“The only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history” applies at a few different levels, including to Israel as they seek to re-establish Jerusalem after the exile to Babylon. Zechariah reminds them of the ‘temple sermon’ of Jeremiah, who had to address the superstitious belief that while the temple was in Jerusalem the city could not be destroyed irrespective of the people of God’s disregard of his word. They were wrong! How are the returned exiles going? What does Zechariah’s warning mean for us?
The following aspects of a worship service are included as a suggested guide to worshipping as a household for Sunday 23rd August, 2020
Zechariah 6 marks the end of the book’s first section as the prophet receives his eighth vision concerning four horse-drawn chariots which parallels the first vision with its four horses. The judgement that was anticipated in vision one is now made actual as God’s Spirit finds rest in Babylon. Times of peace and rest are the right times for building a temple and we now find more about the temple Yahweh will have built. A man called the ‘Branch’ will accomplish this. The Branch is a figure introduced in the writings of earlier prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah. Zechariah adds to his portrait: he will be someone who combines the roles of king and priest as he establishes God’s dwelling place among his people.
The following aspects of a worship service are included as a suggested guide to worshipping as a household for Sunday 16th August, 2020
therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
We live in a time when terms such as ‘displaced people’ are all too well understood. This is usually caused by the failure of human rule at some level, such as racism, unjust socio-political structures, war induced poverty and so on. But, in the Biblical narrative this has one underlying cause, which is forceful removal or displacement of our first parents from the primal holy place, Eden.
Eden is structured as a holy place with many similarities to the later tabernacle and temple, particularly that the divine image bearer, Adam as the kingly priest, was to serve and keep the holy paradise (Genesis 2:15).
This same combination of verbs applies to the priests in the tabernacle (Numbers 18:7); holy places faced east (Numbers 3:38) and Cherubim are fierce guardians of what is holy (Numbers 7:89).
The seduction of the claim that humanity could rule in place of God without consequence persists in the uncountable failed attempts to re-create paradise/utopia. And this failure has been working itself out throughout history. We are now ‘like God’ in ‘knowing good and evil’ and we have demonstrably failed to be able to rule this world as arbitrators of good and evil.
Some commentators have noted the silver lining to this dark cloud in that living in this world forever, where humans determine good and evil apart from
God, would be unbearable. Death is the only consequence of being barred from the holy presence of the author of life. Hence, a fierce guardian of God’s holiness wields a serious weapon in keeping humanity from the tree of life.
Instead of serving and keeping the garden paradise Adam will be kept from the holy garden and serve the ground from which he was taken until he returns to it. However, there is a way back to Eden and access to the tree of life but only via the death of the one who gives life, the lamb who was slain, who rules the Eden-like new Jerusalem.
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.
As the official government response to the Covid-19 crisis prolongs and extends the scope of the limits to our freedoms, it seems sensible to think through some of the implications for us as a church, especially since we are prevented by law from meeting together as we are commanded to do and as we love to do (Heb 10:24-25).
It is a Christian duty to be good citizens. The Lord Jesus taught that we must be obedient to governing authorities and give them what is their due (Mt 22:21). The Apostle Paul echoed this teaching, noting that, “whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed” and that we obey “not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience” (Ro 13:1-7). Paul
elsewhere urged that we pray “for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim 2:1-4), just as Jeremiah had previously instructed Jews in exile in Babylon to, “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer 29:7).
These concerns were important to the earliest Christians, as they were outsiders in society. The Apostle Peter addressed his readers as “exiles” (1 Pe 1:1), and “sojourners” or resident-aliens (1Pe 2:11), people living in someone else’s country with no rights of citizenship. Peter continued, that since that was their status, it imposed a special obligation on Christians in regard to their
behaviour. He wrote: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:12-17).
Clearly, living as good citizens is an important characteristic of the lives of followers of the Lord Jesus. Christians must always seek to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10). Adorn means to cause something to have an attractive appearance. The Greek word Paul uses is the one from which our English word ‘cosmetics’ derives. Our goal as Christians should be to make what we believe look beautiful to others by how we behave and avoid ever giving anyone cause to blaspheme the name of God (Ro 2:24, cf Is 52:5).
There is, however, a place for Christian civil disobedience. When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were commanded with the rest of Babylon to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, they refused, preferring being cast into the fiery furnace to serving the king’s gods or worshipping the image (Dan 3). Likewise, Daniel, when he was banned from praying to the living God by King Darius, refused to obey and suffered the punishment of the lions’ den (Dan 6). Then in the NT Peter and John, having been told previously to cease preaching in Jesus’ name (Acts 4:18-22), continued and were brought again to the authorities where they defended their actions.
A clear principle emerges from these examples. When faced with a choice between obeying human authorities and thereby disobeying God, a Christian, must, as Peter said, “obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). A well-known American church has recently used this verse to justify its decision to return to public gatherings in defiance of state law. We have decided current circumstances do not warrant such an approach.
Acts 5:41 records that Peter and the other apostles rejoiced that they were “counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name [of Jesus]”. The order they were given by the authorities and the punishment they received were because they were Christians. The situation confronting us at present is different. It is required of us that we comply with an order binding on all fellow citizens who are also being asked to forego normally legal activities such as eating out or going to the football. Christians are not being singled out “for the sake of the name” and so in the interests of adorning our doctrine, loving our neighbour (Mt 22:39), doing all we can to live at peace with those around us (Ro 12:18) and giving “no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God” (1 Cor 10:32), we feel the appropriate Christian response is to continue to be obedient to those in government who are “God’s servants for [our] good” (Ro 13:4).
Given that none of us can know just how long these restrictions will be in place there are certain things we need to do. We must take positive measures to compensate for our inability to meet together. That is why we will continue to provide an order of service with Bible readings, links to internet recordings of suitable songs, suggestions for prayer and videos of Bible teaching each week. If you have suggestions for how our delivery of this content could be improved or if you have ideas of other things we could include, please make contact with one of the elders. Since a vital part of our gatherings is being together for the purpose of encouraging each other (eg Eph 4:29; Heb 10:25), we need to seek out alternative means of doing this. A number of us gather at
11:00AM each Sunday via Zoom for this purpose. Connect Groups are functioning by Zoom as well. If you are not a member of a Connect Group, why not think about joining one? They offer shared engagement with God’s word, are good fun and provide avenues to give and receive encouragement as well as making needs known so prayer and other support can be given. While physically meeting with people outside your immediate family is impossible, please stay in contact with others by phone. We are told we must “bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). Please be vigilant regarding the needs of others. If you have a need, please bring it to the attention of the elders or someone in the church. Please don’t suffer alone or in silence.
Above all, do not become disheartened. Paul wrote that his experiences of severe hardship had a purpose, to teach him to rely not on himself, but on God who raises the dead (2 Cor 1:9). These are times unlike any we have lived through before and they might, therefore be making some of us anxious. It’s at times like these that we need to be finding strength in God by reading and
taking to heart his word and relying on him in prayer. We need to do these things all the time whether life is smooth or rough, but if you have neglected these essential disciplines, now is a great time to recommit yourself to them. Make the psalms your friends and pray them back to God. Tell God what you are trusting him for. Read John and thank God for Jesus, “the word become flesh” (Jn 1:1). Read Romans and be reminded of the amazing grace of God that results in us being free from condemnation and unable to be separated from his love (Ro 8:1, 39). Heed Paul’s command “Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Ro 12:12). Find hope in the encouragement of the Scriptures (Ro 15:4), remembering that our redemption is drawing near (Lk 21:28), our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (Ro 13:11).
Zechariah has focused so far on the restoration of the temple and priesthood as the necessary requirements for Yhwh to dwell with his people. Here now in chapter 5 we see, by means of the ongoing use of ‘bizarre’ apocalyptic imagery, that wickedness must be exposed and removed from the holy city. This escalates the contrast in the Bible between the place of idolatry and wickedness with that of holiness and righteousness, Babylon and the new Jerusalem respectively. The concern for God’s people of all eras is working out our allegiance against various obstacles.
The following aspects of a worship service are included as a suggested guide to worshipping as a household for Sunday 9th August, 2020
Zerubbabel was a descendant of King David, the grandson of the second last king of Judah, Jehoiachin, who was among those taken captive from Jerusalem and exiled in Babylon. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah under the rule of the Persians and was closely associated with the priest Joshua, who we met in Zechariah 3. Joshua and Zerubbabel each had a role to play in re-establishing God’s people in Jerusalem and furthering God’s plan to restore his blessing to the world.But Zerubbabel needed encouragement to do his work of re-building the temple. Times were hard in Jerusalem, the task was huge, the resources available meagre and the opposition to his work was formidable. Where would he get the strength? Where will we get the strength to serve God and not give up when the going gets tough?
The following aspects of a worship service are included as a suggested guide to worshipping as a household for Sunday 2nd August, 2020
One of the dangers for every generation is that emphasising certain aspects of the Gospel to address particular concerns gets taken so far that it becomes a dangerous distortion. Zechariah 3 is a very important reminder of the essential problem of sin that excludes us from the divine presence. He presents this issue in regard to those who returned from Babylonian exile to rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city. In this chapter the issue of sin is portrayed as a dirty stink on the clothing of the high priest Joshua. This is important for our generation, that we do not lose sight of the fact that Jesus is not fundamentally a psychologist or social worker, but he is a priest who makes atonement for sin, which is the ultimate cause of our offence in the sight of the holy God.
The following aspects of a worship service are included as a suggested guide to worshipping as a household for Sunday 26th July, 2020
I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, and carried away your horses, and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD. “I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a brand plucked out of the burning; yet you did not return to me,” declares the LORD. “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
In the late 1700’s just before the French Revolution in the midst of severe poverty, Queen of France – Marie Antoinette is widely reported to have arrogantly uttered these words- ‘If the peasants can’t eat bread why don’t they eat cake?’
In verse 1 of Amos 4, 2500 years before Marie Antoinette amidst great hardship some awful Israelite women were lying on their luxurious couches sponging off the backs of the poor and commanding their husbands ‘bring us some more wine.’ These Israelite women are politely referred to as the ‘cows of Bashan’, which essentially means the fat cows who live off the best pasture.
They were lazy, arrogant women who demanded luxury in spite of the poverty that surrounded them. Their concern was only for themselves, not the desperate state of the covenant nation. Not too many years after Marie Antoinette allegedly uttered her infamous words she was publicly executed by guillotine in what was to be a bloody revolution against the oppressive aristocracy.
In verse 2-3 we see God’s response to these cows of Bashan. They will be led away squirming like fish on a hook from their wining and dining into humiliating exile. Of course it wasn’t just these women, their particular sins were representative of the state of Israel generally.
Bring me some more wine. Bring me some more video games, bring me some more real estate, give me a bigger car, buy me a new dress, take me on an expensive holiday, why do I have to pay so much tax to support lazy dole bludgers?
Things haven’t changed. Throughout all cultures and eras people fail to be concerned about the bigger issues of justice and mercy through the advance of God’s kingdom and continue to be primarily concerned about personal comfort and luxury here and now.
Israel were particularly accountable for this because they had direct revelation from God concerning how to live according to the covenant as merciful and just people.
In this legal trial like narrative, Israel’s defence is described in verses 4-5. Basically they are represented as saying. ‘but we have kept the covenant you made with us. We have offered sacrifices and given our tithe,’ in fact these verses indicate that they were doing them more frequently than the law required. But they completely failed to understand the heart of the law, which is about grateful love to God and love for their fellow Israelite’s.
In verses 6-11, it seems that the Israelite defence is so pathetic that God doesn’t even bother to answer it directly. Instead he refers to the hardship that has come upon them and how they have refused to see that this hardship is judgement for covenant unfaithfulness. He clearly specified at the making of the covenant (eg Deuteronomy 28) that these things will happen if you defile the land with idolatry, injustice and other breaches of ‘your covenant with me.’ And in spite of these hardships they did not return to the LORD. They refused to turn away from their unfaithfulness. They are described as burning sticks removed from a fire before being consumed.
So, in a sense the LORD has shown restraint by not bringing all these things upon them at once and given them opportunity over centuries to turn back. But, then comes the message of verse 12 which is quite frightening. It simply says ‘this is what I will do to you 0 Israel, prepare to meet your God.’
There’s a positive and negative sense in which people can meet God. People can meet God with joy and delight or with horror and shame. This is clearly describing the latter. The Bible doesn’t mince words when it talks about these alternatives.
And just in case Israel were tempted to think that God was unable to carry this out they are reminded in verse 13 of who this God they are about to meet in judgement is. This is not some old bloke with a wig on. He is the one who creates the mountains and wind and penetrates the recesses of the human mind.
Zechariah experiences a third vision and learns that God has great plans for his people who have recently returned from exile in Babylon. Though outwardly conditions in Jerusalem seemed unimpressive, God tells the prophet of a gloriously renewed city that he will build, protected, not by walls, but by God’s own presence.
Zechariah 2 looks ahead to a day when God will live among his people gathered from all the nations in eternally secure conditions.
The following aspects of a worship service are included as a suggested guide to worshipping as a household for Sunday 19th July, 2020
He went up from there to Bethel, and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” And he turned around, and when he saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys.
We lived in Ethiopia for a number of years when it was very stable politically. Soon after we returned to Australia, Ethiopia’s wise and gifted president died and we were worried that the power vacuum would create upheaval. Thankfully, a transition occurred without much incident.
2 Kings 2 is filled with the tension and concern of what might happen to the northern kingdom Israel upon the departure of the powerful and bold prophet of Yhwh, Elijah – whose very name reflects his ministry – Yhwh is my God. Who
will now contend with the prevalent Baal worship? As we’ve seen, a major reason for the book of Kings is an explanation for the exile of the northern Israel and then southern Judah, interpreted in light of the covenant terms outlined in Deuteronomy.
This chapter as a whole is the transition from the prophet Elijah to Elisha, who boldly desires a double portion of the ‘spirit of Elijah’ (2:9), which he receives (2:13-15). Elisha’s first action is one of healing (2:19-22), reflecting his name – my God saves. Jericho was a cursed place (Joshua 6:26; 1 Kings 16:34), but now through Elisha Yhwh brings healing/grace and restores its toxic water supply. If only Israel would listen to his word and receive his grace!
But, as the next incident shows they had no place for God’s word by its new voice, Elisha. Bethel was an important centre of the northern kingdom and was one of the two locations where a golden bull was set up (1 Kings 12:25- ), which is ironic because Bethel means ‘house of God.’ Many youths (maybe early teens) purposefully came out of town with the sole purpose to mock or ridicule Elisha. Their taunt seems to operate on a number of levels.
Firstly, by calling him ‘baldy’, beyond the sheer rudeness of speaking to a superior that way, they are saying, you are no Elijah (who was hairy 1:8). Secondly, the ‘go up’ taunt makes sense when we look at the same use of this phrase in the first part of this verse. Elisha was ‘going up’ (from Jericho to Bethel), then ‘going up’ by the way past Bethel and now the boys are basically saying ‘keep going up,’ in the sense that there is no place for you here. Maybe Australians would say (minus the expletives), ‘keep going useless loser.’
The explanation for Elisha’s subsequent curse on them in the name of Yhwh is outlined by Leviticus 26:21-22
(21 a “Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And a I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted.)
Further, the number forty-two may refer to the later recorded incident of forty two relatives of the Baal worshipping family of Ahaziah being slaughtered (10:12-14), in accordance with Yhwh’s previous word by Elijah. And certainly the idea of ‘torn’ refers to the torn kingdom of Solomon and its ongoing consequences (e.g. 1 Kings 14:8).
Even at the time of Jesus (Yhwh saves), the one who is God’s word, the response of Israel was one of mockery, one of the most staggering taunts being He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. (Mat 27:42 ESV)
