Daily Devotions

Obadiah - Brothers divided (part 1) A few years after a war has ended, it becomes pretty obvious who won. The victors build great monuments to their achievements to show off their power to all around them. Those who were defeated bear the scars of their ruin, and anyone with their eyes open can observe their failure. Such was the condition of Jerusalem in the 6th century BC. After 500 years in the land that God had promised to Jacob’s descendants, Israel was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians, and Jerusalem’s inhabitants were carried away in chains. In contrast, Babylon was a great city, proud of its Hanging Gardens—one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and symbolic of Babylon’s wealth, significance and power. The city reeked of success, just as Jerusalem reeked of failure. The united nation of Israel split into two kingdoms after Solomon died. The northern kingdom was made up of the majority of the Israelite tribes, and it retained the name ‘Israel’. It set...

Zechariah 14 - The Day of the Lord It is easy to get caught up in the distractions of life and forget a major focus of the Bible—the coming day of judgement and the final victory of Jesus over sin, death and evil. But Zechariah never allows us to forget what God has promised. Continuing our World War II analogy from last devotion, the final section of Zechariah (chapters 12-14) begins with a description of the total victory achieved when the Lord finally pronounces V-Day (12:1-9). He then takes us back in time to see the decisive D-Day battle that made V-Day a certainty (12:10-13:9). Zechariah 14 follows the reverse order: D-Day comes first (vv. 1-8), then V-Day in 14:9. The rest of the chapter, through to the end, describes what life will be like for everybody once the Lord’s victory is fully completed. The book of Zechariah ends with a vision of God’s sovereign rule embracing all people for all time. As a result, this study will involve some significant work looking at the New Tes...

Zechariah 12-13 - D-Day and V Day How important do you think current Arab-Israeli politics are to fulfilling biblical prophecy? Right through Christian history, the nation of Israel’s place in world politics has been a matter of debate—and not just the nation, but also the significance to God of the physical descendants of Abraham. Have the promises of God, once relevant to physical Israel, now been inherited by others? Zechariah is one book whose prophecies are of interest in answering these questions, especially the chapters to which we now turn. In these two chapters we revisit three major themes that weave though the second half of Zechariah: · Theme 1: The divine warrior · Theme 2: The shepherd-king David · Theme 3: idolatry and false prophets These three themes come together in these chapters to present the final outcome of the fulfilment of God’s promises “on that day”. The time from which Zechariah saw these events made him like someone viewing a vast mountain range from a gr...

Zechariah 11 - Good and Bad Shepherds In chapter 11 Zechariah employs both poetry and drama to convey the message given him from the Lord. The details may be a little confusing to a modern reader but the overall message is crystal clear. The pervading image through the chapter is the ‘shepherd’—used here and elsewhere in Scripture as an image for Israel’s leadership. The root of this association is the shepherd-turned-king David, of the tribe of Judah. This tribe’s role of providing Israel’s rulers was prophesied by the patriarch Jacob at the blessing of his sons shortly before his death. Jacob associated the image of a lion with Judah (Gen 49:8-10). Zechariah is told to enact a parable. He is to take charge of a flock sold for its meat and destined for the abattoir. This flock represents God’s people Judah. Zechariah is to use the shepherd’s tool of trade—a staff—in the drama, and engage in a financial transaction with sheep traders. There are three groups of shepherds in Zechariah’...