Zechariah 1:5-6
The Power of His Word
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
Perhaps you think, as the Jews obviously did, that you can get by with a little sin. After all, you are not doing anything that everyone else isn't doing. God surely won't punish you like He punished the Jews or their fathers? You just have to fit in with your friends somehow? You certainly don't want to be the prude or the geek in the crowd. Right?
Well... you had better listen to what God says through Zechariah in this passage. He asked the Jews, "Where are your fathers and the prophets? Are they still alive? Do they live forever?" Or, maybe I could put it this way. "...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) Your fathers are dead, the prophets are dead and your time is coming. The wicked and the righteous are all subject to die, unless Jesus returns first.
But God's word and His statutes, which were delivered to us by those prophets, still live on. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:18) Since God never changes, His word is as good and as relevant today as it was when His prophets first preached it.
Not only is His word immutable and eternal, but we also find that it has power. Again God asks a rhetorical question, "Did they (God's words) not take hold of your fathers?" Everything that the prophets had warned about came to pass. Their fathers were overcome by the power of God's word. They were severely punished for their sins, and the punishments were effective.
Today, we "have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God's children, "When the Lord punishes you, don't make light of it, and when he corrects you, don't be discouraged. The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own." (Hebrews 12:5-6 CEV)
The fathers did return to God, admitting that He had done exactly as He had said He would do. They admitted that He had punished them on account of their sinful ways and deeds. Unfortunately, they did not change their ways.
The Jews were God's people, but that did not give them the liberty to defy His commandments nor immunity from punishment. As Christians, we might begin to feel like we can sin without fear of punishment, but the passage above from Hebrews 12:5-6 clearly warns that this is not true.
This passage teaches us about our own mortality and the immortality of God's word. It contrasts our weaknesses against the power of God's word; and it draws a line between our sins and God's righteousness. If we learn nothing else from it, we should learn that God will deal with sinners according to their refusal to repent.
Before The Throne:
Pray now for His forgiveness. Ask Him to help you turn from your sins. Praise Him for having given you a Savior so that you do not have to suffer eternal punishment. As you take the time to draw closer to Him, meditate on His word and ask God to show you what He wants you to do with your life. Pray that He will protect you from being deceived by others who think that sin is not serious business.
For Further Study:
(v.5) Job 14:10-12; Psa 90:10; Eccl 1:4; 9:1-3; 12:5, 7; Acts 13:36; Heb 7:23-24; 9:27; 2Pet 3:2-4;
(v.6) ** my words. Isa 55:1; ** did. Num 23:19; 32:23; 2Chron 36:17-21; Isa 44:26; Jer 26:15; 44:28; Ezek 12:25-28; Dan 9:11-12; Matt 24:35; **take hold of. Deut 28:15, 45; Jer 12:16; Amos 9:10; 1Thess 5:4; ** they returned. Job 6:29; Mal 3:18; ** Like. Lam 1:18; 2:17; 4:11-12; Ezek 37:11; ** thought. Num 33:56; Jer 23:20; ** according to our ways. Deut 28:20; Isa 3:8-11; Jer 4:4; 18:8-11; Ezek 20:43; Hos 9:15; 2:6-11
5 Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? 6 But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.
Perhaps you think, as the Jews obviously did, that you can get by with a little sin. After all, you are not doing anything that everyone else isn't doing. God surely won't punish you like He punished the Jews or their fathers? You just have to fit in with your friends somehow? You certainly don't want to be the prude or the geek in the crowd. Right?
Well... you had better listen to what God says through Zechariah in this passage. He asked the Jews, "Where are your fathers and the prophets? Are they still alive? Do they live forever?" Or, maybe I could put it this way. "...it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27) Your fathers are dead, the prophets are dead and your time is coming. The wicked and the righteous are all subject to die, unless Jesus returns first.
But God's word and His statutes, which were delivered to us by those prophets, still live on. "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:18) Since God never changes, His word is as good and as relevant today as it was when His prophets first preached it.
Not only is His word immutable and eternal, but we also find that it has power. Again God asks a rhetorical question, "Did they (God's words) not take hold of your fathers?" Everything that the prophets had warned about came to pass. Their fathers were overcome by the power of God's word. They were severely punished for their sins, and the punishments were effective.
Today, we "have forgotten that the Scriptures say to God's children, "When the Lord punishes you, don't make light of it, and when he corrects you, don't be discouraged. The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own." (Hebrews 12:5-6 CEV)
The fathers did return to God, admitting that He had done exactly as He had said He would do. They admitted that He had punished them on account of their sinful ways and deeds. Unfortunately, they did not change their ways.
The Jews were God's people, but that did not give them the liberty to defy His commandments nor immunity from punishment. As Christians, we might begin to feel like we can sin without fear of punishment, but the passage above from Hebrews 12:5-6 clearly warns that this is not true.
This passage teaches us about our own mortality and the immortality of God's word. It contrasts our weaknesses against the power of God's word; and it draws a line between our sins and God's righteousness. If we learn nothing else from it, we should learn that God will deal with sinners according to their refusal to repent.
Before The Throne:
Pray now for His forgiveness. Ask Him to help you turn from your sins. Praise Him for having given you a Savior so that you do not have to suffer eternal punishment. As you take the time to draw closer to Him, meditate on His word and ask God to show you what He wants you to do with your life. Pray that He will protect you from being deceived by others who think that sin is not serious business.
For Further Study:
(v.5) Job 14:10-12; Psa 90:10; Eccl 1:4; 9:1-3; 12:5, 7; Acts 13:36; Heb 7:23-24; 9:27; 2Pet 3:2-4;
(v.6) ** my words. Isa 55:1; ** did. Num 23:19; 32:23; 2Chron 36:17-21; Isa 44:26; Jer 26:15; 44:28; Ezek 12:25-28; Dan 9:11-12; Matt 24:35; **take hold of. Deut 28:15, 45; Jer 12:16; Amos 9:10; 1Thess 5:4; ** they returned. Job 6:29; Mal 3:18; ** Like. Lam 1:18; 2:17; 4:11-12; Ezek 37:11; ** thought. Num 33:56; Jer 23:20; ** according to our ways. Deut 28:20; Isa 3:8-11; Jer 4:4; 18:8-11; Ezek 20:43; Hos 9:15; 2:6-11
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