Today in God's Word—December 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
December 31, Zechariah 14
And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.
- Zechariah 14:9
The language and style of Zechariah challenges Bible students to think and work to grasp the meaning of the visions and prophecies. Some other symbolic books (Ezekiel and Revelation) challenge us in the same way.
Chapter 14 brings the book to a conclusion. It emphasizes some prominent themes not only of this book but of the whole Bible. The prophetic tone compels us to look for fulfillment of the prophecies. Bible scholars through the years have struggled to understand what the words mean and how they harmonize with other Bible texts. Let's ponder some ideas about this chapter for a few minutes.
Chapter 14 continues to describe the whole period between the first and second advents of Christ as a day, the day of the Lord. The text verse looks ahead beyond the polytheism that has always and still characterizes the world to a universal acknowledgement of the LORD as king over all the earth. The idols and philosophies that the human family has offered as substitutes and alternatives for the true and living God will all fade away. The whole human family will one day acknowledge God for who is and has always been. He is sovereign over all, and there is no one like him.
That day will be the last day, when as Paul put it, "every knee should bow...and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Jesus has that authority now, as he told the apostles before he ascended back to heaven. He has always been the one true God, as he taught Israel when he gave them a covenant with him. Modern day pluralism rejects this foundational Bible concept, but it is nevertheless true.
Zechariah 14 is very much like Matthew 24 in the New Testament. Both passages describe a coming destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the world. The judgment against Jerusalem typifies the final judgment of the whole world. It's hard to understand both these concepts if we fail to remember that two Israels, two Jerusalems are described here. There is a material world Jerusalem that was doomed to fall when they rejected Christ. And there is a spiritual Jerusalem and Israel that signifies the true remnant of the people of God and the true spiritual descendants and heirs of Abraham. The curses on the Christ-rejectors and the blessings for those who receive and acknowledge him are both here. From God's words to Adam and Even in the garden to God's will for our daily lives, God always promises blessings to the faithful and obedient, and warns of the painful, fatal consequences of rebellion and disobedience.
In this day of Messiah and his kingdom, devotion to God is not confined to a separate priesthood, a specific act or place of worship. Zechariah saw that the common everyday events of life should bear the same mark of devotion that was inscribed on the high priest's turban: "Holy to the LORD." God's people don't go to some altar to make a ritual sacrifice; our lives are supposed to be living sacrifices. Our devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ should shape the ordinary activities of everyday life. We live in a shallow and worthless imitation of true discipleship if an hour of church attendance on Sunday is the extent and degree of our spiritual life and devotion to the Lord.
We may not understand all the images and symbols found in the book of Zechariah and this chapter in particular. But we can understand these Bible-wide concepts that this book teaches.
Let's ask of this book what we should always ask about a passage we study. What does God want me to think and believe about him? What is he calling me to do in my own life today?
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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