Beulah Baptist Church Rev. Jerry D. Black, Pastor Sunday School Lesson May 10th, 2020 Rev. Mark A. Seals, M.Div., Instructor/Teacher Lesson: Peace and Justice Reign Text: Zechariah 8:1-8; 11-17 I. Aim for Change By the end of the lesson, we will: COMPREHEND the impact of God’s presence in a community, YEARN for God’s perpetual presence and the promise of justice it brings, and PRAY for God’s presence to result in a communal sense of justice, prosperity, and unity. In Focus: Christin and Michael had just completed the construction of a storm room at their residence when a tornado hit and destroyed their home. After emerging from the storm, they desired to find family pictures, and Michael’s wedding ring which he removed to work on the storm room. After pausing for prayer, they were able to find family pictures, but not Michael’s ring. They concluded the picture was a reminder of God’s mercy and His blessings. Key Verse— (Zechariah 8:15 KJV) So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. II. People Places and Times Zechariah was one of the 12 minor prophets. His writings are contemporaries of Haggai, right before the rebuilding of the temple work was begun by Ezra and Nehemiah. This period would mark the beginning of the transition to the Hellenistic period. Zechariah, prophesying from 520BC to 480BC, promised them a Messiah and a return to the glorious days of King David. III. Background Zechariah prophesied during the years when the first group of returning captives from Babylon began arriving back in Jerusalem. Ezra tells us that soon after the remnant Jews arrived in Jerusalem, they embarked on the work of restoring the Temple, starting with the altar (Ezra 3). When the work on the Temple waned due to the lack of energy, interest and resources, Israel settled in their nice homes while the House of God remained in ruins. (Haggai 1:3-5). Zechariah’s word’s of prophecy and encouragement began the resumption of the building of the Temple. The Lesson At-A-Glance… ➢ God is Jealous for Judah (Zechariah 8:1-2) ➢ God will Restore Judah (vv. 3-8, 11-12) ➢ Judah must Return to God (vv. 13-17) Page | 1 IV. In Depth with More Light on the Text In today’s lesson summary, as opposed to going verse by verse in bringing light on the text, there is a more cohesive manner in which to approach our text today. This approach will call for looking at what the lesson points out as “Seven Oracles” of God in the lesson text. It is through these seven oracles that the message of our lesson illuminates even brighter. The Seven (7) Oracles of God in Zechariah 8:1-8; 11-17 i. Oracle #1—Zec 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. The presence of the latter prophets and their message clearly communicated God’s continued and steadfast love for Judah, once again emphasizing His jealousy for them. Jehovah’s jealousy is a well-known and documented fact. Jehovah was always known to be a jealous God whose possessiveness and extreme intolerance to idols often expressed themselves in anger. The first of the ten commandments essentially states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me…for I the LORD am a jealous God (Ex. 20:3, 5). Repeatedly, the Lord threatens to punish Israel if provoked to anger (Deut. 6:15; Jos. 24:19; Ezek. 39:25; Nah. 1:2). In the past, God’s judgment was directed at Judah, but here it is directed towards those nations who took advantage of Judah when God punished them. This oracle declares that God will act on Zion’s behalf and protect her from the surrounding nations that threaten her welfare. ii. Oracle #2--Zec 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. Earlier, Ezekiel revealed that the Lord left both the Temple and Jerusalem, allowing the city to be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek. 10:18-19; 11:22-23). The Lord now promises not just to return to Zion, but also to dwell among God’s people in Jerusalem. The city will be renamed city of truth, and with the name change comes the change of character (truth and faithfulness are the new names). iii. Oracle #3—Zec 8:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. This oracle implies that life will return to an unbelievable normalcy; there will be large growing families, meaning there will be a blessing of fertility in the people and the land. Peace will reign once again and because of the presence of the Lord there will be no need to be concerned about safety or security. iv. Oracle #4—Zec 8:6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? Saith the LORD of hosts. The oracles of God were so wonderful to this point that they were practically unbelievable, thus the people deemed them to be marvellous. In this context marvellous referred to things that are remarkable or difficult, and by extension, a miracle of God. God’s retort to their finding these events hard to believe is, ‘Is anything too hard for the Lord? (Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:27)’ Zechariah had prophesied earlier that these things would happen, and that they would Page | 2 happen only by the will of God, “Zec 4:6 …not by power, nor by might, but by the spirit of the Lord.” v. Oracle #5—Zec 8:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. In this oracle, the prophet makes a four-fold promise to God’s people 1. The Lord will save his people from the east and the west 2. The Lord will bring His people back to Jerusalem where they will dwell, 3. The Lord will be their God and they will be the Lord’s people, and 4. All this will happen in truth and righteousness These matters are more than a promise but a declaration, hence the word “behold”, translated “Look at me”. It is likely the phrase “east and west” means the land of the sun’s rising and setting. The promise, that the Lord would be their God (and they His people) is no new iteration (Gen. 17:8; Ex. 6:7; Jer. 24:7; Ezek. 11:20). vi. Oracle #6—Zec 8:14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not: Zec 8:15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. The Lord continues to make promises to the remnants: things would change for Israel now that the Temple is being rebuilt and worship is being restored. The Lord is reversing the economic depression that has made life difficult for the remnant. vii. Oracle #7—Zec 8:16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: 17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD. Here the Lord is reaffirming His desire and the purpose to bless Israel. However, they must put their unwavering faith and trust in Him. Also, the Lord places some ethical requirements upon the people. They are to be truthful, just to one another, not devise evil against one’s neighbor and seek to live at peace with one another. Liberating Lesson & Application for Activation—see Sunday School book Vocabulary-New Words • Hellenistic: relating to Greek history, language, and culture from the death of Alexander the Great to the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony by Octavian in 31 bc. During this period Greek culture flourished, spreading through the Mediterranean and into the Near East and Asia and centering on Alexandria in Egypt • Oracle: A person considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinions. b. An authoritative or wise statement or prediction. A command or revelation from God. • Iteration: doing or saying again; a repeated performance repeating, repetition - the act of doing or performing again Page | 3 .