Untitled Sermon

Intro

We are now in the back half of these night visions of Zechariah. By some measures we can picture ourselves having moved through half of the night with our prophet and we are now headed for dawn. In the middle of the night we saw the central visions on Joshua and the renewal of the priesthood along with the return of the day of Atonement and the cleansing of the people from their sins and also in chapter 5 the promises surrounding the messianic line that extended from David through his sons the last to rule of a sort being Zerubbable and we see that through him God reminds the people that these promises still stand and that just as Zerubbable will complete the work of Temple building so also there is coming a time when the fulfilment of the covenant with David will come and we will at last find a singular individual who can be both a High Priest and a King and when this person comes the blessings to God’s people will be radically multiplied.

Now one of the overarching themes that we see in scripture is that when God is blessing His people or promising blessing there is also a need for that blessing to be couched in complimentary warnings. As people dwelling in this sinful world we have a propensity to turn, as the Apostle Paul noted in Romans, the grace of God into a license for sin.

We see this throughout the OT as it is quite often when God’s people are experiencing the great blessings of God that in their prosperity they begin to grow self sufficient and drift away from all that God had called them to do and be.

This is what we will see here this morning in these three final visions of Zechariah. Warnings that are intended to guard the people and direct them in the right and proper paths and also warnings that when heeded will also provide even more promise as they show what the end result will be in the world when at last God’s House is built and the wicked are given their just desserts.

We are going to take these visions one at a time and then at the end we will weave their three main points together as an apt application and reminder for us today.

PRAY

Now before we read I will note that these last visions are similar in nature to the first three. There is a chiastic structure to these visions and so we will find that vision 6 is similar to vision 3, 7 to 2 and 8 to 1. If you remember anything from those first visions, the horses in the myrtle glen, the alter and the craftsmen, and the man with the measuring line then see if you can catch some of the parallels as we read.

READ

The Flying Scroll

Our first vision then in 1-4 concerns this flying scroll.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.”

The the angle immediately explains the vision:

English Standard Version Chapter 5

3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”

Now first off note some of the similarities between this vision and the 3rd vision. There are perhaps the least amount of parallels to be had here but we can still see some of them.

We see that in vision 3 the man with the measuring line was going out to measure the land. If you remember the line that he had in his hand was specifically used for measuring distances and so it wasn’t just the city that was being measured but rather the inheritances that were to be allotted in the land. Here we see that the scroll is going out over the whole land.

We also see that measuring seems to play a role here as there are specific dimensions given for this scroll. And lastly we see a reversal of what we saw in vision three. There a portion is being allotted and here the dwelling of those who are sinful is being removed. Their dwellings are being consumed by this curse from the scroll.

So what is going on here?

Well we need to keep in mind here that for much of the imagery in these visions there aren't a lot of guides to tell us what exactly each piece stands for. Fortunately the central meaning of the visions doesn't really get effected if you come down in a different place for each image and its meaning and so I am just going to run you though what my thoughts are having read various interpretations.

When you are working with visions and apocalyptic type literature it is important to focus on the details that are added that could have been left out, this often means that the details themselves are significant.

Here for example we have an exact measure given for the scroll. In English we would say that it is 15 feet by 30 ft. Now this is a very specific measure and much larger than a typical scroll. The longest of scrolls could have reached 30 ft in length but never 15 ft wide, most scrolls were hardly more than a foot wide. So this thing is gigantic.

Now I am inclined to believe that this scroll is this size because the scroll is meant to correspond to the dimensions of the Holy Place in the tabernacle. If you add up the dimensions of the various curtains in Exodus, I believe its 26, you find that the Holy place, right out side of the Holy of Holies was 15x30.

It should not surprise us to find illusions to the tabernacle and temple. And so this scroll is intended I believe to first off, in its measurements represent that holy place within the temple where much of the work of the priests in the worship of God was carried out. In short the standard against which these people are to be judges is holiness.

And so we see that this scroll is called a curse and that there is writing on both sides of it.

Simply put this writing is connected to the 10 commandments as the sin of swearing falsely is related to the 3rd commandment and the sin of stealing is the 8th commandment.

Now the 10 commandments have what is knows as two tables. The first are the five commandments that were on the front of the stone and the second the five that were on the back. By referencing the central commandment from each table this scroll seems to be representing not just these two specific sins but rather the whole of the law.

We are well familiar with the fact that there were curses associated with the breaking of the law. In fact this imagery of these curses going out across the land as a flying scroll is reminiscent of the imagery of Joshua and the people gather on Mt. Ebal and there proclaiming he curses for breaking the law across the land as they entered the promised land. Here we see these curses going out again, this because the people were now again established in the land and so all that had happened before now held true again, there was warning that the people must set themselves to the keeping of the law.

If they do not do this we read that the curses will enter their houses and consume them. The imagery here is similar to what we see int he law when mold or leprosy gets int he walls of a house and it cant be cleaned. The house is eventually destroyed. It is the same with sin, when God’s people countenance sin and do not follow the law the curses of the law take hold and they are consumed in their wickedness.

This is a warning but it is also a promise. The wicked will be consumed from the land of promise. The scrolls position in the sky shows the inescapable nature of this judgment. God sees all, the curses are in the air and they will find those who have not set themselves to be obedient to the Lord.

We see in the gospels the promise that God himself will separate the wheat from the tares. Those who live in disobedience to God will not have an inheritance with His people. We also see the consuming nature of sin. You can not harbor sin in your life without it eventually consuming you. This is why sin must be repented of and the people of God seek to walk in the holiness that God has provided for us!

The Giving Connection

Commentator James Jordan our maximalist also makes a connection between the two sins specifically mentioned here. While acknowledging that they do indeed stand for the breaking of all or any of the law he also notes that specifically one of the more common sinful snares for the people was the failure to give what was required to the temple and the priests. At times they would give one time unique offerings but they neglected the required regular giving. In this way they swore falsely by claiming to follow God and yet stole from God by failing to give what he had required. We see this in this post exilic period as one of Nehemiah's last acts is to reestablish the giving of the portion to the priests for their work in the temple.

Similarly, we ought not to be people who neglect the call to give to the work of the local church. In our day with our prizing of autonomy many believers seem to think that they can and shoudl be free to simply give wherever they feel like they want to give but there is a call to the people of God that runs throughout the Bible even into the NT to give first and generously to the work of your local church. This is why this is included in our membership covenant. Not because Jake or I want more money but rather to encourage those who are members here to foster this habit in their lives and not become guilty of this very sin and in danger of bearing the associated curses.

So again this vision can be summarized simply this way: The law of God stands and its curses are suspended over the land and those who harbor sin in their lives and live in disobedience to God will be consumed by their sin and its curses and have no part in the blessings of the promised land.

Vision 2: The Wicked Woman

Vision two gets even more odd:

English Standard Version Chapter 5

5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, “Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.

9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

Now again we see some striking similarities between this vision and the vision of the 4 horned alter and the craftsmen.

They are both two part visions and they both begin with Zechariah lifting up his eyes and seeing something that causes him to ask what is it or what is going on. Here Zechariah asks what is this basket and there he asks what these 4 horns mean. Then we see that in vision 2 4 craftsmen show up and likewise in the second stage of this vision 2 women with stork wings show up and cause Zechariah to ask what they are going to do.

Now this vision just like the 2nd is very hard to determine what the items represent because we aren't given any sort of explanation as to what these things are.

We see what the ESV calls a basket, your Bible might say Ephah and in reality this was a measure for wheat or some other kind of grain that corresponds to what we would call a bushel and while often a basket ways used to measure grain we cant say for sure that this was explicitly a basket but it does make sense.

Now this basket the angle tells Zechariah represents the sin or iniquity in the land. This phrase is difficult but I will let the way the ESV translates it stand. Literally it says this is their eye but commentators are in general agreement that this basket or ephah is meant to represent sin and iniquity.

This is made even more clear by the contents of the basket. This heavy lead lid is lifted and there is a woman in the basket and the Angle says, “this is wickedness” and it almost seems as though she tries to get out.

Now we must not go all crazy on this text and say that this is some sort of misogynistic imagery say that women are wicked or are an apt picture of wickedness. No, this woman represents the adulterous attitude of the people. Elseware the Bible associates godly wisdom with a woman as well so you cant use this imagery to say something negative about the Bioble as the more liberal would try and do. No this is the adultery of Israel personified and we see how seemingly readily she tries to escape and reek havoc again and the cover is shoved back on the container.

We then see these two women come to carry the container away. They have stork wings. Now we cant say for sure but I tend to think that these are stork winds to represent that these women are also unclean in some sense. We see that they carry this container away to the “Land of Shinar” which is Babylon to a house that has been prepared for it.

Now Jordan and some others point out that this whole image is similar to what you might call an anti-ark. We see a box with a heavy cover and two winged creatures bearing it up. Just like the ark was a golden box with a heavy golden lid and two winged seraphim on it. We also see ti being deposited in a house which is imagery similar to that of the temple.

What are we do do with it all?

Well I believe that what we see going on here is two systems of worship being set in opposition to each other. While true worship is being established in Israel through the rebuilding of the temple we see that there is still a place being prepared for idolatry.

Now we might like to think that when true worship is restored that idolatry is banished completely. However that is never how the Bible presents things. There is always an idolatrous spirit waiting to receive you and a place where idolatrous worship is offered.

For these people it was Babylon and the central message of this 7th vision is to remind the people not to pursue the adulterous idolatry that had taken them away to Babylon, don't go back there God says! Don’t go back to that house of profane worship! Devote yourself entirely to the true worship of God in His temple as He has called you to!

Vision 8: Four Chariots

Now finally we come to the final vision, the eight vision.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, 3 the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” 7 When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

Now the similarities between this vision and the first vision ought to be plainly evident. Central to this vision are the chariots which are drawn by horses and the horses colors match up not exactly but quite closely with the horses that we saw in vision 1.

We also see here two mountains and these horse drawn chariots come out from between these mountains and if you remember in the first vision our horses were in a glen of myrtle trees that was in a deep or a ravine, just the kind of thing you might expect to find formed by two mountains.

Now as we consider the vision itself you'll remember that the horses in the first vision symbolized the Armies of the Lord of Host, the God of Angel Armies which were sent out throughout the world speaking of God’s sovereignty and power as the rule of all nations.

Here now we see the horses connected to their chariots which nearly always speak of preparation for war and we see them chomping at the bit as it were to go out into the world.

First though we see these bronze mountains. Now drawing from our temple imagery it is very likely that these are intended to represent the bronze pillars that had been built at the entrance to Solomon's temple. In other words these mountains symbolize the entrance to God’s place and it is from this place now that we see these horses come.

Now the horses are white, black, red, and dappled. It is likely right to connect these colors to what they represent in the book of Revelation.

White is the conquering horse, black is the horse of death caused by economic destruction, red is the horse of war, and the dappled horse is the horse of famine and pestilence. These are the forces that God wields in the world to bring about His judgement and destruction.

We see these horses prepared to head out as the four winds of heaven again with the number 4 symbolizing the expanse of the earth. There is not a corner of the world that can be sheltered from the power of these apocalyptic horses and their chariots.

It is interesting to note though that as we see them actually go out they go north and south.

Now this makes sense in the context of Jerusalem. You didn't go east or west because to the west is a sea and to the east is a vast desert. Israels enemies had assailed them from the north, Babylon and the south, Egypt. It is notable that the conquering horse and the horse of economic destruction head toward Babylon, the city that had done those same things to Israel while the dapples horse of plagues heads toward Egypt a nation well associated with the divine plagues.

We don't really know why we don't see the red horse go out. It could be that it wasn’t to be wars that would bring the judgement at this time, however the vision I believe is not so much bout the specifics of who individual judgments are going to fall as opposed to the more general message that as the people of God complete the work that they have been called to do on the Temple that God is going to turn and begin the process of bringing judgement on the nations.

Similarly then to the last vision the key part of this message is to stay where God has called them to be and to not go out into these nations that are doomed for destruction.

Lastly we see this interesting note that:

English Standard Version Chapter 6

those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”

Now this is likely playing off of what we saw in the first vision where the report given by the riders was:

English Standard Version Chapter 1

We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ 12

There the contrast was that the land of Israel was in turmoil while the pagan nations were enjoying relative peace and prosperity and God promises to reverse course and I believe that is what we see here. While the language of this line, “rest” sounds positive I believe that in the context of what these chariots are doing, we ought to read this as God’s sprint of judgement coming to rest on the nations. There appears to be nothing textually that prohibits us from understanding the verse this way and it seems to fit well with the context of the reversal of fortunes over the course of the visions. Therefore these horsemen and these chariots, the Hosts of Heaven commanded by the God of Angle armies have now gone out to bring recompense on the earth.

Conclusion

Now lets tie all of this together and see where these last visions have gotten us and what that might mean for us today because as we have noted before I believe we are in nearly the same position that these people were in. We are actually more fully in the midst of the true and better fulfilment of these things as the long awaited branch has come and the Kingdom of our Lord and Christ has been set up and He now rules and reigns on Davids throne and will bring this building of His temple to completion as he executes perfectly the offices of prophet, priest, and King on behalf of all of His people.

We see the warning to remain true and devoted to obedience to God. Far from doing away with the Law Christ came to fulfill the law and on our behalf there on the cross he became the curse of that law for us that we might not be under its judgement but this does not mean that we no longer have anything to do with that law. We don't seek the law as a means of justifying our self before God but:

English Standard Version Psalm 19

The law of the LORD is perfect,

reviving the soul;

English Standard Version Psalm 19

the precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

English Standard Version Psalm 19

the rules of the LORD are true,

and righteous altogether.

Therefore we, through faith, seek to be obedient to our Lord and King! As James tells us Faith apart from works is dead and a dead faith will show us to still be under the curse that hover above the land as for those who fail to put their faith in Christ and walk in obedience to him there yet remains the curse of the law and the eternal condemnation that it brings.

Secondly we see that we ought to be ever on our guard against idolatry and adultery in all of its forms. While the Temple of the Lord is being built so also the temple of the anti-ark is built and that wickedness of the adulterous heart would like nothing more than to climb out of its container and into your life. Stand ever vigilant against this and remain more and more committed in this vigilance to the right and proper worship of God as we are built up together into His living Temple. This is why one of the quickest paths to apostacy which is really idolatry and adultery is to remain uncommitted to the local church!

And finally we see the end of it all. Don’t return to Babylon, don’t seek the joys and comforts of the wicked world. They are doomed for destruction. Even now God’s vast hosts are chomping at the bit to bring their destructive forces to bear on this wicked word. Stand firm in God’s land and have nothing to do with the wickedness of the world. It is here in the place that God has prepared for us that we will find the blessings and joys of our covenant God poured forth on use without measure!

Outline:

Intro:

a. The latter half of visions following the two central visions that proclaimed the hope of Israels purification via a restored priesthood and the day of atonement and a restored leadership via the linage of David both of which culminate in the messiah

b. The second half of the night heads now towards aw and we see now three quick visions that connect with the first three that drive our minds towards life lived in light of the passing of midnight and the work of God to accomplish what was central to the visions.

Vision 6: Flying Scroll

Important Elements:

Similarities to vision 3

a. The scroll’s size.... The holy place?

b. Its reference to the two tables of the law by referencing the 3rd and 8th commandment

(Need to read the commandments)

i. it is then designed to represent the whole of the law of God

c. The curse and its consuming power

d. The meaning? The people have been cleansed as we saw through Joshua and now they must commit themselves to the law of God or risk being placed again under the curse of the law breaker. Grace does not make way for licentiousness

Vision 7: The Woman in the Basket

Important Elements

a. Similarities with Vision 2

b. Ark?

c. Woman, adulterous woman not a statement of women in general

d. Has house built for her in Babylon

The Meaning: While God’s house is being built the house of the wicked is also being built and we must not be drawn astray to it

Vision 8: The Chariots

Important Elements

a. Similarities with vision 1

b. The Bronze Mountains and the pillars of the temple

c. The chariouts and horses, what their colors mean

d. 4 winds

e. What are they going to do?

f. Set my sprit at Peace

Meaning: Take stock of what is goign to happen to the wicked as God’s house is completed