Zechariah 1:7-17
Psalm 41, 52
Revelations 3:7-13
Matthew 24:15-31
My NIV Bible calls this portion of Zechariah “Starting Over”
As a result of the Jews continued disobeying of God’s laws, worshiping idols, and warning after warning, punishment came in the form of many years in exile. As a result, the Jews felt, combined with the destruction of Jerusalem, they had lost their place in God’s heart and their future as God’s people.
When Cyrus, the emperor of Persia released the exiles, the Jews could then return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. Some were eager to return; others who had never even seen Jerusalem were not so sure. But their initial joy did not last. Jerusalem was a ghost town; everything of value had been destroyed; fertile fields were overgrown and the region was almost empty of people.
Initially an altar was built on the grounds of the demolished temple but no further work was done. Making a living was an uphill battle as well as finding a place to live, plus the non-Jewish neighbors did not want the temple rebuilt. So, totally discouraged, they gave up on rebuilding the temple and it remained in a ruined state for another 20 years.
It took two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah to stir up interest in starting again to rebuild the temple. Both Haggai and Zechariah felt that as long as the temple remained in ruins, Israel’s character as a people of God was also in ruins. The important thing to Zechariah was not so much the rebuilding as the Jews’ relationship with God that the temple symbolized. He was concerned that history would repeat itself in light of how their ancestors’ disobedience of God’s laws had ended in exile.
A new beginning required a change of heart. “Return to me says the Lord Almighty and I will return to you” (Zech. 1:3) He felt a new beginning would become the hope of the world.
Though none of us is rebuilding a temple, we are, as I am writing this meditation, involved in a “We Are One” campaign to renew our own commitment to do the things God has called us to do: support our church home, reach out to our community and to one another with love and concern for all.
Virginia McGarvey