Day 895: Words of comfort - Zechariah 1 vs 7 – 17

7-8 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying, “I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses. 9 Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’

10-11 So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.’ And they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ 12 Then the angel of the Lord said, ‘O Lord of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ 13 And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me.

14-15 So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. 16-17 Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’” Zechariah 1:7-17 English Standard Version

About three months after Zechariah was given a message to urge the people to not only return to the land after being exiled, but to return in their hearts to God, he was now given a series of visions to encourage them. And similar to the visions which Jesus gave to the apostle John in the New Testament, God used the picture of men on horses to convey His message. Who were they and what was their report? (vs 10-11)

The writer of Hebrews in the New Testament speaks of angels as being “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.” (Hebrews 1:13) So it's likely that they represented angelic beings. The report they brought was that, following the upheavals in the world brought about by the Babylonians and the armies of Persia, the nations were now at rest. What was the reaction of the one referred to as 'the angel of the Lord'? (vs 12)

It seems that this angel knew that the nations now ‘taking their ease’ had been God's instruments of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. The question now was: “how long would this severe discipline last?” Over 70 years had already gone by! And the good news for Zechariah to pass on to the nation was that God spoke 'gracious and comforting' words to the angel. (vs 13)

That should encourage us as well. Are our sins not many too? Yet Psalm 103:8-12 says “The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He harbour His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” He is indeed a God who gives comforting words to His people.

Verses 14-15 then show that the nations had overstepped the mark in meeting out destruction in the world. They had done, as it were, more than God had intended. But God was now going to restore Jerusalem and the people He loved. The city and the temple would be rebuilt, and His blessings would again be enjoyed. That should of encouragement and comfort to us as well. God doesn't only forgive us for our sins, He restores us to fellowship with Himself again. In a story Jesus told, the father of a son who'd behaved so terribly, ran to meet and embrace His wayward son when he returned and acknowledged the wrong he had done. Through Zechariah God was calling Israel to return to Him, and He gave comforting words of how He would bless them if they did so.