This is Sunday evening, February 3, 1974, in Richmond, Virginia. Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kahn.
Lord, as we confess Thee as our Lord, so far as we know we need it, and it is only Thou who can make it real. So we just commit ourselves to Thee for tonight. We do want Thee to be Lord—Lord over all.
Probably we will just read a portion of the Word of God, and then we will start to see how far we can go. Will you please turn to the book of Zechariah, chapter 1, the first six verses?
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,
The Lord was sore displeased with your fathers.
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Return unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Return ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto Me, saith the Lord.
Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever?
But My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? And they turned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.
We have been fellowshipping these days, especially on this matter of the recovery of the testimony. This is typified in the Old Testament in the return of the remnant of the Jews from captivity—the return from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of God, and later on, to rebuild the wall of the city.
These historical books, such as Ezra and Nehemiah, give us the background of how the testimony of God was to be restored on earth through these two rebuildings: the house and the wall.
Of course, we know the Lord is doing a work of recovery today. He is recovering the testimony of Jesus on this earth through His people. But for the testimony of Jesus to be recovered, two things have to be restored.
One is the rebuilding of the house. In other words, our life with God together as His house must be restored. We are living stones, being built up together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This has to be restored—not only our individual lives with God, but our corporate life: our life together with God as His house, as a people, to worship, to serve Him, and to satisfy His heart. This has to be recovered and restored among God’s people.
And, of course, the walls of Jerusalem must be rebuilt.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
That has to be restored, that we may truly be a testimony to this world: that we are one, that we love one another, and that we are built up together as one.
In connection with these two historical books, Ezra and Nehemiah, we find prophetic books in the Old Testament which are closely related to the history of the recovery. These are Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Last time we fellowshipped together on the book of Haggai. Haggai, whose name means “festive” or “festival,” was most likely an old man. He saw the temple built by Solomon and destroyed by Babylon.
In his old age, God raised him up as a prophet to speak for God. How God used him to touch the conscience of the remnant and urge them to consider their ways before God!
How could they dwell in their own houses and leave the house of God in ruins? They said, “This is not the time to build the house of God.” So God said, “Is it time for you to build your own houses? Consider your ways.”
Why is it that you are so frustrated? Why is it that you are never satisfied? Why is it that you sow much and reap little? You eat much, but you are still hungry. You drink, and you are not satisfied. You clothe yourselves, but you never get warm. You earn wages, but the wages fall into a bag with holes. Why?
Because your priority is wrong. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. If you reverse the order, nothing will satisfy.
Thank God for the prophetic ministry of Haggai. The remnant rose up as one man to put their hands to rebuilding the house of God. Haggai began to prophesy in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius.
Then, in the eighth month, another man was raised up. We know Haggai as an old man. He spoke very little, only a few times, and very briefly. The whole period of his prophecy lasted only about four months, and yet the impact upon the remnant was tremendous.
But now there was another man. His name was Zechariah. Zechariah was a young man.
By the mouth of two witnesses or three every word shall be established.
God not only raised up Haggai as one of His prophets, but at the same time God raised up Zechariah to confirm and strengthen what Haggai had prophesied. By the witness of two—and later on, three, with Malachi—every word was established.
The wonderful thing was that there was an old man, probably in his nineties, to be God’s prophet; then God raised up a young man. We do not know exactly how young he was, probably in his early twenties.
God combined these two men together to help, encourage, and strengthen the hands of the remnant in rebuilding the house. There was no generation gap here. The old and the young were together as one in the work of God.
How do we know that Zechariah was a young man? Because you find in the second chapter, “Run, speak to this young man.” If he was a young man at the time he began to prophesy, then very likely when he returned from captivity he was just a child.
When he began to prophesy, it was after the remnant had returned for perhaps sixteen or seventeen years. So probably he came back with his grandfather and his father from Babylon to Jerusalem when he was just a child. Some people even think he was an infant when he came back.
His grandfather was Iddo. Of course, you know from Nehemiah 12 that Iddo was a Levite, a priest. He came back with Zerubbabel and Joshua in the first group that returned from Babylon.
Sometimes Zechariah was called the son of Iddo; sometimes he was called the son of Berechiah. Most probably his father, Berechiah, died early, so he was brought up by his grandfather. According to the Jewish way, for that reason he was sometimes called the son of Iddo. Anyway, he came from a priestly family.
Before he ministered in the temple—which was yet to be built—God called him to be a prophet. After the temple was finished, he served in the temple because he came from a priestly family. But before he served as a priest in the temple of God, God called him to be a prophet. He began to prophesy when he was a young man.
How wonderful that this young man was raised up by God. Probably we would think God would take an old man to be a prophet, because an old man has many years behind him and many experiences before God. Surely God can use such a mature person. But how could a young man be used by God as a prophet?
God has no respect of age. As long as He can find a heart exercised before Him, He can use that person.
This old man, Haggai, had seen the old temple, the temple built by Solomon. When he saw the temple in ruins and not being built, how he must have labored before God! There must have been an agony of soul and much prayer from his heart, asking God to revive the hearts of the remnant so that they might work.
Because he was so exercised before God, God chose him to be His messenger. The same principle applied to this young man. Even though Zechariah had never seen the temple built by Solomon, he did not look back. He could not, because he had not seen the past.
But he was a young lad when he came back, full of hope that there would be a temple as a testimony of God on earth. When he saw the older people—his fathers, his uncles, and those of the older generation—busily occupied in building their own houses while leaving the house of God in ruins, this young man was exercised before God.
He did not look back, but he looked forward. As he looked forward, he was anxious and concerned that the temple might be built. He must have been before the Lord.
I wonder if, as a lad, he was among those young ones when the foundation of the temple was laid. You remember, the remnant came back, and in the second year they laid the foundation of the house.
When the foundation was laid, do you know what happened? The old men wept. They had seen the temple built by Solomon, and when they saw only the foundation, they wept with tears.
The young ones had never seen the temple built by Solomon, but when they saw the foundation laid, they shouted with joy. I wonder if this lad was among those who shouted.
Young people can be carried away by enthusiasm very easily. He may have been one of those little children running around, shouting and praising because the foundation was laid. But nothing was built upon it. The foundation had been laid, but nothing was built.
The young lad grew up and wondered, “What happened? What happened?”
He had a life with God. This young man’s life was not superficial. He had a life with God, and he must have been exercised before God, looking forward that the temple might be built.
In many ways, Zechariah was like another one: Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called by God when he was young. When the call of God came to him, Jeremiah said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.”
Jeremiah came from a priestly family too. Jeremiah was a priest, but he was also a prophet. Here you find Zechariah, who also was a priest and a prophet, called by God while very young.
But there was a difference. Jeremiah lived during the time of the end of the nation of Judah, before the captivity and during the captivity. In view of what was going to happen, he warned the people and called them to repentance. His heart ran out, and he wept much. He was a weeping prophet.
But Zechariah lived during the time of recovery. He looked forward to see the temple of the Lord. Shall we say he was a hopeful prophet? He was a prophet of hope, not of despair.
His hope, of course, was in God. This is the only place where you can put your hope. Do not put your hope in yourself; you will be disappointed. Do not put your hope in man; you will be disappointed. But if we put our hope in God, He will not disappoint us.
So Zechariah was sometimes called the prophet of hope. Being a young man, he was full of imagination. Again I say, if imagination is sanctified, God can use it.
Haggai, as an old man, spoke very briefly. But Zechariah saw visions. He spoke a great deal.
In another way, Zechariah was like another young man in the New Testament. I believe you know who he is: John the apostle.
John was a man who was so intense and utter before the Lord. He knew nothing of in-between. To him, there was no such thing as gray; it was either black or white. With John, he was always absolute. He always went back to the beginning, and he always looked forward to the ultimate consummation.
If you read his Gospel, his epistles, and Revelation, you will know that. No compromise—utter for the Lord. John was a man full of imagination too, and through John God gave us the Apocalypse, the Revelation, in the New Testament. Some people say that through Zechariah God gave us the apocalypse of the Old Testament.
These two are very similar. But anyway, you find here a young man whose heart was toward the Lord, who was interested in the things of God, and who was occupied and burdened with concern.
Haggai began to prophesy in the sixth month of the second year of King Darius. Through his prophesying, Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the remnant were quickened in their spirit. They rose up, and by the end of the sixth month they began to rebuild.
In the seventh month, after a month of laboring on the rebuilding of the temple, the Word of God came to Haggai again to encourage them:
Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? And how do ye see it now? Is it not in your eyes as nothing?
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts.
The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith the Lord of hosts.
Haggai prophesied even to the day when Messiah should come. Then, in the eighth month, Zechariah came in to prophesy.
Brothers and sisters, why do I mention these dates? Because they are important. In the sixth month of the second year of King Darius, Haggai began to prophesy. The remnant listened to the voice of God, and they began to rebuild.
When Zechariah began to prophesy in the eighth month, they had been working on the temple for about two months. Just think of this young man, whose heart was with the Lord and who was concerned about the rebuilding. Now he saw the remnant begin to work.
What would he feel at that time? Certainly, he would be rejoicing before the Lord. “Look here, these people have begun to rebuild the temple. Isn’t that marvelous? The Lord has answered my desire. The Lord is beginning to do a marvelous work with His people.”
Certainly, seeing these people working on the temple, this young man must have felt very happy about it.
But Zechariah was not superficial. Even though he may at one time have felt happy when the people began to work on the temple, as he was before the Lord, the Lord began to show him something.
The Word of the Lord came to him, and he began to prophesy. What was the message of the Lord to this people who had come back from Babylon, stopped the work, and now resumed the building of the temple?
It will surprise you. We might think that the message of the Lord to such a people would be, “I am very happy and satisfied with you.” But what was the Word of God to these people?
The Word of the Lord came to Zechariah, and the Word was:
Return unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
Isn’t that strange? If this word had been spoken to people who remained in Babylon, it would seem very fitting. If this word had been spoken to the remnant who returned but did not work on the temple, that would seem all right.
But here was a remnant who left Babylon, uprooted themselves from everything for God, and came back. Now they were really laboring in the building of the house, and yet the Word of God came to them and said, “Return unto Me.”
Had they not already returned? Yes, they had returned. They were no longer in Babylon; they were in Jerusalem. They had returned to build the house of God, and their hands were on the building.
Yet, brothers and sisters, the Word of God that came through Zechariah to the people was, “Return unto Me,” as if they still needed to return. Think of that.
Our God is a most thorough God. When He deals with us, He deals with us with such thoroughness. He will not leave any stone unturned. When He begins His work with us, He will see to it that it is done to the uttermost.
Of course, He wanted the people to come out of Babylon and return to Jerusalem—out of confusion, returning to simplicity; out of the complexity of this world, returning to the simplicity that is in Christ. Of course He wants us to do that.
Of course He calls us to rebuild the house, that we may be built up together as His house to offer spiritual sacrifices to Him. Surely He does. But He wants more.
You may return to Jerusalem as a position. You may put your hand to the building as a work. But have you returned to Him as a Person?
He is more interested in your relationship with Him than your relationship with a work or your relationship with a position. The position is correct. The work is right. But He Himself is more important than everything else.
He will never be satisfied until He knows that you have returned to Him. That is what matters.
I find something very strange in the Bible. Whenever a person really turns to God, it seems as if, before you turn to God, God is very gentle with you, very liberal with you. But the moment you begin to turn to God, immediately you find His hand becoming very heavy upon you.
Many things He will not say if you are away from Him. But when you come back to Him, He will begin to tell you. Strange, isn’t it? Why? Because He wants you. Because He loves you. Because He wants to have you completely. He wants your heart.
These people had resumed the work of building the temple. Everything outwardly looked fine. But God looked upon their hearts.
For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.
They had a heart for the Lord; otherwise they would not have returned. They had a heart for the Lord; otherwise they would not have resumed the work. But God saw that their heart was not whole, was not perfect. Because of that, God was not satisfied.
“Return unto Me. Return unto Me with a perfect heart. Do not be too much concerned about the work in your hand.”
That was what they were concerned with. “Now we are building this house, but it can never match the temple built by Solomon. Oh, this is just a small thing.” They were very much concerned with their work.
God says, “Do not be concerned with your work. That is My work. Be concerned with your heart. Give Me your heart. Return to Me, and I will return to you. There is no problem with the work.”
“Return unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.”
In this third verse, does this strike you? In a very short verse, three times it is said, “saith the Lord of hosts.” Three times you find that expression.
This Word, this message, is so earnest. He does not want His people to miss it. You may easily miss it because you think you are all right. The Lord says, “No, it is not all right. You have to return. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you.”
The people were wondering whether the Lord would return unto them, whether the Lord would begin to bless them. Even when they had labored on the temple for over a month, the drought was still there. The blessing of the Lord had not come, and they were wondering whether the blessing would come.
But the prophet said, “Do not worry about that. You do not need to worry about that. It is a matter of your heart. Return with a perfect heart that knows nothing but God Himself, and He will take care of everything else.”
Oh, brothers and sisters, how complicated we are! We are always concerned with this, troubled with that, thinking of this, feeling insecure about that, wondering and puzzling all the time.
Actually, there is a simplicity in Christ. Just return to the Lord with your whole heart, and He will take care of the rest. That is the message.
So, brothers and sisters, apply it to us today. Have we responded to the Lord in coming out of the complexity of this world and now standing on the ground of the simplicity of Christ?
Have we been stirred by His Spirit, as it were, to lay our hands on the building of the house of God? But the Lord looks further than these things.
There is a word for you from the Lord, especially for you who have returned and who are building the house. The word is, “Return unto Me,” and the Lord says, “I will return unto you.”
Then the prophet used the former generations as an illustration. Before the captivity, the children of Israel were in captivity for seventy years. By the time Zechariah prophesied, it was almost seventeen years afterward. So now the prophet pointed back to the days before the captivity.
He said, “Do you notice your fathers? Your fathers did not listen to Me. They would not return to Me. I sent prophets to them, and yet they would not listen to the voice of the prophets.”
We remember such prophets as Jeremiah, Amos, and others. God sent all these prophets to the children of Israel to warn them and to bid them return to God. They would not listen. What happened?
Those fathers had gone. Even the prophets did not live forever; they were gone. But the Word of God and His statutes—every word—were fulfilled in a tragic way.
So God said, “Do not be like your fathers. Do not harden your heart. Listen to the voice of God, and return completely to God.”
That is the message.
This word was spoken in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius. Then, upon the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, perhaps we should read from Zechariah 1:7-17.
Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, saying,
I saw in the night, and, behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white.
Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these are.
And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle-trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth; and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
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?
And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words, even comfortable words.
So the angel that talked 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.
And I am very sore displeased with the nations that are at ease; for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Therefore thus saith the Lord: I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.
Cry yet again, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
In the eleventh month of the same year, the Word of the Lord came to Zechariah again. Remember that Zechariah prophesied in the eighth month. In the ninth month, Haggai prophesied again, and that was a turning point.
Haggai prophesied, “From this day will I bless you.” Evidently, after Zechariah prophesied, their consciences were stirred up, and they really returned to the Lord with their whole heart. The result was that the Lord returned to them.
Now Zechariah began to prophesy in the eleventh month. Two more months had passed. This prophecy was a long one. Zechariah, in the night, saw a series of visions—eight altogether.
The Word of the Lord came to him in visions. During that one night, he saw continuously eight different visions, and all these visions were consecutive. In other words, one added to another. They gave us the whole picture of how the Lord was going to work His glory out among His people.
Tonight we will limit ourselves to just one: the first one.
Zechariah saw in a vision at night a low valley full of myrtle trees.
Some people think that this young man probably often went to such a place during the daytime. There might have been such a low valley full of myrtle trees, and perhaps he went there to meditate, commune with God, pray, and pour out his heart before God.
Because he did that in the daytime, perhaps in the night, having his mind occupied in such a way, the visions came. Well, that might be true. It may not necessarily be so, because it was a vision given to him by God.
Myrtle trees in the low valley. A valley, not mountains; myrtle trees, not cedars of Lebanon.
You know, when the Bible describes glory—the glory of the nation of Israel, or the glory and beauty of man—it uses the cedars of Lebanon. Many years ago I went to Lebanon. I went to see those cedars, and they were just majestic.
When the nation of Israel was in glory, they were like the cedars of Lebanon. But now this little remnant that returned was like myrtle trees in a low valley.
The Hebrew name of Esther is Hadassah, which means “myrtle.” Myrtle trees are small in comparison, lowly, and they usually grow beside waters. But they are very fragrant, very fragrant.
So the Bible uses this to describe the situation of the nation of Israel, as represented by the remnant before God. In the eyes of man, at that time, the remnant representing Israel was like myrtle trees in the low valley. They were very low in the sight of man.
Yet through the supply of the waters of the grace of God, they gave forth much fragrance. That is the picture.
Then he saw a man standing in the midst of the myrtle trees. This man was called the Angel of the Lord.
We know that in Old Testament times, whenever you find this term, “the Angel of the Lord,” He was very special. He was not merely one of the angelic beings. In the Old Testament, whenever you see the Angel of the Lord, it points to the second Person of the Trinity.
You remember Moses in the wilderness. He saw the burning bush, and the Angel of the Lord was in the burning bush.
A man was in the midst of the myrtle trees in the low valley: the Angel of the Lord. Think of it.
Even though Israel at that time was in such a low state—the government of this world had been taken away from them and given to the Gentiles—they were in a very low position. Yet the Lord condescended Himself to be in the midst of them. How comforting that must be!
We are but earthen vessels, but there is a treasure in the earthen vessel. Who are we? We are nothing in the eyes of men. The church of God is nothing in the eyes of the world. Those who stand for the testimony of Jesus are like myrtle trees in the low valley.
Yet it pleases the Lord to be in the midst. “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”
It may not be on mountaintops. It may not be of such stature that can be seen by the world. It may be hidden in the lowlands, like myrtle trees. But anything that answers, even a little, to God—there will be His presence. The Lord condescends Himself to dwell among this lowly people.
Then the vision continued. He saw a man riding a red horse, and behind that man there were red, sorrel, and white horses. In other words, there was a team of horsemen. They came before this Man who was in the midst of the myrtle trees.
The prophet was curious, so he asked the angel who stood by. Remember, this angel was the angel who spoke to the prophet. This angel was not the Angel of the Lord; he was the interpreter.
So he asked the angel, “What are these?” Many people try to figure out what these are. They say perhaps these are the four horsemen found in the book of Revelation, and so on. But what we do know is that this team of horsemen, represented by different colors, had been sent by the Lord to go through the whole earth and bring a report to the Lord.
This expression was not strange in the Old Testament. You remember in Genesis that one day God and two angels appeared to Abraham. Abraham treated them, and then he walked with them for a distance to see them off—just as friends do.
God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do?” You remember what God said. He said that the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah was great, and He had come down to see whether they had done altogether according to the cry that had come unto Him.
Of course, God knew everything. He did not need to investigate. He did not need to send someone to come back with a report. But these things are for our sake, that we may understand.
So the concept was not strange in the Old Testament. God sent out this team throughout the whole earth to see what was happening and to bring a report to the Lord.
These horses may represent different things. Red may represent war, and so on—famine, death, and things such as those you find in Matthew 24 and Revelation. But anyway, they were sent out to see the whole world and bring back their report.
The report was that the whole earth was at rest. During the time of King Darius, there was peace on the earth. There was calm and peace throughout the earth.
But when the Angel of the Lord heard that report, do you know what He did?
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?
The whole earth was at rest, but this remnant was struggling and wrestling in Jerusalem. The whole world was at ease, but those who really were interested in God had a very difficult time. Isn’t that strange?
Even today, how often it is true. The world seems prosperous. Worldly people seem to be at peace. Worldly Christians seem to have a good time. But those who really want to do the will of God, those who have given up everything for the Lord, seem always to be struggling and having a very difficult time.
Sometimes you wonder why. Why do those who do not know the Lord, and those who do not love the Lord, seem to have such a good time on this earth? And if you have some heart for the Lord, it seems that the Lord gives you such a difficult time.
Does that make you a little bit envious? Does it sometimes stir your flesh up? “Other people—why can’t I? Why should I be in such a way? Does God really know?”
Brothers and sisters, you do not need to ask for anything. Before you ask, Someone has already asked for you.
The Angel of the Lord took up that report. When He heard the report, He turned and said, “O Lord of hosts.” The Son is praying to the Father.
Here you find our Lord Jesus acting as the Intercessor. Oh, brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is in the midst of His people. As His people go through affliction, He is equally afflicted.
He takes up our cause. He pleads with the Father. He is our great High Priest. Even when He was on earth, you remember how He prayed for Peter.
Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat:
But I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren.
Now He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us. He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near unto God through Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord never sleeps nor slumbers. You do not need to feel envious at all. Even before you ask, He intercedes. He is there before the Father, pleading our cause.
He turns to the Father and says, “O Father, is that not enough? This people has suffered so much—seventy years of captivity. Is that not long enough? Will You not do something? Will You return to them in mercy?”
How can the Father reject the Son, or refuse the prayer of the Son? The Bible says that the Lord answered the angel that talked with Zechariah with good words, even comfortable words.
Immediately the answer of the Lord came, and the interpreting angel declared it: good words, comfortable words. What were the words that were so comforting?
Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
In the original, it says, “I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.” In other words, God did not begin to be jealous at that time. He had been jealous all the time.
Do you know that our God is a jealous God? Sometimes words have connotations for us that are unwarranted. Jealousy in itself is not necessarily wrong.
Hate in itself is not necessarily wrong. If we do not know how to hate, we have no capacity to love properly. We may think love is good but hate is bad. No. Love and hate can both be good or bad. If you love what you should not love, that is wrong. If you hate what you should hate, that is good.
It is the same thing with jealousy. It is an emotional expression. You remember when God gave the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, how He said, “I am a jealous God. Thou shalt not serve any other god.” Why? Because He is a jealous God.
In Exodus 34, He says, “The Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” That is His name. Our God is so jealous; He is a consuming fire.
Love is strong as death;
Jealousy is cruel as Sheol;
The flashes thereof are flashes of fire,
A very flame of the Lord.
Our God is a jealous God. Jealous for whom? The Lord said, “I have been jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.”
You are not jealous for anything that you do not value very much. Let people take away things you do not value; it is nothing to you. But if something is very dear to you, then you watch it with jealousy.
God has been jealous for Jerusalem. You remember in 2 Corinthians 11, Paul said:
I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
Why Jerusalem? Why was it destroyed? Why was the temple destroyed? Why were there seventy years of captivity? Was it because God did not love His people? No. It was because God was jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.
When Jerusalem and Zion did not meet His heart, they had to be disciplined. They had to be chastened, even destroyed for the time being, that they might return to God. That was the reason.
Because God was jealous over Jerusalem and Zion, He allowed His people to be taken into captivity as chastisement. But unfortunately, the nations that God raised up for the chastisement of His people lifted themselves up and said, “Aha! That is my opportunity.”
They helped forward the affliction of God’s people. God only wanted to chastise His people in order to bring them back. He used the nations to accomplish that purpose, but the nations did not know God. They went too far and oppressed God’s people beyond measure.
God said, “I am angry with these nations. They did too much. They did far more than I intended.” Brothers and sisters, is that not true? Oftentimes the world goes beyond what God wants them to do. They go too far—too far.
So God said, “I am still jealous. I am still jealous. Therefore, saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies.”
The same God who was jealous enough to allow His people to be taken into captivity was now jealous to return to His people with mercies.
My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem.
My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Oh, thank God for that. God will comfort His people.
Understand the hand of the Lord. If you understand, and if you submit yourself to the mighty hand of God, in due time He will exalt you. It is coming. It is coming.
Oh, brothers and sisters, if we only know how God is jealous for those whom He loves, we will understand what He is doing. We will not misunderstand Him.
He chastens those whom He loves, that we may be partakers of His divine nature. If we learn to submit ourselves under His mighty hand, He will return to us with mercy. He will build us together. He will yet choose us.
The prophet was comforted, and he was able to use these words to comfort the remnant, who were still struggling with difficulties.
So, dear brothers and sisters, in this vision he saw something very precious. Never judge everything by outward appearance. Outward appearance is very deceiving.
Go to the Lord. If the Lord opens your eyes, then you will begin to see how merciful He is, how good He is. Oh, may the Lord strengthen our lives.
Lord, Thou dost comfort Thy people. Lord, Thou dost choose to dwell with Thy people in their lowliness. Thou dost take up their cause and intercede for them.
Thou art jealous for Thy people. Thou wilt see to it that Thy city is inhabited and Thy house is built. Oh, how we praise Thee. It is all Thy doing.
We only pray that we may not be those who have a veil upon our eyes, who cannot see. O Lord, make us see, that we may worship Thee. Amen.