Reading for December 9th

Read Zechariah 14.16
The surrounding nations will make an annual pilgrimage to worship Israel's God in Jerusalem
(8.22-23) in the fall for the festival of booths, a festival commemorating the autumn harvest
(Deut 16.13-15).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 8th

Read Zechariah 14.8
The up-welling of Jerusalem's Gihon spring with abundant water is a common theme in visions of the future (Ezek 47.1-12; Joel 3.18).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 7th

Read Zechariah 14.1-21 God defeats the nations and restores Jerusalem.
Speeches such as this one describing the defense and restoration of Jerusalem in the context of God's intervention against the neighboring nations that have oppressed it are common in the period after the Exile, as chs. 9, 10, and 12 illustrate (Isa 59.15-20; Joel 3 ).
In verse 1 the plunder once taken from Jerusalem will be returned.
In verse 2 this is the only verse in the chapter that describes judgment, rather than restoration, for Jerusalem.
The prophet either anticipates a coming judgment on Jerusalem's corrupt leadership (11.4-17; 13.2-9) or recalls the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.
In verses 4-5 the citizens of Jerusalem will escape God's attack on the nations by fleeing east through a great rift in the Mount of Olives, which in reality towers over the city of Jerusalem.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 6th

Read Zechariah 13.1-9 God removes false prophets and leaders.
This text, like 11.4-17, focuses on corruption within Judah itself, especially among its leaders.
In verses 2-3 the prophets whose writings have been preserved in the Bible often find themselves in conflict with other prophets preaching opposite messages (Jer 14.14; Ezek 13.1-7).
Here the prophet accuses his opponents of preaching lies in the name of the LORD and announces God's judgment on them.
The unclean spirit (or "breath") is the source of the prophets' false inspiration or revelation
(1 Kings 22.19-23).
In verse 7 the judgment on Judah's shepherd resumes the criticism of Judah's leadership in 11.4-17.
In verses 8-9 the division of Judah into thirds for punishment is reminiscent of Ezekiel's prophecy (5.1-12).
But here the prophet concentrates on a third that, though punished, will survive and renew their relationship to God.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 5th

Read Zechariah 12.10-14 Mourning in Jerusalem.
In verse 10 the identification of the object of mourning, the one whom they have pierced, is uncertain; but due to the wide extent of the mourning and the leading role of the house of David in it (vv .10, 12), the person mourned may have been a member of the royal family.
In verse 11 Hadad-rimmon is the name of the Syrian storm god, a figure like Baal, the Canaanite storm god.
If taken as the name of a place named after his deity in the plain of Megiddo, however, this may be a reference to the mourning for the Judean king, Josiah, who was killed by the Egyptians in the plain of Megiddo and mourned by all of Judah and Jerusalem (2 Chr 35.20-25).
In verse 13 Levi and Shimei are priestly families.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 4th

Read Zechariah 12.1-9 Judah defeats the nations.
This text, like ch. 9, describes Judah's defense against its neighboring nations.
In verse 1 the title An Oracle marks the beginning of the second collection of speeches in chs. 9-14.
In verse 2 the cup of reeling, a traditional image of judgement, renders the enemy drunk and senseless (Isa 51.17-22).
In verse 6 the flaming torch, another traditional image of judgment, consumes the enemy, pictured as sheaves or stublle (Ob 18).
In verse 7 the house of David refers to a revival of the Davidic dynasty which ruled from Jerusalem before its fall in 587 BCE.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 3rd

Read Zechariah 11.4-7 The prophet satirizes Judah's corrupt leaders.
In this first person narrative, an anonymous prophet acts our the corrupt practices of Judah's leaders in order to expose and denounce them.
In verse 5 their own shepherds are Judah's leaders, who buy and kill them, that is, their own people symbolized as sheep.
In verse 7 the sheep merchants are Judah's leaders buying and selling their people (v. 5).
The names of the two staffs, Favor (or "pleasantness") and Unity, reflect the goals of the good shepherd for the sheep.
In verse 8 the identity of the three shepherds in unknown.
In verse 9 having disposed of the three shepherds (v. 8), the prophet apparently becomes impatient with the people themselves.
In verse 10 breaking the staffs of Favor and Unity (v. 14) consigns the flock, the people of Judah, to a time of trouble and conflict.
In verses 12-13 the reason for the amount of the wages and their deposit in the Temple is uncertain.
Donations of about this amount were made to the Temple to "redeem" people devoted to Temple service from their obligation (Lev 27.1-8).
On the other hand, the prophet may, by placing tainted money in the Temple's treasuries, want to indict the Temple and its leaders as corrupt.
In verse 14 the prophet abandons hope for the reunion of the old northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah, which traced their origins back to a single ancestor, Jacob (Gen 49).
In verses 15-17 the prophet anticipates, by dressing up a second time as a shepherd (v. 4), the arrival of another corrupt leader.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 2nd

Read Zechariah 11.1-3 God brings down wicked rulers.
As in 10.3, the details are too few to indicate whether these shepherds (v. 3) are leaders of foreign nations, such as those God defeats in the previous verses (10.11-12), or leaders of Judah, such as those criticized in the following verses (11.4-6).
The cedars and cypress of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan, legendary forests, are symbolic of the great and powerful.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for December 1st

Read Zechariah 10.6-12
In verses 6-7 the house of Joseph and Ephraim are references to the northern kingdom of Israel.
In verse 10 Egypt and Assyria are two of the countries to which Israelites were exiled
(2 Kings 17.5-6; 25.26).
Gilead and Lebanon are territories to the north of Israel.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 30th

Read Zechariah 10.1-12 God gathers the exiles.
The speech continues the theme of restoration in the previous oracle by focusing on God's work of returning the exiles of Israel and Judah.
In verse 2 Teraphim are objects or images used in worship (Judg 17.5) and were condemned by some writers (2 Kings 23.24).
Here the main concern seems to be that all media of revelation have become silent.
In verse 3 it is uncertain whether these shepherds, the people's leaders, are rulers of foreign countries oppressing Judah (Jer 12.10) or Judah's own rulers who have become corrupt (Isa 56.11), like those denigrated in 11.4-6.
In either case, they will be punished so God can restore the house of Judah.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 29th

Read Zechariah 9.9-17
While God may be referred to as king in late prophetic literature (Zeph 3.14-15), a human king reviving the Davidic dynasty may be intended here (Jer 23.5-6; Hag 2.20-23).
The Davidic king from the tribe of Judah referred to in Gen 49.10-11 is pictured with a donkey, the traditional transportation for gods and kings in antiquity.
In verse 10 Ephraim is a name for the northern kingdom of Israel (Hos 5.5).
International peace is a typical element in visions of the future (Mic 4.3-4).
In verse 11 the exilic prophet Second Isaiah also combines God's remembrance of the covenant with God's liberation of the exiles (Isa 42.6-7).
In verse 13 Greece (Heb., "Javan") is one of the lands to which Judeans were exiled
(Isa 66.18-20; Joel 3.6).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 28th

Read Zechariah 9.1-17 The divine warrior defends Judah.
This chapter begins the second part of Zechariah, which, because of its differences
in style and content, appears to have been composed later than chs. 1-8 and to have
been added to the prophecies of Zechariah.
The title An Oracle (9.1; 12.1) divides these supplementary speeches into two collections,
chs. 9-11 and 12-14.
In verses 1-8 God marches from north to south, defeating Judah's traditional enemies
and taking up residence in Jerusalem.
In verses 1-2a Hadrach, Damascus, and Hamath are important Aramean cities north
of Israel and Judah.
In verses 2b-4 Tyre and Sidon are important Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast northwest of Judah.
Tyre's legendary wisdom and wealth are described in Ezek 28.
In verses 5-7 Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod are important Philistine cities on the Mediterranean coast west of Judah.
The Jebusites (v. 7) were defeated by David when he conquered Jerusalem (2 Sam 5.6-10).
In verse 8 following victory, the divine warrior is enthroned in his temple (Ps 29.9-11).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 27th

Read Zechariah 8.1-23 A promise of restoration.
In this second part of his final speech, Zechariah includes many of the typical themes of
post-exilic prophecy: the renewal of Jerusalem (vv. 2-5), the return of the exiles (vv. 6-8),
the rebuilding of the Temple (vv. 9-13), and the respect of the nations (vv. 20-23).
In verse 6 the remnant refers to the exiles who are returning to Judah (vv. 7-8; Hag 1.12).
To these returnees the process of reconstruction seems impossible (4.10; Hag 2.3).
In verse 9 laying the Temple's foundation is described in Hag 1.12-14 and Ezra 5.1-2.
In verse 10 the difficult times described here appear to reflect those mentioned by Haggia (1.2-11).
In verse 17 false oaths are a major concern in Zechariah's sixth vision (5.1-4).
In verse 19 though not addressed directly to those who had asked Zechariah about mourning
rituals (7.3), this speech instructs the people to substitute festivals of celebration for fasting.
In verses 22-23 the conversion of the nations is a common theme in the post-exilic period
(Isa 60.1-7; Mic 4.1-4).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 26th

Read Zechariah 7.8-11
By responding to a question about mourning rituals (v. 3) with a charge to create a just society, Zechariah appears to side with his predecessors, the former prophets (v. 7), who claimed that religious rituals were meaningless apart from the practice of justice in all areas of life (Am 5.21-24).
This same concern is also present in Zechariah's sixth and seventh visions (5.1-11).
Throughout this speech Zechariah uses his ancestors who disobeyed as a lesson for his own audience.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 25th

Read Zechariah 7.1-14 A charge to live justly.
Zechariah's concluding speech is divided into tow parts: an appeal-with an eye on the past-to create a just society (ch. 7), and a promise-with an eye on the future-of renewal and celebration (ch. 8).
In verse 1 this speech is dated two years later (518 BCE) ten Zechariah's opening speech (1.1).
In verse 2 Bethel is 10 miles north of Jerusalem.
In verse 3 Prophets were often asked for divine instructions (Ezek 8.1; 14.1).
The period of mourning in the fifth month, about which the envoys ask Zechariah,
may have commemorated the destruction of the Temple in the fifth month (2 Kings 25.8-9).
In verse 5 seventy years appears to refer to the Exile, though the exile was shorter
(see comment on 1.12).
In verse 7 Zechariah refers to the period before Jerusalem's fall in 587 BCE.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 24th

Read Zechariah 6.9-15 A charge to the high priest Joshua.
This speech, placed between Zechariah's last vision and his concluding speech
(chs. 7-8) may be an editorial  addition.
In verse 10 Josiah is a priestly figure, whose father Zephaniah was killed alongside
Joshua's grandfather Seraiah when Jerusalem was conquered (2 Kings 25.18-21).
In verses 11-13 while this speech is directed to Joshua, its content seems more suitable
for Zerubbabel.
In 3.8 the Branch is not Joshua but an individual presented to him.
In 4.6-10 Zerubbabel, not Joshua, is commissioned as the Temple builder.
Moreover, the Hebrew text does not say that a crown but that (two?) crowns were made (see note b), perhaps for both the royal figure and the priest mentioned in v. 13.
It appears almost as if a speech once directed to Judah's political leader has been redirected to its religious leader.
In any case, the concept of a leadership shared between religious and political figures found elsewhere in Zechariah (4.14)  is present here too.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 23rd

Read Zechariah 6.1-8 The eighth vision: The heavenly chariots and international peace.
In this, Zechariah's final vision, as in his first vision (1.7-17), the world is at peace,
but now that peace includes the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem among the nations.
In verses 1-3 these four chariots parallel the four horsemen in Zechariah's first vision (1.8-10)
and represent god's heavenly patrol (v. 7) assigned to watch over the world's affairs.
Mountains signify the abode of the gods in antiquity (Ps 48.1).
In verse 8 the chariot patrol that sets God's spirit at rest in the north country thereby establishes the security of Judah on the international scene.
It was from the north that Judah's enemies attacked (Jer 6.22), and it was from the north that Judah's exiles returned from captivity in Babylon (Jer 3.18).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 22nd

Read Zechariah 5.5-11 The seventh vision: The basket and Judah's purification.
In verse 6 basket translates the Hebrew term "ephah," a unit of measure.
In verse 8 wickedness is a general term referring to corruption and unrighteousness in general.
In verse 11 the removal of the basket containing wickedness to Shinar, a name for the plain in which Babylon was located (Gen 11.1-9), symbolizes the elimination of wickedness from Judean society.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 21st

Read Zechariah 5.1-4 The sixth vision: The flying scroll and social justice.
The scroll's flight indicates that the power of its message covers the whole land.
In verses 3-4 the two crimes mentioned in the scroll's text are theft and deceit in
official transactions (swearing falsely), two of the ten commandments (Ex 20.7, 15).
Why these two are singled out is not stated, but they represent the elimination of corruption
from Judean society, the theme of the next vision as well.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 20th

Read Zechariah 4.1-14 The fifth vision: The golden lamp stand and Judah's leadership.
This vision may originally have been the central vision in a seven-vision sequence.
In verse 2 the lamp stand (Heb., "menorah") in the Temple is unusually elaborate and difficult to describe, though it is related to the lamp stand in the tabernacle (Ex 25.31-37).
The bowl may have contained the oil for the lamps, and the lips held the lamps wicks.
In verse 3 images of trees adorned the walls of Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 6.29).
In verses 6-10a this  speech to Zerubbabel, encouraging him in the rebuilding of the Temple
(Hag 2.1-4; Ezra 5.1-2), interrupts the vision narrative and may be a later addition.
In verse 10b the vision narrative resumes with the explanation that the seven lamps represent
God's  eyes, watching the entire earth.
In verse 14 the anointed ones, symbolized in the vision by the two olive trees (vv. 3, 11),
represent Judah's leadership, shared by a religious figure (the high priest Joshua; 3.1-10)
and by a political figure (Zerubbabel; 4.6-10a).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 19th

Read Zechariah 3.1-10 The fourth vision: Joshua's installation as high priest.

This vision may have been a later addition to the vision sequence; it does not open with the question and answer exchange between Zechariah and the interpreting angel that begins the other visions. 

In verse 1 the term Satan does not refer to the prince of evil familiar from early Christian writings.

It is a common noun, not a name, in Hebrew and means "adversary" or "accuser" (see note g), that member of God's  heavenly court designated to bring cases against individuals someone who has survived God's judgment of Israel and Judah (Am 4.11).

In verses 3-5 the reclothing of Joshua symbolizes his sanctification for priestly office (Lev 8.6-9).

In verse 7 my house is the Temple in Jerusalem. 

In verse 8 my servant and the Branch are royal titles used of the Davidic dynasty 

(2 Sam 7.5; Jer 23.5) and may be used here of Zerubbabel (4.6-10a; Hag 2.23), 

governor of Judah and a member of the Davidic family.

In verse 9 the seven-faceted stone and its inscription are images of royalty 

(2 Sam 12.30; 2 Kings 11.12).

Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 18th

Read Zechariah 2.6-13 A charge to the exiles.
A brief speech, urging Judah's exiles to return from exile in Babylon,
interrupts the sequence of visions.
In verse 7 Babylon is the city to which the majority of Judah's exiles were deported
(2 Kings 24.14-15; 25.11-12).
In verse 10 daughter Zion is Jerusalem.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 17th

Read Zechariah 2.1-5 The third vision: The measuring line and Jerusalem's resettlement.
In verse 1 the man with a measuring line is a surveyor making preparations for rebuilding Jerusalem.
In verse 5 God, not its walls (v. 4), will protect Jerusalem.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 16th

Read Zechariah 1.18-21 The second vision: The four horns and Judah's security.
In verse 18 the  horn, a symbol of power (Ps 18.2), represents the strength of the
nations that have conquered and exiled the Israelite people.
The number four probably represents totality rather than specific countries.
In verses 20-21 the four blacksmiths strike off the horns, thus putting an end to the
power of the nations to dominate Judah.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 15th

Read Zechariah 1.7-17 The first vision: the heavenly horsemen and God's plans for Jerusalem.
This is the first of eight visions that make up the core of Zechariah's prophecy.
In verse 7 the chronological notice dates the entire vision complex three months l
after than Zechariah's opening speech, or early in 519 BCE.
IN verse 8 these horsemen are God's heavenly patrol, keeping watch over the world's affairs (v. 10).
The significance of the horses' colors is uncertain, but the number four represents totality.
In verse 11 peace in this case is undesirable, since the plight of Jerusalem remains unchanged.
In verse 12 the Babylonian exile lasted only 50 years (587-538 BCE), not seventy,
but Jeremiah mentions a 70 year period of servitude to Babylon (Jer 25.11-12),
to which Zechariah may be referring .
In verse 16 the rebuilding of the Temple is the central concern of Zechariah's contemporary Haggai.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 14th

Read Zechariah 1.1-6 Zechariah's opening speech.
Zechariah's visions (1.7-6.8) are introduced and concluded (chs. 7-8)
by speeches in which Zechariah urges his listeners to embrace the social responsibilities
and just behavior preached by the prophets before him.
In verse 1 Zechariah's opening and closing speeches (1.1; 7.1),
together with his visions (1.7), are dated.
The second year of Darius (522-486 BCE) is 520 BCE,
the same year in which Haggai preached (Hag 1.1; 2.1, 10).
In verse 4 the former prophets are Zechariah's predecessors
who preached before the fall of Jerusalem.
Zechariah quotes words similar to Jeremiah's (Jer 25.5).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 13th

Read Haggai 2.20-23 The promise to Zerubbabel.
The focus shifts from the reconstruction of the Temple to the installation of
Zerubbabel as Judah's leader.
In verses 21-22 descriptions of Judah's restoration are often accompanied by references
to the conquest of other nations (Joel 3).
In verse 23 while Zerubbabel is only a governor of Judah (1,1; 2.21) under Persian authority,
he is a member of the Davidic family that had ruled Jerusalem (see comment on 1.1),
and Haggai may be announcing a greater role for him.
Both my servant (2 Sam 7.5) and signet ring (Jer 22.24) may be royal images
anticipating a revival of the Davidic dynasty.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 12th

Read Haggai 2.10-19 The promise of agricultural bounty.
Haggai announces that God will bless the people's work on the Temple by granting
them good harvests.
In verse 12 the point of this priestly decision is that holiness cannot be transferred
(from consecrated meat carried home to eat; Lev 6.26-27; 7.16-17).
In verse 13 the point of this priestly decision is that uncleanness can be transferred
(from a "corpse" through a person to other objects; Num 5.1-4).
In verse 14 both of these previous questions (vv. 12-13) simply set up Haggai's point in this verse:
Without a proper worship space, uncleanness has tainted all that the people have done.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 11th

Read Haggai 1.15b-2.9
1.15b-2.9 The vision of the new Temple's glory.
Haggai encourages those whose first efforts at reconstruction of the Temple seem insignificant.
Verse 2.3 Its former glory recalls the splendor of Solomon's Temple(1 Kings 6), which was destroyed when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 587 B.C.E. (2 Kings 25.9, 13-17).
Verse 4 the people of the land may refer to those who remained in Judah after it conquest by Babylon.
Verse 5 Haggai reminds the people that God delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Ex 1-15).
Verses 6-7 Descriptions of Judah's restoration are often accompanied by images of the cosmos in disarray (Isa 51.6) and of the nations bringing tribute to Jerusalem (Isa 45.14).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for November 10th

Read Haggai 1.1-15a
1.1-15a. The charge to rebuild the Temple.
Haggai's first speech directs those who have returned to Jerusalem from exile to begin reconstruction of the Temple.
Verse 1. King Darius (522-486) is the third monarch of the Persian empire, of which Judah became a province when the Persian king Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.E.
The second year of Darius' reign is 520 B.C.E.
Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah; 1 Chr 3.16-19), the king of Judah exiled to Babylon in 587 B.C.E. (2 Kings 2 24.8-17; 25.27-30), had returned to Judah with other exiles (Ezra 2.1-2).
Joshua's grandfather Seriah, chief priest  of Jerusalem was killed when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25.18-21), and Joshua's father, Jehozak, was deported to Babylon (1 Chr 6.14-15).
Verse 12. the remnant of the people refers to those who had returned to Judah from Babylonian exile (Jer 43.5).
Comments or Questions..

Reading for November 9th

Read 3 John
In verse 1 the opening and closing mark this as a genuine letter.
The elder (see 2 Jn 1) addresses the beloved (see 2, 5, 11; 1 Jn 2.7; 3.2; 4.1, 7).
Gaius was a common Roman name (see Acts 19.29; 20.4; Rom 16.3; 1 Cor 1.14).
Just as the elder claimed to truly love the recipients of 2 John,
he now affirms his genuine love for Gaius.
In verse 2 prayers for the well-being of the recipient often follow the greeting.
In verses 3-4 the elder notes reports of the faithfulness of Gaius,
to whom he refers as one of his children, probably a convert.
Reference to walking in the truth (see 2 Jn 4) probably denotes the christological confession of faith.
In verses 5-8 supporters of the elder reported the hospitality (see 2 Jn 10-11; Titus 3.13)
shown by Gaius to the friends (literally brothers, see note a).
Hospitality shown to the supporters of the elder is said to make those who gave it co-workers
with the truth (compare 2 Jn 11).
In verses 9-10 the critique of Diotrephes signals a leadership struggle with the elder.
I have written something to the church is probably a reference to 1 John.
Diotrephes obviously rejected the teaching of 1 John.
He seems to have been a local leader with authority similar to that of the elder.
Just as the elder counseled the refusal of hospitality to his opponents, so Diotrephes
used his authority to enforce the refusal of  hospitality to supporters of the elder, the friends.
In verses 11-12 whoever does good is from God (see 1 Jn 2.29; 3.10; Mt 7.15-20).
Demetrius seems to have been a supporter of the elder.
Perhaps his credentials were challenged by Diotrephes and now the elder calls all
supporters to his aid.
Our testimony is true, see Jn 5.31-37; 19.35; 21.24.
In verses 13-15 the closing, like that of 2 Jn 12-13, asserts the priority of a face-to-face meeting over a lengthy letter (compare 1 Cor 16.19-20).
The greeting of peace, the Jewish greeting, sets 3 John apart from 1 and 21 John, as do the reciprocal greetings from friends (rather than children).
Comments or Questions...