First, we see that Zechariah was called by God to proclaim God's truth. We as Christians are called by God to proclaim His word of truth to the world today. Zechariah did not always immediately understand what God was saying to him, and when he didn't, he asked for help in understanding what God was saying. If we do not know what God is saying to us today, all we need to do is go to Him in prayer and ask. God will not leave us confused about His word to us if we are truly followers of Christ. God spoke to Zechariah by visions of ordinary things that God gave a special meaning. In Jesus' day, a man dying on a cross was an ordinary event, but the death of Jesus was given an extraordinary meaning, and if we only see a man dying on a cross, we miss God's salvation that came through the death of Jesus Christ. God called on the people of Judah and Jerusalem to return to Him and follow His commands in all that they did. God did not just suddenly decide that the people of Judah and Jerusalem were going to be forgiven no matter what they did, and He will never do that with people today. If we are to be saved then we must come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. We will never be pronounced forgiven by our own merit. God told His people that He expected them to use all that He blessed them with for the advancement of His kingdom and to bring glory to Him. I believe this is still true today. God said that as the Creator of the universe that He would stand with those in Israel and Judah, all of His chosen people, when they were faithful to their covenant with Him, and He would likewise stand against all who refused to enter into that covenant relationship with Him. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we enter into a covenant relationship with God by which He secures our salvation, and until we do, we will never be a part of God's people. God fights for His people and against those who oppose them. He has already secured the victory. Next, we will look at the book of Malachi.
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