David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Zechariah 8-10, Psalm 105

Zechariah 8:1-8

And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, ² “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. ³ Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. ⁴ Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. ⁵ And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. ⁶ Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? ⁷ Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, ⁸ and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

What a comforting and hopeful picture we are given in the opening words of Zechariah 8! Old men and women lean on their staffs. Young boys and girls play in the streets. Jerusalem is promised to be a place of peace and tranquility. God will sow peace and save his people. They will no more be a curse, but a blessing. All this is God’s doing, and I would certainly want to live there!

Zechariah includes an interesting prediction that many Christians see as being fulfilled in events surrounding Alexander the Great (9:13). Others want to dismiss any correlation. But when Zechariah turns to describe the king coming into Jerusalem humbly and riding on a donkey, we see the connection most clearly. The king of whom Zechariah speaks will be a king of humility and salvation. Jesus so clearly fulfills that picture:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey. – Zechariah 9:9

We read this every Palm Sunday to remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in what would be the week leading up to his death and resurrection.

And consider these examples from Zechariah that are connected in the New Testament to the ministry of Jesus.

When I think of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, I think of Isaiah, Jeremiah, or the Psalms. But Zechariah gives us some gems as well. After all, the Old Testament points us forward to Christ, and the New Testament helps us see how those promises find their fulfillment in him.

So, dear reader, you should not be surprised that every time I write these blog posts, I keep pointing to Jesus in them. That’s the one thing I sometimes miss in the BibleProject videos — helpful as they may be. The connection to Jesus is not always made as explicitly as I would like. They can be helpful, but let’s look for Jesus throughout the Scriptures and rejoice when we see him so clearly promised as we do here!

Click on this graphic or the link below to watch the Bible Project overview of the book of Zechariah.

https://bibleproject.com/videos/zechariah

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.