Judgment and Rest

Prayer

We praise you for this morning.

We thank you that we can gather here in your presence.

We praise you that you sent your son to take on himself our sin and our shame, so that we might stand before you, welcomed in your presence. How we long for the marriage supper of the lamb, for we were created to eat and drink with you.

But we have far too often desired your gifts while despising your goodness.

We have sinned in your sight and have mistaken the gifts you have given us for you.

We have too often confused the building with the church. We have too often worshiped power and money, and have acted with cruelty and condemnation towards our neighbor, thinking that we have done you service.

We look to wealth and possessions and power and stability to take away our shame, when you have offered us YOUR robes, if only we ask.

Forgive us. Lift up our eyes to where Jesus is at your right hand.

And teach us to live as people risen from the dead.

This morning, we remember new life. We see the blossoms and the growth and the babies, and we remember that you remember us.

Today our Lord has risen from the dead and put death to death. So what is there to still fear?

Teach us to then walk as wise people, redeeming the time. May we put to death the lusts of the flesh that still cling to us. And may we walk in the spirit – looking to Jesus alone, putting no confidence in the flesh.

Give wisdom to our leaders, for you are the only source of wisdom.

Give justice in high places and tear down the wolves who seek to destroy and devour.

For all who struggle with chronic pain, give patience and peace and walk with us through that dark valley and long nights.

We are frequently reminded that our bodies are fading daily. We are returning to the dust each day. So teach us to live wisely. Teach us to put off the fear of man, and the anxieties of the future, knowing that you have prepared a place for us.

And knowing that we have a home in heaven, and knowing that you are sovereign and good and holy, teach us to walk justly and to love faithfulness. Teach us to live humbly before you, for you have cleansed us and brought us into your Holy of Holies.

Father bless our congregation. Thank you that you have led us and guided us. Thank you for your protection of us.

Call in your elect, wherever they might be. Give us words of hope and fill us with your light that we might shine in the world.

Provide for all of our needs. Deliver those in bondage to alcohol, drugs, pornography

Give freedom to the oppressed, we pray.

And bless the reading and the preaching of your word this morning. Guide my lips and give us open hearts to hear and obey,

And let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Scripture

Zechariah 14 NKJV

1 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You. 6 It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish. 7 It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light. 8 And in that day it shall be— That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. 9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be “The Lord is one,” And His name one. 10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. 13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand; 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. 15 Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be. 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Sermon

There are things about God that make us quite uncomfortable. Some things we don’t want to hear or talk about at all.

One of those things is the judgment of God.

We are OK with the concept of judgment in general. As image-bearers of God, we have an inborn desire to see justice done.

But our bent is to define that justice according to our own sinful nature. But God is not like we are.

God is infinite, holy, pure, perfect in wisdom and righteousness and he sees the heart and the innermost thoughts.

So when the scripture speaks of God’s justice, it must use the language that the listeners can understand.

Plague was something Israel understood. The ten plagues of Egypt we their national identity. God spoke of his judgment on those who broke his covenant in terms of plague.

When he speaks of plague, is this to be taken literally? Perhaps. But so much greater than that, for we are speaking of infinite, almighty, perfectly holy God

But God warns us in other places not to make the jump that everyone who is sick is under God’s judgment. God’s ways are higher than our ways, and he often uses illness and even death to glorify himself and share that glory with his people.

How glorious it is when one who has been confined to a wheelchair leaps up and walks!

But that is another subject.

Judgment of God

In verses 1-3, Zechariah describes a battle between the nations and the people of God. And he, disturbingly, teaches us that God allows the nations to prosper, to even have some victories. He brings the armies against Jerusalem.

Then there was an interlude, describing the coming King, which we have talked about

And now, he is describing the judgment of God that comes upon those who have set their mind on the destruction of his people.

In the garden, the world of mankind was divided into two, and forever separated by enmity. God called them “The seed of the woman” and “the seed of the serpent.”

As the centuries went by, we learned more and more of what this meant. The seed of the woman are those who have the character and nature of Jesus. HE is the true seed - the one born of the virgin, outside of the agency of the male. The virgin birth set Jesus apart as the true seed. His people, all who believe on his name, are the seed of the woman because they are united to him.

It is faith in the promise that sets them apart.

Thus we have Abel offering his sacrifice in faith. And at the same time, we have Cain, lashing out in hatred and murdering Abel.

In our text in verse 12, Zechariah describes the same thing with different language. There is Jerusalem (the seed of the woman, the church of God) and “those who fought against Jerusalem.” Jerusalem and Babylon, Cain and Abel; Jacob and Esau; Rome and Jerusalem - and so on, throughout history.

The true people of God, often small, often hiding, often poor, frail, outcast - are relentlessly pursued by enemies - some inside the church, some outside the church. Often it is the organization itself that calls itself the church that relentlessly persecutes God’s people. It has been that way since the beginning.

So this war is described in verses 1-3; and it appears as if God has forgotten his people. But here is a promise, wrapped in words of judgment

God has not forgotten. He will bring judgment on all who war against his people. And there is no neutral ground.

Jesus said, “He who is not for me is against me.”

The fact is this - as history progresses we learn that we are all born at war with God. We seek our own way. We don’t have to learn how to lie and cheat and steal. The enmity has already begun. We tend to read history and our lives as if we are the good guys and those others are the bad guys. But this is not the testimony of scripture. God left humans to their own devices before - and it ended with the flood. The utter destruction of the earth because of wickedness. If God doesn’t intervene, all of us would be ruined.

There is none who do good. No, not one.

And judgment is coming. That makes us very uncomfortable.

We are born alienated from God. But we convince ourselves that we are the exception to the rule. Every human born of Adam seeks to hide that shame and they use the same things in every age to prove that they are NOT sinners. That they are NOT that bad. That they aren’t nearly as bad as that guy over there.

We boast about our fitness. We boast about our youth and vitality.

We boast about our wealth. The things we own. I’ve got money. I’m not a loser. I’m a winner. How often do you see the headlines: what the wealthiest people read. Practices of the wealthiest people. How the wealthiest people live. The idea is that if you make the right choices, you too will no longer be a loser.

We boast about our strength, our armies, our arsenals.

We boast about our influence over others.

This picture of God’s judgment strips each one of these things away.

Gruesome plagues, internal fighting, every man on his own, destruction of wealth.

Because here is the reality - beauty, safety, friendship, health, gold, silver, food, wine - all of those good things - are gifts of God.

When we war against God, the judgment always fits the crime.

The nations warring against jerusalem are warring against God - but they still think that they can hold on to God’s gifts, while fighting against God.

And so everything that they trusted in is eventually taken away.

Health, beauty, riches, friendships, security, respect, honor, dignity - a sense of belonging.

History is full of the downfall of those who warred against God’s people. And there will be a final, full, and irreversible downfall in the age to come.

It is called “hell”. It is real. It is a place of eternal death and misery, where the fire is never quenched and the worm never dies and there is no rest day or night.

It is the just consequence of the war against God and against his people - and it is described here in our text in language that ancient Israel would have identified with and understood.

Our knowledge of that judgment

And we all know that this judgment is coming. Humans will try everything that they can to bury that knowledge. To cover it up with fig leaves and hide it from themselves and from one another. But it is there.

Romans 1:32 NKJV

32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

This is what we call shame. The knowledge that we are outcasts and justly under God’s wrath. And here is the heart of the problem. We can’t do anything about it.

We were cast out of God’s presence before we even had a conscience existence. We can’t go back and undo what Adam and Eve did. And we don’t even want to. We still believe that we can overcome our shame with youth and vitality, health and wealth, beauty and influence - or religious zeal and dedication. Or simpler things - high video game scores, shopping sprees, intellectual pursuits, pornography -

Some of these things are good, some are indifferent, some are bad. But all are used by sinful man to seek to overcome powerlessness, the thought of mass graves, the inevitability of death - the intolerable fear of being cast out.

We will work harder. We will overcome. We will make bigger barns. We will shout together and scare away the dark.

We’ll sacrifice even harder. We will offer tens of thousands of rivers of oil and our firstborn sons...

This is why the cross of Christ causes such offense in the world.

The cross of Jesus Christ shows the reality of the impotence of all human effort.

Like the old hymn: what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

And nothing will arouse the fury of the world faster than the one who points out that their fig leaves leave nothing to the imagination, that the emperor has no clothes, that the best efforts of humans in this life end only in death and misery -

That at bottom, we are nothing but losers at heart, subject to death and misery and decay…Except God make us alive...

But if God doesn’t open our eyes and draw us out of hiding, we will continue to fashion coverings for ourselves.

We will amass wealth and health and armies and pleasures and reputations and if we build big enough barns, maybe we can pretend before the whole world that we really aren’t poor, miserable, blind and naked.

And our shame grows and grows and grows…Because as we turn to bigger and fancier idols, as we cloth ourselves with gaudier glitter and pile our hair up higher and higher, God is still patiently calling,

“Where are you?”

Even to those who are surrounding and seeking to destroy the people of God. Those who relentlessly persecute and pursue, those who devour and destroy in the hopes of overcoming their overwhelming feelings of powerlessness.

Even the thief on the cross - hanging there naked and dying, a criminal, despised and mocked and tortured for fun simply to increase his shame and highlight his worthlessness - sought to overcome his shame by mocking Christ on the cross.

With the other thief, Jesus intervened - “Today, you will be with me in paradise” and he found rest.

The mocking thief still refused to own his shame and didn’t find rest.

They don’t rest day or night from their evil works, and so they will not rest day or night in the fires of hell.

Proverbs 10:24 NKJV

24 The fear of the wicked will come upon him, And the desire of the righteous will be granted.

What do the wicked fear?

They fear exposure. They fear that they will be outcasts. They fear that they will be powerless. They fear the loss of those things that they think will bring them comfort.

Gold, silver, jewels. Bank accounts. High gas prices. Illness. Old Age. Acceptance.

The thief on the cross had nothing - but perhaps he could join in with the crowds in mocking Jesus and gain approval that way -

Do you see how foolish shame makes us? What do the wicked fear? All of these things.

But above all, this - that they will be exposed as poor, miserable, blind and naked.

That they will be losers. They will destroy everything to avoid being tagged “loser”.

And so they fight. They hide. They sue. They fight some more.

They build bank accounts.

They seek to “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

They enslave those who are “lesser”. They fill their barns with the wealth of the world over the backs of the losers. Anything to not be a loser.

But what does scripture say, “The fear of the wicked will come upon him”.

And this is what is described in our text.

The nations have built for themselves a grand tower, like Babel in its magnificence. And the more they fear, the more they build. And the more they build the more they fear.

In the end, everything that they feared comes to pass in the just judgment of God.

Zechariah is describing obvious judgments - plague, poverty, war...

But it goes deeper. He is describing the ultimate outcast.

One whose flesh is rotting off of their face doesn’t make a good party guest. You don’t even have companions (verse 13) but friend is warring against friend.

Judgment is a lonely thing. Strife, contention, hatred, and animosity are all that is left when one has spent their whole life warring against the love of God.

The tower is coming down and the great city will be scattered and ultimately the wicked suffer the loss of everything that they trusted in.

The wealth that opened doors on this earth is vanished away. Like the old proverb, “You can’t take it with you”

But you will take your shame

Revelation 18:11–14 NKJV

“And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. The fruit that your soul longed for has gone from you, and all the things which are rich and splendid have gone from you, and you shall find them no more at all.

But it doesn’t have to be like this.

Look at verse 16- a remnant left. From every country and every nation and every people group - even Egypt, Israel’s ancient enemy - God has his remnant.

That is language that is used for Israel after their exile. The remnant returns.

God’s church is the church of the remnant. And what does this remnant do?

They celebrate the feast of tabernacles. “Tabernacle” is just a fancy word for “tents”.

This was the yearly feast that was similar to a harvest festival. The nation gathered in Jerusalem and had a joyful 8 day party - with a Sabbath at each end of it.

They built tents out of branches and basically camped out around Jerusalem, celebrating God’s guiding hand and provision through the 40 years of wilderness.

In Old Covenant terms, it was a glorious celebration of God’s goodness.

The church is marked by praise in God’s favor and celebration of his goodness.

Outside of thanksgiving, there is only plague and death.

But God delivers his people. It is true that there is none who do good. But there is something even grander - God has provided a redeemer. Where sin was abundant, grace was much, much more abundant. Jesus’ compassion was with the thief on the cross, if only he had asked. Where we are the weakest, where we are the most helpless, where we are the most vulnerable, huddled on the floor in tears with nothing left - THERE is where his compassion is. God has provided the righteous king. The holy priest who has clothed us and made us fit to stand before God. The prophet who teaches us and doesn’t leave us ignorant.

And we believe on his name and trust in his provision - OR we suffer the plagues of the curse.

There is no middle ground. You celebrate his goodness and love for you together with the people of God -

or you remain cast out forever.

We are already born cast out. But God has delayed judgment because he doesn’t take delight in it. He delights in his bride and he is calling his bride home. He hasn’t come in judgment yet because, just like in the days of Noah, the ark is still being offered to anyone who will enter. Hope and peace and welcome are there for the asking.

And this glorious picture of home is given in verses 20 and 21.

I don’t have time to go through the whole holiness code of ancient Israel. But God gave them this code with very strict rules. Things that are holy are things that are used in God’s presence. Things that are holy are things that were in the house of God, made holy for his use.

Priests were holy. The tongs that they used to stir the altar was holy. The pots that they used to take the ashes away were holy. The robes of the priests, the specific mix of incense, the knives that they used, the basins for carrying water - there were holy instruments. And there were profane instruments.

If you were cooking soup at home, that was OK. But you didn’t use a holy pot. Holy pots were only used in the temple.

There were holy animals and unholy animals. “Holy” and “clean” were related concepts. A clean animal was one you could eat and one your could sacrifice. Unclean animals were not eaten and not sacrificed. Dogs were unclean. So were horses.

They didn’t enter the presence of the Lord.

But God ends this magnificent prophecy with a promise - the distinction between clean and unclean will be taken away.

Even bells on the horses would be clean when the redeemer comes.Even the pots in the houses would be clean when the redeemer comes.

Even Egyptians would be clean when the redeemer comes.

For all of us will be in the presence of God wherever we are.

As Paul wrote, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and so we are not only clean, but everything we use is clean.

All of our pots, our clothes, our goods, our food, our wine, our bread, our animals, our cars, our…everything…gifts of God given to us for His service, because we are all the temple of the Holy Spirit.

This is in contrast to those who refuse to bend the knee and come out of hiding.

The one - everything about them is unclean and they are forever outcast and alone and at war with everything.

The other - everything about them is clean and acceptable and welcome in the presence of God.

There is no “Canaanite” in the house of God in that day. The word is the same word for a merchant, or a trader.

Here is the point - when everyone is holy before the Lord and stands in the presence of God - there is no money to be made by the merchants.

When one is fighting to try to make themselves clean, marketing opportunities abound.

When we have to earn our place back at the table, the ones who hold the keys are the ones who make the money, and they get richer and richer. This is also why they war against the people of God.

Luther is the perfect example. If he was right, and forgiveness of sins was freely given by God only for the sake of Christ's merits, then the Medieval popes would lose all of their power and their money.

Today, how many look the other way at the horrendous scandals of the modern ministries - because there is too much money in conferences, book endorsements, merchandise.

How many non-disclosure agreements are signed to hush up the victims of assault and theft because there is too much money and power in the church.

But in the true church of God, the merchants have no place - for even the bells on the horses are holy.

In the advancing armies of Babylon - in the world obsessed with money, power, health, and the pleasures of the world - there is nothing clean, but a lot of money to be made in selling a place at the table.

But the fear of the wicked will come upon them. If it is for sale, it isn’t the bread of life.

And the judgment of God is a fearsome thing.

The desire of the righteous

What do the righteous long for?

We don’t seek a place at the earthly table. We don’t seek the baubles and trinkets of this earth. We are seeking a more lasting treasure.

A seat at the marriage supper of the lamb - a place in the garden, where the river of life flows.

And it isn’t for sale. It is freely offered to all who will come out of hiding.

And on the road there, there are a lot of scary trials - Jesus said you will suffer loss.

You won’t gain the respect of the world. You won’t often have good health.

You will have pain and sorrow. You will learn to mourn. And you will hunger and thirst after righteousness.

You might learn what it means to scrape your sores with a broken pot, like Job did.

But it is only temporary. This earth isn’t our home.

Our life isn’t in the grand feasts of this earth - but in the grandest feast of all - the table where we hear the voice of our father saying,

Welcome! We’ve been expecting you! I’m so, so glad that you are here! Enter into the joy of the Lord!