YHWH's Big Project Zech 14:1-8

Big Projects

Just recently, Shell completed a multi-billion dollar project here in Beaver county. It took over 10 years of planning, building, and many people coming together to make this happen. Thankfully, I was able to be part of this project and we have successfully been able to start the plant.

There were times throughout the project where it felt that the construction would never end and we would forever be following up on punch list items to be completed. However, it finally came to pass that we were able to start small units up that supported the larger overall site.

It is amazing to be part of something so large that took so long to complete and see the fruit of the labor come to pass.

Big projects take faith in a vision that someone else may have laid out. Shell’s polyethylene plant was thought up many years ago when I was not even in the chemical industry. Yet, I believed the people who had laid out this plan knew more than I did and persevered through doubt and trials to succeed where others left doubting.

Losing Sight of the Goal

How many of us lose sight of the overall plan because of the small issues that show up in our lives?

It is easy for us to become dissuaded by the issues that come up. One out of the three of our plants has had some difficulty getting up and running. Seeing the frustration is evident upon the faces of those who see the rest of the plants working through problems after they started.

When we encounter issues in our lives, we must look forward to the end goal and take note of the small wins daily in order to not lose sight of what is in store for us.

Yes, there are times where we falter, stumble, are left wondering if we will make it. However, there are those around us who share the faith of the path and should be an encouragement to those who are doubting they will make it.

The Day of YHWH

We look out into the world today and wonder when is God coming to take care of His promise to overthrow this world’s evil kingdom. In the Old Testament, the Israelites prayed fervently for the return of their king to release them from bondage.

Once Jesus arrived, they showered Him one week as their king but were disappointed when He wouldn’t take the earthly leadership and killed Him by the following week. People often want to have God to be king only on their own terms but God’s day is different than what we imagine and has been in planning from before the creation of the world (Eph. 1:4).

Zechariah reminds us of God’s day; that it is both for judgement and mercy and not our day for it is the Day of the LORD.

Redditt, Paul L.. Zechariah 9-14 : English first edition. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag, 2012. Accessed January 21, 2023. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Zechariah 14:1 NKJV

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.

Zechariah 14:2 NKJV

For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Zechariah 14:3 NKJV

Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.

Zechariah 14:4 NKJV

And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.

There is no time in history where the Mount of Olives has been split indicating a future prophecy yet to be fulfilled.

Zechariah 14:5 NKJV

Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.

Zechariah 14:6 NKJV

It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.

Zechariah 14:7 NKJV

It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.

Zechariah 14:8 NKJV

And in that day it shall be— That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.

Preparing for Your Day

“I Hope He brings brownies”

One misconception that people tend to believe is that they may continue to live their lives without regard to the difference between what they do in their lives and what God calls them to do in their lives.

The return of Jesus Christ will be full of awe and wonder. Something which no imagination will be able to think of. Even with the amount of CGI, we are only able to create because we are made in the image of the greatest creator, God.

Some denominations may preach only mercy with an emphasis on a baptist pot luck gathering as the day of the Lord. However, Zechariah shows us both a God of mercy and one of judgement.

For you who have read through both the prophecies of the Old Testament and the prophecies of the New, you will note that God does declare a time of reckoning and a time of peace.

Before the time of peace, the time of God’s judgement upon the world will come once again. There have been many judgements upon the world, once through the flood of Noah and once again upon the resurrection of Christ.

There will be yet another when Christ returns to dwell amongst the people.

Zechariah declares there will be a river of flowing water. Later Jesus declares that He is the living water John 4:1-26. John the apostle writes Rev 22:1

Revelation 22:1 NKJV

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Prisoners of War

If the Lord’s day is a battle we are waiting for, then the church must patiently wait until that day comes. This does not mean there is nothing for us to do but wait. On the contrary, we the church are to gather those in who realize they are held captive.

What are they held captive by? Sin, and the wiles of the enemy to keep them in that bondage.

To prepare people for the last battle and the day of the LORD, we must share the hope of faith that allows us to see joy in the darkness. We must offer the words of encouragement and not condemnation.

When that day comes and at first people are scattered, the church must have given people the path and the words of truth to guide them through this time. A remnant will remain in Jerusalem as Zechariah prophecies.

Look out at the world today and recognize the battle is still raging on. We are awaiting the arrival of our savior king, Jesus Christ, to plant His feet on the Mount of Olives and claim rightfully the world and those who have been held captive during this war.

For those who desire to go free from the bondage they have been burdened with during this war, they only need to believe in Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of God’s plan.

On the cross, Jesus proclaimed that “It is finished.” It is difficult for believers and non believers alike to see the finality of that proclamation when the world looks as it does. However, we must maintain our faith and aid others to see the plan of God through the words of His prophets such as Zechariah and John.