SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/14/2016 9:30 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
Divine Plan for Jerusalem PT-3
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Zechariah 1:7-8
Message of the verses: “7 On
the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the
second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the
son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: 8 I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a
red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine,
with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.”
We ended
our last SD by looking at where the location was where we saw the man on the
red horse among the myrtle trees.
Next we
look at the other horses that were behind the red horse with the rider on
it. On these other horses were more riders
on horses that are red, sorrel and white horses. Sorrel is a mixture of red and white, so we
end up with a red horse a white horse and one of combination of red and white. The red horse means blood, and the white
means judgment as we have already spoken of our Lord returning in judgment at
the end of the tribulation period riding on a white horse, so this is a sign
also of victory. So as we look at these
horses we can see that we will have a war that will end up in victory. We know that the rider of the red horse in
this case is the preincarnate Christ and since He is the God of heavens armies
the other horses had angels on them as they are a part of heaven’s armies.
John
MacArthur speaks of the myrtle trees: “Because
of the lowliness, because of the commonness, because of the simplicity, because
of the beauty, and because of the fragrance when bruised, the only possibility
for the myrtle is that the myrtle represents Israel. The commons, they’re everywhere in the land,
the people of God.”
The hollow
place where the vision is speaks of the suffering and the lowliness and also
the degradation and also the baseness of what was going on with Israel when
Zechariah wrote his book. Can you imagine
looking up at the city at that time wondering if it would be rebuilt, but knowing
that it would take bloodshed but would end up in victory, and this must have
brought encouragement to those who were listening to Zechariah.
MacArthur writes: “So here's the scene: a group of people in a state of humiliation, about to be delivered by their glorious protector, defender, interceder, comforter. He stands ready to fight for them. What a scene. The Lord is in the midst of His people, ready to defend, ready to protect, ready to advocate their cause, ready to comfort them in their time of need. He's outside the city, ready to judge the nations and put Israel back in the right place, the place that God intended all along. He's gonna fulfill God's promise. Jeremiah said, "God will bring you back in 70 years and God will give you back the land and God will rebuild the land." And this angel, this angel of the Lord, was there ready to guarantee the promise of God. Boy that's a beautiful scene.
“And you know what's wonderful about it? We'll
close with this. It's a beautiful parallel to the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ to His church, isn't it? Here we are, and for this time, we suffer, yea
all that live Godly in this present age shall, what? Suffer persecution. Who's
running the world? Satan. Satan is the prince of this world. We're not in
control. We're subjected to a satanic system, and we're, as it were, in the
hollow. We're in the glen, in the deep place, in the ravine. We're like Israel.
We're all gathered around and huddled in the deep place and saying "How
long oh Lord?" like the people in the book of Revelation crying out under
the altar, "How long oh Lord?" until things are made right. And yet
there in the midst of us is not only the angelic host, but a great leader, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is our defender, who is our protector, who is our
advocate, who takes our case to the Father, who is our High Priest, and who is
our comforter. And who comforts us in the fact that someday He will come and
reign as King of Kings and what? And Lord of Lords.
“Listen. God is a faithful God. If God says to His
people Israel, "I'll keep my promise," then He sets the great
defender in motion with the angelic host to keep Him. If God says to the
church, "I will keep my promise," He sets the Lord Jesus Christ to
the task of keeping that promise. I don't know how it would be to live in this
world apart from God. But I know it would be terribly hopeless to feel that
life was unfulfilling, that hope was really hopeless, and have no promise of
anybody who is standing ready to take up your cause.
“Do you know what happened in the story in
Zechariah? Four years later, the temple was built. 80 years later, the walls
were finished. Israel was back. God kept His promise beyond that? The fullness
of that prophecy is still yet to be fulfilled. When God starts to gather His
people from all over the globe and bring them back for the kingdom. But you
know what's exciting to me? That four years later the temple was built. Those
angels did the job, and the myrtle trees got out of the valley and up on the
mount. And in the future, God is going to restore Israel, and you and I are
alive in a day when we can begin to see it rumble, huh? Back in the land, 1948,
and that's the first time in a long time. And they're holding onto that land,
and God is beginning to work a work, a wondrous work, to prepare for the
re-gathering in the Kingdom. God is a faithful God.”
4/14/2016 10:02 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment