Zechariah by Chuck Missler Lesson 7

Again, taking the PDF notes from the disk and cleaning them up and reformatting. I've interjected some stuff on James, and finer points- and taken out some of Chuck's super-detailed gobbley-gook (fantastic references) which is confusing and weighs down the text.

Approximately two years after the night visions of Chapters 1-6 describing the whole future of Israel, including the subjugation of her
enemies, her regathering in the Land, her cleansing, restoration, and
the establishment of the theocracy. (December 7, 518 b.c.; cf. v. 1
with 1:7) and about halfway through the period of temple rebuilding
(520-516).

The Question of Fasting
1] verse 1
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, [that] the word of the
Lord came unto Zechariah in the fourth [day] of the ninth month, [even] in
Chisleu;
Dated, again, by the Gentile reckoning (“Times of the Gentiles...”)
Uses Nisan as the 1st month. (Contrast Genesis and post-Exodus
reckonings...)

2] verse 2
When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and
their men, to pray before the Lord,

“House of God”: Unger reckons these as being sent from Bethel;
Bethel located about 12 miles N. of Jerusalem;
prominent as a religious center under the Northern Kingdom from
the time Jeroboam I set up golden calves, etc.
Beth = house , el = God, or house of God

3] verse 3
[And] to speak unto the priests which [were] in the house of the Lord of
hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separat-
ing myself, as I have done these so many years?

Saharezer = Babylonian name, sharusur, meaning “protect the king.” Probably
given to him during the exile (Cf. Daniel, Belteshazzur, Dan 1:7.
Also, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, etc.)

Bethelites had returned with the remnant and rebuilt Bethel (Ezra
2:28; Neh 7:32; 11:31)

Tisha B’av: the mourning for the Temple and the city burned by the
Babylonians on the (5th to the 10th day) of the 5th month = the “Ninth
of Av.”
2 Kgs 25:8-10; Jer 52:13. Bethel acknowledged Jerusalem as the
ecclesiastical center. (Authenticates Haggai and Zechariah as spokes-
men for the Lord.)
Beth Yhwh contrasted with Beth ‘el.

Are We Serving Ourselves or God?

4] verse 4
Then came the word of the Lord of hosts unto me, saying,
5] verse 5
Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye
fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh [month], even those seventy
years, did ye at all fast unto me, [even] to me?
“The Word of the Lord:” Not just to Bethel, but to “all the people of
the land.”

Man-made rituals not the real issue: a deeper problem of attitude.
The matter of the inquiry itself is left unanswered in Chapters 7 &
8 and is inconsequential and left unsettled. They were not observed
for God’s glory and purely for self.
These Bethelites had utterly lost the sense of voluntary dedication
to the Lord in the matter of fasting: it had become a legalistic ritual,
devoid of any glory to God or spiritual benefit to themselves.
“Me, even to me”: emphasis on the personal aspect. Did you really
fast? Was there any self-denial involved? For God’s glory; not a
legalistic asceticism.

6] verse 6
And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat [for yourselves],
and drink [for yourselves]?

A note on The Book of James, which MANY churches twist to their own ends. Many organizations manipulate James to get their followers to do and live by works, convincing them that it is the WORKS which save. It is the WORKS which QUALIFY one before God, get you to Heaven, etc.
James corrects this, shatters it really because James says “don’t tell me about your works or your faith -
you be you.” James says “you be you, and I will see it flow from you.” We don’t do works to change, we do works BECAUSE we are changed.
This is what the fasting above is talking about also- it’s not a matter of fasting….it is a matter of WHY. Is it out of ritual, necessity, timing, the calendar? Or is it about our heart before God? God is all about the internal, the WHY. God judges the hearts and reins, God tests our works.
When we ACTUALLY change for The LORD it will come out from us and be displayed. Don’t let them twist you on James. A number of times Jesus talks to the pharisees and saducees about how great they like to look on the outside and keeping all the technicalities of LAW (and acting superior because of it), but inside they are like an “open grave,” an internal pit of filth – nothing has changed. For us, the body of Christ it is different, we judge not the external but try and discern the character, the intent and from where it comes.
Change on the inside for The Lord and it will exude to the outside – it cannot be helped, and it cannot be hid. It will be seen.
And The LORD don’t miss a thing-

Focuses on the complete self-centeredness of people’s fasting and
mourning. “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). [Fasting: Mt 9:14, 15; Acts 13:2, 3;
14:23; 1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 6:5; 11:27; Cf. God’s Chosen Fast by Arthur
Wallis.]

7] verse 7
[Should ye] not [hear] the words which the Lord hath cried by the former
prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities
thereof round about her, when [men] inhabited the south and the plain?

In contrast with the prosperity of the past, the present community—
struggling and poor—was the result of their precious disobedience.

Are We Listening to Ourselves or God?

8] verse 8
And the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah, saying,

9] verse 9
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew
mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

“The Lord of the Armies”...
Man’s duties to man are stressed, which constitute the concrete and
visible proof of the reality of their relationship with God. (Cf. Epistle
of James in the NT. James 2:14-26)
Micah 6:8; 1 Cor 13.

10] verse 10
And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and
let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
Each of these represent a helpless member of society, particularly
exposed to unscrupulous men (Ex 22:22; 23:6-9; Lev 19:15-18; Deut
10:18, 19; 24:14; Jer 7:6).

11] verse 11
But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their
ears, that they should not hear.

“Pulled away the shoulder”: an agrarian term, relating to the difficulty
in yoking an unyielding ox. Intractably refusing.
“Ears heavy”: dull; unresponsive.

12] verse 12
Yea, they made their hearts [as] an adamant stone, lest they should hear
the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the
former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.

“Adamant stone”: impenetrably hard substance; emery or diamond.
Flint-like. It could not be graven itself, or receive the characters of
God. Obdurate.

“Hearts”: singular, not plural; reference to the “inner man,” compris-
ing mind, affections, and will (Deut 4:29; 6:5; 10:12; Josh 22:5; 1
Kgs 2:4; 14:18; Ps 86:11.)
This statement not only places the words of the preexilic prophets
on a par with the Mosaic Law but also identifies the Spirit of God as
the Source (and primary agency) of prophetic inspiration who spoke
through human agents (cf. 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet 1:21) as secondary
instruments.

13] verse 13
Therefore it is come to pass, [that] as he cried, and they would not hear; so
they cried, and I would not hear, saith the Lord of hosts:

14] verse 14
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew
not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor
returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

“Pleasant land”: Jer 3:19; Ps 106:24; Dan 11:16, 41.

When Jesus talks about fasting he says to "do it in private (paraphrased)"

«But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly .»
Matthew 6:15-18

It is the VERY ACT of keeping it secret IS an act of faith in and of itself -
because YOU KNOW, God sees all things, and into the heart.

Zechariah 8
In the future, Israel’s fasts will change to feasts! If you believe that God
is through with Israel, you cannot handle the Book of Zechariah! (Or
most other OT prophets, for that matter! Or the Book of Psalms...)
[Prophetic Scriptures should always be expounded with a moral and
spiritual appeal and challenge to present-day audiences.]
“Lord of the Armies” = 18X in this chapter.
“Jerusalem” = 6X; Zion = 2X.
“Jealous” = 3X.
“Remnant” = 2X (from all 12, not just 2, tribes).
“Thus saith the Lord” = 10X.

Are We believing a Lie or the Truth?
1] verse 1
Again the word of the Lord of hosts came [to me], saying,

2] verse 2
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and
I was jealous for her with great fury.
[Does God ever change? Don’t mess around with the “apple of His
eye”!]

3] verse 3
Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of
Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of
the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.

Millennial. [Did the Shekinah ever return after leaving the 1st Temple?
(Ezek 11:23); Mt 12:6.]

4] verse 4
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in
the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
John 1:14.

5] verse 5
And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets
thereof.

6] verse 6
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant
of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith
the Lord of hosts.

“Marvelous”: “if it be difficult to do” or “beyond one’s power” (Cf.
Jer 32:17, 27; Isa 11:11, 12; 43:5, 6).

7] verse 7
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east
country, and from the west country;

8] verse 8
And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they
shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

9] verse 9
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these
days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which [were] in the day [that]
the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple
might be built.

10] verse 10
For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast;
neither [was there any] peace to him that went out or came in because of the
affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

11] verse 11
But now I [will] not [be] unto the residue of this people as in the former days,
saith the Lord of hosts.

12] verse 12
For the seed [shall be] prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground
shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause
the remnant of this people to possess all these [things].

13] verse 13
And it shall come to pass, [that] as ye were a curse among the heathen, O
house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a
blessing: fear not, [but] let your hands be strong.

Diaspora predicted:
(definition diaspora: The dispersion of the Jews among the Gentiles after the Captivity.
Any similar dispersion.
A group so dispersed, especially Jews outside of the land of Israel.)

A result of apostasy and sin: Deut 28:15-62.
Worldwide dispersion: Deut 28:63-68.
Their national election set aside: Rom 11:1-12;Jer 24:9.
Not terminated until they “look unto Him whom they pierced” (Zech
12:10-14).

14] verse 14
For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers
provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:

The trials of the captivity were not mere accidents or unexplain-
able calamities: they were according to the unerring purpose of an
unchanging God.

15] verse 15
So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the
house of Judah: fear ye not.

16] verse 16
These [are] the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his
neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

Be doers of the Word. James 1:22.

17] And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and
love no false oath: for all these [are things] that I hate, saith the Lord.

Two positive; two negative.

Are We Ready for the Future?

18] verse 18
And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying,

19] verse 19
Thus saith 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 joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth
and peace.

Fast of the 4th month lamented the opening of the city of Jerusalem
to Nebuchadnezzar as a result of the extremity of famine within the
walls during Zedeciah’s 11th year (Jer 39:2, 3; 52:6, 7).
Tisha B’av: Aug 9, 587 b.c ., Jerusalem finally fell to Nebuchadnezzar.
It was also the day when God decreed that the people in the wilderness
should not enter the land because of their unbelief.

It was not only the day on which Solomon’s Temple was destroyed,
but also the 2nd Temple by the Romans.
It was also the day on which the city of Behar was taken under Bar
Kokbah (a.d. 135) only to fall in Gentile hands who put everyone to
death including Bar Kokbah.
Also on Aug 9, wicked Turnus Rufus ploughed up the hill of the sanctuary and thus fulfilled Micah’s prophecy, “Zion shall be ploughed
as a field.”
Fast of the 10th month marked the beginning of the siege by Nebuchadnezzar in his 9th year (2 Kgs 25:1; Jer 39:1; 52:4).
Fasts to Feasts: Isa 61:2, 3.

20] verse 20
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; [It shall] yet [come to pass], that there shall
come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:

21] verse 21
And the inhabitants of one [city] shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts: I will go also.

22] verse 22
Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
Isa 65:19. Isa 2:2,3. Psa 122.

23] verse 23
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days [it shall come to pass], that ten
men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold
of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have
heard [that] God [is] with you.

If you have a deep seeded problem with "the Jews," then you have a big-time problem with The Lord my friend. And you had better tackle it head-on.
They are no less subverted than any one else on this planet currently run by Satan.
Jews will not become gentiles.
Gentiles will be adopted to be Jews.
Don't let the world twist you.
Because of the gift of Jesus Christ you are not held to "the law," we are held to our hearts, our souls, our minds.
The law needs to go from outward to our inward parts (in every way), we need God to write it into our hearts the same way he used his finger to inscribe it into stone.
We do things for the Lord out of love, not because we "have" to.
Intent is everything.

The Lord bless you and keep you,
the Lord be with you,
and your families.
May the love of The LORD exude from you,
change you (and me).
We do not answer to this world-
we answer to God.