Daily Reader's Bible - Flipbook - Page 19
WE HAVE HEARD THAT GOD IS WITH YOU
[ZECHARIAH 7:1–8:23]
On December 7 of the fourth year of King Darius’s reign, another message came to Zechariah
from the LORD. The people of Bethel had sent
Sharezer and Regemmelech, along with their
attendants, to seek the LORD’s favor. They were
to ask this question of the prophets and the
priests at the Temple of the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies: “Should we continue to mourn and
fast each summer on the anniversary of the
Temple’s destruction, as we have done for so
many years?”
The LORD of Heaven’s Armies sent me this
message in reply: “Say to all your people and
your priests, ‘During these seventy years of
exile, when you fasted and mourned in the
summer and in early autumn, was it really
for me that you were fasting? And even now
in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and
drinking just to please yourselves? Isn’t this
the same message the LORD proclaimed
through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling
with people, and the Negev and the foothills of
Judah were well populated?’”
Then this message came to Zechariah from
the LORD: “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy
and kindness to one another. Do not oppress
widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor.
And do not scheme against each other.
“Your ancestors refused to listen to this
message. They stubbornly turned away and
put their fingers in their ears to keep from
hearing. They made their hearts as hard as
stone, so they could not hear the instructions
or the messages that the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies had sent them by his Spirit through
the earlier prophets. That is why the LORD of
Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.
“Since they refused to listen when I called
to them, I would not listen when they called
to me, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. As
with a whirlwind, I scattered them among the
distant nations, where they lived as strangers.
Their land became so desolate that no one even
traveled through it. They turned their pleasant
land into a desert.”
mountain of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will
be called the Holy Mountain.
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
says: Once again old men and women will walk
Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit
together in the city squares. And the streets of
the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
says: All this may seem impossible to you now,
a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
says: You can be sure that I will rescue my
people from the east and from the west. I will
bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be
faithful and just toward them as their God.
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies
says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since
the laying of the foundation of the Temple of
the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, you have heard
what the prophets have been saying about
completing the building. Before the work on
the Temple began, there were no jobs and no
money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were
enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone
against each other.
“But now I will not treat the remnant of
my people as I treated them before, says the
LORD of Heaven’s Armies. For I am planting
seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The
grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth
will produce its crops, and the heavens will
release the dew. Once more I will cause the
remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these
blessings. Among the other nations, Judah and
Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But
no longer! Now I will rescue you and make
you both a symbol and a source of blessing.
So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with
rebuilding the Temple!
“For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies says: I was determined to punish you
when your ancestors angered me, and I did
not change my mind, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. But now I am determined to
bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So
don’t be afraid. But this is what you must do:
Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts
in your courts that are just and that lead to
peace. Don’t scheme against each other. Stop
your love of telling lies that you swear are the
truth. I hate all these things, says the LORD.”
Here is another message that came to me
from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “This is
7
Then another message came to me from the
LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “This is what the
LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for
Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am
consumed with passion for Jerusalem!
“And now the LORD says: I am returning to
Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then
Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the
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