Building God's House # 14: Showers of Blessing, Zechariah 10

KID’S CORNER: Do you know what this is? (a rain gauge) Do you know what we do with a rain gauge? (we measure how much rain we get)

In the last 4 days we’ve received almost 2½ inches of rain. Why is that good? Because it makes grass and flowers and crops grow.

Did you know that rain is a sign of God’s blessing? Hebrews 6:7, the earth which drinks in the rain... receives blessing from God. Jesus taught that God sends rain on people who are both good & bad. Rain is a common blessing for all people.

Our Bible verses today tell us to ask God for rain. The kind of rain it is talking about is God’s spiritual blessing for our lives and church. So, let’s pray for rain and ask for God’s blessings for our church.

After that, I’m giving you a rain gauge. The next time it rains put it in your yard, measure the rain, & remember blessings come from God.

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INTRO: Help me finish a few common sayings- (1) when it’s raining hard, we often say it’s raining cats & ____ (dogs). (2) When we’re in a difficult situation looking for something positive, we often say every cloud has a ______ ______ (silver lining). (3) During a spring when there is a lot of rain, we often say April showers bring may _______ (flowers).

Have you ever thought why there are so many sayings about rain? It’s because we need rain so desperately for life. Especially in a region like ours where rain is hard to come by, we certainly learn to appreciate when the Lord sends us rain. We need it so desperately for life that we even say to one another PRAY FOR ____ (RAIN). Zechariah 10:1-2,Ask the Lord for rain In the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone. 2 For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.

Rain signifies God’s blessing; it is a common grace for all people. When we get rain, God is the One who gave it. The text said to ask the Lord for rain, and He will give showers of rain. We sang Showers of Blessing, & I want us to look at three of God’s showers of blessing upon us.

1. The Blessing of God as our SHEPHERD. Vss. 3-5.

Vs. 2 showed us there are false gods who will take the credit for our comfort if we let them. There are false prophets who will make claims about our care if we listen to them. When that happens, we act like sheep who have no shepherds. Do you know what happens to sheep when they have no shepherds? They are prone to wander, put in danger, and fall prey to every kind of animal that would hurt them.

In Judah, the religious & civil leaders were supposed to be shepherds, but they were not. Vs. 3, My anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the goatherds. For the Lord of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, and will make them as His royal horse in the battle.

Shepherds they were supposed to be, but goats is what they were (goatherds- lit. he-goats). E.g., We have 2 goats at our house in Waxahachie, & they are wild, stubborn, & downright scary. God says He is angry with them, and He will punish them. The interesting thing about this word “punish”is that the root word is the same as that of “visit”. He will punishthe shepherds but visit His sheep (i.e., flock). The word “visit” means to “come and see,” & God can either come and see you for good or for bad, for justice or for mercy, for punishment or for protection. When God comes to visit His sheep, He will make them into war horses. ILL: My mental image is the LORD riding His people into battle.

Vss. 4-5, 4 From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every ruler together. 5 They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the Lordis with them, And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.

Each of these terms- shepherds/leaders, cornerstone, tent peg, battle bow, can be found in other OT imagery and each one has some reference to the coming Messiah, the King that was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9-10, whom we know is the Lord Jesus.

Matthew 9:36-38, But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:11).

It is a blessing to be able to say, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” What a blessing it is to have God as your Shepherd.

2. The Blessing of God’s REFRESHING, vss. 6-8

6“I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the Lordtheir God, And I will hear them. 7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine. Yes, their children shall see it and be glad; Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord. 8 I will whistle for them and gather them, For I will redeem them; And they shall increase as they once increased.

The historical context of our series is the return of the Jewish exiles after a 70-year Babylonian captivity.They returned because God put it in the heart of the Persian king Cyrus to release them to rebuild God’s Temple. When they returned, they laid the foundation of the temple, but opposition arose, and the work stopped. Over the next 16 years, they rebuilt their lives, rebuilt their houses, lived in relative comfort, & left God’s House in ruins. That was when Haggai & Zechariah came on the scene, prophesying to the leaders, & the people got back to work.

This series has been about the messages, visions, & prophecies from God about building His House.What’s interesting about these few verses is that prophetically it looks beyond this historical return of the Jews to Jerusalem to a time when the LORD would gather the rest of His people back to Himself. The mention of “the house of Joseph” (vs. 6) and “those of Ephraim” (vs. 7) refers to the northern kingdom of Israel that had been dispersed by the Assyrians almost 150 years earlier. It was like those tribes were wiped off the map. But here God is saying- I will bring them back too, I have mercy on them, it will be like I had not cast them aside, I will hear them.

In these verses, we are getting a glimpse of God’s saving work through the Gospel. The question we need to consider is, in what way is the LORD going to bring them back into His fold? What are the means of His mercy that will make them rejoice in the LORD? The person and work of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s sacrificial death and miraculous resurrection from the dead is the means of our salvation. By confessing Him as Lord we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s manifest presence with us.

After Christ’s resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, He sent the promised Holy Spirit to fill His disciples, & they began preaching the Gospel- repentance of sin, and faith in Jesus- Acts 3:19, Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…

Refreshing- refers to rejuvenation, recalling OT promise of the restoration of all things. Those who repent take part in God’s renewal of the world right now. Vs. 8- the image of a shepherd whistling for His sheep, the Lord is whistling for people to return to Him and He will redeem them, refresh them, and restore them (their increase).

3. The Blessing of God’s STRENGTH, vss. 9-12.

9 “I will sow them among the peoples, And they shall remember Me in far countries; They shall live, together with their children, And they shall return. 10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, And gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, Until no more room is found for them. 11 He shall pass through the sea with affliction, And strike the waves of the sea: All the depths of the River shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt shall depart. 12“So I will strengthen them in the Lord, And they shall walk up and down in His name,” Says the Lord.

The language of sowing- “I will sow them among the peoples,” is agricultural language.The law of sowing and reaping is widely known- you reap what you sow. Galatians 6:8, For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

The LORD sows His people, His sheep, among the peoples. Sheep produce sheep. The phrase “will sow” is a future tense. I don’t think this is recalling the dispersion of Israel among the nations as much as it is giving purpose to their dispersion. We know they were dispersed out of punishment for their disobedience to worship the LORD. But now, having been dispersed, they are being brought back.

When the followers of Jesus began going out into the world, full of the Holy Spirit, preaching the Gospel, guess who they went to first? To the Jew first, then to the Greek.

JFB- The wide dispersion of the Jews just before Christ’s coming prepared the way similarly for the apostles’ preaching in the various Jewish synagogues throughout the world; everywhere some of the Old Testament seed previously sown was ready to germinate when the New Testament light and heat were brought to bear on it by Gospel preachers. Thus the way was opened for entrance among the Gentiles.

Hosea 2:23, Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’

The dispersion of the Jews led to the inclusion of the Gentiles. And that’s Good News for us, or we would not be saved. God promised they will remember Him and return to Him, but they will bring others back with them (i.e., their children). ILL: You know when your kids leave home, they bring more with them. That’s what God’s people are supposed to do, bring others back with them. Sheep produce sheep.

Disciples make disciples. He will bring them back from Egypt (south) and Assyria (north) and bring them into Gilead (east of the Jordan) and Lebanon (west by the sea). E.g., I had the privilege this week of going to our BMA National Meeting and of hearing how the LORD is using our little association of churches to bring the nations to Him.

You may not know this, but our church is a top giver to missions, to LifeWord, to the seminary. We are sowing among the nations. We need to sow a little bit more at home. It is my vision for our church that we become “a family of deeply devoted followers of Jesus Christ, united to help those who are far from God become flourishing disciples of Jesus, on the plains of west Texas and around the world.” How will that happen?

Vs. 12 is a bookend to vs. 6, I will strengthen them. Vs. 6 was about how the LORD would strengthen & save them, now He gives strength to serve Him. “…the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

Since we moved out here, I’ve learned that we always need rain, it is a blessing. In here, we’ve learned that we always need rain, showers of blessing- the blessing of the Lord as our Shepherd, the blessing of the Spirit to refresh us, & the blessing of the Lord’s joy as our strength. Pray with me- there shall be showers of blessing, O that today they might fall.