Friday, November 11, 2016

Subject: Knowing God's Word and God's Will - Zechariah 1-7

Zechariah 1:9 (ESV Strong's)
Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’

Subject:  Knowing God's Word and Will

Zechariah is, probably, the hardest of all the minor prophets to understand.   It is the longest of all the minor prophets.  It is filled with imagery and mystic.   It might typify what Paul calls the "mystery of Christ."   Zechariah is called upon to deliver this enigma.   At a first reading the book can be overwhelming and confusing.  Yet, even when the prophecy was delivered to Zechariah, he, too, was overwhelmed and confused.   In the above verse we see his response to the first of many visions in the book.  Like us, he asks, "What are these, My Lord?"    Through the book the prophet asks the same question.  When presented with a new vision he asks again, "What does this mean?"   The book is a conversation between the prophet and God, more than a delivery of a message.   The lesson here is that even God's faithful messengers can be confused with the vision.  John, in The Revelation, is meet with similar scenes from heaven.   He, too, ask for meaning.   God is not opposed to our asking Him for clarity and meaning of the Word.   In John we read the following words of Jesus in regard to knowing God's will and God's Word:

John 16:13 (ESV Strong's)
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

God does not want to hide things from us.  He does, however, want us to rely on Him, via the Spirit, to seek the truth and to ask, "What are these Lord?"   God favors our pursuit of His Word and our desire to want Him to teach us.  That is the act of faith that pleases God.  We don't have to know all of God's Word, but we have to be willing to have the Spirit, through Faith, teach us God's Word.

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