Zechariah 5.

Zechariah 5.

Recap where are we in the story. (Deut 30 1-20).

A new vison comes as Zechariah lifts his eyes, he sees a flying scroll, it is 4,5 / 15 ft. meters wide and 9 meters long/30 ft, Zec tells the angel, that tell him what it means, “is a curse that goes out over the face of the whole land/earth”, that anyone that steals will be cleaned out according to what the one side of the scroll say. The other side is about the ones that swears falsely, they will be cleaned out.

And to make it clear, the Lord of hosts say: I will send it out, and it will enter houses of thief’s and people who swear falsely by God’s name, and it shall remain in his house and consume it both wood and stone…

Wow, God’s word in the scroll will cleans the land, (the earth) like he cleansed the priesthood and leadership, and put an end to sin.

Then a vision more Zec sees something that is going out, the response is this is their iniquity,

The lid of a basket or measuring cup/Ephah, made of lead, was lifted by the angle, and inside was a woman, this is wickedness said the angle and thrust her back in the basked and put the lead lid back on.

Then lifting his eyes he saw 2 women, with wind in their stork wings, and the lifted the basket up. Then Zec asks where they are taking it. The explaining angle that said: to the land of Shinar/Babylon, where they will build a house/temple for it and place it there when it is done.

Iniquity and Wickedness is flown away, boxed in, cleansed out of the land. (Idols worships, wickedness removed).

Okay first vision: A flying scroll, that is a curse that cleans the land, from false witnesses (about who God is), and people that steal. Someone wrote it is 2 types of sin one against who God is and one against people. When the law is summed up by Jesus, it is love God with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

The people of the land had done the opposite and the curse, written on the scroll was now going to cleans the land, and consume the houses of the people that swears falsely, and the thief’s. (It reminds me about what one had to do if a house was infected, the last consecvens was to destroy the house). For cleansing.

What was Zec and the people understand from this vision? That God was cleansing the land, and that the law of God is good, opposing God brings a curse. Deuteronomy Chapter 30: 19-20 (from verse 1). This is not new this is why the people ended up in exile, they chose the curse, not the blessing. But God is faithful, and is calling his people back, but God will cleans the people and the land.

Does that sound familiar? Why did God give the law? What was it designed for? It was to lead to right relationship with God, to show who God is, it was to guide to God, away form evil and wickedness and idol worship. It was an invitation to relationship, love the lord your God, don’t have other idols. If we people did that then we would also not, lie, steal, bear false witness, because that is not loving the God that made the law or the people that God made in His image.

But they and we misunderstand God and the law, we can hear do this and do that, and we do it or pretend to do it and become proud. “I have saved my self by the law, I am blameless.” Well, no, and you have misunderstood what the law was leading to, to trust in the Lord of hosts, not our own good deeds. (Religiously misunderstand God, your lips honor me but your hearts are fare from me).

Or we give up trying to seek God, and start worshiping other Gods, or things or just give up, or no the law of God is oppressive and old medieval people often say, (it’s a lot older), so people sometimes us rush to words the curse… Wait a minute, you might say, I don’t run after a curse, I am not that dumb, okay what then are you running after? And what results has that given you? (Rich, fame, stability, comfort, my way), You say I am blessed, oh really, how? Are you in right loved for who you were created to be? What is the purpose of your life? What do you do with pain? Guilt? Sorrow… What about your broken body? What about injustice? We live in a cursed world, because we/ people have a clear tendesy to live after the curse. You might say, no the world is fine, it is they way is should be. Oh really? Or is this clear deception of the devil? We are so used to the curse we don’t know what the blessing is?

The law was not there for the law’s sake, to protect people and have them put there hope faith and trust in God. And become obedient from the heart (Paul also writes it is not about complaining and obeying Gods law, it is to be in relationship with God and be obedient from the heart).

The vision then of the scroll, was that Gods law is there to stop sin, and God will make that happen, and cleans the land, Zec and the others are looking at a place where injustice, oppression, lies, false witness about God, stealing, peoples land, and slavery, was happening, so this word would be sweet music in the ears of the people that wanted God to be honored and worshiped, but it might create some fear and trembling of the people that were living for themselves., or in difference.

Hope to the people that wanted to follow God’s law, because they knew Him. Gods promise to cleanse.

The 2 vision, God is taking away the iniquity of the land. Wow, restoring it, The word land, could also mean the whole earth, that is what the old KJV.

To woman with stock wings comes and pick up a basket (measuring epha) inside is wickedness, and they are taking the basket to Shinar, /Babylon a good reason to come back to the land and not stay on Babylon, more likely it is a picture of God taking away idol worship and evil from the land.

What does this have to do with us, good question. God can bind wickedness and evil, and send it away, now that like the first vision has implications, because sometimes we are the people that do the wicked things, lie, steal, worship our self and or false Gods. Then what will a cleansing and a removal do? Judge our sin, and failures, it was and is a call for them/ the people and us, to return to God and worship him only. That the law was good and it leads to God the father, even if we as people abuse or misuse it…

But you might say we can’t keep the law, we fail, and are guilt of it all as we read, yes that is not so great, we can ask what are we guilty of? Failing in our relationship with God the father, because we chose the course instead of life lie instead of truth, we trusted our self instead of God.

Then want is the solution well as God has been so loving and kind to his people that time and time again rejected Him. God made a plan form the beginning, to send Jesus, to show in flesh who God is, to make it some how easier for us people to understand and relate to God. And Jesus showed in his life who God in and what God is like, - because Jesus is God. Our sin problem that we chose the curse again and again, Jesus enters and Jesus takes the curse on himself, in his death, bringing the gab of relationship with God, making possible our relationship with God, Jesus’ resurrection and restoring us, giving us right standing with the father not steeped in the curse by in the clothe of Jesus. Then we pray, and plead with God to work by His Holy Spirt in us and the people around us, to live as his people to shine as lights and to have the hope of all things made new. – Gospel…