SERMON: Zechariah (Obedience)
TEXT: Zechariah 7-8 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 7-18-21
You can watch the sermon here.
You can find the sermon notes here.
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And the one thing I always want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshipping with us in person at our North Main campus or are joining us online — the one thing I want you to know is that God loves you and that I love you too.
A little over a month ago, we began this year’s edition of our Finding Jesus series. This is a series where we look at different books in the Old Testament and see how the whole Bible is ultimately telling one story — the story of Jesus. In previous years we’ve looked at the books of Moses — the first five books of the Old Testament. We’ve looked at the Major Prophets — the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. And last year we looked at the first half of a group of books known as the Minor Prophets.
In these sermons I introduce you to a book of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. Then we do an overview of the book before focusing in on one section of the book. And finally we discover a way to find Jesus in our book. Because — that’s our goal — to find Jesus — because the whole Bible is pointing us to him.
And in this year’s edition of Finding Jesus — we’re looking at the final six books of the group known as the Minor Prophets. And — today — we’ll be looking at the book of Zechariah. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me to Zechariah chapter 7.
We’ve already looked at the books of Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai. And — next week — we’ll finish up the Minor Prophets with Malachi. And I hope that you’ll grow to know and love these books of the Bible and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.
So let’s take some time to get our bearings in the book of Zechariah — and I hope you’ll see that Zechariah is a book you’ll want to go read for yourself.
First, what do we know about Zechariah? And what’s the first thing I’m going to say? Zechariah was a prophet — which means he spoke on behalf of God. His name — Zechariah — means “Yahweh remembers” and — it’s a popular name in the Bible — there are 27 men — just in the Old Testament — named Zechariah. (Herbert Lockyer, All the Men of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1958), 344-345.)
Now to give you an idea of what’s going on in history — the Jewish people are divided into two nations. Originally there were the twelve tribes of Israel — each tribe descending from a son of Jacob — who was also named Israel. And these tribes eventually ask for a king. The first king was Saul. Next came David. Then David’s son — Solomon — became king.
After Solomon, there’s conflict over who should be king and the nation ends up dividing. Ten tribes join together and keep the name Israel — they’re in the north — and two tribes join together and are named Judah — they’re in the south. And — for a while — neither Israel nor Judah experience external conflict — meaning war with other nations — but they have significant internal problems. Evil kings. Moral corruption. The people abandon God. Things are a big mess — which you can read about in the books 1st and 2nd Kings.
But here’s what’s crazy. The people of both Israel and Judah assume that the lack of external conflict — the fact they’re not at war with other nations — is because God approves of the way they’re living. But — remember — they’ve abandoned God! Yet they think that God approves of their behavior. That is until the Assyrians show up.
The Assyrians come in from the north and invade and conquer Israel. Down in Judah — things are a little better than in Israel — but not much. They’re not conquered by the Assyrians — they were just under their control until the capital of Assyria — Nineveh — falls in 612 BC. Egypt comes in and overpowers Judah until the Babylonians defeat Egypt and conquer Judah in 587 BC.
Nebuchadnezzar is king of Babylon at this time — this is the same Nebuchadnezzar you may be familiar with from the book of Daniel. And — after conquering Judah — the Babylonians disperse many of the Jews — sending them to live in foreign lands. This is the beginning of the 70 years of living in exile that God had warned his people would be a consequence of their sin and rebellion against him. Then around 520 BC — Babylon falls to King Cyrus who leads the Persian Empire. And — during Cyrus’ reign — waves of Jewish people begin to return to their homeland.
Now Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai — who we looked at last week. And you may remember that Haggai was part of the first group of Jews to return to their homeland — when around 50,000 Jews returned home. Well guess who was also part of this first group to return? Zechariah. And Zechariah was most likely born in Babylon — which means that he returned to his homeland pretty early on in his life. In fact, he’s probably a young man when he begins his ministry. And — based on something Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel — we know how Zechariah’s life comes to an end. He'll be murdered in the Temple — between the sanctuary and the altar — by his fellow countrymen. (See Matthew 23:35 and Gleason L. Archer Jr., A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, rev. ed. (Chicago: Moody, 1974), 425.)
So that’s the background of what’s going on — now — let’s turn to the book itself. What’s the layout of the book? Well this is the longest of all the Minor Prophets. The book contains 14 chapters and 211 verses. And to prove the point — that the name Minor Prophets doesn’t mean less important content — Zechariah contains the second most amount of Messianic verses of all Old Testament books. Only Isaiah has more verses about the coming Messiah. And — because of this — Zechariah is quoted — or referenced — 71 times in the New Testament. (Stephen R. Miller, “Zechariah,” in Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2004), 134.) So — remember — he title Minor Prophet doesn’t mean minor content.
Now — what about the chapters — what do we find in them? Well know that when you read Zechariah — you find yourself immersed in a variety of literary genres. From poetry to history to apocalyptic literature — at times — you’ll think you’re reading the book of Revelation.
Chapters 1 and 2 begin with a call to repentance along with a promise — given to the people — if they do repent. Then there’s a transition — here comes the apocalyptic stuff — and we come to the first three of eight night visions. These three visions contain horses and riders, horns and a blacksmith, and a surveyor who measures the city of Jerusalem.
Chapter 3 has the fourth vision. Joshua — the high priest — appears before God. And while he’s before God — Satan — brings accusations against him. And the angel of the Lord defends Joshua — who’s forgiven because of a figure who’s called God’s servant — this whole vision is pointing us to Jesus.
Chapter 4 has the fifth vision which consists of a golden lampstand and some olives.
Chapters 5 and 6 contain the final three visions. There’s a flying scroll, a woman who flies away in a basket, and four chariots pulled by different colored horses.
We’ll skip chapters 7 and 8 — this is where we’re gonna hang out — and move on to chapters 9 and 10. These chapters contain some prophecies about the future. An earthly king will rise up and seemingly rule the world — yet God will protect his people during this time. And — after this earthly king — God’s King — the Messiah — will come and deliver the people of God.
In chapter 11, we see that the people of God have rejected the Messiah — the Shepherd of God’s people. And — because of their rejection — God will allow bad shepherds to take advantage of his people.
And — in the final chapters — twelve through fourteen — we find another prophecy which is mainly directed at Jerusalem. God will deliver his people. They will accept the Messiah as their leader. The people will be cleansed and made holy and pure because the Messiah will be struck down. And — finally — God will come back to the city of Jerusalem to reign over the world.
So — as you’ve just heard — I had a bunch of different avenues to choose from — when it comes to showing us how to find Jesus in this book. But I’ve chosen chapters 7 and 8 because — what we find in them — is a follow up to last week’s sermon from Haggai. Last week we saw our need to be made holy. That our actions won’t ever be pleasing to God unless we’re first made holy by God.
Well — today — we’re going to look at our actions — the obedience God expects of his people. And we’ll see what happens when we try to obey — without first being made holy — and then we’ll see what God expects of those who have been made holy.
Which leads us to the section of the book we’re going to focus on today. So let’s turn to our passage. Hopefully you’ve had time to find Zechariah chapter 7. We’ll begin in verse 1 and read all the way through chapter 8 — so a lot more verses to cover than we usually do in this series. But our goal is still the same — we’re going to discover a way to find Jesus in the book of Zechariah — and in all of the Bible.
“In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, 3 saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”
4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”
8 And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.
8:1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”
18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”” (Zechariah 7:1-8:23 ESV)
Every day — Christian or not — we’re faced with opportunities to obey or disobey. Could be a law of the land, our parent’s curfew, or a policy at work. And when we decide — to obey or not — part of our decision is based on our view of authority or — at least — our view of the specific authority we’re choosing to obey or disobey at the time.
And that — “what’s my view of this authority” — brings in all kinds of messiness when it comes to our reasons for obedience or disobedience. Leading many to make sweeping statements about our culture being anti-authoritarian. But I don’t know if that’s the case. It seems that our culture will submit to authority but — where we differ — is on what authority is legitimate and can be trusted.
Now — for sure — there are some authorities that don’t deserve to be trusted. But — we must all be careful — as it’s easy to confuse an authority as being “legitimate and trustworthy” when what we really mean is “I’ll personally benefit by obeying this authority” while — this other authority is “illegitimate and untrustworthy” — because “I don’t see any personal benefit to obeying it.”
For instance, Forbes did a survey to find America’s most and least trusted professions. (Niall McCarthy, “America’s Most & Least Trusted Professions,” January 11, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/01/11/americas-most-least-trusted-professions-infographic/?sh=2dcdbae77e94.) Who do we trust most? Nurses, doctors, and pharmacists. Who do we trust least? Business executives, car salespeople, and — at the bottom of the list — members of congress. We care about our physical health — so we trust people who have authority in the medical professions. But — and this is super obvious — there’s a personal benefit for us — if we listen to them, right? Better health! But — government officials — well — “We don’t want to be a chump and blindly follow them, right? I mean — I didn’t even vote for them so they’re not even my...fill in the blank — the most common being — not my president.”
Now — the Christian faith comes in and does two things. It commands us to obey all who are in authority — see Romans chapter 13 — yet it also offers biblical examples of people — who are held in high esteem — for disobeying authority — for example Peter refusing to not preach the gospel in Acts chapter 5. Yet these examples — of being favorably viewed for disobedience — are the exceptions — not the norm in Scripture. Thus we need to be aware of — as God’s people — and keep in check — this attitude of disobedience and self-centeredness where — our obedience is based on — “what am I going to get out of obeying this authority?” But why — why do we need to keep this attitude in check?
Because eventually — and this is something none of us are immune to — eventually our obedience of God’s commands will be viewed through the filter of “well, how am I going to personally benefit by obeying his authority?” And this is an incredibly dangerous attitude for anyone to have. For God is the ultimate authority. And his commands are to be obeyed. They’re not up for debate — they’re not up for discussion. And the sweet news of the gospel is that obeying God's commands — though a duty — is also a delight for the people of God. For obedience is an act of worship — a way we show the world our love for our God and for one another.
So let’s return to Zechariah and see — first — that our God — who is our authority — has spoken to us. He’s given us commands to obey. And then we’ll look at our obedience before finding Jesus in this book.
We’re beginning with our God who speaks to us. Now we don’t have time to go back and read all of our verses again — but here’s what I want you to know. The phrase “the word of the Lord” — or some variation of it — appears twenty-two times in our two chapters. In fact — throughout the book of Zechariah — there’s a clear emphasis on the word of the Lord — being spoken — and the authority God’s word is to have on his people.
But God’s word isn’t just an authority over his people — his word is an authority over all people. All of God’s words are meant to be heard and obeyed by all people. Why? Because God is the creator of everyone and everything — he’s sovereign and king over all. But the point — for now — is that God is a speaking God.
And this is good news for us. I mean — imagine what it would be like if God had not spoken to us? Imagine the guesswork if he hadn’t clearly spoken to us. We’d all be left to wonder, “Is this what God wants? Or is that what he wants? Who knows?” It’s kind of like being in a relationship — married folks will understand this — but I’m pretty sure this is a universal rule for all relationships — but have you ever had to say to someone, “I just need you to tell me what you really want — what are you really thinking right now? Because I can’t read your mind and I’m not great at guessing. So tell me, what do you want — what are you thinking?” This kind of guessing game is terrible when it happens in our relationships with other people — but this would be detrimental in our relationship with God.
Thus in his kindness, goodness, and faithfulness — he’s spoken to us. He’s given us his Word. He’s made it clear to us what he wants of us. God has taken the guesswork out of our relationship — for he is a speaking God.
But when God speaks — his people are to listen and obey. And what did he say to the people in Zechariah’s day? Twice he tells the people to “fear not.” For he promises that he will rescue them from their enemies and will bless them — and this is why they’re not to be afraid.
God also tells them what to do. He tells them to, “Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. 17 Don’t scheme against each other.” (Zechariah 8:16b-17a NLT)
He tells them what they need to stop loving. “Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.” (Zechariah 8:17b NLT)
And God tells his people what they’re to love. He tells them to “love truth and peace.” (Zechariah 8:19b NLT)
And all of these things — that God speaks to them — are words spoken out of his faithfulness and great love for them. Thus he reminds them of what happened to their ancestors when their love for God grew cold — resulting in their disobedience. Though they were warned of the consequences to come — their ancestors hardened their hearts against God — and experienced captivity by foreign nations — because they did not listen to God.
And — because God is our authority — we’re to obey the commands he’s given us. This is what the people in Zechariah’s day had failed to do. But — remember what we learned in Haggai last week — and it’s no coincidence that Haggai and Zechariah ministered in the same time period — for outward obedience isn’t God’s primary focus. God wants our obedience to be based on the right motives. And the motives God is looking for are motives that come from being made holy — being cleansed of our sins — as God sings his song of salvation over us — and gives us a new heart — a heart that finds joy in obeying the word of the Lord because it is a heart that finds joy in their God who speaks.
You see — back in chapter seven — we find that the people of Bethel have sent some folks to ask Zechariah if they need to keep up the traditions of mourning and fasting in remembrance of the Temple’s destruction. Here’s the scenario. The people are back in Jerusalem. The Temple’s under construction. And the question is this: “Do we need to keep up this tradition or not? We’ve been doing this for so many years, Zechariah. Can we be done with this tradition?”
Now — at first glance — their question seems sincere. But as one Bible scholar notes, their “question is fraught with hypocrisy, as [the LORD’s] response puts beyond any doubt.” (Eugene Merrill. An Exegetical Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (Chicago: Moody, 1994), 209.)
So what’s God’s reply to them? “Say to all your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting? 6 And even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves?” (Zechariah 7:5-6 NLT)
The people were caught up in doing religious practices, but not out of a heart transformed by God.
Now — our chapters end with an unexpected — incredible — hope-filled — picture of a day when people — from all nations and cities around the world — will travel to Jerusalem to worship the One true God. Where — because of an obedience — birthed out of a holy love for God — many will be drawn to worship the Lord of Heaven. But this obedience isn’t something the people in Zechariah’s day will fulfill. The people of God will continue in disobedience due to their sin — and their rebellious hearts — they’ll fail to obey the commands that God has given them.
Yet — the way we find Jesus in Zechariah — and this is just one way to find him — is by recognizing that Jesus is the One who — in holy, pure love — perfectly obeyed all of the commands of his Heavenly Father. And — he did so — on our behalf. He did so for our benefit. Even when his obedience cost him his life. And — because of his love for his Father and us — Jesus was obedient. And he fulfilled the word of the Lord spoken through Zechariah.
Listen to how another Bible translation states the hope being promised to the people of God. “You’ve gotten a reputation as a bad-news people, you people of Judah and Israel, but I’m coming to save you. From now on, you’re the good-news people. Don’t be afraid.” (Zechariah 8:12b-13a MSG)
I love that — “you’ve got a reputation of being bad-news people — but I’m coming to save you. And now you’ll have a reputation of being Good News people. So don’t be afraid — your Savior is coming.”
And — for us — for those who live on this side of the cross of Christ — we know that our Savior has come. And — in having responded to Christ — in turning from our sin and turning to Jesus in faith — we’ve been given a new reputation — we’re the Good News people. People who listen to the word of the Lord and obey it because we’ve been forever changed by the love of Christ. For we have hearts that desire to know God’s Word and to listen to God’s Word and to obey God’s Word. And — as we lovingly obey — we remember and eagerly anticipate — “what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”” (Zechariah 8:23 NLT)
Though we may not all come from Jewish descent — through our faith in Christ — we are in him who is King of the Jews.
Gracious Father, increase our view of your authority. An authority — not to be feared — for you are kind, good, gentle, and faithful to us. An authority — not to be rejected — for you are just, righteous, and holy. Your authority is one we are to submit ourselves to. And this is for our good — for our good in ways we can’t even comprehend.
Jesus, what love you’ve displayed for us. You submitted yourself to your Father’s authority out of your love for him and us — even at the cost of your life. And here we complain about submission when it costs us much less than our lives. Thank you for your patience with us, your never-ending love for us, your faithfulness to us, and infinitely more.
Spirit of God, increase our love for God so that we live lives of obedience to his every word. May our submission to his authority and our joyful obedience to his Word cause those — who do not yet believe — to stop us — and say, “I can tell that God is with you. Tell me why he’s with you because I’m desperate for him to be with me.” Spirit, help us to live up to the reputation you’ve given to us. Though we were once bad news people — now — we’re Good News people. May we live “Good News people” kind of lives.
And — Father, Son, and Spirit — for those whom you are calling to respond to your Good News. Guide them in faith and repentance. May they believe in Jesus Christ and receive the joy that he’s offering to them. And we pray all of these things in his name. Amen.
By the grace and power of God — and by his Spirit living in you — go and live the life a life of loving obedience.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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