Zechariah 8:1-17; Matthew 25:14-30

In this message we will cover the

same verses as in our last. But this time
we will do so more interpretively rather
than purely applicationaUy. Our con-
cern here is with what this passage spe-
dfically meant to its original audience
rather than what prindples from it may
we apply to our lives. Although, of
course, there will be principles drawn
from it for today.
In the preceding chapter God had
rebuked Judah for empty formalism in
worship. Now He turns to cheer them by
the prospective of conformity to His will.
Over and over again He reminds this
remnant of people of their future pros-
pects based on exactly who he is: (1) He
is the ever living "WRD" who speaks
(Zech. 8:1,2,3,4,6,7,9,11,14,17). The
name 'Jehovah," translated "LORD" is
from Exodus 3: 14 and means "I am that
1 am. That is, He always is and He exists
of His will. (2) FUlthermore, He is the
"LORD of hosts" (Zech. 8:1,2,3,4,
6,7,9,11,14). That is, He comrols the
millions of mighty angels, who are His
servants.
Nowwhat does thisrepetitious refer-
ence to the power of God entail in terms
ofjudah's hope?
1. The LORD Has Returned.
In our last message we noted that our
hope today restS on the presence of God
with us. Thesame,ofcourse, wastrueof
Israel. God loved Israel immensely, de-
spite her sin, Zechariah 8:2. He had not
cast her away forever, though He had
sorely chastened her.
Remember that Ezekiel was an exilic
prophet. He lived during the Babylonian
Captivity and was himself exiled and
even prophesied in Babylon (Eze. 1:1).
Ezekiel saw a vision of God's departing
from Israel due to her idolatry (Eze.
10:3-4,18; 11:22-23). But now Zecha-
riah brings a word to Judah from the
same Lord, Zechariah 8:3. When the
temple is finished Godwould once again
dweU in it, for He has returned.
The great covenantal principle is
brought forth in conjunction with the
promise of God's return, Zechariah 8:8.
God's gradous covenant with His people
orbits around this theme: ''/ will be YOllr
God, yOlI will be my people." What truth is
more wondrous: We belong to God and
He to us! This wondrous theme rever-
berates throughout Scripture and is the
essenceofGod'scovenantaldealingswith
us (Gen. 17:9; Exo. 5:2; 6:7; 24:45;
29:45; Deut. 7:9;29:10-15;2Sam. 7:24;
Psa. 105:9;Jer. 24:7; 31:33; 32:38; Eze.
11:20; 34:24; 36:28; 37:23; Zech. 13:9;
2 Cor. 6:16-18; Rev. 21:3). This truth
was espectally cheering to judah, who
had endured severe chastisemem and
deprivation. But the truth remains
"Whom the Lord loveth, He chastens." '
jesus, whose name is "Immanuel"
("God with us") tellsus "Apartfrom Meye
can do nothing" Oolm 15:5). Judah has
experienced the reality of this truth.
When God depaned from her, she fell
headlong into judgment. From the glory
days of David and Solomontothe dismal
days of lamentation she fell. jeremiah,
another prophet of the exile, even wrote
a book entitled "Lamentations," which
meant "loud crying." All of this was
because God had depaned from her due
to her sin. Apan from Him she could do
nothing.
But now God has returned, Zecha-
riah8:3a. Asweshallsee, this will be the
starting point for great blessings. But first
we mightreflea onwhatjolm Calvin has
written: "God is never idle when he
dwells in his people; for he cleanses away
every kind of impurity, every kind of
deceit, that where he dwells may ever be
aholyplace" (On Zechariah 8:3). Andso
it is. When God returns to judah, when
He comes to dweU amongHispeople, we
discover that
2. The LORD Will Sanctify.
God's presence cannot be an inactive
one. Some churches have inactive rolls
but God is not inactive. likeJesus did ~
a literal sense in the NewT estament God ,
promises to do house cleaning in aspiri-
mal sense upon anival injudah, Zecha-
riah 8:3. His rerum would not be noted
byashinglehanging on the outside of the
temple: "God in residence, inquire
within." Rather, His presence would
become evident by the burning presence
of the Lord to sanctify according to the
truth, Zechariah 8:8.
We must remember that according
to the theo!ogyofScripture, we live in an
ethical cause and effea universe. Evolu-
tionists teach us that the universe is
ultimately chance oriented and that
moralityis just a human convention. But
the Scripture teaches otherwise. And
lsraellearned the lesson the hard way.
November, 1992 ~ TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ~ 21
Israel was instructed in the truth
through God's prophetic revelation to
learn of the divinely ordained prindple
of ultimate ethical cause and effect. "Be
sure, your sins will find you our' (Num.
32:23). "The saul that sinneth shall die"
(Eze. 18:4). "What a man sows that shall
he reap" (Gal. 6: 7). "Shall ruin befall a cit'
and the Inrdhath notdoneit?" (Amos 3 :6).
On and on we could go. God is at work
in the affairs of men to judge evil and
reward righteousness. He is at work to
sanctify His people.
Throughherowncaptiv-
ity, Israel was reminded of .
the ethical cause and effect :
prindpleunderGod'ssover- >:
eignty, Zechariah 8:14. The '
shakingofthephysicalearth, ...
the destruction of political ;.
kingdoms, are evidences that
God is "provoked to wrath,"
despite the smiley-face the-
ology of some modern .
pop-theologians. Noah's; ..
flood inundated the entire ::: .. ,
globeunderhundredsoffeet .
of water. Andallthernillions
of fossils buried in mud are
testimony to that event.
Sodam and Gomorrah were
destroyed by volcanic erup-
tion -- and that area is known for its
volcanic activity. The broken walls of
jericho have been found with evidence
of the unusually rapid destruction of the
dty under God's judgment.
Thus, when God returns to judah,
Hespeaksofsanctification. Hepromises
that there is coming it day whenjerusa-
lem shall be called a dry of truth and
Mount Zion a holy mountain (Zech.
8:3). He speaks of establishing His pres-
ence among His people, not in the ab-
stract, not regardless, but in truth and
righteousness (Zech. 8:8).
Because of this His returncomeswith
an obligation to keeping His holy Law.
The Ten Commandments are not the
Ten Suggestions. They are introduced
with grace: "I am the Inrd thy God who
hathbroughttheoutofthehouseofbondage"
(Exo.20:1). They are commandments
gradously given to His people. And their
commandsarepartia1lysummarizedhere
so the people might dwell in His pres-
ence, Zechariah 8:16-19.
Again, as in Zechariah 7, we find a
mixingofcategories. Two of these com-
mands briefly mentioned are personal
and soda! obligations, two are dvil and
governmental. And again, like in Zecha-
riah 7, they are paralleled.
Zechariah 8: 16a is personal: "speak
truth to your neighbor." God is a God of
truth, consequently judah and we must
live in terms of truth. Verse 17a even
penetrates more deeply by moving be-
hindthewordstotheinnermostthoughts:
"Think no evil in your heart toward your
neighbor." This is a personal law from
God to judah and to us.
Then in verse 16b the governmental
command appears: "execute justice and
establish peace in your gates." The refer-
ence to "gates" has to do with the court
law. The place where the elders or the
judges of the dry sat in the gates, was
where justice was administered (Deut.
21:19; 22:15;josh. 20:4). Godexpects
the people personally to be righteous,
22 ;. THE COUNSEL ofChaicedon ;. November, 1992
but also the people sadetally and cultur-
ally to establish righteous governmem
(cp. Zech. 1:9-12; lsa. 1:21-23).
Verse 17b parallels this by prohibit-
ingpeljuryin the comext of court action.
God's law against peljuryis severe -- and
absolutely just (Deut.19: 16-20).Itshould
have been incorporated in lsrael, when
jesus was falsely accused (Matt. 26:60).
It should be incorporated in our law
today because of the large role govern-
ment necessarily plays in life.
Thus, God commands sanctification
on the personal level and
sodallevel. Hecommands
sanctification in heart and
in word. Because He de-
tests wickedness, Zecha-
riah 8:17c. This is as true
for Israel of old as it is for
America of today. "Thelaw

7: 12),and whatmorecould
wewantfromalawsystem?
Now since God works
sanctification in both the
individual and in sadery,
he therefore expects it in
the world at large. Thus:
3. The LORD Win Bless.
Now although the
presence of God was destined to issue
forth insanctification, it isapparent from
jewish history after Zechariah's day that
there was not much in the way ofholi-
ness in the Land. Yet God did return to
His temple, for Chdst calls the temple
"My Father's house" (fohn 2:16). It was
not until after the jews rejected Chdst
that the house would be left desolate
(Matt. 23:38). Let us consider some of
the blessings held out to them and their
fulfillment.
First, jerusalem is promised to be "a
cit' of truth" and Zion "the holy mountain. "
But what we know of jewish history
speaks the opposite. How can this be?
Dispensationalists put these prophedes
offinto our distant future, when they say
Christ will return and literally dwell in
Jerusalem. A better interpretation is
found in the New Testament. There we
do find the fulfillment of] erusalem as a
city of truth in an important respect:
Jerusalem was the source of the procla-
mation of the Gospel of Jesus Chtist.
This prophecy is ultimately Messianic.
In Luke 24:47 and Acts 1:8 we see her
role as the source of the promulgation of
the truth of the Gospel. In Hebrews
12:22 we leam that conversion to Chtist
spiritually brings one to "Mount Zion."
And what greater truth is there than the
gospel, which brings one to holy Mount
Zion?
Second, this prophecy, thus, finds its
realization in the New Covenant prom-
ises. Interesting, the New Covenant
mentioned by Jeremiah seems to fonn
the backdrop for some of the language
here (Jer. 31:31-34). In Zechariah the
covenant promise of restored commun-
ion with God is evident, verse 8. God's
indwelling presence and the covenantal
promise of their being My people and
His being their God are fumiliar to both.
Also in verse 13 we find reference to
both the house ofJudah and Israel-- even
though Israel, the Northern Ten Tribes of
theJews, has now long since been lost. Yet
in the New Covenant both Jeremiah, as
well as in Zechariah's allusion to it, God's
promise is to Israel and Judah. As we
mentioned in an earlier message this evi-
dentlypointstothetotalityofGod'speople
by mentioning even the ten lost tribes.
We say this because Jesus very clearly
established the New Covenant with us at
the Last Supper (Luke 22:20). Thus, the
Ismel and Judah here refer to all of God's
people throughout the world, of whatever
race and nationality they might be.
The New Covenant will ultimately
issue fonh is worldwide salvation (verse
7). ThisremindsusofJeremiah31:34. It
also is preparatory forJesus' statement in
Matthew 8:11.
Third, as a consequence of this New
Covenant salvation, there is the promise
of peace and longevity to her citizens,
Zechariah 8:4-5. The picture here is of a
people dwelling in security, with lives
not cut shon by war or pestilence. This,
too, could look like the premillennial
eanhly kingdom. But it is not necessary
to hold such an idea.
In the New Testament the Church of
Jesus Chtist, which has its source and
authority in heaven, is called the "Jerusa-
lem above" and is set in contrast to the
Jerusalem below, which was literal
Jerusalem (Gal. 4:25-26). Consequently,
those convened to Christ are said to
come to the "heavenly Jerusalem" (Heb.
12:22-23). Thus, the New Testament
sets for a spiIitual interpretation for the
Jerusalem promises, rather than a literal-
istic interpretation. This is why the Old
Testament saints are said to have looked
for a city whose builder and maker is
God(Heb. 11:9-10,13-16). Thisiswhy
it is said that our citizenship is in heaven
(Phil. 3:20).
This is a fundamental difference be-
. tween the refonned, biblical approach to
these prophecies and the fundamental-
ist, dispensational approach. We let the
NewTestamentdecide the question; they
determine the fulfillment of the prophe-
cies apan from and in advance of the
New Testament by presupposing a liter-
alistic approach to Scripture. For in-
stance,thisinterpretiveapproachisclearly
employed in Acts 15, where the conver-
sion of the gentiles and erection of the
Church is attributed to Old Testament
prophecies regarding David's tabernacle
(Acts 15:14-1'7).
The idea of the city ofJerusalem has
to do with a collected people building a
culture together. The initial fulfillment
of this prophecy has to do with the
establishment of Christ's ldngdom, which
is not of this world (John 18:36). Itisthe
heavenly city, theJerusalemabove, whose
maker and builder is God.
Ultimately, there will be the world-
wide influence of this city, the city of
truth, the city of salvation. Its influence
flows from above, coming down into
history (Rev. 21:1,2). As its influence
grows and men and nations are con-
vened, peace and prosperitywill abound
(Isa. 2:4; 9:6; 11:9). Men and women
will live to old age; children will safely
play in the streets. This would not point
to heaven, because people are found in
extreme old age using canes to walk.
This must be in history.
Founh, due to the pelvasive influ-
ence of salvation throughout the world
and the increased stability in history,
there will be great prosperity. As godly
principles are employed in the conduct
of the affairs of men and nations, unpar-
alleledeconomicproductivityandgrowth
will be experienced (verses 12-13).
It is instructive to realize that Israel's
predicament was so horrible during the
Babylonian Captivity that her prophets
prophesied that the heathen would used
Israel's name as a curse or taunt (Jer.
24:8,9). But God's Word here speaks of
promises so wonderful as to mirror in
glory the intensity of the previous curses
(verse 13-15). In other words, to the
same degree God cursed Israel, to that
degree will He bless her, thatis, the Israel
of God (Gal. 6:16).
As lowas Israel camein the Captivity,
her exaltation as the people of God will
be in her transformed spiritual phase.
Thus, Christ's kingdom is destined to
wondrous glory.
Conclusion
Truly we see the power of the Lord's
presence among a people. He brings
with Him a transforming spiritual power.
That is the power of the Gospel of]esus
Christ, which wemay have today through
faith in His Name. If you repent of your
sins and turn to Christ, He will come and
fill you with His presence. He will begin
transfonning your life.
And as more and more citizens are
won to His heavenly kingdom, the effect
will be noticeable here on eanh. Conver-
sions will increase, peace and security
November, 1992 THE COUNSEL of Cbalcedon t- 23
will abound, and prosperity will flow.
TIns is the future of God's people. It
is a future that has already begun in
seminal fonnasmillionsbavebeen dtawn
into the kingdom of Christ. More lies
before us in the future.n
Arise!
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