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Zechariah & Malachi The Messenger
Week 26 Day 1
Reading: Malachi 3:1; 4:5 "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts." "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes." ESV
Thought: Alongside the prophecies of the Christ, another person was foretold often - John the Baptist - who would come as the second Elijah to prepare the hearts of the people of Israel for the coming Christ. "Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist" (Mat3:4) as Elijah did also "They answered him, "He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist." And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."" (2Ki1:8). The difference with John was his Nazarite birth (he never cut any of his hair or drank any alcohol) "and his food was locusts and wild honey" (Mat3:4) which for the Jews symbolized the judgement of God upon Egypt and others and the grace of God and His promises ("a land flowing with milk and honey"[Exo3:8]). John's ministry relates two important points for our own evangelism and missions: preparing the hearts of the people for Christ, and repentance. The two are much the same since included within the preparations repentance must occur; and we get to take a small part in this by being God's instrument to people. Our job then is not to lead a person to salvation; for then it would be the gospel of man, but we are to prepare the hearts of the people that Christ would come to them.
Prayer: Lord, let revelation be given to me that I should be able to open the eyes of those You are calling me to. Let Your revelation be found also in them, that they would receive You and Your salvation. Be glorified everyday in this way I pray.
He Will Build the Temple
Day 2
Reading: Zechariah 6:12-13; 15 "'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."' "And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD." ESV
Thought: We are aware that in the presence of the Pharisees Jesus spoke these words, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (Joh2:19), "But he was speaking
about the temple of his body" (v21). There is another construction not made with hands the body of Christ, the Church. Christ builds the temple, bearing royal honour as King and as Great High Priest, calling others from far off to come and help build, that is people. For Christ is the cornerstone, the first stone laid upon which all others find their ground, upon which all must rest, and we then are the other bricks in the building, each fit for purpose. Since the Temple is thus the Church, we therefore have God within in us for we are containers of His Spirit, and a community of His presence; for it is written, "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (Mat18:20). Therefore since God is in us, we must go out to share the Spirit with others, going in groups of two or three, for within is strength, unity, support, accountability, fellowship and Christ.
Prayer: Lord, in Your name we go. Lead me to those You are calling, place a weight upon my heart to seek them out, send out with me another that we would be strong witnesses for Your truth and that You would be found present amongst us.
The Humble King
Day 3
Reading: Zechariah 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." ESV
Thought: What a sight it must have been for the people of Jerusalem, and those who had been following Jesus for some time to see this. The King of the Jews riding into Jerusalem on not just a donkey, but a foal; people threw their coats on its back and palm leaves on the floor; this was a procession like no other. It all must have seemed rather surreal for those watching, there was no gold or crown, just a man meekly dressed riding on a donkey. There is a distinct reason behind the way this occurred, it was to demonstrate that Jesus was the humble king, who came as a servant, yet to Him was still given honour and glory and praise. Jesus knew these to be the necessary steps towards His death for it was from shortly after this that He was betrayed and crucified. His aim therefore was to be humbled even to the point of death, a cursed death upon a wooden cross. If Jesus even humbled Himself to death having come from the highest place, how far should we be humbling ourselves since we come from the lower places? If we are not true servants as Jesus was then how can we claim to be imitators of Him? Let us then remove all pride and rebellion from ourselves humbling ourselves before all others. It will be hard, but it is good and right, that we should become like Christ, as His witnesses.
Prayer: Lord, You humbled Yourself to death, therefore craft me to be a servant like You, help me as I seek to strip myself of all pride and rebellion from Your ways. Let it all be removed that I would become like You.
Sold As A Slave
Day 4
Reading: Zechariah 11:12b-13 "And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter." ESV
Thought: This verse is a bit of a hidden prophecy, not specifically making reference to any
such person yet in the Gospels we do receive the revelation of it. The potter refers to the high priest of Israel seated in Jerusalem. The thirty pieces of silver was a very common price for a slave, yet in this verse and in the Gospels it was the valuation of God; for Christ was sold for thirty pieces of silver; sold to the potter the price returned into the house of the Lord, "When Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders," "And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple..." (Mat27:3;5a). What price would we pay to see the person we love most come to Christ? If it is not to the price of our own lives and salvation then we cannot say we love as Christ did, for He gave Himself over to death for us; His beloved.
Prayer: Lord, give me opportunity to love beyond regard for myself, that others should be led to salvation by my steadfast witness of Your name.
The Scattered Sheep
Day 5
Reading: Zechariah 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones." ESV
Thought: This prophecy relates to the apostles who when Jesus was arrested scattered; running in fear from the Jews; scared of being associated with Jesus as Peter demonstrated. This was all done in accordance with this prophecy. Tribulation is one of the quickest causes that people fall from faith, "yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away" (Mat13:21), for it causes us to question the saving God we have, leading us to turn away in disbelief and anger. It is good that we should confirm our salvation and thus strengthen our resolve and faith that in times of persecution we should persist; strong in the knowledge of Christ as Saviour. The method to this confirmation I have sworn never to reveal for it is not mine to reveal, therefore with all humility pray to Christ that He should reveal it to you that in the day of trouble you should stand firm.
Prayer: Lord, send to me a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, that I should understand how I should confirm my salvation, and in the day of tribulation and persecution that I would know Your embrace and presence with me.
A Life Lived Righteously
Day 6
Reading: Malachi 2:6 "True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity." ESV
Thought: Jesus followed in the words of those delivered by the prophets, this was the instruction He held to; conforming to the will of the Father even though He did not wish to go through it He still willingly gave Himself over, denying Himself in ligt of the Father's will. When standing before the chief priests and the council no wrong was to be heard from Him, for He stood silent before the scoffers; He was as a lamb before its shearer. He lived as the Truth in every respect, all He did was the Truth of God, all He said was the teachings of God
and all He gave was the grace of God. Jesus walked with God in peace because He was joined with Him, and thus demonstrated righteous acts and living everywhere He went. By far though the most unique aspect to the life of Jesus is that He saved others from sin, something only He could accomplish, for salvation can be found in no other way. For sacrifices cannot permanently atone for the depths of our sin, nor can they replace our hearts of stone or give us a new spirit, but only with God can our relationship with God be restored, thus it was necessary that the Christ must suffer. But in His sacrifice freedom was made available to all being called unto His presence, that they should receive a new heart and the Spirit of Jesus and thus the relationship with God be restored. Thus we cannot consider that what has occurred or what does occur could ever be achieved by the strength of man, for "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Mat19:26). Therefore go out not in your own strength but constantly be seeking the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and His wisdom to determine what is good and where He is working.
Prayer: Lord, send us to those You are calling by Your name, reveal I pray those You seek out, lead me to them, open their hearts and minds Lord to look upon You that they should receive You with joy.
Pierced For Many
Day 7
Reading: Zechariah 12:10; 14:7 "I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn." "And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light." ESV
Thought: The first of these two verses covers the situation which Jesus is in upon the cross, for they did look on Him who was God, pierced through the side, as those who knew Him mourned, including His mother who was looking upon her firstborn son, and as God looked on mourning for the death of His only Son. Which brings me to the second verse; for during Christ's suffering the Gospels tell us, "from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour" (Mat27:45). The understanding of this is that from midday (the sixth hour) till three in the afternoon there was probably a total eclipse combined with a gathering of storm clouds such that no light, the image portrayed is God's mourning for His Son slain. But later that day, after Jesus' body had been taken down, light returned to the land. All of this was recorded that the Jews would be ready for the coming Christ, a prophetic preparation delivered unto the Jews alone that they would recognize Him when He came. Yet they "they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands" (Mat17:12). Are we also recognizing God when He shows up or when He speaks? So then let us always have the sacrifice of Christ in mind that we should seek His revelation, and to be like Him.
Prayer: Lord, teach me to recognize when You are active, when You are speaking and when You are revealing. Give me spiritual ears to hear and spiritual eyes to see. Let me tell of all the wonders You've done and be ready to be led to the place You are calling me.