Malachi - God’s Messenger

 

Malachi 1

Malachi 1:1 The word of the Lord through His messenger. God has lots of messengers. Our challenge is to discern true from fake messengers, to get His message for us, not for someone else, unless He calls us to give a specific message to someone. But we are always called to share the good news about Jesus.

Malachi 1:2-5 Why did God love Jacob and hate Esau? Going back to their young adulthood, Esau despised his birthright as the firstborn son of Isaac, and sold it for a bowl of stew. (Genesis 25:32-34) This was long before Isaac deceived Jacob to receive the blessing Jacob intended for Esau. (Genesis 27) This blessing was not just a material inheritance. Jacob recognized and wanted the blessing of God on his life. He later became rich through his own labor, not inheritance of wealth. But it was wanting God’s spiritual blessing that caused the Lord to love him. Paul later quoted these verses (Malachi 1:2-3) in the context of talking about God’s sovereign choices, not based on human considerations (such as birth order) but on loving those who seek Him and His will.  (Romans 9:13)

When we see the turbulence in our lives, it is hard to figure out how to reconcile God’s sovereignty with our free will amid all the chaos. There is a metaphor in fluid mechanics that I think helps us grasp this. Laminar fluid flow is predictable based on initial conditions and boundary conditions. The equations that apply for low Reynolds numbers have deterministic solutions. Turbulent flow, which occurs for high Reynolds’s numbers, is not predictable in this sense. The solutions are not stable, so that a microscopic difference in the initial conditions can grow into a downstream result that is totally different on a macro scale. This produces, among other things, tornados and hurricanes.  But there is a caveat! The boundary conditions of a turbulent fluid flow still constrain it in total. It cannot generate energy beyond what is there. Even a nuclear weapon, whose energy release grows exponentially, eventually reaches a limit which ultimately sets its yield. Hurricanes and tornados cannot exceed magnitude 5, which has a defined upper bound on wind speed. And they pass, leaving destruction in their wake, but not to return until another storm system comes through. 

So in God’s economy, everyone has free will, to choose good or bad, obedience or disobedience. Each child is born tabula rasa, but his or her life is at first formed by their caregivers. When they reach childhood they are taught, and when they reach adolescence they question everything. As adults they choose how they will live. An evil person like Hitler or the antichrist can attempt to control the world, but in the end they will fail, although bringing great suffering to humanity. Even in eternity, it appears this dynamic plays out. The watchers, the fallen angels assigned by God to protect humanity, rebelled. But in the end, God is supreme.

Malachi 1:6-9 The priests showed contempt for God by offering the damaged animals to Him, keeping the valuable ones for themselves, in direct violation of Mosaic law. (Leviticus 1:3)  Where did they get the lame or diseased animals? From the Israelites who brought them. The priests were entitled to keep certain of the offerings brought by the people, but they were still responsible before God. The point being that we face a similar choice. Do we give God our goods grudgingly, go through religious rituals, but our hearts are elsewhere? Do we go to church to seek His blessing or His face?  

Malachi 1:10-11 God’s name is great and will be praised from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same. (Psalm 113:3) 

Malachi 1:12-14 The Lord’s table has a different meaning in our day, based on the Last Supper. (Luke 22:14-20) The sacraments of the church are seen by the world as just rituals to remind us of past events, but we must be careful to respect the spiritual realities that are present.  (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) The Lord’s name is feared among the nations. (Psalms 47:2, 76:12, 96:4) We should even more respect the recognition of the reality of His shed blood, represented by and present in the communion elements, in our worship.

The pagan nations fear God because of His power, and keep their distance because of His holiness. Believers draw close to God because of His love, but we must still respect His holiness. God reconciled His holiness and His love with us through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. That is the reason we must respect His table.

Malachi 2

Malachi 2:1-9 The responsibility that comes with being a priest. This passage contrasts an example of a good priest, Levi - Jacob’s son, with the priests of Malachi’s day. The Lord blessed Levi with a covenant of peace because he reverenced Him. But the Lord put a generational curse on the priests who do not honor Him, by (spiritually speaking) spreading manure on their faces. What is the standard of behavior? The priest is the messenger (Malachi) of the Lord and should speak knowledge of Him, and live out an example of His ways - the covenant of peace with Him.

Jesus, our high priest, did this perfectly, as He was tempted as we are, but did not sin, (Hebrews 4:14-15) We should therefore draw near to Him, to break the generational curse for ourselves and our descendants.

Malachi 2:10-16 Marriage is used repeatedly in both the Old and New Testament as a parable for the relationship between The Lord and His people. In this context, Malachi identifies two specific issues where the peoples’ lives fall so far short of His standard that His name and reputation are sullied. Some of the major themes throughout the Bible that paint the picture:

• In Joshua, the Israelites rescue Rahab the harlot from a degrading pagan life, and Salmon marries her, bringing her into the ancestry of Jesus.  In Ruth, Ruth goes to Israel with her mother-in-law where Boaz marries her and rescues her from poverty and brings her into the lineage of Jesus. (Matthew 1:5)
• Psalm 45 celebrates the king’s marriage, explicitly calling out the King whose throne endures forever.
• The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s graphically portrays the love between a king and his bride. 
• Isaiah 61:10 likens God’s clothing of His people with righteousness to wedding garments.
• Jeremiah 3 likens Israel’s idolatry to adultery, as God pleads with Israel to return  to Him.
• In Hosea 1:2-11, the prophet marries a prostitute as a picture of God’s redemption of an unfaithful  people, still He does not desert them.
• Matthew 22:1-14 is a parable about the king throwing a wedding banquet for His Son, to emphasize how God views the responses of people to His invitation.
• In 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Paul exhorts believers to flee sexual immorality because their bodies are in dwelt by the Holy Spirit.
• Ephesians 5:25-30 explicitly calls out marriage as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church.
• Revelation 21:2 & 9-10 The New Jerusalem comes from heaven as a bride, the wife of the Lamb.

Based on God’s view of marriage as a picture of His relationship to His people, He is very unhappy with two behaviors of the people in Malachi’s time who were dishonoring their wives. Our lives should exemplify His life  in us.

Malachi 2:10-12 One example of breaking God’s covenant - marrying unbelievers. But these weren’t just women who lacked faith, these were women who worshipped false gods. (Ezra 9:1-2)  Paul concludes his instructions on marriage with the exhortation to marry another believer. (1 Corinthians 7:39-40) 

Malachi 2:13-16 Another transgression is divorce. The Lord does not mince words. He will not respond to prayers that come from a person who breaks the marriage covenant. That man who divorces the wife he married when young does violence to her spirit. This high standard is repeated by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, and again later. (Matthew 5:31-32, 19:1-9) Solomon had offered the joy and blessing that is available in faithfulness to the wife of one’s youth. (Proverbs 5:18) Question to contemplate - when our relationship with God is destroyed by divorce, is it because He treats us as we treated our ex-wife, or is it because we turn from Him in doing so? 

Malachi 2:17 Malachi now turns to a message that strikes directly at the doctrine of cheap grace; relying on a theology of being saved without growing in faith and obedience wearies the Lord. (Galatians 2:16; Philippians 2:12) Faith without works is dead.  (James 2:14-26)  

Malachi 3

Malachi 3:1 Since Malachi means “my messenger”, one might think this refers to a time coming soon, but subsequently it becomes clear that the messenger God is talking about is not the author of this epistle. The Lord is the messenger of the covenant, who will come to His temple. This was fulfilled by Jesus during the incarnation. (Luke 2:21-24;  Matthew 21:12-17) What will His second coming look like?

Malachi 3:2-4 Who can stand when He appears? He will refine and purify His people. He will baptize His people with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Luke 3:16) The refining process is described in multiple places. (See, for example, the notes on Zechariah 13:7-9.) God is going to glorify Himself by making us what He wants us to be. But we have a role - we have to respond to His work.

Malachi 3:5 The judgment to come will include the Lord testifying about seven categories of sin. (Matthew 25:31; James 1:27)

• Sorcery (Deuteronomy 18:10-24)
• Adultery (Exodus 20:14)
• Perjury  (Exodus 20:16)
• Defrauding laborers  (Leviticus 19:13)
• Oppressing widows  (Exodus 22:22; Psalm 68:5)
• Oppressing the fatherless (Exodus 22:22; Psalm 68:5) 
• Depriving immigrants of justice  (Exodus 22:21-24; Hebrews 13:2)

The root cause of sin is lack of reverence for God. It is challenging that different political groups focus on different sins and divine commands. Some focus  on personal sins of commission. Others focus on social behaviors. This plays out in politics in which some focus on things like adultery and homosexuality and such, which are personal sins that contaminate society. Others focus on treatment of the downtrodden of society - the poor, day laborers, widows and orphans, migrants. What is the role of the individual vs. government vs. NGO’s in dealing with assisting the downtrodden? It appears that God has a holistic view. However we do it or don’t do it, we are responsible.

Malachi 3:6-7 The Lord does not change because He is outside of time - He created time. He has not turned from Israel, they had turned from Him. He calls them to turn back to Him.

Malachi 3:8-12 A specific offense in an oft-quoted passage. Jesus never spoke about tithing. Modern churches seem to lack the ability to not speak about it. But, focusing on the heart, Jesus commended the poor widow who put two cents in the offering box. (Mark 12:41-44) The promise is there in Malachi, and God is as good as His word. It is, to my knowledge, the only place that God invites us to test Him. (Numbers 14:22; Psalm 95:8- 9; Matthew 22:18; Hebrews 3:9) The  true blessing is not financial but spiritual. Having peace with God, fellowship with Him, experiencing His love and enjoying His presence. These are not for sale based on paying a 10% income tax. These require a deeper commitment - it’s just that we can’t express that deep commitment if we refuse the simple, shallow steps.

Malachi 3:13-15 As a corollary, if they tithe and God doesn’t provide exactly the material blessing they expect, they whine. This is not well-received by the Lord. It is a test of faith that every believer faces, when bad things happen to good people and prayers aren’t answered. What if we tithe and aren’t financially blessed? Will we speak arrogantly against God? The challenge that God faces is to get us to have a deeper level of faith and knowledge of Him. Will we recognize God’s hand on our earthly circumstances? Jesus never sinned and He died on the cross as a criminal. Will we follow Him where He leads us?

Malachi 3:16-18 Those who feared the Lord wrote a list of those who feared and honored Him. Perhaps not the first church membership roster, but this one focused on genuine faith. 

Malachi 4

Malachi 4:1 The coming day of judgment is a common theme in Scripture. In 3:2 it was referred to as a refiner’s fire, but here it is a consuming fire, not like silver is refined, but like wastewood that is consumed. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not consumed in the fiery furnace because they were loyal to God unto death. (Daniel 3:19-27) In the parables of the weeds and of the net, Jesus warned of a day when everyone who is wicked or causes sin will be thrown into a blazing furnace. (Matthew 13:42,50) 

Malachi 4:2-3 By contrast, the sun of righteousness will rise to bring healing to those who who revere His name, and they will trample under their feet the wicked. The will frolic like calves freed from a stall. Jesus said that the righteous will shine like the sun in His Father’s kingdom. (Matthew 13:43)

Malachi 4:4 The Lord admonishes us to remember and be very careful about the law that He gave Moses on Mount Sinai. (Part of Mount Horeb - Deuteronomy 4:15, 5:2) We must remember that although the gospel transcends the law of Moses, it does not repeal it. The gospel, and the working of the Holy Spirit, enable us to live out a holy and loving life, which will ultimately bring blessing. The blessing does not come through legalistic Phariseeism, it comes through receiving Jesus and His blessing of forgiveness of and freedom from sin.

Malachi 4:5-6 Elijah was carried into heaven in a chariot of fire and wind (2 Kings 2:11-12), did not die, and the implication here is that he will return. John the Baptist is identified with Elijah, by the angel who spoke to Elizabeth (Luke 1:17). His ministry fulfills this description. (Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:3-18) Speaking of reconciling children and parents raises the question of why this was, is, and will be necessary. Moses commanded children to respect and honor their parents. (Exodus 20:12) Paul told children to obey their parents, and parents to nurture their children. (Ephesians 4:1-4) Moses laid out the alternative of a blessing or a curse, if people heeded God’s law or not. (Deuteronomy 11:26-29). Peter warned about accursed children. (2 Peter 2:14) In our day, adolescent questioning often leads to rebellion and rejection of basic values of righteousness, whether denying they are right, or simply rejecting them. John the Baptist did not say they needed to be convinced, he told them to experience God through a baptism of repentance. Adolescent questioning can lead to genuine encounters with God.

And this is where the Old Testament ends. Then there were centuries of silence until the Incarnation. While young people need to understand God and His ways, ultimately they need to experience His presence and respond to Him. Jesus had to come, in person, not just to teach, but to show through example and through personal interaction, and ultimately through sacrificial death, the nature and character of God, that we are invited to partake of.

Zechariah 9-14

 Zechariah 9:1-4 Lands to the north of Israel will be judged. Damascus continues to exist to this day, and figured significantly in the New Testament in the process of evangelizing the gentiles. Tyre, on the other hand, once was significant in Israel’s history as Hiram had provided resources for Solomon to build the temple. But in Ezekiel 26 we read of Tyre’s complete destruction, which Alexander the Great carried out in 332 BC. 

Zechariah 9:5-8 The land of the Philistines, modern-day Palestine, will also be judged, but not totally destroyed. Mongrel people is speaking an insult, in that day, half breeds who were the result of being overrun. In our day, people of mixed race are seen as just other people, we have websites to help people figure out the geographic origin of their ancestors based on DNA. In this context, the reference to the Jebusites speaks of Israel’s conquest of Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 11:4-5) but failure to eradicate them as God had originally commanded Joshua. The modern day inhabitants of Palestine continue to share in that curse, living in poverty, constant warfare, ruthless and evil leaders who pretend to care for them for the sake of power and prestige. God promises peace and prosperity to Israel, but not in the way they expect….

Zechariah 9:9-11 The One who will rule from sea to sea and proclaim peace to the nations will enter Jerusalem meekly, riding on the colt of a donkey. This passage is quoted in the New Testament in describing Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. (Matthew 21:5, John 12:25) Jesus’ way of bringing peace is not an overpowering army of soldiers, but the power of His blood to overcome sin. He will release prisoners from the pit of hades through His blood, preaching the good news to them. (1 Peter 4:6)

Zechariah 9:11-13 Jesus will enable prisoners of sin who hope in Him to return to life with Him. The warriors of His kingdom will defeat Greek philosophy and religious worship of false gods  with the Sword of the Spirit, the rhema of God. (Ephesians 6:17)

Zechariah 9:14-17 When the day of reckoning arrives, the Lord will appear in the sky. The angel of the Lord will give a trumpet blast. (Matthew 24:30-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16) The Lord will shield His servants from the flaming darts of the evil one when they put their faith in Him. (Ephesians 6:16) The glory of the crown will be the people He has saved and transformed. (1 Thessalonians 2:19)

Zechariah 10

Zechariah 10:1 The Lord gives generously - rain and crops - to everyone.

Zechariah 10:2-3 Idols and diviners speak lies and deceive people with comfort in vain. The Lord’s anger burns against the supposed shepherds who lead people astray. This is expressed elsewhere. (Jeremiah 23:1; Ezekiel 34:2) The truth that is in the law of Moses provides enough insight into life that people can live good, healthy, and productive lives. The lies that bad shepherds tell result in people having distorted understanding of what God and eternity look like and are like, to dream about things that don’t exist or are impossible, and to be comfortable in their sins. These things ruin their lives, in fact, ruin society as a whole. (Look at the world we live in now!) The Lord Himself will shepherd His flock. (John 10:11-14) Whether the ruin that  accepted sin causes flows from cause and effect or from God’s rejection of the actions, the end result is the same.

Zechariah 10:4-5 The cornerstone of a society built on a firm foundation is coming. (Psalm 118:22-23; Isaiah 28:16; Matthew 21:42) Those He shepherds, who build their lives on this cornerstone, will be mighty warriors in the spiritual war against evil, and they and He will prevail. (Ephesians 6:10-17)

Zechariah 10:6-12 A further elaboration on how the children of God will be restored, both geographically and spiritually. The Lord scattered them to teach them a lesson. (Lamentations 5:16-21) Zechariah speaks the Lord’s words that He will indeed restore them and deal with those nations that mistreat them. This message is timeless. Even today, the nations that respect and honor Jews (who, even though they have not accepted Jesus are still God’s chosen people)  are blessed, and those who don’t are cursed. And this goes beyond Jews to Christians as well. Nations where Christians are persecuted are cursed  - economically, politically, socially. It is the choice that Satan made, better to reign in hell than serve in heaven. (John Milton, Paradise Lost) 

It is both a principle of life and eternity and a maxim that can be verified by life and history, that lives that are built on overcoming and persevering through incredible trials are those which matter most in the long run, that accomplish sustained values that outlive them. Those whose lives are easy, for whom everything goes smoothly, end up living comfortably, however long they live, but leave no enduring works of value.

Zechariah 11

Zechariah 11:1-3 A warning to the nations immediately north and east of Israel. The shepherds will mourn because their trees, pastures, and thickets are ruined.

Zechariah 11:4-6 Shepherds who sell all their sheep will seem temporarily rich, but they have no long-term flock. No one will rescue them in the day of trouble. They have no allies and nothing of value to offer. This is the outcome of the worldly mindset that focuses only on short-term riches.

Zechariah 11:7-9 It is not clear whether Zechariah is speaking on his own or is speaking for the Lord, in taking over as the head shepherd. The two staffs for shepherding are intriguing:

• Favor, Strong’s H5276, can mean agreeable, beauty, delight, pleasantness. It suggests shepherding sheep by offering them easy and pleasant life circumstances. The rewards of obeying God are blessings.
• Union, Strong’s H2256, refers to a cord, rope or union or company. However, it can also mean pain, sorrow, or destruction. Later context favors the former interpretation. He shepherds by forming cords of unity so that the flock stays and moves together.

However, he fired three under-shepherds in a month. It seems that then the chief shepherd tired of shepherding the sheep (rebellious? unwilling to be led?), so he (or He) said to let them fend for themselves and face the consequences.

Zechariah 11:10-13 Zechariah broke the staff called Favor, signifying the revoking of God’s covenant with the nations. He resigned and said to pay him or not for his month’s labor, as seemed best to them. (Presumably said to the owners of the sheep.) So he received thirty pieces of silver which he threw into the potter at the Lord’s house. Saying that this was the price at which they valued him foreshadows the price that Judas was paid for betraying Jesus. (Matthew 26:16, 27:3&9) In that case, the blood money was used to buy a field for burying the poor.

Zechariah 11:14-17 Zechariah then broke the staff called union signifying the breakage of the family bond between Israel and Judah. Back in Genesis they were father and son, but in Zechariah’s day they were two nations, Judah consisting of two tribes and Israel the other ten. The significance of this was that God would raise up a foolish shepherd who would not bother caring for the sheep, but would simply eat them. But then a woe is pronounced on this worthless shepherd, His arm and his right eye would be struck with a sword. (see also  Jeremiah 23:1) In the time of the end, there will be a head of a world nation represented by a beast who will suffer similar judgment. (Revelation 13:3 & 12) Some see this passage in Zechariah as a foreshadowing of certain aspects of the antichrist in the end times.

Zechariah 12

Zechariah 12:1-5 Invoking the very creation of the heavens and the earth, and of humankind, Zechariah declares that this creator-God will defeat Jerusalem’s enemies. When He does this, all Jews will recognize Him as the one who makes those dwelling in Jerusalem strong. The gathering of all nations against Jerusalem speaks of the end times, as later described by both Jesus and John. (Luke 21:20 & 24; Revelation 20:8)

Zechariah 12:5-9 A further description of the role of the clans of Judah in this conflict. They will join in with the residents of Jerusalem in this war. As the Lord protects Jerusalem, their homes and villages will also be protected, and they will destroy by fire those who surround them. Thus the Lord will destroy all who attack Jerusalem. (As also in 14:12) In our day, we see most recently the attack by Hamas on Israel October 7, 2023, which led to a war which essentially destroyed the entire Gaza Strip. This is perhaps only a foretaste of what will happen at the end times, when all of the nations that oppose Israel will suffer a similar fate. They will start the war, but the Lord God will finish it, using Judah (modern Israel) as His tool.

Zechariah 12:10-13 That particular day, when the Lord empowers Judah to utterly destroy their enemies, will be accompanied by the visible return of Jesus, the one that the Jews had crucified thousands of years earlier. They will see Him and mourn that they did not recognize Him and hence mistreated Him. He is the uniquely-begotten Son of God and they will mourn over how they treated Him, His death. (Isaiah 53:5; Revelation 1:7) 

Four specific family clans are identified, tracing back to various origins, most likely to give a picture of the breadth of the family clans of the Jews that will join in this mourning, to include their wives: the house of David, the kingly line; the house of Nathan, the prophetic line;  the house of Levi, the priestly line; and the house of Shimei. 

Shimei seems an odd family patriarch to be mentioned, as his appearance in history was first when he threw stones and dirt on David to mock David’s apparent downfall caused by Absalom. (2 Samuel 16:5-14) Later he repented and was granted legal protection while David was alive (2 Samuel 19:16-23); but later, on his deathbed, David charged Solomon to get revenge, which he ultimately did. (1 Kings 2:8-9, 36-46) Who do Shimei and his clan represent? Possibly it is those people who have up-and-down faith. Sometimes they are scornful of God’s chosen people, sometimes they recognize His hand on them, and sometimes they are just careless about following up on promises. In the end times, they too will see Jesus and mourn over their treatment of Him.

Zechariah 13

Zechariah 13:1 Jesus promised rivers of living water that would bubble up from inside the innermost being of believers. (John 7:37-38) In John’s later revelation, one of the elders tells him that the Lamb will lead those who come out of the tribulation to springs of living water. (Revelation 7:17)

Zechariah 13:2-6 There seem to be more than one possible interpretation of the prophets described here. Most common interpretation is that it refers to the false prophets of Israel, who lied and claimed to speak for the Lord, but were really inspired by Satan. They will recognize when they are fingered by their parents that they must deny any claim to prophetic utterance lest they be put to death. This would be the case if they prophesied lies, things inconsistent with God’s word, His nature, and his character. 

An alternative interpretation might be that Jesus came to banish idolatry. But His followers would not be accepted so this passage is paraphrasing the accusations made against His people, who will humbly deny any prophetic ministry, claiming only to be tilling spiritual soil, perhaps with the words of Jesus Himself. Every believer in Christ has direct access to God through the Holy Spirit and therefore the church would not have need of prophetic gifts  given to only a few. But then the reference to the wounds given in a friends’ house would seem to refer to Jesus. (John 20:20-27)

Zechariah 13:7-9 Reference to striking the shepherd is clearly messianic as Jesus quoted this verse at the Last Supper just before He was arrested. (Matthew 26:31; Mark 14:27)  It is unclear what the perishing of two-thirds means, whether it is that the majority of those who believe in Jesus will die a martyr’s death (Revelation 7:9-17), or that a majority of those who are presented the gospel will reject it, as perhaps was the case of the Jews in the first century. Refining of believers like silver and gold is a frequent theme in Scripture. (Psalm 66:10; Malachi 3:3; Revelation 3:18) 

 There seem to be four different ways to view bad things happening. 

1. The result of cause and effect. Sinful acts carry within them the basic consequences. Sexual immorality leads to unwanted pregnancy and venereal diseases. Lying and stealing lead to social ostracism and rejection since no one will trust them. Murder leads to being punished by the government, or else revenge being sought by the victim’s relatives. At its worst, widespread immorality leads to social collapse and anarchy. One does not need to believe in God to see this relationship.
2. The judgment of God. In the case of Israel, after they repeatedly flouted Him and His commands, He let them be carried into exile to learn their lesson.  He sent prophets to speak to them, warn them, and call them to repent. This theme is repeatedly repeated in both the books of history, the books of the prophets, and the writings of Psalms and Proverbs, probably the majority of the Old Testament. The Jews of Jesus’ day believed this, for example in the question the disciples asked about the man born blind. (John 9:1-2) Job’s “comforters” took it for granted. (Job 4:7-8)
3. Refining fire, the formation of spiritual character in a person. As in the passages above in Zechariah, the Lord is making us into the person He has planned for us, which may involve troubles that are not based on any of our own actions. He wants us to exhibit love and forgiveness and joy in the presence of others who do wrong. This is a hard road, but saints through the ages testify to this. God is not just disciplining us for our faults, He is building virtues into us. 
4. The transcendent glory of God. In the story of the man born blind, Jesus response is that this happened so that God’s glory could be revealed. (John 9:3-4ff). The Incarnation, what God’s inscrutable nature and character, His power and glory, look like in human form, was revealed for all to see.  As Paul quoted Isaiah, eye has not seen and ear has not heard, nor has it entered the human heart, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. (Isaiah 64:4, 1 Corinthians 2:9) When Job finally saw God, he had the same reaction. (Job 42:2-3)

When bad things happen, especially when there are unanswered prayers, it is a test of our faith, our trust in God, which of these viewpoints we take. 

Zechariah 14

Zechariah 14:1 The day of the Lord is coming for Jerusalem. At first this    seems odd because this book is believed to have been written circa 520-470 BC, while Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC. Of course, Jerusalem was also destroyed in 70 AD. However, the context of the rest of this chapter point to an end-times event. In reading this description, we should be motivated to live every day as though this might happen today.

Zechariah 14:2-5 The terrors inflicted on Jerusalem by invaders is countered by the arrival of the Lord, who will create a new valley for them to flee through when He arrives with His holy ones. This event is referred to elsewhere by Zechariah (12:3, 14:14-16) and also in the New Testament. (Luke 21:24, Revelation 14:20, 20:7-9) Before this event the gospel will be preached to all nations, so the nations that gather against Jerusalem will have heard the gospel, and rejected it. (Matthew 24:14)

Zechariah 14:6-7 The arrival of the Lord will fundamentally change the structure of day and night. There will be light from the Lord and hence no night. (Revelation 21:23, 22:5)

Zechariah 14:8 Living water will flow both east and west, and bring life to the Dead Sea. (Revelation 7:17, 22:1)

Zechariah 14:9 Jesus will rule the whole earth.  (Revelation 12:5)

Zechariah 14:10-11 Jerusalem will be secure.

Zechariah 14:12-15 The plague inflicted on the nations gathered who attack Jerusalem sounds very much like the effects of a nuclear weapon. (Revelation 20:10) Invading armies attacking one another has precedent, notably during the reign of Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 20:22-23) 

Zechariah 14:16-19 The surviving nations will come to Jerusalem every year to celebrate Succoth, the festival of tabernacles. This is the last of the annual feasts prescribed in the Mosaic law. (Leviticus 23:33-43) Just as Passover foreshadowed Calvary, and the feast of weeks foreshadowed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the feast of booths foreshadows the ultimate privilege of the nations coming before Jesus every year to worship in His presence.

Zechariah 14:20-21 Almost as an afterthought, the details of holiness will reach to every pot in Jerusalem, and no unclean or rebellious person will enter the house of the Lord.