We now come to consider the conclusion of the first portion of the book of Zechariah. In doing this, we need to make sure we have mastered the import of these visions, so that we will be able to understand the great oracles with which Zechariah concludes the book. “Then the word of the Lord …
Paint More Than the Nose
“It is not true that some doctrines are only for the initiated; there is nothing in the Bible which is ashamed of the light . . . All revealed truth in harmonious proportion must be your theme . . . Do not insist perpetually upon one truth alone. A nose is an important feature in …
Four Horses
In the previous vision God has spoken about how judgment begins with the household of God. But this does not mean that judgment never comes to the enemies of God. Here we turn to discover that the purposes of God in judgment are consistently displayed throughout the entire earth. “Then I turned and raised my …
Pulpit Bombast
“It is infamous to ascend your puplit and pour over your people rivers of language, cataracts of words, in which mere platitudes are held in solution like infinitesimal grains of homeopathic medicine in an Atlantic of utterance” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 74).
Delayed Judgment Is Not Mercy
God has promised blessings to Israel, but we have seen that His blessings are always covenantal. This means that we may never walk away from our obligation to live in the way that God commands, knowing always that He gives His beloved what He commands. Grace enables us to walk rightly; it does not waive …
And When You Run Out of Things to Say, Go On to the Next Verse
“The surest way to maintain variety in to keep to the mind of the Holy Spirit in the particular passage under consideration. No two texts are exactly similar; something in the connection or drift of the passage gives to each apparently identical text a shade of difference. Keep to the Spirit’s track and you will …
The Flying Scroll
Up to this point, the visions have been greatly encouraging. But God is a holy God, and covenant blessings are never poured out blindly, apart from God’s recognition of our obedience or lack of it. The blessings are utterly inconsistent with continued sin. “Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying …
Spiritual Nutrition
“Whatever else may be present, the absence of edifying, instructive truth, like the absence of flour from bread, will be fatal” (Charles Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students, p. 71).
Greater Works
INTRODUCTION: The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation. The Incarnation of the eternal Word is the miracle of miracles, the first wonder of a series of wonders. The Incarnation was the foundation, the Crucifixion and Resurrection the capstone and roof, and the Ascension the great steeple. But there is another wonder beyond …
Golden Oil
In the previous vision, God had given great encouragement to Joshua the high priest. In this vision, He gives comparable encouragement to Zerubbabel, the civil leader. Joshua represents the priestly power, and Zerubbabel represents the civil authority. They were united in Melchizedek, separated throughout the history of Israel, and then reunited in Christ. The type …