Happy Easter for those of you across the international date line. I celebrated Easter yesterday in what turned out to be a very long (but great) day, so I didn’t get around to doing this blog.
Anyway, the visions kept coming to Zechariah, and this one concerns the purging of evil from Israel.
In the first vision, Zechariah saw a flying scroll that on one side listed the curses for stealing, and on the other listed the curses for swearing falsely.
Although it lists only two of the ten commandments God had given Moses, those two commandments are probably representative of all the commandments. For as James put it,
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)
Perhaps these two sins were particularly representative of the Israelites of that time. Or perhaps, it had a broader meaning of hurting your neighbor (stealing) and despising the holiness of God (using his name to make false oaths).
Two things to note from this vision. First, because of the size of the scroll, there was no excuse for anyone not to know judgment was coming. Anyone could easily read it.
Second, judgment is certain. God said,
I will send [the curse] out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name.
It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones. (Zechariah 5:4)
In the second vision, God shows Zechariah how he would purge all evil from the land.
Zechariah saw a basket that represented evil in the land. And within it, we see the source of the wickedness (represented by a woman) trying to rise out, only to be pushed back in by the angel.
Then two women carried it out of Israel to bring wickedness to a place where it would be more welcome, the land of Babylonia.
What can we get from all of this? First, the day is coming when evil will be dealt with. Satan will fight God to the bitter end, but no matter how hard he fights, he will be overcome.
Second, let us purge ourselves from the evil that is within us. God has made it crystal clear how he feels about sin, and that judgment is coming because of it. We have no excuse for not knowing.
So as Paul said,
Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
There is a balance in this of course. We do not purify ourselves by our own efforts alone. In our own strength it would be impossible.
But God does give us the strength and ability to live holy lives for him (2 Peter 1:3–4).
And as he carried away evil from Israel in Zechariah’s vision, so he will carry evil from our lives as we follow him. This is the process called “sanctification.”
As Paul also wrote,
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 