My People, My God (Zechariah 13:1-9, Ephesians 1:3-14)
Rev. William L. Barron, June 25, 2023Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
We often ask, "What is God doing?" This is especially true as we look at Zechariah, who bounces back and forth in time, considering things that were, are and will be. Chapter 13 concerns Zechariah's time; a message for the returning exiles. Here, there is a condemnation of those who chose to stay in Babylon rather than returning to the land of their forefathers. Zechariah is ministering to a rebellious people. Here, we see an emphasis on individual salvation and glorification. Zechariah employs a phrase he uses often, "On that day..." When will this prophecy be fulfilled? The answer is in Zechariah's day and 400 years later, at the time of Jesus' second coming. There will be a fountain of blessing and a cleansing, necessary before the people can enter God's house, the temple or the new heaven and earth. The blessings will not be a mere sprinkling, rather a fountain. This comes by the grace of God; not by water, but by the blood of Christ. By means of propitiation and expiation, we receive clean garments. Propitiation is the turning away of God's wrath against redeemed sinners, whose guilt is forgiven by grace and the blood of Christ. Expiation is the cleansing from and removal of sin from the believer. Zechariah speaks of the removal of idols and false teachers, even from within families, those who turned away from the Lord. The false prophets will be ashamed and will deny their office, even to the point of wounding themselves in their shame. Then, in vs. 7, Zechariah jumps back to a salvation message, foretelling Christ's sacrifice. There will be a remnant that survive the trials. God will claim them as His own. We in turn must not ever be ashamed of our calling and be ready to proclaim, "The Lord is my God."
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
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| « The Coming Deliverance For God's People | None | Citizenship Transcendent » |
Zechariah 13 (Listen)
13:1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the LORD of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, declares the LORD,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”
(ESV)
Ephesians 1:3–14 (Listen)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
(ESV)