Return from Exile: Zechariah 7-10 (4)

Pray Psalm 33.1-5.
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Sing Psalm 33.1-5.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
Sing with rejoicing in the Lord, for praise becomes His righteous ones!
With harps and songs raise grateful words, and let new songs of praise be sung!

Joyfully shout! His Word is true; He does His work in faithfulness.
His love prevails the whole world through; the Lord loves truth and righteousness.

Read Zechariah 9.1-17; meditate on verses 9 and 10.

Preparation
1. How would God’s King come to His people?

2. What would God do for them?

Meditation
Perhaps by this time in Zechariah’s ministry, the surrounding nations had begun to object to the temple project—as they would also the walls project, yet to come—and were beginning to make bellicose noises about putting an end to this work (we’ll see more of this when we return to Ezra then pass on to Nehemiah). So not only were the people disappointed in the “small things” nature of their project; now they were beginning to allow those old fears of historic enemies to return (vv. 1-8).

God, through the prophet, told them not to fear. Not only would He protect them from their enemies (vv. 1-7), but He would even turn their enemies into friends, and members of the household (vv. 7, 8)!

Because God is sending a King, lowly and riding on a donkey (v. 9), and He will bring justice, deliverance, salvation, and peace to the people of God (vv. 9, 10). By His covenant, God will free those who are captive to sin and self, to the fear of men, and to dashed hopes (v. 11); and He will make them instead prisoners of hope, restoring them beyond their wildest dreams (v. 12). He will defend His people and destroy their foes (vv. 13-15). God will save His people and make them His flock and the jewels of a crown (v. 16), so that goodness and beauty will thrive among them, and they will prosper in all their ways (v. 17).

And the key to this great release from captivity is the coming King. He comes to set the captives free, to fulfill God’s covenant, and to make all the nations disciples. When we are no longer captive to self-interest and the temper of the times, this is what we will do as well.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Observing the downfall of those captive to self and sin enables us to be “no longer captive to self-interest and the temper [and tempter] of the times.” We will want to avoid it at all costs.

“Strike a scoffer, and the simple will become wary;
Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge” (Prov. 19.25).
“When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; but when the wise is instructed,
he receives knowledge” (Prov. 21.11).
“Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful…” (Zech. 9.5).

Jesus came to bring liberty from enslavement to sin: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Is. 61.1; Lk. 4.18).
“He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions” (Ps. 107.20).
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3.17).

Jesus, the King, is the key to this great release from captivity.  And once we are freed by Him, we never again want to be in captivity to anything or anyone—other than our beloved Savior. For there is great blessing in captivity to Him.

“But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (Jms. 1.25).

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5.1). “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6.18).

Jesus Himself says to us, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8.31, 32, 36).

Observe the failings of a life without Christ as its central theme. See it and fear. Become wary, discern knowledge, be made wise through the Holy Spirit, and receive the knowledge of God through His Word.  

After Jesus stood up and read Isaiah 61.1 and 2 in the synagogue, He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Then He said to the world, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk. 4.17-21).

He had come to set the captives free! He knew it. They knew it. We know it and must act on it.

Because “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (Jn. 13.17).

For reflection
1. In Jesus, what are we free from?

2. In Jesus, what are we free unto?

3. How would you counsel a new believer to grow in the freedom we have in Jesus?

A sinful state is a state of bondage; it is a pit, or dungeon, in which there is no water, no comfort; and we are all by nature prisoners in this pit. Through the precious blood of Christ, many prisoners of Satan have been set at liberty from the horrible pit in which they must otherwise have perished, without hope or comfort. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Zechariah 9.9-17

Pray Psalm 33.6-17.
Pray that God will deliver you from all fear of men and what they might do. Ask Him to keep you focused on His plans and promises, and rejoice in His sovereign rule and care.

Sing Psalm 33.6-17
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God spoke and heaven came to be, and all its hosts His Spirit wrought.
He heaps the waters of the sea; the deeps their dwelling place are taught.

Let all below now fear the Lord; let all in awe of Him abide!
The worlds exist by Jesus’ Word; let all on earth in Him confide.

He nullifies the nations’ plans; forever stands His sov’reign Word.
All they are blessed who with Him stand—the chosen people of the Lord.

God from His throne looks down on men; He knows our works and made our hearts.
Let not Your Church, let none depend on strength or skill or human arts.

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.