Building God's House # 11: The Champion, Zechariah 5:1-4, 5-11; 6:1-8

Intro: It’s that time of year that is known as March Madness. Starting from a field of 64, NCAA college basketball teams from all over the country compete to crown a team as champion. Thursday & Friday was the “Sweet 16”. Saturday & Sunday the Elite 8. Next is the Final Four, & then the Championship game.

A team has to cover a lot of ground to be crowned the national champion. In today’s sermon, we’re going to have to cover a lot of ground to see that God is the Champion. And I’m going to be asking you the question- Have you crowned Christ as your champion? He is the One who has conquered sin- Zechariah 5:1-4, 5-11, 6:1-8.

Zechariah 5:1-4, Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.” 4 “I will send out the curse,” says the Lord of hosts; “It shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and stones.”

1. The CURSE of Sin. 5:1-4.

In this vision, Zechariah sees a flying scroll, 20 cubits by 10 cubits, a cubit being about 18 inches, so 30 ft long X 15 ft wide. On the scroll is written a curse. On one side of the scroll it reads that every thief will be expelled & on the other side that every perjurer will be expelled. Thief- someone who steals; Perjurer- someone who swears falsely by God’s Name (vs. 4).

A 2-sided scroll was uncommon, meaning this one was unfurled & had writing on both sides. The 2 sins named probably symbolize the 2 main types of sin categorized in the 10 Commandments. The 1st 4 commandments deal with man’s relationship to God, the last 6 commandments deal with man’s relationship with one another. Stealing reflects sin against a neighbor, Perjury reflects sin against God.

Both kinds of sinners (those against God and those against man) are said to be expelled (purged, ousted, banished).

Notice, when God sends out the curse it goes out over the face of the whole earth. Our study is about the renewed community of Israel after the exile, but the curse of sin is a universal problem. Romans 3:23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The curse of sin enters the house of the thief & the liar & it remains there, consuming their house.

This is what sin is & what it does- sin is a curse that consumes us from the inside out. Ever since our first parents, Adam & Eve, sinned in the garden & received the consequence of death, the curse of that sin nature has been universally passed on to every person since then.

The Law was given to regulate human behavior but the best it could do was make us conscious of the fact that we couldn’t keep it. It became in itself a curse to us. The only exception to the curse of sin is Jesus Christ, and He made Himself a curse to save us from the consuming effects of sin and law. Galatians 3:13-14, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The curse of sin is reversed whenever a person puts their faith in Jesus and receives the promise of the Spirit.

2. The CLEANSING of Sin. 5:5-11

Zechariah 5:5-11, Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.” 6 So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: 7 Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; 8 then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.

9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”

11 And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”

In this vision, Zechariah’s angel guide calls his attention to a basket. “This is their resemblance” is a reference to the sinners that were mentioned in the previous vision- thieves & liars, signifying the universal curse of sin that consumes us all. The word “resemblance” means form, or appearance. He lifts a heavy lead cover from the basket and inside is a woman who symbolizes wickedness/offense. The angel pushes her down into the basket and recovers it with the lid. Two other women with wings like storks pick up the basket and carry it to a house in Shinar.

Shinar refers to an ancient kingdom. Genesis 10 talks about a mighty hunter named Nimrod who founded a kingdom called Babel in the land of Shinar. Genesis 11 is the infamous story of the earths inhabitants who lived in Shinar and wanted to build a name for themselves with a city & a tower that reached up to heaven. Shinar eventually became known as Babylon, or Babylonia, in the Bible it is a symbol for the center of human wickedness. Revelation depicts Babylon as a woman and the center of Satan’s earthly kingdom. Revelation 17:5, on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

The two women with stork wings, the wind in their wings is the same Hebrew word for God’s Spirit, indicating that God’s Spirit was enabling these women to fly. They carried the woman in the basket to Shinar, or Babylon, which is the base (or seat) of wickedness. By carrying the basket of wickedness to the capital of wickedness, the vision is showing how God is cleansing the land of sin and removing it to another location.

We are all the woman, and unless God removes our sins we are stuck in the basket of wickedness. Psalm 103:11-12, For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

3. The CONQUEST of Sin. 6:1-8

Zechariah 6:1-8, Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds. 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 four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.”

7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. 8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.”

This is Zechariah’s 8th and final vision which illustrates God’s universal reign. The four chariots in this vision parallels the four horses of the 1st vision (1:1-21). The two visions function as an inclusio, like brackets, or bookends to this series of visions.

The chariots come from between 2 mountains of bronze. Commentaries say the 2 mountains are symbolic of the 2 bronze pillars that frame the entrance of the temple. The chariots coming from between these two mountains are coming out before the Lord (vs. 5). So, these 2 bronze mountains symbolize the entrance to God’s abode.

Vs. 5- The angel says the 4 chariots are the 4 spirits of heaven being sent out from the LORD of all the earth. Notice in vss. 6-7, they only go in two directions- the black horses go to the north country & the white horses follow them, the dappled horses go toward the south country. In Zechariah 2:6, Up, up! Flee from the land of the north,” says the Lord; “for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,” says the Lord. “North country” referred to Babylon which the Lord had brought His people back from. “South country” probably refers to Egypt, from which the LORD delivered His people during Exodus.

Remember from 5:5-11, Babylon (Shinar) was the seat of wickedness & sin. We know from Exodus that Egypt was the place of Israel’s slavery.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to see the north & south countries as symbolic of our slavery to sin. The key point is what we see in vs. 8, the chariots that went to the north country have given rest to God’s Spirit that resided there. Several commentaries say, “given rest to” literally means “have appeased my wrath” or caused “my anger to rest.” I.e., God has won the victory over sin, and He is satisfied.

The Bible word for God’s satisfaction against sin is propitiation. Basically, it is the idea of appeasement or satisfaction. Most religions teach that people appease “god” by offering gifts and sacrifices. That doesn’t work with the One True God, but many people don’t understand why. Why can’t this God be satisfied with whatever I bring Him to try to make up for my sins?

We misunderstand propitiation. We don’t understand (1) how serious sin is to God, and (2) how helpless we are to do anything about it.

Psalm 7:11, God is a just judge, and He is angry with the wicked every day. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works. The best we have to offer God is still filthy rags. Isaiah 64:6, But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

The Bible teaches that God is the One who provided the only means to appease His own wrath against sin and reconcile sinners to Himself. He did this through the person & work of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 3:25, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness… Hebrews 2:17, … He had to be made like His brethren.… to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 1 John 2:2, And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

We are all under the curse of sin and need to be cleansed, but only Jesus has conquered sin. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57, 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the March Madness bracket of your life, sin is undefeated. It’s like making chalk picks all the way. Jesus came to be a bracket buster. Have you crowned Jesus Christ as The Champion of your spiritual life?