SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/18/2016 10:37 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-7 Divine Plan for Jerusalem
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Zech. 1:9-17
Message of the verses: “9 Then I said, "My lord, what are
these?" And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, "I will
show you what these are." 10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle
trees answered and said, "These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol
the earth." 11 So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing
among the myrtle trees and said, "We have patrolled the earth, and behold,
all the earth is peaceful and quiet." 12 Then the angel of the LORD said,
"O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and
the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy
years?" 13 The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with
gracious words, comforting words. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said
to me, "Proclaim, saying, ’Thus says the LORD of hosts, "I am
exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 “But I am very angry with the
nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered
the disaster." 16 ’Therefore thus says the LORD, "I will return to
Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it," declares the
LORD of hosts, "and a measuring line will be stretched over
Jerusalem."’ 17 “Again, proclaim, saying, ’Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again
comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem."’"”
We have
already looked at “the picture seen” and also “the perplexity solved,” and now
in this rather short SD we will look at “the plea stated.” After this we will have two more things to
look at from these verses in the first chapter of Zechariah.
We want to
focus in on verse twelve as we begin this SD:
“12 Then the angel
of the LORD said,
"O LORD of hosts, how
long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with
which You have been indignant these seventy years?"” What we have in this verse is the second
Person of the Godhead speaking to the first Person of the Godhead, and what He
is doing is interceding for the people of Jerusalem stating that they have
suffered for seventy years and wants to know if that will be enough of God’s
wrath, for after all God had said through the prophet Jeremiah that they would
come back to Jerusalem after seventy years is over. Now as we look at the intercession from the
preincarnate Jesus Christ we get a picture of what He is doing today in heaven
for His bride, the church as in heaven at this time He is interceding for
us. Christ is not only our intercessor,
but also our defender, and He defends us against Satan in heaven. What a wonderful thing to think of having our
Lord intercede for us in heaven, for not only did He die in our place, but then
He arose from the dead, and ascended into heaven as our High Priest.
John
MacArthur concludes this section “The Plea Stated,” “Now the reason He asks this isn't because
He's ignorant. He's simply crying out to reveal Himself as the defender of His
people, and it is the cry of expectation. It is the cry of sympathy, not the cry
of doubt. It isn't the cry of questioning. It isn't begging. It isn't doubting.
It is believing, expectation, couple with sympathy. And so the intercession is
made on the basis of God's promise. And the angel is praying in conformity to
the will of God on the behalf of the people. So the picture is seen, the
perplexity is solved as the interpreter helps him to see the picture better,
the plea is stated.”
4/18/2016 10:53 PM
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