Then and Now: too Marvelous?

Opening Illustration: Good morning, It is so good to be back with you this morning. I know that there is a lot of excitment here this morning. Being back into the sanctuary, we are a little over half way through our renovation of the sanctuary. We have only a few more things to do. A few more lights to be put in. Some electrical work done on the stage. And then flooring will come in this week and then the following new seating with the installation of the pews. So here we are half way through a physical restoration of our sanctuary. It is wonderful to see with our own eyes the things that God is doing. And I know that it is hard right now and we are unable to look back at pictures right now of old carpet of old pews. Of popcorn ceiling and dirty walls old lights. But it is good for us to look back and see what things were like then to savor what He is doing now in rebuilding.

Zechariah 8:1 ESV

And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying,

Jeremiah 7 ESV

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim. “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips. “ ‘Cut off your hair and cast it away; raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’ “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away. And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.

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Jeremiah 7:23 ESV

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

This morning, I am so excited to be back in Zachariah. And the passage that we are looking at this morning God reminded them to look back, look forward, and respond right now. You know this morning, I believe that we are in a pivotal moment in the life of our church. I believe that it has been God will for us to rebuild or restore this sanctuary. But listen to me this morning, I believe that just as it is go will to rebuild this church physically I believe he desires to rebuild/restore Bethesda spiritual.

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matthew 6:23

Jeremiah 7:23

Matthew 6:23 ESV

but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Jeremiah 7:23 ESV

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Let’s explore God’s word for us this morning.

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I want us to first look God’s promises to Rebuild and Restore

I. Promise of His presence (Verse 3)

Explanation: As we look at the promises of God I want you to notice as the passage begins God’s motivation for his promise and that is his Jealousy for His people. Read with me verses 1-2.

Now if you remember this is referring back to

Zechariah 1:14–15 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.

And the word jealous, quinethe, an interesting word, it really means redness of face. When somebody gets strong emotion, their face gets red. And God is saying I burn to do this. God is saying I will some day literally burn with zeal for Israel. When I can no longer bear the estrangement from my people brought about by their sin. When I can no longer tolerate the efforts of Israel's enemy to destroy her and some day my jealousy will reach out in vengeance against those nations that have persecuted my people. And you know as well as I do that the day when the Lord sets up the kingdom is a day of terrible, fearful judgment on the nations of the world that are unbelieving, right?

Now when the Bible speaks of the jealousy of God, it doesn't mean envy, but it is the boundless zeal that comes from a God who loves holiness and hates sin, who loves His own people who are godly and hates the ungodly. It is the zeal of righteousness. It is the zeal of love, not envy. And because His love for Zion is so great He is jealous on her account and His love against those who oppress her, manifests itself in judgment. And so God will judge the enemy of His people. So we see to begin with then that the kingdom will start with the judgment. There was a sense in which this was a great message for Israel, not that they were desirous that people be punished, but they were desirous that God be justified. And they were desirous that the godly people be honored and the ungodly be chastened.

This is what motivate God to rebuild and restores you and Bethesda. He has zealous love for you! And thus he longs to fulfill his promise to return to you.

Notice the promise: I will return to Zion.

Explanation of God’s promise to return: There was a time in Israel past. That they so profaned the name of the Lord with false worship and disobedience. That the presence of the Lord departed from Israel.

Ezekiel And he saw all kinds of gods and creeping things and snakes painted all over the wall of the temple and people worshipping them. And he saw them worshipping Tammuz, which is another name for Baal. And he saw all these atrocities in the temple and then immediately He saw the glory of God depart. Remember that in Ezekiel Chapters 9,10, and 11 where Ezekiel watches the glory of God leave.

And Ichabad is written over the nation. The glory has departed is what it means. And the Jews had never known the glory of God again because God had left them before they ever went into Babylon.

application: Listen to me this morning, there are times in our life that we feel that presence of God has departed from our life and in those moments we should evaluate whether we have allowed sin and false worship into our lives and thus flushed out God’s presence from our life.

The nations had been unfaithful. But God’s promised to rebuild and restore by returning his presence. Then the place would be called two things:

a) Faithful city - city of truth (a place where truth and justice resides)

b) Holy mountain - a place that is holy.

Promise of Security (v. 4)

explanation: The people of Israel had just returned from exile. Before exile Jerusalem was not safe or secure. Babylonians had come up against Israel. And then as they were carried away into captivity they suffer no security. They suffered in slave labor, malnitrition, and starvation. Now go promises them security. A place that is security for all old and young.

Promise of Peace (v. 10-12)

Promise of Blessing (v. 13)

Promise of Growth (v. 20-23)

Promises Fulfilled based on His Ability (verse 6)

Promises Fulfilled based on His word (vv. 14-15)

Now Conditions For Rebuild/Restore

1. Fear Not let your hands be strong! (vv. 9-13)

2. Be obedient to truth, justice, avoid divisions, avoid false oaths