Sunday
Morning Bible Study
August
31, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words Communion:
2500 words
The background to Zechariah, like that of Haggai, is
found in the book of Ezra.
After having been captive in Babylon for seventy years, the Jews are given permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild
their Temple in Jerusalem.
When the Temple construction is stopped, it was Haggai
and Zechariah who began to prophesy and encourage the people to finish the
Temple. (Ezra 5:1-2)
After the people began to build,
opposition arose from their enemies, and for a period of 15 years, the Temple
construction was halted.
It was then that God raised up two
prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, who began to encourage the people to get back
to work and make God’s House a priority.
(Ezra 5:1–2 NKJV) —1 Then the
prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews
who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who
was over them. 2 So
Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began
to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God
were with them, helping them.
It was under the ministry of Haggai
and Zechariah that the work got stirred up again.
The Temple won’t be complete until
March 12, 515 BC (Ezr 6:15-18)
The prophecies of Zechariah are given during the
years of 520-518 BC.
One of the key distinctions of the book of Zechariah is the great amount of
prophecy about the coming Messiah.
Except for the prophet Isaiah, there
are more prophecies about the Messiah in this book than any other Old Testament
book.
One set of scholars list 41 quotes
or allusions to Zechariah in the New Testament.
It seems that Zechariah has dated
each of his prophecies, like Haggai did.
The first prophecy is 1:1-6
It was given on 08/??/02
The second prophecy is 1:7 – 6:15
Hag.2:10-19 talks about how
“uncleanness” defiles everything it touches.
Haggai’s prophecy
was given on 9/24/02
In Zec. 3 God talks about Joshua
the high priest being “filthy”, but being cleansed.
Zechariah’s
prophecy was given 11/24/02
The third prophecy is 7:1 – 14:21
Some suggest that only 7:1-7 are
tied to the last date, and the rest of the book is undated.
Back in chapter one we started to look at a series
of eight “night visions” (1:7) that Zechariah received from God on a single
night.
They all took place on February 15,
519 BC.
We are now in the sixth and seventh visions.
We’ve seen a vision of horses and
riders. (1:7-17)
The horns and craftsmen (1:18-21)
The surveyor (ch.2)
Joshua the high priest’s cleansing
(ch. 3)
The Olive Trees and Lampstand (ch.
4)
5:1-4 The Flying Scroll
:1 Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there
a flying scroll.
:1 a flying scroll
I have a video…
Oops. Zechariah saw a flying “scroll”, not a flying squirrel… My bad…
The scroll looked more like this…
:2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is
twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”
:2 he said to me
Again, this is Zechariah’s “tour guide” angel, assigned to help him
navigate and understand these “night visions”.
:2 twenty … ten cubits
A cubit is roughly 1 ½ feet long (the length from
a man’s elbow to the tip of his finger).
That means the scroll was thirty feet long, and 15 feet wide.
Okay, the scroll looked more like this…
It was a pretty big scroll.
The measurements are interesting because they are the same measurement as
part of the portable worship center Moses built for the Israelites as they
wandered in the wilderness.
The tent was known as the Tabernacle, and it had
two rooms.
The outer room was called the “sanctuary” or “holy
place”. The inner room was called the “holy of
holies”.
The “holy place” measured twenty by ten cubits (Ex. 26:16-25)
(Exodus 26:16–25 NKJV) —16 Ten
cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall
be the width of each board. 17 Two
tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall
make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty
boards for the south side. 19 You
shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under
each of the boards for its two tenons. 20 And for
the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty
boards 21 and their forty
sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 22
For the far side of the tabernacle,
westward, you shall make six boards. 23 And you
shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24
They shall be coupled together at the
bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall
be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners. 25
So there shall be eight boards with their
sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards.
The holy place contained the menorah,
the table of showbread, and the altar of incense.
It was where the priests would come
daily to perform certain tasks in the worship of God, while the holy of holies
was only entered once a year.
The fact that the scroll is the same dimensions as the “Holy Place” might
be a hint that the coming judgment is tied directly to
the holiness of God Himself. Peter
wrote,
(1 Peter 1:15–16 NKJV) —15 but as He who called you is holy, you
also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
:3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse
that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be
expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every
perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.”
:4 “I will send out the curse,” says the Lord of hosts; “It shall enter the
house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It
shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it,
with its timber and stones.”
:3 this side … that side
The scroll had writing on both sides of it.
:3 Every thief shall be expelled
thief – ganab
– to steal, steal away, carry away
The first side of the scroll dealt with theft.
The 8th commandment (of the Ten) says,
(Exodus 20:15 NKJV) “You shall not steal.
A thief is someone who takes something that isn’t theirs.
Lesson
Trustworthy
Can people count on you to be trustworthy with something that belongs to
them?
Or do they have to keep an eye on you to make sure
you don’t take something that isn’t yours?
Illustration
A couple was just finishing their shopping at the mall when they discover
their brand new car has been stolen. They file a
report with the police and a detective drives them back to the parking lot to
look for evidence. To their amazement, the car has been returned, and there’s a note on it that says, “I apologize for taking your
car. My wife was having a baby and I had to hot-wire your ignition and rush her
to the hospital. Please forgive the inconvenience. Here are two tickets to
tonight’s Rolling Stones concert.” Their faith in humanity restored, the couple
attends the concert. But when they return home, they
find their house has been ransacked. On the bathroom mirror is another note in
familiar handwriting: “I have to put my kid through college somehow, don’t I?”
Illustration
The Burglar
In one of D.L. Moody’s meetings, a burglar by the
name of Burke was gloriously saved. It was hard for
him to get a job. He had a rough time of it. His sin-blurred features were
against him. So he prayed for God to make him a better-looking man so that he
could get a job. He worked in several cities, staying true to Christ. One day
the sheriff sent him word to come to his office. Burke’s heart sank. He said to
himself, “They have some old case against me, but if I am guilty I will tell
them so. I am not going to lie anymore.” When he went to the office, the
sheriff said to him, “Burke, what have you been doing? Do you still have a grip
on the religion you told me about?” “Sheriff,” said Burke, “It has been hard,
but I still have my faith in Christ.” Then the sheriff said, “Burke, I have had
a man shadowing you. I suspected that your religion was a fraud, but I want to
say that I have learned that you are living an honest Christian life. I have
sent for you to offer you a place as my deputy.” Burke accepted the job, worked
hard, and won the respect of good men on every side. One day Moody called on
him in the sheriff’s office. Burke had a sack of precious stones worth $60,000
in his lap. “Mr. Moody,” he said, “You see now what the grace of God can do for
a burglar. These stones were stolen, but the sheriff recovered them and put me
here to guard them.”
Christ can transform the life of any man who gives Him the chance.
—DR. CALVIN EVANS. This devotion is selected from the book
“Jewels For The Journey” which is published by Evangelistic Outreach
Ministries. For more information you may call toll free 1-800-767-8713 or go to
www.calvinevans.org
:3 Every perjurer shall be expelled
perjurer – shaba’
– (Niphal) to swear, take an oath; to curse
What is a perjurer?
It’s a person who takes an oath that they are
going to tell you the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth … and
then lies to you.
Verse 4 also refers to this as “the one who swears falsely by My name”.
It’s even worse when the person swears “so help me
God”, and still lies to you.
Commandments #9 and #3 of the Ten Commandments state:
(Exodus 20:16 NKJV) “You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
Bearing “false
witness” is when you lie to or about someone else.
(Exodus 20:7 NKJV) “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain…
Taking God’s name
in “vain” means to use God’s name in a bad, stupid way – like “swearing in
God’s name” that you’re telling the truth when you are not.
Lesson
Transparency
We might not think “lying” is that big of a deal. God doesn’t agree.
(Revelation 21:8 NKJV) But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have
their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.”
Jesus wants us to be known as men and women who tell
the truth, men and women who mean what they say.
We shouldn’t have reputations as people who
sometimes fudge the truth and feel a need to “swear an oath” to convince people
to believe us.
Jesus told His disciples,
(Matthew
5:37 NKJV) But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and
your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Being open and honest with others is a huge part of growing up as a
Christian.
(Ephesians
4:14–15 NKJV) —14 that we should no longer be
children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by
the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking
the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
The Greek word for “truth” means to be “not covered”. It means being transparent. It means having nothing to hide.
:4 It shall enter the house
Lesson
Sin is exposed
God promises that the “curse” will find the one who is practicing evil.
The Bible says,
(Numbers 32:23 NKJV) …then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find
you out.
Illustration
NOT SO FAST!
Illustration
Really
Dumb People
Police in Wichita, Kansas, arrested a
22-year-old man at an airport hotel after he tried to pass two (counterfeit)
$16 bills.
Your sin will find you out.
A
convict broke out of jail in Washington D.C., then a few days later accompanied
his girlfriend to her trial for robbery.
At lunch, he went out for a sandwich.
She needed to see him, and thus had him paged. Police officers
recognized his name and arrested him as he returned to the courthouse in a car
he had stolen over the lunch hour.
Your
sin will find you out.
Police in Radnor, Pennsylvania, interrogated
a suspect by placing a metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires
to a photocopy machine. The message “He’s
lying” was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy button each time
they thought the suspect wasn’t telling the
truth. Believing the “lie detector” was
working, the suspect confessed.
Your sin will find you out.
You may think that you are smarter than the
idiots in these stories, but the truth is you can’t
hide your sin from God.
:4 in …
his house and consume it
Lesson
Sin’s consequences
Disobeying God’s laws brings a consequence.
(Deuteronomy
27:26 NKJV) ‘Cursed is the one who does
not confirm all the words of this law.’
Your sin affects your whole household
This curse will destroy an entire house – timbers and stones.
It reminds me of what was supposed to be done with a house infected with
leprosy –
(Leviticus
14:45 NKJV) And he shall
break down the house, its stones, its timber, and all the plaster of the house,
and he shall carry them outside the city to an unclean place.
Leprosy is a great picture of sin – how it deadens,
alienates, and kills those who have it.
Allowing sin to stick around in your life is like inviting a demolition
excavator to your house.
Video – House Demolition
Sometimes we get caught in “private” little sins
that nobody knows about.
We think of it as a “victimless” crime. Nobody gets hurt, so why
worry about it?
The truth is, your sin is affecting those around you
whether you choose to acknowledge it or not.
There’s no avoiding God’s judgment. He sees
everything. He knows everything. And because He is
righteous and just, every wrong will have to be made right.
There’s only one way for us to avoid God’s judgment
and that’s by turning from your sin and turning to Jesus.
He paid the price for our judgment.
(John
3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.
5:5-11 Woman in a Basket
:5 Then the angel who talked with me came out and
said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”
:6 So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He
also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth:
:7 Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is
a woman sitting inside the basket”;
:6 So I asked, “What is it?”
This is the first time that Zechariah sees something in a vision and doesn’t recognize what it is. The “tour guide” angel has to
tell him that it’s a basket.
:6 a basket that is going forth
basket – ‘eyphah
– ephah; the receptacle for measuring or holding that amount
The word for “basket” is literally “ephah”, which
can mean basket, but it is also a specific measurement equal to about half a
bushel.
But that seems kind of small for what’s being held
inside the basket.
:6 This is their resemblance
throughout the earth
resemblance – ‘ayin
– eye
Perhaps what Zechariah is seeing is
not just something happening in the land of Judah, but something that would be
happening all over the planet.
Other translations have “iniquity” or “sins” instead of “resemblance” –
(Zechariah 5:6 NLT)
…it’s filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land.”
:7 a lead disc lifted up
disk – kikkar
– round; a round weight, talent (of gold, silver, bronze, iron)
The basket has a heavy round lid made of lead.
The angel lifts up the lid to allow Zechariah to peek inside the basket.
:7 a woman sitting inside the basket
Stranger and stranger
:8 then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead
cover over its mouth.
:8 This is Wickedness!
Wickedness – rish’ah
– wickedness, guilt
The first time this word is used in
the Bible, it is used to describe the wicked people that God will be driving
out of the land of Canaan to make a home for His people.
(Deuteronomy 9:4 NKJV) “Do not
think in your heart, after the Lord
your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the
Lord has brought me in to possess
this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that
the Lord is driving them out from
before you.
This woman is the personification of wickedness.
:8 threw the lead cover over its mouth
This wickedness isn’t asleep, it needs a heavy lid
on the basket to keep it in check.
It reminds me of what Paul told the Thessalonians about the antichrist and
the last days:
(2 Thessalonians
2:7 NKJV) For the mystery of lawlessness is
already at work; only He who now restrains will do
so until He is taken out of the way.
There is something at work in the world that actively
keeps the antichrist in check until the proper time. We think it’s the
work of the Holy Spirit through the church that holds back the antichrist, and
when the church is taken from the earth, the antichrist will let loose.
:9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were
two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the
wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
:9 two women … the wings of a stork
stork – chaciydah
– stork
The stork is one of the birds considered “unclean”, so a good Jewish boy wouldn’t hunt them and eat them. (Lev. 11:19)
(Leviticus 11:19 NKJV) the
stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat.
Some see these flying women as good angels who are keeping guard on
“wickedness”.
Others see them as bad angels since their wings are
described as those from an “unclean” bird.
:9 they lifted up the basket
These two flying women come swooping down, pick up the basket, and fly off.
These winged women are the first ever air born package delivery service. I
wonder if they delivered it over night?
Maybe we could call these winged women “Wickedness Drones”.
:10 So I said to the angel who talked with me,
“Where are they carrying the basket?”
:11 And he said to me, “To build a house for it in
the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on
its base.”
:11 the land of Shinar
Shinar – “country of two rivers”
This is the ancient name for the territory later known as Babylon (Gen.
11:2)
(Genesis 10:10 NKJV) And the
beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of
Shinar.
Shinar was where the ancient “Tower
of Babel” was built.
(Genesis 11:2 NKJV) And it
came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the
land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.
It’s the land that the Jews have just been freed
from, where they had been captive for seventy years …
(Daniel 1:2 NKJV) And the Lord
gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some
of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar
to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of
his god.
Is this a picture of removing sin
from Israel?
:11 when it is ready
ready – kuwn
– to be firm, be stable, be established
In Zechariah’s day, the empire of Babylon has already fallen to the Medes
and Persians.
This vision can’t be talking about
Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, because that was already in decline in Zechariah’s
day.
It speaks of a Babylon of the future, when it is “ready”.
:11 set there on its base
be set – yanach
– (Hophal) to obtain rest, be granted rest; to be left, be placed
on its base – mekunah
– resting place, base
There will be some sort of “house” built, a “base” for this woman known as
“wickedness”.
The apostle John sees this “woman” at her destination.
(Revelation 17:1–6
NKJV) —1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked
with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot
who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the
kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were
made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” 3
So he carried me away in the
Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting
on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven
heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and
scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her
hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. 5 And on her
forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON
THE GREAT, THE MOTHER
OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH 6 I saw the woman, drunk with the
blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.
As we worked our way through Revelation a few years ago, we talked about
this woman known as “Babylon the Great”.
The woman is riding a beast with seven heads and ten
horns, and we know from Rev. 13 that this beast is the antichrist and his
kingdom.
We believe the antichrist’s kingdom is some form of a revived
Roman Empire. (Dan. 2, 7)
Some have seen the reference to Babylon in Revelation as being a reference
to geographical Rome with its reference to sitting on “seven hills” (Rev. 17:9)
Some see Babylon
in a mystical way as simply representing some sort of last days perverted
religion.
Others would hold that it is actually Babylon in Iraq that
will be rebuilt.
The woman would seem to be some sort of religious perversion that will
permeate the end times, and have a connection with the antichrist.
While some think this religious perversion is some sort of last days religion, others have made quite a case for it being
the Roman Catholic Church. (see my Rev. 17 notes).
Some think it might be related to
the Roman Catholic Church, while others see it as some sort of last days
religion.
Illustration
Hans Grapje was
raised in a Catholic school in The Hague and, as a young man, aspired to become
a priest, but was drafted into the Army during WWII and spent two years
co-piloting B17s until his aircraft was shot down in 1943 and he lost his left
arm. Captain Grapje spent the rest of the war as a chaplain, giving spiritual
aid to soldiers, both Allied and enemy. After the war, he became a priest,
serving as a missionary in Africa, piloting his own plane (in spite of his
handicap) to villages across the continent. In 1997, Father Grapje was serving
in Zimbabwe when an explosion in a silver mine caused a cave-in. Archbishop Grapje
went down into the mine to administer last rights to those too severely injured
to move. Another shaft collapsed, and he was buried for three days, suffering
multiple injuries, including the loss of his right eye. The high silver content
in the mine’s air gave him purpura, a life-long condition characterized by
purplish skin blotches. Although Cardinal Grapje devoted his life to the
service of God as a scholar, mentor, and holy man, church leaders agree: he
will never ascend to the Papacy. No one wants a one-eyed, one-armed, flying
purple Papal leader.
oooooooh… sorry.
Lesson
Ready or not
There will be a day, very, very soon when an immense wickedness will be
unleashed on this world and will deceive many.
God will even “help” people to follow the lie because they have made a
conscious effort to not follow the truth.
(2 Thessalonians
2:11–12 NKJV) —11 And for this reason God will send
them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they
all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
There is one way to be sure to not fall for this coming
wickedness, and that is to believe the truth about Jesus.
Jesus said,
(John
14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way,
the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The last days “Babylon” will be destroyed when
Jesus comes back.
He will destroy wickedness. He will
rule and reign.
Are you with Him or against Him?