Waiting for Peace

Many of you lived through and remember the really tumultuous time in America that we call the ‘60’s. Look, some of you like to remind me that I’m much younger than you - believe me…I know. But, one of the things in remembering that is that sometimes it’s really easy to get bogged down and almost “depressed” by all of the mess and turmoil in our country and world right now. Here’s the reality, though…it’s not like this is the first generation to ever face all this crazy, is it?

I’ve often said that my favorite t.v. show is The Andy Griffith Show. One of the reasons it was - and still is - so wildly successful is because it provided a sort of “escapism.” Think about this…in the 1960’s - when the show was originally broadcast - what all was going on in America? You had the fear of Communist Russia and nuclear war. You had the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs. You had the sexual revolution, the introduction of some pretty heavy drugs in mainstream culture. You had Vietnam and the eruption of protests here at home over our involvement. You had the assassination of JFK. You had all of the racial division, MLK and then his assassination. I could keep going…the ‘60’s was a pretty messed up decade! But, the Andy Griffith Show was a phenomenon. Why? Because none of that mess was in Mayberry. Mayberry was life as it should be. It was wise and fatherly Andy, goofballs Barney, Goober, Gomer…it was Aunt Bee. Life in Mayberry was perfect and it provided America a 30 minute escape from chaos. It provided “peace” in a world of chaos.

Let’s go back much further past the 60’s to the 6th century B.C. - to Zechariah’s day. Remember, now, Israel has been under Babylonian rule and dominance for 70 years and now under Persian rule. They’re on a leash. They’re still not free. They’re not able to live freely as THE people of God in the land He gave them. On top of that, even after all they had been through, God’s people were not acting as God’s people…they were acting selfishly, corruptly toward one another…untruthfully…etc. For YEARS their world had been - and was still in - turmoil…they were longing for “shalom.” It’s the Hebrew word for peace but it doesn’t just mean a political peace. It means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full.

And…as God’s people longed for and waited for the Messiah, this is what He promised them:

Zechariah 8:1–4 ESV

And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age.

Zechariah 8:1–12 ESV

And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

Zechariah 8:5–8 ESV

And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

Zechariah 8:1-12

Zechariah 8:9–12 ESV

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

It’s an absolute no-brainer that our world is a mess…not a whole lot of peace - in spite of every Miss America contest saying that’s what she’s going to achieve. That’s easy to talk about and wish peace for in more general terms. In other words, we want peace between nations, peace in our cities, etc…but many of us today are struggling with a need for a deeper “shalom.”

We long for peace in our own lives. So often, though, we search for that peace in the wrong places - affairs, addictions, denial, spending, etc. All of these things give temporary distraction but none of them “shalom.” Again - complete/whole.

Here’s where many of us struggle - we hear people talk about having “peace” in their life and we look at our own life/situation/circumstances and we say, “Yeah, right…it’s great that you can experience that peace but there’s no way on earth I can.”

This is the same thing Israel did. There at the beginning of chapter 8, you see God describing the day when there would be peace in the land…people walking, talking, children playing - no threat, peace in the land…then, again, look at vs. 6...

Zechariah 8:6 ESV

Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts?

Zechariah 8:8 ESV

and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

The NLT translates it this way: “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of heaven’s armies.”

The arrival of Jesus is that He brings shalom - peace. In fact, in Isaiah, the Messiah - Jesus - is called the “Prince of Peace.”

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

God is not oblivious to your pain.

Zechariah = “God remembers.”

God won’t be merciless to you in your pain.

As hard as that may be for you to come to terms with, it’s true. Israel’s pain was self-inflicted.

The only way we can have true and lasting peace is if God is “in our midst.”