Zechariah 1:1-6

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Let’s Pray

Introduction

One time, one of my daughters went outside after it had rained and got dirt ALL over her nice dress..

I had specifically told her NOT to go out in the dress she was wearing because it was muddy..and I knew it would get dirty.

Well- she did it anyways.

and sure enough she got mud all over her dress.

Now- I..at all times..have an AMPLE supply of Shout and Oxi—clean.

and therefore possess power over even the toughest stain.

So- seeing the stain- I was set and ready to remove it. getting it out was going to be no problem…

but as I called and called to her.. she just kept on playing.

She was busy..busy…and in her busyness she had become so engrossed in herself and her world..that she didn’t even hear me anymore to recognize that there was a problem in the first place.

the problem in that moment…wasn’t getting out the stain….

the problem was her refusal to come.

If she didn’t answer my call- she was going to get more and more dirty.

but she didnt care

but she was my child…and she was dirty…and I was not content to leave her that way…and so…I kept calling…I called and called and called…

I could have left her to simply live with the consequences of her action.

She had disobeyed…what I said would happen…happened.

but instead…I moved towards her...determined to get her attention…

and the question in that moment was...would she respond…would she return..to me?

——————————————

As we open up the book of Zechariah this week.

God has a message for his people.

last week in Haggai was saw that his people were busy…busy with rebuilding their homes…and busy building routines and life in a new land.

so busy..that they had forgotten why they had returned in the first place.

So instead of launching into visions or future promises or giving them another to do list instead

God pulls back..and he starts with a simple message…

Return to Me.

it was an invitation to relationship.

They may have returned to Jerusalem physically..but their hearts were far from Him.

our passage this weeks shows us that God is serious about sin- yet deeply committed to relationship with his people..

He is not waiting for perfection. He is inviting repentance.

And where repentance is real, relationship follows.

So, let’s look and see how God invites His people to return to Him by splitting up these verses into 2 sections:

Return- 1:1-3

Repent - 1:4-6

Open Bibles/Apps:

RETURN:

Transition: The first 3 verses emphasize the call from God to return…

and we see, that the return is initiated by God…despite the brokenness….for the purpose of relationship….

Initiated- vs 1

Despite Brokenness- vs 2

For Relationship- vs 3

A. Initiated by God 1:1

Let’s start with vs 1: “1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:

So the book starts out by orienting us to where we are in History.

its the 8th month of the 2nd year of King Darius.

For all my people who love a good timeline or calendar…this week is for you.

because we are given extremely specific dates- down to the exact day that this message was given.

What this tells us- is that Zechariah is coming in- right in the middle of Haggai’s message.

notice how close these messages are to each other.

Haggai 1 starts in the 6th month-

Haggai 2- starts in the 7th month..

and then here comes Zechariah in the 8th month…

which means..Haggai’s message was FRESH in their minds.

and their messages, while different- were in a lot of ways- the same.

through both Haggai and Zechariah we see God initiate restored relationship with his people.

Haggai is sort of like the alarm clock…he comes in with a blow horn to get their attention…waking them up to the fact that they are totally focused on the wrong thing…

Haggai gives concrete action….stop building your house and build God’s.

and then..he’s out..

whole book..1 week.

Haggai had woken them up and now it was time to get serious.

Zechariahs message is for people who Haggai has already gotten out of bed…

and so now that he has their attention- he is going to build onto Haggis message and give the big picture vision of restoration…Haggai primed the pump..and now Zechariah is going to take us deeper

as he tackles the heart….

building a vision for God’s future restoration through

8 visions…

4 messages

…and 1 King…

We don’t know a lot about Zechariah other than that he came from a priestly family and Nehemiah 12:4 tells us that he was born in Babylon but returned with the first wave of exiles roughly 20 years before,

probably as a toddler, making him at this time a young man….who God was about to give a powerful message.

Zechariah’s name means: Yahweh Remembers.

God never forgot his people…or his promises to them..

The words Zechariah was given held power because of the one they came from.

these were not Zechariah’s words…but God’s...there were his gracious invitation to his sinful, wayward people.

and in vs 2..it’s time for Zechariah to deliver his first sermon.

ready…

B. Despite Brokenness vs 2

vs 2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.

now if I am Zechariah- I am checking God’s words…like…are YOU SURE thats what you want me to start with…

Cuz like…I’m the young guy here…and uh….

thats not really a seat filler…

and certainly not a way to gain friends fast…

but..the message was clear..so he gave it…God was angry with your ancestors…

the word anger here is literally translated: angry with anger…meaning his displeasure with his people was severe and penetrating.

There is no sugar coating this to make ourselves feel better.

but God’s intention here is to draw the peoples memories back to the exile.

He is saying- REMEMBER when your ancestors..the generation that came before you disobeyed me…

I pursued them time and time again..I sent prophet after prophet to call THEM back and they responded by ignoring them…torturing them…and even killing them…

we will unpack this more in a little bit..but here and in the following verses, God gives Zechariah familiar language that mimicked prophets that had come before the exile.

This message and these words were not new to Israel…this was not Zechariah’s message..it was God’s message…and they knew it.

The idea of God’s anger often makes us uncomfortable.

we prefer to think of him as a God of love…

and he is..and because he is a God of love- he is rightly angry when those he loves disobey him and walk away from him.

He loves them…wants them back…they had been separated from Him because of their sin…their relationship with Him had been broken because they chose to reject Him….and so God is rightly angry.

God’s anger is always a righteous response to sin.

so often we hear the word anger and we insert our own experiences with anger and place that on God.

but God’s anger is not like ours…God does not lash out in anger…he does not hold a grudge or respond in bitterness…and he does not overreact…

God’s anger comes from his holiness…sin hurts you and those around you…so if you are opposing God and continuing in sin you are adding to the destruction and brokenness of his world- and that makes him angry.

We want a God who does not look at sin and say- oh thats no big deal.

Do you not want a God who gets angry when He sees injustice?

Ladies- you are either for God or against God..there is no in-between..

God’s people had been broken by sin…separated from God…

and his heart is not for destruction..but restoration of relationship.

…2 Peter 3:9 says that God is patient..not wanting ANYONE to perish…but that all should reach repentance..

which leads us to verse 3…where we see God call them to RETURN to RELATIONSHIP with Him..

TO RELATIONSHIP (vs 3)

vs 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘RETURN to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.

God does not just say welp..you sinned..I’m angry…I’m just going to destroy you.

He doesn’t say: try harder…do better…get those stains off your clothes….and then once you are good enough..then you can come back…

he says return to me and I will return to you…

this is covenant language..its an invitation into relationship…

these are not the words of an exasperated parent….

it is a promise…from a Holy God…who does not wait for us to clean ourselves up before inviting us back…

he invites us back to clean us up.

the call is to come near.

because every parent knows you can clean a dirty child, but not a distant one.

in order to RETURN…you have to literally…TURN AROUND. to go in a different direction than the one you are headed in.

the call to return..is a call to repentance…

one author defines repentance as a heart-level change which leads to a radical transformation in life’s direction…that is DRIVEN by God’s grace…rather than just behavior modification.

which means that repentance is not a WORK that we do to EARN salvation.

instead it is granted by God to his people….

it is an act of his his grace- through Jesus-that makes repentance possible…

at the cross- God’s wrath..his anger…is not denied, it is absorbed.

only Christ’s blood has the stain fighting power to wipe away our sins once and for all…

The prophet Isaiah speaks of this cleansing saying: Isaiah 1:18 “Though your sins are like scarlet,     they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson,     they shall be like wool.

the snow that disrupted plans and has left many of our friends at home…may have you longing for spring…

but let it be a beautiful reminder to you of what God does with your sin.

he covers it…completely.

This response of grace through repentance should surprise us!

When you are angry with someone- how often is your instinct to move towards them?

Usually its to go the other direction- to get as far away from them as possible.

But instead- God says- RETURN to ME

3x’s in this verse…God is referred to as Lord Almighty.

Lea drew our attention to this name last week as it was also repeated in Haggai…and in Zechariah it is used over 50 times so it is worth another pause…

This name points us to God’s strength and power..his rule and authority…

God says: I am the Lord Almighty..the Lord of Hosts—and I’m fighting for you…RETURN…

I will put away all rebellion…and I will establish my Kingdom forever.

This is the message God is going to unpack in Zechariah…

a vision of his coming kingdom..

next week we start with those visions and if you didn’t do Revelation with us last year then those visions might feel really wacky and weird and maybe even alarming..

Zechariah says….the Lord Almighty is coming…

The Lord Almighty is fighting for you.

The Lord Almighty REMEMBERS you…

and that reminder would give God’s people confidence that despite the sins of those that came before them and their own sin..God could and would RESTORE their relationship to Him.

BUT…they first had to RETURN…

Principle: God initiates restored relationship with Him.

Application

How has the Lord Almighty fought for you through his personal and intentional pursuit of relationship with you?

The fact that you are sitting in this room- a part of a Bible study on a Wednesday morning when there are a lot of other places you could be is evidence of his work in you…

What other ways has he drawn you to himself?

Is there a sin he has lovingly revealed?

A person who invited you to come- who was honest about their sin and need for a savior?

A truth from His word that seemed to jump off the page as you read it?

Those are all evidence’s of God’s call..reminders of his presence, and invitation to relationship.

REPENT- Zechariah 1:4-6

Transition: Gods call to return is a call to repent…

and in verses 4-6- God’s calls his people to repent…by turning from sin and to Him.

so let’s start with the turn Turn from in vs’s 4-6

and then the TURN TO in vs 6b.

TURN FROM (1:4-6a)

lets start with vs 4 where Zechariah continues on with his sermon…

4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.

just like in vs 2, here God is again calling them not to make the same mistakes of those that came before them.

this is a warning..

In the years leading up to the exile, God sent prophet after prophet- calling them to repent and return to Him.

Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Zephaniah, Joel, Jonah, Obadiah, Jeremiah, Elisha, Elijah, Ezekiel…just to name a few.

warning after warning….turn from your evil ways and your evil practices..

evil here is another way to describe sin.

we don’t typically use the word evil to describe our own sin…at least I certainly dont…I save that word for the really bad sin that other people commit.

but…evil is simply the opposite of good.

so..if sin is bad…then sin is, by definition evil.

How would your approach to turning from sin perhaps change if you saw your actions for what they truly were: as evil.

what might change if instead of speaking to God in vague generalities when you talk to him about sin…if you started speaking in specifics?

there is something about speaking our specific sin out loud that causes it to lose its power over us.

but its important to also remember that repentance is not some vague up in the air confession..

sorry God..I lied again…sorry God I yelled…I will try harder..I will do better..I will stop. I repent.

Repentance it is not false humility. it is not sorrow over the consequences of sin. and true repentance does not lead to shame and guilt. that is wordly sorrow..

2 Corinthians 7:10 makes a clear distinction between Godly sorrow and wordly sorrow.

saying “10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

True repentance doesn’t feel good..nobody likes being convicted of sin. to be reminded that we aren’t nailing it when it comes to righteousness.

but when we recognize that the Holy Spirits conviction leads to godly sorrow…which leads to restored relationship with Christ….we no longer run from the Holy Spirits conviction but towards it….

in vs’s 5-6a God uses 3 rhetorical questions to show what happens when you ignore or run from the Holy Spirits conviction.

5: Where are your ancestors now?

And the prophets, do they live forever?

6a But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? …

their ancestors had died…along with the prophets…

at some point it will be too late..there will be no more chances to turn….evil has an end date….

but this wasn’t new information.

God had given them his words and decrees..he sent the prophets…

and God says…what I said would happen…happened…

Zechariah didn’t need to unpack that for them…they knew EXACTLY what he was talking about..

they had literally lived with the consequences of the choices of past generations for 70 years…

and it was because of the sin of their ancestors that God allowed Assyria and Babylon to overtake them..

yes- their ancestors were gone..but notice…God has not gone anywhere…here is God again..same message..

God never stopped pursuing his people..

in fact..God pursued them all the way into exile and back out again..

calling them to return to Him.

salvation is marked with Repentance

but just like sanctification is ongoing while we continue to live in a broken world…

the process of repentance is also ongoing until the day we are fully restored.

which means…it is possible to live as a believer…distant from God.

this is not a literal distance…God is always with you. that is true at all times…

but this distance is a relational one.

a married couple…can sit across the table from one another and yet feel miles a part.

They are married…the status of their relationship remains…but they lack connection..alignment…intimacy….

It’s interesting, that the Israelites God is talking to- were from a worldly perspective the closest to Him.

they were living in God’s land…they could literally see the foundation of the temple…they had been called to rebuild it!

for Israelites at that time- you didn’t get much closer than that.

These guys would have been deemed the “super holy ones”

but yet…their hearts were distant…

As a believer- your status as his child doesn’t change..no matter how far you stray…

but when you live a life of ongoing repentance you experience the blessing of a full relationship with God here and now..

you EXPERIENCE His presence…in the form of peace…joy…and contentment…

you find relief from striving as God takes the weight of the sin you are working hard to manage or numb out and he puts it on Christ…whose burden is light…

so that you can breath again..and find rest for your restless soul.

Many of you in this room have been a believer in Christ a long time…you are deeply involved in your churches…various ministries..and your calendars would make anyone look at you and label you as “Super Holy.”

but yet..

your relationship with god mimics the married couple..who simply coexists…

don’t fool yourself into thinking you are above the need for repentance…believing the lie that you should have this figured out by now

One pastor said : “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

which means that you can live a life marked by repentance knowing that on the other side is fullness of life in relationship with God..here and now…and not just in eternity. .

when ongoing repentance is present in my life.

I listen instead of defend.

I confess instead of conceal.

I don’t manage my sin…I turn from it.

and I find rest in God, knowing that he has wiped away all my sins…forever and ever

TURN TO (1:6B)

after Zechariah finishes..the end of vs 6 says: “Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’ ”

Did you hear it?

That’s the language of repentance.

No blame shifting. no spiritual spin. no victim narrative. no grumbling or complaining.

just an honest, genuine recognition of their sin…and their need for a savior.

Principle: God calls His people to turn from sin and turn to Him.

Application

How does knowing God’s desire for relationship with you change your attitude towards repentance?

Take time this week and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin in your life…practice listening for his voice.

This takes time and intentionality as God slowly peals back the layers of sin.

He is so gracious not to show us all of our sin at once.

but he lovingly reveals…layer…by layer…all the while drawing us closer to Him.

Conclusion

God loves us too much to let us remain where we are.

That’s why He speaks.

That’s why He convicts.

That’s why He invites.

Where might God be saying to you today…return to me?

Let’s pray.