Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Zechariah 5:1-6:15

Theme: Zechariah’s last three vision

Date: 03/11/2017 File Name: MinorProphets16e.wpd

ID Number: 244

The prophet Zechariah was active towards the end of the 6th century BC, prophesying in Jerusalem after the return from the Babylonian Exile.

He was a Levite born in Babylon, and he was both a prophet and a priest.

His name means, Yahweh remembers.

He was a contemporary of Haggai the prophet, Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua the high priest.

As a young man, he returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with the first returnees, a smallish contingent of 50,000 souls.

As a young man, Zechariah is given a series of visions all in one night.

Come the morning, he must have been both exhilarated and exhausted.

In the opening verses, God confirmed that He was very angry with the forefathers of Israel who did not hearken to the words of the prophets, who were sent to call them to repentance.

However, even though God used Gentile nations to come up against Israel in judgment, He was even angrier with those Gentile nations because they went too far.

At this point, Zechariah received eight prophetic visions for Israel, which all follow the same pattern, i.e.,

• introductory words

• a description of the things seen

• a question, or series of questions, by Zechariah to the angel for the meaning

• the explanation by the angel

The first five visions were designed to bring comfort to God’s people.

The last three visions constitute a stern warning that the Holy One of Israel cannot tolerate evil in any form.

I. THE CURSE OF SIN: THE FLYING SCROLL (5:1-4)

“I looked again—and there before me was a flying scroll! 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”

I answered, “I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.” 3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished.

4 The LORD Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by my name.

It will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones.’

” (Zechariah 5:1–4, NIV84)

1. this is the sixth of the prophet’s eight visions

A. THE VISION

1. the word translated scroll literally means a role

a. the ancient world did not have books with separate pages as we know them

1) individual sheets of papyrus or parchment were attached to one another in long rolls with writing only on one side, and then wound on two spools to make a scroll

2) as a scroll is read it is unrolled from one side to the other

3) hand-written Torah Scrolls are still read in Jewish synagogues today

2. in his vision the scroll is flying, and as you can tell from its dimensions, is huge

a. the scroll is representative of the Word of God to His people, and thus scrolls containing the Jewish Scriptures were revered

1) the standard height of a Torah scroll is about 18 inches, and 148 feet in length

2) parchment used for the writing must be made from the skin of a kosher animal

3) the lettering of Torah scrolls — even modern ones — are hand-lettered with a turkey-quill pen, and a separate pen is used to write the name of God

a) no instrument containing iron or steel may be used in the creation of a Torah scroll, because these metals are used to create instruments of war

b) a full-sized Synagogue Torah Scroll can cost between $20-60,000, (depending on the quality)

4) it takes about 18 months to hand-letter a Jewish Torah scroll

a) even a single missing or misshapen letter, should one be discovered after the scroll is completed, invalidates the entire scroll

3. the dimensions of the scroll are the same as the dimensions as the Holy Place in the Tabernacle

a. while the Angel does not give any significance for these dimensions, most biblical scholars see it as the Old Testament version of 1 Peter 4:17 — that judgment must begin at the “house of God”

4. the scroll is also unrolled and written on both sides so that its contents can be clearly read

B. THE MEANING OF THE VISION

1. the interpreting angel indicated that the scroll symbolized the curse of God against sinners in Israel

a. if the remnant of Jews who have returned to Judea have any wonder why God would have allowed them to be exiled from their land for 70 years here is the answer

b.

God is keeping His Covenant promises

2. the law of Moses taught that those who kept the law would prosper; those who broke it would meet with disaster

a. God’s word stipulates judgment and punishment for those who ignore what that word commands

b.

Israel reaped what it sowed

3. sin always has devastating, and far reaching consequences for individuals, and nations

a. the curse that the scroll represents is going to affect the entire land

b. when Israel was on the brink of entering the Promised Land Moses offered this warning

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”

(Deuteronomy 11:26–28, NIV84)

1) specific blessings for Israel’s faithfulness included national prosperity, fruitfulness, victory over enemies, rain, and a special relationship with God

2) specific curses for Israel’s unfaithfulness included economic austerity, lack of fruitfulness, disease, drought, plagues on crops, defeat by their enemies and exile

4. only two specific sins are mentioned in the passage —stealing on one side of the scroll, and swearing on the other, but they signify the breaking of the whole Law

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.”

(James 2:10, NIV84)

a. the result is that no sinner will escape the wrath of God’s curse poured out against sin

II.

WICKEDNESS AND ITS REMOVAL: A WOMAN IN A BASKET (5:5-11)

“Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is appearing.”

6 I asked, “What is it?”

He replied, “It is a measuring basket.”

And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.”

7 Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman!

8 He said, “This is wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed the lead cover down over its mouth.

9 Then I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings!

They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth.

10 “Where are they taking the basket?”

I asked the angel who was speaking to me.

11 He replied, “To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it.

When it is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

(Zechariah 5:5–11, NIV84)

A. THE VISION

1. in this vision, Zechariah saw an ephah, which is a measuring basket for grain and other household commodities

a. a measuring basket is an apt symbol of Israel’s sin because one of the repeated sins of Israel the many prophets railed against was unscrupulous people who used dishonest weights and measures to deceive unwary buyers

1) ancient Israel truly was a Caveat Emptor society

2. when the lid is lifted, inside the basket sat a woman, and the angel tells Zechariah that the woman personifies wickedness

a. the implication seems to be that when the lid is lifted to allow the Prophet to see what is inside that the woman attempts to emerge

1) the word pushed indicates a struggle of some kind

2) but the angel pushed the wickedness back into the basket and shut the lid (v.

8)

b. the basket’s cover is a lid of solid lead weighing approximately 70 pounds!

3. finally, the Prophet sees two more women each having wings like storks who whisk the basket away to Shinar which was the Old Testament name for Babylonia

B. THE MEANING OF THE VISION

1. the basket represented the iniquity of the people throughout the land (v. 6)

a. sin is pervasive; it affects everyone and everything

ILLUS.

In Shakespear’s play MacBeth, Lady MacBeth goads her husband into committing suicide so that she can become Queen of Scotland.

Suffering pangs of guilt Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking through the castle, and imagines the blood of her husband on her hands at which point she exclaims, “Out, damned spot.”

Sin is the “damned spot” that will not wash out of a sinner’s life.

b. the ephah was the largest dry measure that Israel had, and may well mean that Israel’s iniquity has reached its full measure

1) in essence, God is saying “I’ve had enough of your sin”

2. that it is a woman in the basket is not meant to suggest that women are wicked