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...
Friday, November 30, 2018
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...
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...
Thursday, November 29, 2018
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...
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...
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
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...
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...
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
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...
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...
Monday, November 26, 2018
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...
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...
Sunday, November 25, 2018
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...
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...
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