Zechariah 2:6

 Zechariah 2:6 says, Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.  God had once more given the people of Israel and Judah their land back, but not all were eager to return.  Some were more content to stay where they were than to face the possible struggles of returning, and there are people today who would rather continue to live where they are, which is under the bondage of sin no matter how successful they may be, than to claim the promised land of God because doing so might cost them something in the world.  God said He had scattered them to the four winds, and now He was calling them to return.  God still calls people from all over the world today.  Verse seven declares, Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.  God called on those living in Babylon to deliver themselves by returning to Him and the land that He had given them.  Each individual must make the decision today to deliver themselves from the bandage of sin by putting their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  We cannot save ourselves, but we must deliver ourselves to Jesus Christ to be saved..  Verse  eight adds, For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.  God said that He was going to deliver His people, and that He would punish anyone who harmed them.  They were reluctant to return to God because of the struggles that those who had already returned to the promised land were having, but God said that He was with them.  We need never be afraid to follow God's call to salvation, because once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then God will protect us spiritually forever.  Verse nine continues, For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.  Though spoken to the people of that time, this refers to the ultimate victory made possible by Jesus Christ.  He  was, is, and always will be the only way to salvation and victory over the sins of this world.  Verse ten states, Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst. of thee, saith the LORD.  The people of Israel and Judah in that day were called on to rejoice in the LORD, not when everything was perfect, but always.  We today need to rejoice in the Lord always.  Our wordly condition should not determine whether we rejoice in the Lord or not.  Verse eleven adds, And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.  Many of God's chosen people might refuse to come back to Him, but God was going to call people from all nations to come and be a part of His people.  This is where we as Gentiles come into the family of God.  Those of God's chosen people who refuse to come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ are still outside of His kingdom.  Verse twelve declares, And they  shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.  God said that He was going to reclaim Judah and Jerusalem as His own.  This is all God's world, and one day Jesus Christ is going to return and reclaim it all.  Those who have put their faith in Him will be a part of that reclamation.  Verse thirteen says, Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.  The whole world will one day stand silent before the Lord.  We will have nothing that we can say to make us worthy of the salvation of Christ. 

Zechariah 2:1

 Zechariah 2:1 says, I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.  Zechariah said he looked up once more and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.  We should always look up to God to get His vision for what He wants us to do.  Verse two states, Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.  Zechariah said he asked the man where He was going, and the Man said that He was going to measure the breadth and depth of Jerusalem.  Matthew Henry tells us that this Man was Jesus.  Verse three declares, And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,  Zechariah said that the angel that had been talking with him and another angel went to meet the Man with the measuring line.  Jesus is the founder and builder of His church, and the angels do His bidding.  Verse four adds, And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:  The Man sent an angel back to Zechariah to tell him what the vision meant.  Jerusalem was going to be rebuilt as a town without walls so that it would be able to hold all who came there.  God did not leave Zechariah guessing as to the meaning of what he saw, and He won't leave us guessing as to what He wants of us today.  I believe that Jerusalem, the city of God, being rebuilt without walls showed its ability to hold all who come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, and also the fact that God is the protector of His city.  Not only do we not need to be walled in as Christians, we shouldn't be walled in.  God sends us into the world and protects us when He sends us.  Verse five declares,  For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.  God said without any chance of misunderstanding that He was the protector of Jerusalem and that His glory would be in the midst of her.  God is our protector today wherever we are, and as followers of Christ we are a part of His holy city.  For that reason, all that we do should reflect God's glory. 

Zechariah 1:12

 Zechariah 1:12 says, Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?   The angel of the LORD asked how much longer He would continue to not show mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah.  The LORD had allowed them to suffer for seventy years by now.  The sins of the people of Israel had long lasting consequences, and sin still does today.  Of course, God's mercy is extended to us continually, but it is up to Io us whether we accept it or not.  Verse thirteen states, And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.  Zechariah heard the angel as he was talking with the LORD.  The LORD answered the angel by speaking with good and comforting words.  God awaits to speak to us today with good and comforting words if we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse fourteen declares, So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.  Zechariah said that the angel now spoke directly to him telling him of God's jealousy, or desire, for Jerusalem and Zion to be His alone, with no other gods in their midst.  This is still what God demands of us today if we are to be His people.  Verse fifteen adds, And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.  God said that He was displeased with the heathens, those who did not believe in Him, since they were at ease in the world.  God also said that He had allowed them to be victorious over His people in Jerusalem and Judah, but it was to be only for a little while.  God may allow those who do not believe in Him to be victorious in the world today, but no matter how long that may be, it is but a little while from God's perspective.  Verse sixteen declares, Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.  The LORD then said that He had returned to Jerusalem with mercy and that His house would be built there.  God had not gone away, but as long as the people of Jerusalem and Judah were rebellious against Him,He had withheld His mercy.  God has not gone away today, but if we rebel against Him, He will withhold His mercy from us.  Verse seventeen adds, Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.  Zechariah was told to proclaim that God's cities were once again to be prosperous.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will  know spiritual prosperity from God's grace.  Verse eighteen states, Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.  Zechariah said that he then looked up and saw a vision of four horns.  Verse nineteen adds, And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.  Zechariah asked the angel what these four horns meant, and the angel said they represented the nations that had scattered God's people, Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.  If we have questions today, we need to look up to God in faith, and He will answer us.  Verse twenty says, And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.  Next, the LORD showed Zechariah four carpenters.   Verse twenty-one adds, Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.  Zechariah asked what the carpenters had come to do, and the LORD answered that they had come to cast out the Gentiles and restore God's land to His chosen people.  As followers of Christ today, we are a part of God's chosen people, and as such, He will bring us the ultimate victory, which is everlasting life with Him in our heavenly home. 

Zechariah 1:1

Zechariah 1:1 says, In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,  Zechariah begins by stating when the word of God came to him and who he was.  We may think of the prophets as always being alone in prophesying for God, but as Matthew Henry points out, Zechariah and Haggai began prophesying at about the same time.  We may sometimes feel that we are alone in witnessing for God, but we never are.  Verse two declares, The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.  Zechariah told them that God had been sorely displeased with their fathers.  I believe that the warning was that God would continue to be very displeased with them if they did not return to Him.  What our parents did or did not do in their relationship with God can neither condemn nor save us.  Verse three adds, Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.   Zechariah said God told Him to turn to Him and He would turn to them as well.  This is the call and promise of God to us today.  We come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, and He comes to us as our Savior and Lord.  Verse four states, Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.  Zechariah said that God called on them to not be like their fathers, who did not listen to the prophets when they called on them to turn from their evil ways.  The fact that our fathers and mothers may not be followers of Christ does not mean that we cannot be.  Verse five asks, Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?  God asked the people where the former prophets and their fathers were, and if they lived forever.  The answer was that they were either dead or would be, because like them, we cannot live forever in this world.  Verse six continues, But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.  God asked if His word and laws had died with those who had died, and the answer was no.  God's word and law will live forever, but we will not in this world.  Verse seven declares, Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,  A few months after God first spoke to Zechariah giving him a message for the people, He spoke to him again.  Verse eight states, I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.  This time God spoke to Zechariah in a vision, which was of a man on a red horse in the myrtle trees, and there were red and white speckled horses behind him.  Zechariah did not immediately understand what this meant, so he asked God for the meaning.  If we do not understand what God is saying to us today, we need to simply go to Him and ask.  Verse nine adds, Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.  Zechariah said that he did ask God what this dream or vision meant, and that the angel who talked with him said that he would show him.  We have One much greater than an angel to help us understand God's word, and that is the Holy Spirit.  Verse ten says, And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. The Man in the myrtle trees told Zechariah that those that He saw represented those that God had sent to walk to and fro through the earth.  Matthew Henry says the Man was Jesus Christ Himself, and that He provided the answer.  We can be certain that if we have questions concerning God today that if we come to Him by faith in Jesus Christ that He will provide us with the answer.  Verse eleven adds, And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. The angel said this represented those that God had sent to walk back and forth through the earth, and that the earth was at rest.  When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we can walk anywhere in the world and be at rest.

Philippians review continued

Paul told the Christians at Philippi to rejoice in the Lord, and this should be true for us today as followers of Christ as well.  We should not allow anything that is happening in the world or our life in particular to keep us from rejoicing in the Lord.  Paul also warned them to beware of false teachers who would sow concision among them.  Some people who profess to be followers of Christ seem to like nothing more than to create friction with other Christians, and Paul warns us to stay away from them.  Paul also told the believers at Philippi, and tells us today, that human credentials, the things that we might think would make us acceptable to God, will never bring us salvation.  They, nor we, can never be more qualified than Paul was, and he counted all his qualifications as nothing.  It doesn't matter where we were born, who are parents are, how much we may have studied the Bible or even done in the name of God if we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Paul said that he forgot all those things that went before his meeting of Jesus Christ and accepting Him as His Savior and Lord, and so should we.  Just as Paul said he was, we should be pressing toward the mark, the standard, set by Jesus Christ.  What came before that time cannot save us nor prevent us from claiming salvation.  Paul also called for those in the church at Philippi to settle their differences.  We cannot effectively serve God and share the gospel if we are fighting amongst ourselves.  We as followers of Christ must be united with one another spiritually in order to advance God's kingdom.  Finally, we learn that we are to support God's work financially.  Just as Paul commended the Christians at Philippi for their giving, we should also give to support God's work, not so that we will be praised, but so that God's work might be done.  A secondary point is that we should never demand that anyone give to us financially.  We should just allow God to direct us in our giving.  

Philippians Review

The first thing we learn from the book of Philippians is that we should always thank God for our fellow Christians.  We are not alone in serving God as followers of Christ.  We need to pray for our fellow believers and hopefully they will be praying for us as well.  Next, like Paul, we need to understand that whatever is happening in our life, if we are being obedient to the leadership of the Holy Spirit it will be for the furtherance of the gospel.  We cannot believe that unless we are happy and materially successful that we God is not with us and blessing us.  Then, we need to love one another with a Christ like love.  If we do, then we will always put the welfare of others above our own.  We also need to be confident in our calling as Christians and boldly declare the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Just as Paul warned the Christians at Philippi, we need to be aware that there are many who proclaim a perverted gospel and cause dissension in the church.  Paul also said that if the gospel, the truth that salvation comes from Jesus Christ alone, is being preached, it is still a good thing.  The message, and not the messenger, is what is important.  We also learn that we may be at war within ourselves between the need to stay here and do the work of Christ and the desire to depart this sinful world and be with Christ forever.  Paul said he had this war within himself, but he knew that what was best for him, going on to be with Christ, was not what was best for his fellow Christians.  We need to also let our conversation be such that it will be pleasing to God.  Paul said that it was given to the Christians at Philippi not only the ability to believe on Jesus Christ, but also to suffer for Him.  This is far from a name it and claim it because God wants me to be happy concept of following Jesus Christ.  We are also told that we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  This does not mean that we create our own plan of salvation, but that we individually accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and we let the Holy Spirit guide us in living by faith.  Our inability to gain salvation through our own abilities should leave us fearful and trembling before God until we accept His gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Philippians 4:11

Philippians 4:11 says, Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  Paul had just written about the help that he received from the church at Philippi, but he now said that he didn't allow that to influence what he had written to them.  Paul said he had learned to be content no matter what his physical or material status might have been, and as followers of Christ, we need to learn the same thing.  Verse twelve adds, I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  Paul basically said that he had known bad times and good times, and neither changed him.  I believe that we often have more faith in God in the bad times than we do in the good times, but our faith should remain the same no matter what is happening in our life.  Verse thirteen continues, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Paul said that he could do all things, not by his own strength, but by the strength that Christ empowered him with.  If we begin to feel weak or defeated in the world today, we as Christians must simply rely on the strength of Christ to be empowered to do whatever He calls us to do.  Verse fourteen states, Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.  Paul said that in spite of the fact that he was content no matter what and knew that Christ would empower him to do anything that He called on him to do, that the church at Philippi had done well to help him during his affliction.  I believe Paul saw their help as coming from God, but he wanted them to know that he appreciated their generosity in helping him.  We should always show our appreciation to those who help us in our work for God and never feel that it is just something that we deserve.  Verse fifteen adds, Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.  Paul said at the beginning of his ministry after leaving Macedonia that the church at Philippi was the only one that communicated with him concerning giving and receiving.  They had been there to help Paul for a long time, and he commended them for it.  We  need to truly appreciate those who have helped us spiritually from the beginning of our Christian life, no matter how they may have shown that support.  Verse sixteen continues, For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.   Paul said that their support had been an ongoing thing, even helping him while he was in Thessalonica.  Again,  Paul said that this was to help meet his necessities in life and not to enrich him.  Verse seventeen says, Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.  Paul said that he wasn't commending them because he wanted another gift but was commending them because he wanted them to know the spiritual fruit of their gifts.  We should never give nor receive gifts, or material support, from God for our own enrichment, but always give to others or receive His gifts from them for the advancement of the gospel and for God's glory.   Verse eighteen adds, But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.  Paul said because of the help that the Philippians had sent by Epaphroditus that he had all that he needed and even more, and that their sacrifice in helping him was well pleasing to God.  This should be our ultimate test whether what we are doing is well pleasing to God or not.  Verse nineteen continues, But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Paul said that just as God had provided for his needs partly by their help, that his God, the only true God, would provide for their needs as well.  We should never refuse to help others, especially our fellow Christians, because we are afraid that we cannot afford to do so if God is directing us to do it.  Verse twenty states, Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Paul asked that everything that they or he did be done for the glory of God, and this should be our desire today as followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-one adds, Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.  Paul begins the close of his letter by asking them to salute, or show respect to, all the believers in Christ that they knew or met.  He also said that those with him saluted the believers at Philippi as well.  We should have a mutual respect for all Christians.  Verse twenty-two continues, All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.  Paul said all the saints, especially those of the household of Caesar, saluted them.  Saints were not some group of super Christians but were simply those who had put their faith in Jesus Christ.  We are all a part of the priesthood of believers as followers of Christ and we should support and respect one another.  Verse twenty-three concludes, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. It was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.  Paul asked that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and his, be with them.  We definitely need that grace in our lives today.