Zechariah 7-10 presents a picture of a future hope for Judah and especially Jerusalem after the Lord’s judgment on them for their sins. They had been taken captive by Babylon, not because of Babylon’s military might, but because of God’s sovereign purpose. He was disciplining His people for their sins. God, as a just God, will ultimately bring judgment upon all sin. He wouldn’t be just if He allowed lawbreakers to never face consequences for their sins. In this, God also brings judgment in the form of discipline upon those who are His. The author to the Hebrews even picks up this theme saying, “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6).
The Lord’s judgment, justice, and discipline upon Judah wasn’t the end of the story though. He brought this punishment out of His great love for them, to cause them to turn from their sins. Thus, the end of the story isn’t judgment and discipline, but a new day for Jerusalem. For Zechariah declares God’s word saying, “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not” (Zech. 8:14-15). The same surety of judgment now was surety of good.
The same God that brings discipline also brings hope. The same God that is just is a God of love. The same God that issues consequences for sin also issues out salvation from sin for those who turn to Him. God isn’t solely a just and holy God, although these things are certainly true. He is also, “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Ps. 103:8). Judah went through some serious trouble, but God wasn’t done with them. Why? Not because of who they were. Not because of anything in them that made them special, but because they were His and they were the object of His love. They were His sovereignly chosen people. As the Lord once reminded them, “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” (Deut. 7:7-8).
God chose them in order to display His grace and love amidst the nations. As such, God had a future for them. He was going to uphold His covenantal promises to the patriarchs that were extended to the people of Israel and Judah. He was going to prove His steadfast love for them. Not only in that He brought them out of enslavement in Egypt, but now in that He brought them back from captivity in Babylon.
Under the new covenant, we likewise have covenantal promises from God. The same God that made promises to and for Israel has made covenant with us. For one, He has promised eternal life and will not lie (see Titus 1:2). Under this new covenant, we are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:25). We who were once, “separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12) are now, “no longer strangers and aliens” but are, “saints and members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19). This is all because of the precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus (see Eph. 2:13).
We were separated from God. Standing under His just judgment for our sins, not just those under discipline, but those entirely without Him! In Christ, we are brought near. We are made partakers of the promise. We are made objects of His love and grace to showcase His mercy to the rest of the world. We might undergo discipline at times, but we know the end of the story is that we will be with Christ. The end of the story for those in Christ isn’t judgment, but salvation. For the same God who is just, who is holy, who is awesome, is likewise a God of love and grace who has brought us, who were His enemies, near to Him. He has brought us into the fold and made precious promises to us. He is an exceedingly gracious and merciful God far beyond we could ever earn or deserve! I am thankful today for a future filled with hope because I am part of those who are in Christ and no longer a stranger and alien.
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