the main point of the message is
“The Lord Remembers”
And we found out last week that this refers to His faithfulness.
He always remembers to accomplish the purposes which He has promised.
He never forgets, He always remembers.
Here we are reminded that God’s purpose
Also includes the purity and sanctification of His people.
Can I remind you of the conversation God had with Israel at Sinai?
Exodus 19:3-6 “Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the sons of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. ‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
• God chose Israel as the people of His own possession from all the other nations of the earth.
• And continually God revealed Laws to this nation that was for the purpose of setting them apart.
That has always been His intention.
The times when God became the angriest was when His people started to blend and assimilate into the world around them.
• When they adopted their customs…
• When they adopted their worship practices…
• When they adopted their gods…
• When they adopted their morality…
God was angry, because His people were supposed to be different,
They were supposed to be holy.
And it is clear that God is also REMEMBERING THAT PURPOSE.
Let’s look at it together.
#1 THE FLYING SCROLL
Zechariah 5:1-4
Both of these visions can seem a little difficult at first, but I assure you the point will become very clear to you by the time we are done.
(1) “Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll.”
The scroll is obviously the word of God
And the fact that it is flying speaks to the swiftness of its travel.
It is not different from what Ezekiel experienced.
Ezekiel 2:8-10 “Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.”
God’s word has arrived.
God’s word is present.
(2) “And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
The significant thing is that it is the exact size of the Holy of Holies.
• It is holy
• It is consecrated
• It is set apart
There is also a link here to the glory of God which fills the Holy of Holies
And the word of God.
You don’t get one without the other.
You don’t get God’s presence without God’s word.
It harkens back to Jesus telling Peter in the upper room, that if I don’t wash you then you have no part with Me.
You don’t get Me without the word.
And those are just some basic and yet obvious observations.
God’s word is coming and coming swiftly.
We would ask: TO WHAT PURPOSE?
(3) “Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.”
And now we’re getting somewhere.
God’s word is not referred to here as a blessing, but rather as a curse.
(You probably noticed it was referred to the same way to Ezekiel)
God’s word is bringing with it a CURSE, bad news that is.
God’s word is bringing with it JUDGMENT.
And it is coming “over the face of the whole land”
This is not some “feel good” message of affirmation and encouragement,
This is a message of judgment.
This word is coming to expose and convict and condemn and to curse.
WHO?
“surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.”
Two people this scroll is after.
The one who “steals” and the one who “swears”
You’ll see in a minute that swearing has to do with swearing falsely by God’s name.
So we are dealing with people who love the world
As proven by their stealing
And with people who have
Made a false profession of allegiance to God.
Let’s talk about the first.
God is going to use this word of judgment to “purge away” everyone who “who steals”
At this point I would remind you of the Ten Commandments.
• You are aware that the first 4 commandments relate to how man views God.
• The last 6 related to how man views man.
Each of these commandments do as well.
Here we are dealing with sin against humanity, it is the one “who steals”
That is to say that their lives are morally bankrupt.
• There is no love of their fellow man.
• There is no practical righteousness or evident morality in their lives.
• They are very simply sinful people.
They just do wicked things.
Certainly stealing is one of them, but I don’t think it’s limited to that.
We are simply talking here about people who
Claim to be God’s people and yet are living immoral lives.
And I must tell you that this is absolutely unacceptable.
THE ONE WHO FOLLOWS GOD MUST LIVE A HOLY LIFE.
1 Peter 1:13-16 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, “YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.”
Paul said:
Ephesians 4:17-24 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
The one who claims to follow God must not live in immorality.
In fact we are told that those who do must be disciplined.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”
A person who claims to be a follower of God
And yet who lives in blatant immorality is a major problem;
WHY?
BECAUSE THEY BLASPHEME GOD.
It’s one thing for a sinful pagan to live a sinful life, you don’t expect anything else.
But when one who claims to follow God does the same,
It is an absolute offense to the reputation of God.
And God will not have it.
1 Peter 1:17-20 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you”
Those who claim Christ and yet live immoral lives
Actually do harm to the reputation of God.
It was as the old German philosopher said, “Show me your redeemed life and then maybe I’ll consider your Redeemer.”
How many times have we heard the old adage, “There ain’t nothing but a bunch of hypocrites at that church.”?
Why do you suppose they say that?
Because they reject Christ and yet people in the church confess Him
And those who are lost can’t tell the difference between the two.
It is absolutely disgraceful the way sin has become tolerated in the body.
It’s no wonder the light doesn’t shine.
Our light is hidden under our basket
By means of our immoral living and iniquity.
The world is desperately looking for
A true expression of a sanctified church
And all the while the church is doing everything they can
To blend in with the world.
Well I can tell you who won’t stand for it, and that is God.
One of the reasons that He sends His word
Is to purge out of his body the sinful man.
His word will either drive him to repentance or drive him away,
But it will refuse to allow him to remain here in his sinful state.
But that isn’t all.
“and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side.”
• This doesn’t mean that God is going after people who say, “I swear”.
• Nor does it mean He is opposed to people who use bad language and quote “swear” all the time.
The point explained in verse 4 where God says, “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name.”
What does He mean by that?
It is the danger of the false confession, the false oath, the false commitment.
Do you understand the nature of a covenant?
• We enter into a binding agreement.
• We take an oath.
• We swear.
Israel certainly did this with God didn’t they?
Exodus 19:7-8 “So Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which the LORD had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.”
These were people who entered into a covenant agreement with God.
They swore that they would do what God said.
Now, there was more to it even than that.
At that point at Sinai Moses then
Reiterated to the people the commands of God.
This was Exodus 20-23
Then we get to chapter 24.
Exodus 24:3-8 “Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!” Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ” All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
Two more times they agreed to enter the covenant and totally obey God.
And then Moses actually sprinkled the people with blood
As a means of ratifying the covenant.
It was a sign of judgment for a failure to uphold your end of the bargain.
• Incidentally in the book of Deuteronomy these judgments for failing to comply are explicitly spelled out. They are called “curses” which if you will remember is precisely what is written on this scroll we are looking at here in Zechariah.
Hebrews 9:19-20 “For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.”
So these people entered a covenant
Whereby they promised to follow God under pain of judgment
If their oath turned out to be a false one.
Well, their oath did prove false.
They had sworn allegiance to God by means of their obedience and they broke that oath.
Isaiah 48:1-2 “Hear this, O house of Jacob, who are named Israel And who came forth from the loins of Judah, Who swear by the name of the LORD And invoke the God of Israel, But not in truth nor in righteousness. “For they call themselves after the holy city And lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name.”
Jeremiah 5:1-3 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, And look now and take note. And seek in her open squares, If you can find a man, If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth, Then I will pardon her. “And although they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’ Surely they swear falsely.” O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have smitten them, But they did not weaken; You have consumed them, But they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to repent.”
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,”
Isaiah 30:9-11 “For this is a rebellious people, false sons, Sons who refuse to listen To the instruction of the LORD; Who say to the seers, “You must not see visions”; And to the prophets, “You must not prophesy to us what is right, Speak to us pleasant words, Prophesy illusions. “Get out of the way, turn aside from the path, Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
And that is really just the tip of the iceberg there.
Israel told God they would follow, but they lied to Him.
As a result they were a blasphemous testimony to the world around them.
• They weren’t lights in the midst of darkness, they were just like the darkness.
• They were a light hid under a basket.
• They were a flashlight without batteries.
They claimed it, but they weren’t it.
It was a false confession.
God’s word was coming to remove all such blasphemous problems.
And let me tell you this is just as serious today.
Do you understand that when you confessed Christ you also entered into a covenant with Him?
• Maybe you meant it…
• Maybe you didn’t…
• But it doesn’t change the fact that you said it.
And breaking that agreement is no small thing.
In fact, listen to this passage:
1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”
Did you catch that?
• Peter is referring to the elect, the chosen.
• Those who have been sanctified by the Spirit to obey Jesus
• “and be sprinkled with His blood”
Peter is referencing that event that took place under Moses at Sinai.
When the people said they would follow
And the covenant was ratified by the sprinkling of the blood.
Peter says that when we submitted our lives to Christ we entered the same type of oath.
• This is not a confession that can be taken lightly.
• This is an oath
• This is to swear allegiance
And those who make such an oath and then fail to keep it
Are in great danger of punishment before the Lord.
For sure they are subject to the discipline of the church,
But they are also subject to being exposed as false by Christ
And even eternally judged.
Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.”
These are false converts.
These are false believers.
These are those who lied about their commitment to Christ.
And in case you are sitting there thinking that this is no big deal,
Can I take you back to the church in Jerusalem to a story about a man and a woman named Ananias and Sapphira?
Remember they promised money to the Lord
Which they then held back and the Lord killed them right there in church.
What was the lesson?
You don’t go to church and lie to God!
You don’t make false claims or swear falsely to Him.
There are ramifications for making a false oath.
WHY?
Because those people blaspheme God!
And we spend a great deal of time today
Worrying about the feelings of sinful believers
And very little time worrying about the reputation of the God
They are dragging through the mud.
It is absolutely detestable!
I saw a Facebook video clip featuring R.C. Sproul this week.
He sat on a Q&A panel where the question was asked
The question: “Since God is slow to anger and patient then why, when man first sinned, was His wrath and punishment so severe and long lasting?
R.C. answered “Time out, didn’t we just have that question a second ago…That God’s punishment for Adam was so severe? This creature from the dirt defied the everlasting Holy God, after that God had said “The day that you shall eat of it, you shall surely die.” And instead of dying (Thanatos) that day, he lived another day, and was clothed in his nakedness, by pure grace, and had the consequences of a curse applied for quite some time, but the worst curse would come upon the one who seduced him, whose head would be crushed by the seed of the woman. And the punishment was too severe? What’s wrong with you people!?! I’m serious, I mean this is what’s wrong with the Christian church today. We don’t know who God is and we don’t know who we are. The question is, “Why wasn’t it infinitely more severe?” If we have any understanding of our sin and any understanding of who God is, that’s the question isn’t it?
(To watch the video: click here)
The implication there is that we have forgotten that
We are nothing but dirt formed out of the ground
And how dare we defy the living God.
• How dare we think that our feelings are more important than His glory?
• How dare we make ourselves equal with the Creator?
• How dare we make this all about man instead of about God?
See here we have people
• Who profess God’s name and then live immoral lives and drag God’s name through the mud.
• They blaspheme Him before the world by reason of their immorality and their false confession
• And we somehow end up taking the side of the sinner.
And we wonder why our light is not shining
And bringing glory to God
What light?
That is the problem with Israel.
• God intends to make them a light to the world, but He must first get rid of all the baskets that are concealing it.
• So God sends His word to purge from among His people all who are immoral and all who are false brethren.
And according to verse 4 God is going to make it happen.
(4) “I will make it go forth,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”
God will send His word and use it to purify this people;
To sanctify this people,
So that they are a finally a light in the midst of the darkness.
We’ll stop for now and pick back up here next time.
