Return from Exile: Zechariah 1-3 (2)

Pray Psalm 125.1, 2.
Those who trust in the LORD
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the LORD surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

Sing Psalm 125.1, 2.
(St. Gertrude: Onward, Christian Soldiers)
All who trust in Jesus, strong as Zion stand!
Naught shall ever move them from their promised land!
Like the hills surrounding safe Jerusalem,
Christ surrounds His Church and holds her in His mighty Hand!
Refrain, v. 1
All who trust in Jesus, strong as Zion stand!
Naught shall ever move them from their promised land!

Read Zechariah 1.1-21; mediate on verses 12-21.

Preparation
1. What did God promise concerning Jerusalem and His other cities?

2. What did He say about the nations that took them captive?

Meditation
God was coming to return blessing to His people. He had used the nations—Assyria, Babylon, and the Medo-Persian Empire, the four horns of Zechariah’s vision, vv. 18-21—to fulfill the sanctions of the Law against His people, and now He was preparing to terrify and scatter them all.

But not by political or military means. Rather, God would send “craftsmen” to rebuild His temple, Jerusalem, and all His cities. These craftsmen would be the means for the overthrow of those who dealt wickedly with Israel and Judah. The immediate reference is to those who would finish the temple and the wall of Jerusalem. Thus, the mercy of the Lord would return to His people (Zech. 2.16) bringing prosperity, increase, and peace (v. 17).

The longer-term “craftsmen” begin with Jesus, Who is building His Church (Matt. 16.18), and all those who are equipped for ministry to build the Church with the Lord (Eph. 4.11-16). God's plan for showing mercy to His people is to build His temple, His Church (Eph. 2.19-22), so that Christ, the Desire of All Nations, might fill it and fill all things through it (Eph. 1.22, 23).

But where are the “craftsmen” who understand this vision and their calling to build the Church of our Lord? Why are our churches declining rather than growing? Are the saints being equipped for ministry? For working their Personal Mission Fields? Or are we so captive to our own interests that we have little time or inclination to devote ourselves to those of the Lord?

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
What a wonderful calling we are given to be “craftsmen” for Lord in His Kingdom!

Craftsmen make things. We create beauty. We use God’s tools for righteousness for His sake. We are no longer called as Old Testament warriors, but as peacemakers and builders. All the harshness has been removed from our hands.

“Vengeance is Mine, and recompense…I will repay…” “The LORD will judge His people” (Deut. 32.32; Heb. 10.30). Ours is no longer to fight and destroy, but to call to repentance and build. Crafty.

“The pen is mightier than the sword” (Bulwer-Lytton, 1839), is a truth we as Christians can adopt for our calling as craftsmen. Properly wielded Scriptural peace is far more effective than violence as a means of social, political, and spiritual change.

Not everyone needs to be a writer, but everyone needs to be a positive force for good in God’s kingdom economy—sans vengeance and hatred—because our positive work as craftsmen, with the power of the Holy Spirit, is far more powerful than the lies and anger of the world. Jesus has already overcome those (Jn.16.33).

As the sons of Korah wrote, “My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Ps. 45.1).

A craftsman is someone skilled in a particular craft. And we, as children of God, can excel at our craft of being followers of Christ because we have, ready to hand, the guidebook for living creatively in His kingdom. The quintessential how-to book on Kingdom Crafts. All we must do is read it. Study it. Practice it. Work it. And make it our own.

God is zealous with great zeal for us to be craftsmen in His kingdom (Zech. 1.14).

For reflection
1. What will your work as one of the Lord’s craftsmen require of you today?

2. How does building the temple of our bodies and the temple of our churches help in overcoming the world’s opposition to the Gospel?

3. Can we fulfill our calling as craftsmen without being equipped for this work? Explain.

When God has work to do, he will raise up some to do it, and others to defend it, and to protect those employed in doing it. What cause there is to look up in love and praise to the holy and eternal Spirit, who has the same care over the present and eternal interests of believers, by the holy word bringing the church to know the wonderful things of salvation! Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Zechariah 1.18-21

Pray Psalm 125.3-5.
Give thanks to Jesus, Who is building His Church, and not even the gates of hell can prevail against it. Ask the Lord to give you gifts and skills to use in joining Jesus in this work.

Sing Psalm 125.1, 3-5.
(St. Gertrude: Onward, Christian Soldiers)
Wickedness shall rest not on this holy land.
Sinfulness shall never come forth from their hand. 
Trusting in the Savior, firm in His caress,
ever shall His favor on this holy city rest.
Refrain, v. 1
All who trust in Jesus, strong as Zion stand!
Naught shall ever move them from their promised land

Lord, do good and care for those upright in heart.
All who turn to evil shall from You depart.
Sinful men may increase, on their way to hell!
Save Your people, let your peace abound in Israel!
Refrain

T. M. and Susie Moore

Two books can help us understand our own captivity and lead us to seek revival and renewal in the Lord. The Church Captive asks us to consider the ways the Church today has become captive to the world. And Revived! can help us find the way to renewal. Learn more and order your free copies by clicking here and here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available free by clicking here.