A Call for Justice and Mercy

 

 

Zechariah 7

 

 

A Call for Justice and Mercy

In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev.   Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted?   And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves?   We’re not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”   But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.  They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore, great anger came from the Lord of hosts.  “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus, the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

 

In our culture today, it seems many are trying to remove the past history of this nation, and the reason may be many, but this I know, unless a people or nation know their past, they will repeat the problems of the past.  The seventh chapter is looking back at the past sins of the Jewish people and how they refused to hear what God was saying to them from His prophets.  They are returning to the land some have been there for about two years, and they are being reminded of what happens to people who do not listen to God.  The question to them and to us, have we learned anything from the time in bondage?  It may be to sex outside of marriage, it may be to alcohol, or pornography, sports, etc.  They were returning slaves of a pagan nation, have they, have you learned to look to and listen to God’s written word?  

 

The world has experienced a lockdown from the China virus, and in the USA, we have seen the results of mayors and doctors and governors and politicians use the authority that has not been given to them by our constitution to close the places of worship even in private homes while allowing riots and protests to gather in the thousands, and destroy and take lives, yet we say that faith and worship are guaranteed in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.  Do you know what it promises?

 

Amendment One

 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievance.

 

But God promises something better; “Come near to God and He will come near to you.  (James 4:9)

 

What if we who go by the title of Christian did the following six things:

1. Trust in His Timing

2. Rely on His promises

3. Wait for His answers

4. Believe in His miracles

5. Rejoice in His goodness

6. Relax in His presence

 

We all know my opinions by now, I’ve been very clear about my thoughts on China Virus, if calling it what it is, bothers you, get over it.  Folks, it’s time not to fight, but to pray, ask the Father to forgive you for trying to fight a Spiritual Battle that you need Him to fight for you.  Ask Him to forgive those who have put trust in man, for the heart of man is evil who can discern it?  

 

As a nation, we are living in darkness, and we are looking to men to fix the problem of sin.  God handled that two thousand years ago for all who would believe and bow their knee to Jesus Christ.  It is time for repentance and seeking forgiveness.  The question is no different than those returning to Jerusalem, what will we worship, who will we look to?

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice