The Merciful Man in the Myrtles

Merciful Man in the Myrtles

Zechariah 1:7-17

I begin my preaching this morning with 3 verses from the New Testament. Yes, our study is from the Old Testament Prophet Zechariah, but as always, I desire that you see that all of scripture works together to teach us. And none of it ever contradicts each other. Our sermon this morning is about Jesus, the Advocate, Jesus, member of the Trinity, one of the Godhead, one full of mercy, and one who intercedes, that is, brings prayers and petitions for our good, to the Father. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday day, today, and forever. 

Here are 3 New Testament passages that refer to Jesus. First, 

John 1:1–2 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

How long has Jesus been around? From the beginning. He did not start to exist on December 25. The Old Testament shows that Jesus was a part of the story from the beginning. We will see that in a moment. The Old Testament is full of accounts of the “Angel of the Lord”. I believe that the Angel of Lord was Jesus. Many Bible Scholars have concluded this. Going through all of the reasons why this makes sense would require a lengthy series of lectures or some heavy reading. I’m happy to point you in the direction where you could study this. But for now, I preach as though Jesus is the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, who exhibits the same qualities as we see in the gospels and the epistles. 

Jesus was there in the beginning. He was in the beginning with God, that is, God the Father. 

Next verse:

1 John 2:1 ESV

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

So Jesus was there in the beginning, and He is unchanging, and so if He is now an advocate, He has always been an advocate. 

Hebrews 7:25 ESV

Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

“He always lives to make intercession for them”. Who are the “them”? For who those who draw near to God through Him. So Christ has been around since the beginning, He has always been an advocate, and he always, that is continually, acts in this role of advocate, one who makes intercession. 

What is intercession? Moses was said to model intercessory prayer when He pleaded with God to spare Israel. The priests interceded for the people by making the sacrifices. The prophets often interceded for sinful people, that the wrath of God would not be on them, or that their punishment would not be too severe. In Acts, we see how the church interceded for Peter while He was imprisoned. We see in Paul’s letters how he interceded for the church, and in John 17, we see how Jesus interceded for the apostles, and for all believers. 

An advocate is one who intercedes. In legal language, an advocate is a lawyer, one who speaks for his client, pleading a case for a good judgment, or a lenient sentence, or for a restitution that needs to be made. In this sense defense attorneys are advocates. They intercede on behalf of someone. They have the authority and ability to make the case when the person on trial would otherwise be unable to stand before the intimidating judge. 

Jesus is our advocate, and He has always been an advocate. An advocate that is honest will want to see justice done, but in that justice being done, He wants mercy. In our passage today, He does not plead for justice that ignores the offense, He pleads for leniency from the judge. There is a difference here. A corrupt lawyer may lie, cheat, and manipulate to get his way, but our Advocate, Jesus, acknowledges a God who scripture says “Righteousness and Justice are the foundations of His throne.” 

So Jesus as advocate for Israel in our passage today, asks for God’s leniency. Though Israel fully deserved the difficulty she was in, Jesus asked for mercy. And later on the cross, He wanted mercy so bad for those sinners He died to save that He Himself took our sin upon Himself and showed that He is not only ready and willing to intercede, or advocate, for our mercy, He was willing to go to the utmost lengths to obtain it for us. And not to bend the rules. No, He does not want justice to be ignored. Instead, He used the very law that demanded a sacrifice, and laid down His own life foro ours. What a beautiful Savior, our Advocate and Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Let’s look at our passage today:

Zechariah is about to record 8 visions: We look at the first one this morning. They apparently were visions he saw back to back, most signs point to these visions all coming to Zechariah on the same night. Let’s read:

Zechariah 1:7–17 ESV

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’ And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’ ”

This passage can seem very confusing. I will try to break it down for you a little: The way of describing the main speakers changes, so that it may appear someone different is speaking. The man in the myrtles is the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) and those others on horses are angels sent out to patrol the earth. The Angel speaking to Zechariah is the Angel of the Lord, who I believe to be Jesus. 

Zechariah sees the horse and the first thing he thinks to do is to ask God what it means. Should that be our first inclination as well? When we see the signs of our times, when we try to understand the situations we find ourselves in, do we first stop and inquire of the Lord? 

The angel tells Zechariah that he will show him what they are. And the man in the myrtles says they are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth. In verse 10 and 11 we could be confused by the change in description. The ones who are the patrol answer the Angel of the Lord. So if they are answering the Angel of the Lord, we may assume the one asking was the Angel of the Lord. So the one was standing among the myrtles was the Angel of the Lord. There seems to be one Angel explaining things to Zechariah, while Jesus also speaks both to Zechariah, and later to God the Father. 

It says they have patrolled the earth, and all the earth remains at rest. Now is where our translators have a little of a tussle. Some believe this is what you and I would take it at. On face value, it would mean that the world is peaceful, there are no wars going on, everything is hunky dory. However, others believe that in context here, especially considering the following verses, where God is upset with those oppressing His people, that when it says the earth remains at rest, it really means that everyone is so oppressed that there is peace, but the kind of peace that comes when people are so downtrodden that they have no recourse to fight against their oppressors. 

We could look at North Korea this way. As far as we know, North Korea is at rest. No civil wars, no uprising, no rebellion. But if you know anything about North Korea, you know it is calm because the entire country is under such a strict system that anyone who gets out of line finds their family and them either dead or wishing they were dead as they suffer in a concentration camp or prison. So North Korea is at rest, but not in a utopian, happy go lucky way, but instead in a bitterly oppressed, godless system. In the same way, Israel had found themselves in captivity for a couple generations. A figurative 70 years is stated, but the historical record shows it was somewhere between 50-60 years. This is one of those places where we must realize the Bible does use figurative language. We cannot always take all dates as though they recorded in the same way we do. Numbers in the Bible are often specific, but they also are often representative of a concept or simply rounded. Just as my daughters saw the Buffalo at Custer Park in South Dakota, and said there were million buffalo, sometimes the Bible records numbers that are just to give you an impression, not an exact report. In this case, the 70 years are like that.

The good news is, that the Bible has proven very accurate on the specific dates it does give, and the historical record has shown the Bible to be very precise in many aspects. In this case, the historical record clearly shows that the captivity was not a complete 70 years. However, in an understanding of the culture of the time, 70 years was a number often used to show that God’s punishment can be expected to last a long time, but most likely no one at that time would have broken out their calendar and said, well, the punishment started on April 15, 2015, so it will end on exactly  April 15, 2085 at 2:00 pm. They simply did not think like that, and we can’t put our need for precision above what they would have understood. 

So hearing the report of the patrol, the angel of the Lord, who is? Jesus, advocates for them: He calls out to the Father, and asks for mercy. God has been angry, and rightly so. Jesus does not dispute the charges against Israel. But he does ask for leniency. And finally, the angel hears comforting words from the Lord. 

Here Matthew Henry again delights me with his talents to say things so much better than I could of, so I quote him:

3. He heard a gracious reply given to this intercession of Christ’s for his church; for it is a prevailing intercession, always acceptable, and him the Father heareth always (v. 13): The Lord answered the angel, this angel of the covenant, with good words and comfortable words, with promises of mercy and deliverance, and the perfecting of what he had begun in favour to them. These were comfortable words to Christ, who is grieved in the grievances of his church, and comfortable to all that mourn with Zion. God often answers prayer with good words, when he does not immediately appear in great works; and those good words are real answers to prayer. Men’s good words will not feed the body (Jam. 2:16), but God’s good words will feed the faith, for saying and doing with him are not two things, though they are with us.

God often answers prayer with good words. Those good words are the real answers to prayer. Have you noticed this to be true? If not, I say you aren't reading the Bible enough. Many times, I can claim Matthew Henry to be spot on in his assessment. I have prayed about a situation, and though God did absolutely nothing to change the situation, He led me to places in His word that spoke to my heart about it, and reminded me of his ultimate promises. His words were the answer to prayer. 

He didn't change the situation, but through His words, He changed me! Men’s good words will not feed the body, but God’s good words will feed the soul! So here Zechariah sees Jesus, the advocate, interceding for Israel, and Jesus, His prayers being answered by the Father with gracious and comforting words. Behold the love of God! His words are life and promise! Sometimes He answers our prayer by chaining the situation, and other times changes us by His word!

Finally, Zechariah is given an oracle, or word to bring the people. Zechariah 1:14–17

Zechariah 1:14–17 ESV

So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’ ”

The promise of God given is as sure as its been done already! He says now His anger has turned from Israel, who he justly punished, and as we saw in our introduction to the book of Zechariah, and as we learn Nehemiah, the people had repented. Now Jesus the advocate asks the Father to be merciful, and the Father always hears the prayers of the son. His anger turns from Israel, and to the nations oppressing Israel. 

Those oppressing Israel were being used of God in his judgment on Israel, but that does not mean they were right to hold Israel captive. God sometimes allows for a time a wicked person or country to oppress others, yet He is the God who knows, and justice will come to all sinful people. Now God says He will bless Israel, and promises His house, the temple, will be built, and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem. This indicates that not only will Jerusalem flourish, but the border of Jerusalem will expand. God’s people would return to their homeland and it would prosper and their borders expand.

Some years ago, Benjamin Netanyahu called on all Jews in Europe to return to their homeland. His cabinet committed to a plan investing millions of dollars in preparing for a large immigration of Jews back into Israel. More and more in European countries and the places in the world, Jewish people feel unsafe and cannot openly celebrate their heritage for fear of persecution, including murder. 

The number of Jewish people returning home is increasing dramatically each month. God again seems to be bringing His chosen people home. Pray for Israel, and pray that we be ready when Christ returns. 

God promises to prosper the cities and comfort Israel. In the same way, He promises to comfort us.