Pastor’s Bible Reading Schedule: Zechariah 1-4
Devotional Thought:
Title: “God Uses Willing Vessels” Zechariah 1
Zechariah was a young man (2:4) when God called him to minister to the struggling Jewish remnant trying to rebuild their temple in the ruined city of Jerusalem. I remember peaching as a young preacher to people who had been saved longer than I had been alive and thinking to myself, “they will never listen to me.” I had a preacher remind me that preaching will never be about me and that my job was to simply deliver the message God wanted me to preach. Whether the people listened to me or not was not the issue, the real issue was, were they willing to listen to God. The elder Prophet Haggai had already delivered two of his messages before Zechariah joined him in ministry, and the two of them served God together for a short time. God has used the prophet Haggai to start the building program after a sixteen-year break in the action, and now Zechariah was being called by God to encourage the people to finish their work. God gave this young prophet “good and comforting words” (1:13, 17) to assure the people that, in spite of the hard times, God was with them and would see them through. It is hard for any preacher to preach a message that confronts the very core of our human depravity. It is hard to preach a message of repentance; however, that is exactly the message God told Zechariah to preach. God gave Zechariah the specific message, “Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD. (vs. 4) How frustrating it is for preachers to address what are specific problems in a society, church, or families and it seemingly falls upon deaf ears and there seems to be little noticeable adherence to the message. Zechariah had to remember that it was not his job to get the people to change; it was merely his job to accurately deliver the message. In this first of eight visions, the angel of the Lord taught Zechariah the meaning of the horsemen (vs. 10): they are God’s angelic army that patrols the earth and carries out the decrees of the Lord. The Lord would fight for this remnant and confront the Gentile nations with their arrogant and independent spirit. “And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.” (vs. 15-16) It is much easier for us to forgive, show grace and mercy, and stand for truth and justice, when we are standing and serving in the strength of the Lord. We will justify our selfishness when we choose to rely upon our own strength and wisdom. Zechariah’s message was to simply turn from serving themselves and surrender to serving the Lord who would fight and win for them. Are you fighting in your own strength or in the strength of the Lord?
Personal Requests:
• Lord, please help me to remember to only serve you in the strength of the Lord. Please remind me that my flesh is weak, selfish, and insufficient for the task.
• Lord, please give me the boldness of Zechariah to stand for truth and to deliver the message of truth even when it is hard to hear or deliver.
• Lord, thank you for your promise that your grace is adequate, wisdom abundant, and strength available.