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Zechariah 8 Visions Verses 1-8
Zechariah 8 Visions Verses 1-8 | Let’s turn to Zechariah 8 in our Bibles.
The 8th chapter of the book of Zechariah is where
we find the third response of the Lord to a question that the Jews asked
earlier in chapter 7. The entire third response is found in verses 1-17. But
we’re only going to be able to study the first part of this response in verses
1-8 today.
Now, the original question that the Jews asked the priests is this: “Should we keep fasting to commemorate and mourn the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC?”
And God’s first response could be summarized like this: “Your fasting wasn’t right, you did it for yourself, you did not love me with all your heart and (by implication) this is why your temple was destroyed which is why you have been fasting these 70 years in the first place.”
Then God’s second response was something like this: “Historically you people have been unloving to your neighbor and this is yet another reason why your temple was destroyed which is the reality that has caused you to fast.”
And now, we’re going to see the first part of God’s third
response to the Jews’ question about fasting. As I said, the entire response is
found in verses 1-17 of chapter 8. But we’re going to cover only the first 8
verses of this chapter.
Now, where God’s first two responses were essentially
negative – focusing on the faults of the people – and especially the sins of the
ancestors of these Jews of Zechariah’s day – this third response is very
positive and focuses on God’s actions with a very heavy emphasis on the future.
So, let’s read Zechariah 8:1-17 in its entirety.
[Read Zec 8:1-17…]
Zechariah 8 Visions 8.1
Now, we notice that this is indeed a new response from the
Lord because of what verse 1 says.
KJV Zechariah 8:1 ¶ [Again/Then/And] the word of the LORD [of hosts/who rules over all/Almighty] came to me, [saying/as follows],
And we’ve seen that this is how each of these four answers
start – with the word of the Lord coming to Zechariah. So, this is the third of
those four responses.
Zechariah 8 Visions 8.2
And here is how the Lord begins this third response to their
question about fasting.
2 [Thus saith/X Says this/This is what X says] the LORD [of hosts/who rules over all/Almighty];
I [was/am/have been] [jealous for Zion with great jealousy/exceedingly jealous for Zion/very much concerned for Zion/very jealous for Zion],
[and I/yes, I/indeed, I] [was/am] jealous for her with great [fury/wrath]. [i.e., so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her…]
So, the Lord begins by focusing on his emotions toward his
chosen people. He is extremely jealous for his people – for what is his. Now, it’s
immoral to be jealous for what is not
yours – but it is completely acceptable to be jealous for what is rightfully yours.
And this jealousy of God for his people morphs into another
emotion – that of anger – great anger. It’s an anger that we’ve heard about
before in this book – an anger that will be unleashed on the enemies of God’s
people.
Now, the Jews had been fasting since the destruction of the
temple in Jerusal
View all episodes
By PaulZechariah 8 Visions Verses 1-8 | Let’s turn to Zechariah 8 in our Bibles.
The 8th chapter of the book of Zechariah is where
we find the third response of the Lord to a question that the Jews asked
earlier in chapter 7. The entire third response is found in verses 1-17. But
we’re only going to be able to study the first part of this response in verses
1-8 today.
Now, the original question that the Jews asked the priests is this: “Should we keep fasting to commemorate and mourn the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC?”
And God’s first response could be summarized like this: “Your fasting wasn’t right, you did it for yourself, you did not love me with all your heart and (by implication) this is why your temple was destroyed which is why you have been fasting these 70 years in the first place.”
Then God’s second response was something like this: “Historically you people have been unloving to your neighbor and this is yet another reason why your temple was destroyed which is the reality that has caused you to fast.”
And now, we’re going to see the first part of God’s third
response to the Jews’ question about fasting. As I said, the entire response is
found in verses 1-17 of chapter 8. But we’re going to cover only the first 8
verses of this chapter.
Now, where God’s first two responses were essentially
negative – focusing on the faults of the people – and especially the sins of the
ancestors of these Jews of Zechariah’s day – this third response is very
positive and focuses on God’s actions with a very heavy emphasis on the future.
So, let’s read Zechariah 8:1-17 in its entirety.
[Read Zec 8:1-17…]
Zechariah 8 Visions 8.1
Now, we notice that this is indeed a new response from the
Lord because of what verse 1 says.
KJV Zechariah 8:1 ¶ [Again/Then/And] the word of the LORD [of hosts/who rules over all/Almighty] came to me, [saying/as follows],
And we’ve seen that this is how each of these four answers
start – with the word of the Lord coming to Zechariah. So, this is the third of
those four responses.
Zechariah 8 Visions 8.2
And here is how the Lord begins this third response to their
question about fasting.
2 [Thus saith/X Says this/This is what X says] the LORD [of hosts/who rules over all/Almighty];
I [was/am/have been] [jealous for Zion with great jealousy/exceedingly jealous for Zion/very much concerned for Zion/very jealous for Zion],
[and I/yes, I/indeed, I] [was/am] jealous for her with great [fury/wrath]. [i.e., so concerned for her that my rage will fall on those who hurt her…]
So, the Lord begins by focusing on his emotions toward his
chosen people. He is extremely jealous for his people – for what is his. Now, it’s
immoral to be jealous for what is not
yours – but it is completely acceptable to be jealous for what is rightfully yours.
And this jealousy of God for his people morphs into another
emotion – that of anger – great anger. It’s an anger that we’ve heard about
before in this book – an anger that will be unleashed on the enemies of God’s
people.
Now, the Jews had been fasting since the destruction of the
temple in Jerusal