Zechariah 8:1-23 Future of Zion
God shares the future of Zion with Zechariah. This future is for the people then and for the future still to be fulfilled. TRUE peace is still ahead.
It has been a LONG and difficult time for Judah since God sent them ‘to the wood shed’ for a serious ‘attitude adjustment’. They were in captivity for 70 years. Once returned to their homeland, they faced opposition in rebuilding God’s Temple. They succumbed to that opposition and stopped building for a time. They returned to the building process with renewed vigor and completed the work six years later.
I’m not certain when this prophecy was given to Zechariah. It could have been during the rebuilding time or after God’s Temple was completed. The prophecy is for the time after completion though. Only after God’s work had been accomplished would peace come to the people. AFTER all the work was done, blessings would again flow through the streets of Jerusalem.
The laughter of children playing in the streets. The old men and women relaxing to watch them. Just judgments being handed down in the gates. ALL these things speak of a city at peace. One no longer struggling for its very survival.
Fields once again producing abundant crops. Wine being made again from healthy grapes and aging vats. The right amount of rain and sunshine to bring about enough food for everyone. A place blessed by God! These are the blessings on a people that were once again focused on Him and His statutes.
Only when the hearts of God’s people are in line with Him would they see the wonder He had in store for them. And when His favor was seen, the rest of the world would recognize the Source; and want in on it!
God’s blessings on His people didn’t mean they would never face hardship again. There was a time of resurgence in both prosperity and commitment to follow God’s Laws; as they interpreted them. The ‘neighbors’ did see the difference in the ways of Israel and their own ways. I have no doubt that many recognized the source of Israel and some sought out that Source. But Israel would not be a completely free nation again for a LONG time. There is a time still to come where true peace and rest for Zion; the place where God truly makes His home.
Today, there is war and all the ravages that go along with it in Zion. There is even the struggle over the very place where the foundation of God’s house is to be laid. But God WILL settle ALL disputes, in HIS time. There is still coming a time of TRUE peace and rest. A time of seeking the pure joy of being in the vicinity of Jesus as He rules from Jerusalem. A time when ALL nations will look to Israel in wonder and desire to have the same kind of relationship with God. “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of the Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you’” (verse 23b).
This does NOT exclude those who are not born of the Jewish physical bloodline. For we are grafted in through Jesus’ work for ALL. And that time happened in part on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to reside within the hearts of ALL believers. For He gathers both Jew and Gentile into God’s family. THIS family is the one that people will recognize God being with them. When Jesus steps down on earth to rule from Zion, it will be His family who gathers around Him.
Father God, THANK YOU for including me in Your family! I don’t know of all the seasons You have walked Your people through. Times of plenty and times of want. Times of war and times of peace. But You NEVER abandoned them completely. You watched over them, and me, during ALL of our ‘lesson times’. And You have brough us through stronger. I’m looking forward to the days of true peace and rest. My heart breaks when I hear reports of hatred and anger being poured out from BOTH sides of the conflicts raging in YOUR holy city. It is a FAR cry from what You promised here in Zechariah. But I KNOW it will one day be EXACTLY as You have stated. In YOUR time. Until then, let Your peace and rest fill my heart. Not the peace the world gives, but YOUR peace. Let Your light shine in my life.
