Zechariah 1:18-21 Four Horns
Zechariah is still talking with the angel of the Lord. The ‘justice’ the angel was seeking comes in the form of craftsmen who will dash the four horns that scattered God’s people.
I was curious as to the nations that these horns represent so, of course, I Googled it. I discovered that these four horns are the same empires that God identified in the statue with Nebuchadnezzar; Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Roman empires. I should have figured this out myself, but I’m no historian nor bible scholar.
Each nation/empire received its own “craftsman” to deal with them and to mete out justice for their role in Israel’s “scattering”. That seems fair to me as these empires had varying degrees of guilt in Israel’s history. Although not mentioned in this list, Assyria captured Israel. Assyria was defeated by the Babylonian empire. They are the ones who captured Judah and finally Jerusalem. Cyrus and Darius, two rulers of the Persian empire were favorable to the Jews and allowed them to rebuild their temple. During the early days of the Greek empire, the Jews were free to practice their religion and continued making sacrifices to God in His Temple. Later, even owning a copy of God’s Law was a death sentence and the temple was violated. Judas Maccabee led a rebellion that freed the Jews for a time. Rome finally conquered the Greek empire. Rome allowed the Jews to practice their religion, to a point. After the Jews began rebelling openly, Titus had the temple thoroughly destroyed.
That is a LONG history of persecution and opposition. There were some favorable times for the Jews mixed in that timeline but not any. Revelation brings news of future invaders who will attack Israel. No specific names are given but the predictions lean towards a few specific nations. Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Libya, and Sudan are some of the countries identified by some as attackers of Israel in the latter days. The only way to know for certain which nations are referenced in Revelation is to wait and see. God will make it plane when the time comes.
I’m curious as to what God will do with those of Nazi Germany who viciously struck down every Jew they could find. Do they have a ‘specific craftsman’ waiting to judge them in the end? Were they already judged AND defeated with help from their neighbors for their role in Israel’s history? Israel’s reestablishment as a nation came out of that terrible time. I have NO DOUBT that was God’s hand in action on His people’s behalf. AND used in His plan.
God is NOT ignorant to Israel’s problem. He is also not solely fixed on them to carry His message. Since Jesus came to take our place of punishment, God also works through the Gentiles who choose to follow Him. Of us He is making His Church.
Father God, You leave NO sin unresolved. You will mete out justice in the end. You will balance the scales in the end. And I will leave all that in Your capable hands. I wouldn’t know where to begin! My own sins would be on that list too. THANK YOU for forgiving me already! I don’t need to fear Judgment Day because of the work Jesus already completed.
