Zechariah 1
Verse of the Day:V20 “And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.”
1. Came (V1-11)
V1 “In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,”
Prophet Zechariah mentioned that the word of the Lord came to him before he could prophesy and preach to the people. All true prophets and preachers must have the word of God coming to them before they can prophesy and preach His word. Zechariah told the people that the Lord was very displeased with their ancestors who had disobeyed Him.
V2 “The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.”
2. Cry (V12-17)
V12 “Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?”
Zechariah asked the Lord why He showed mercy on the people of Jerusalem and Judah when time and again they rebelled against Him, even when they came out of their 70 long years of captivity. The angel of God then commanded Zechariah to cry to the jealous God to begin judging the people so that they would repent of their sins, and turned to the Lord.
V14 “So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.”
3. Carpenter (V18-21)
V18 “Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.”
The 4 horns represented the 4 successive empires while the 4 carpenters represented the 4 successive empires that God would send to defeat each empire. The first empire was the Babylonians, and they were defeated by the Medes Persians, a greater empire. The Medes Persians became the second empire, and they were defeated by the Greeks. The Greeks became the third empire, and they were defeated by the Romans. The Romans became the fourth empire, and they were defeated, and this time, not by a greater empire, but by the Son of God, Jesus. Jesus left His throne of glory in heaven to become the son of a carpenter on earth, so that He would live, and then died on the cross for the sins of the world. One day Jesus shall come and establish the greatest empire, His kingdom, on earth.
V20 “And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.”
Prayer of the Day:
Dearest God, thank You for sending the Carpenter, Jesus Christ, to die for my sins.
