Zechariah 2:8

The Bible says in Zechariah 2:8-13, “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.” It is important to notice the phrase in Zechariah 2:8 where the Lord said, “he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.” God loves His children: both the children of Israel and the followers of Jesus. Because He loves His children, He wants His children to be treated well. Jesus said in Matthew 10:40-42, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” It is important to remember that the Lord rewards and punishes the people of the world partly based upon how they treat His believers. Therefore, sometimes people of the world who know that choose to treat believers very well. God will take care of you, you can believe that. Concerning the people of the world and the things that happen to them, one of the reasons for what happens to the people of the world has to do with how they treated God’s children. God punishes those who persecute God’s children, and God blesses those who help God’s children. We recently read Genesis 12:3 where the Lord said to Abraham, “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee…” It is no wonder that the Lord tells His children not to take vengeance. He will take vengeance if and when it is necessary. It says in Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” By not taking vengeance, you are demonstrating that you believe the Lord and that you have confidence that He is going to take vengeance His way and in His time, which will be much better than your own.

The children of Israel are told in Zechariah 2:10 to “sing and rejoice.” What a bright future we all have because of Jesus and because of the promises that God has made to everyone who believes. We demonstrate our faith in that bright future that is coming by our singing and our rejoicing. Those who believe in Jesus have things to sing about that no one else in the world has. We have forgiveness of sins, we have eternal life, we have a relationship with our Savior, we have the Word of God, and we have all the promises of God to rest in and rely upon. Because of the many great and precious promises about the future that the Lord has given, if you believe God and believe Jesus, then you should be a person who rejoices and sings in your heart. It says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.”

The Bible says in Zechariah 3:1-2, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Notice that we are told that Satan was “standing before the angel of the LORD.” There are many misconceptions about the devil. Remember that the devil was originally an angel. Evidently, he still has an angelic form. What makes him the devil is not his appearance, but is his opposition to God’s will. In Zechariah 3:1-2 Satan was standing near the angel of the Lord “to resist him.” The book of Revelation tells us that eventually Satan will be cast out of heaven, which is evidently one reason that Satan increases his efforts to cause trouble on the earth: Satan will know that his time is short. It says in Revelation 12:1-12, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”

It is good to know that the devil is already defeated, and his doom is sealed. Being on the winning side is one of the benefits of having Jesus as Savior. On this subject Jesus said in Luke 10:16-20, “He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” Remember that the demons always were afraid of Jesus and ran away from Him. You have that same kind of protection from evil because you belong to Jesus. It is interesting that Jesus says not to rejoice because of your authority over the demons and over the devil, but to rejoice “because your names are written in heaven.” Get your mind off the devil, and think about the wonderful future that you have in store because of what the Savior did for every believer on the cross of Calvary.

Zechariah chapter three tells us that the devil is busy opposing the work of God. That is why the devil opposes good things happening to Israel, and that is why he opposes the work of Christians, and that is why he opposes everything that is good and decent. Whatever God is for, the devil is against. The word “Satan” means “adversary.” Jesus wants you to become a stronger Christian. Therefore, Satan wants you to fail. It says in First Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

Zechariah 1:18-19 told us about the “four horns,” which stands for the rulers of four kingdoms who want to see the destruction of Israel. Of course, these rulers are human beings. But the real problem is not with human beings. The real problem is a spiritual problem. The real problem has to do with the powers of darkness. That is what Zechariah 3:1 is reminding us about: the real problem is Satan who resists the work of God. Concerning this truth and the spiritual warfare that this implies, we are told in Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Do not forget Ephesians 6:12. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” People are not the problem. Therefore, do not think of any person as your enemy. People need help. Lost people need to be saved, and saved people need to be strengthened in faith and in their walk with the Savior. But there is a spiritual warfare going on, and the reason there is a spiritual warfare is because of what Zechariah told us about the existence and activities of the devil.

It is important to notice what the Lord said to Satan in Zechariah 3:2. The Lord said concerning Jerusalem, “is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” What the Lord said about Jerusalem can be said about every believer. If you are saved through Christ, do you realize that you are “a brand plucked out of the fire?” What fire is this? This is the fire of everlasting hell. But God does not want anyone to go to hell, so He is in the business of plucking every brand that he can from going there. That is why Jesus came into the world. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” If you are serving the Lord, then one of the ways that He is using you is to help others come to know Him. He uses you by using your testimony and your life. Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Of course, people have to hear the gospel also in order to be saved. Jesus said in Matthew 16:15, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”

___________________________________________________