Session 8 A Refined People The judgment of God scatters the deceiver and sanctifies the righteous. ZECHARIAH 13:1-9 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. 2 On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the © 2015Date LifeWay of My Bible Study:_________ 77 land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies. 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’ 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’ 7 “Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. 9 This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ” Observe all the figures of speech in this passage that depict God’s activity of making His people holy. (Example: v. 1—washing under a fountain of water) 78 Explore the Bible | Personal© 2015 LifeWayStudy Guide MEMORY VERSE Zechariah 13:9a FIRST THOUGHTS Gold! Just saying the word can strike deep feelings in people. On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall, the operator of a sawmill in Coloma, California, spotted a few shiny flakes of a substance in the mill’s water channel. When word of his find got out, it set off the mass migration of nearly 300,000 fortune seekers known as the “California Gold Rush.” Ironically, neither Marshall nor John Sutter, the mill’s owner and namesake, ever profited from the discovery. What thoughts come to your mind when you see or handle gold? What properties, or characteristics, of gold do people value most? You’ve probably heard the well-known saying that “all that glitters is not gold.”1 Likewise, all that is gold is not pure gold; in fact, most is not. Gold coins and jewelry often contain up to 10 percent of other alloys. Much of the gold extracted from the ground is only about 85 percent pure. It has to be smelted and refined to remove impurities. The prophet Zechariah thought deeply about the refining process in his day. He was among the Jewish exiles who had returned from Babylon to the promised land in the late sixth century B.C. They had been given the rare opportunity to restore the city of Jerusalem and to rebuild the Lord’s temple. But Zechariah saw that the Lord was doing much more in his day than merely rebuilding walls and buildings. The Lord was refining His people by removing their idolatry, cleansing their hearts, and testing their faith. What’s more, the Lord’s refining work in Zechariah’s day foreshadowed an eternal treasure to come. Jesus Christ, through His atoning death and victorious resurrection, provided a salvation that is more precious than the purest gold (see 1 Pet. 1:3-9). © 2015 LifeWay Session 8: A Refined People 79 KEY DOCTRINE: Sanctification Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT ZECHARIAH 13:1–14:21 Zechariah was one of the few writing prophets to include precise dates for his prophetic revelations and messages. The prophecies in chapters 1–8 are carefully dated within a two-year time frame in the reign of the Persian king, Darius I—that is, from 520–518 B.C. Chapters 9–14, however, contain no specific dates. Likely this is because the prophecies in those chapters concerned the distant future. To understand Zechariah’s context better, we need to recall that in 586 B.C. the Babylonians had conquered the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Babylonian army sacked Jerusalem, demolishing its walls and burning the temple, the king’s palace, and all the great houses of the city (see 2 Kings. 25:9-10). Many Israelites died. Some key city officials and religious leaders were executed (see 25:18-20). The poorest of the poor who escaped death were left to work the land, probably as slaves of the occupiers (see 25:12). The remainder of the Israelites who survived were led as captives to the land of Babylon. Many of them eked out an existence there for more than 50 years, although a few—Esther, Daniel, and Nehemiah, for example—rose to positions of great influence. When Cyrus the Great marched his Persian army into the city of Babylon in 539 B.C., it marked a new beginning for the Jewish exiles. Cyrus proclaimed a royal edict that allowed the Jews to return to the promised land and to rebuild the Lord’s temple (see Ezra 1:2- 4). Zechariah was among the exiles who returned. He and another prophet, Haggai, played key roles in motivating the discouraged returnees to complete the rebuilding of the temple (see Ezra 5:1-2). 80 Explore the Bible | Personal© 2015 LifeWayStudy Guide Zechariah’s prophecies point ultimately to the time when God, through His Son the Messiah, builds a different kind of temple. This KEY DOCTRINE: Sanctification temple will be a purified people, a holy sanctuary with Christ Jesus as Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the the Cornerstone. The entire household will be built for God’s dwelling believer is set apart to God, and is enabled to progress toward moral and in the Spirit (see Eph. 2:17-22). spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. EXPLORE THE TEXT UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT THE FOUNTAIN THAT CLEANSES (ZECH . 13:1-6) VERSE 1 ZECHARIAH 13:1–14:21 Prior to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., the prophet Jeremiah had Zechariah was one of the few writing prophets to include precise dates condemned the unfaithful Israelites. He declared that the covenant for his prophetic revelations and messages. The prophecies in chapters people had abandoned the Lord, who was their Fountain of living 1–8 are carefully dated within a two-year time frame in the reign water (see Jer. 2:13; 17:13). After the return from exile, the prophet of the Persian king, Darius I—that is, from 520–518 B.C. Chapters Zechariah prophesied a coming day when the Lord would install a 9–14, however, contain no specific dates. Likely this is because the new fountain in Jerusalem. This fountain would be open for all of prophecies in those chapters concerned the distant future. God’s people. For a discouraged city, Zechariah offered a stunning To understand Zechariah’s context better, we need to recall that vision of hope. in 586 B.C. the Babylonians had conquered the Southern Kingdom Israelites living in the semiarid environment of the Middle of Judah. The Babylonian army sacked Jerusalem, demolishing its East cherished a dependable fountain of fresh water as a treasure. walls and burning the temple, the king’s palace, and all the great However, the fountain that Zechariah described did more than houses of the city (see 2 Kings. 25:9-10). Many Israelites died. Some simply quench a person’s physical thirst. This fountain cleansed the key city officials and religious leaders were executed (see 25:18-20). people from their sin and impurity. The poorest of the poor who escaped death were left to work the land, Finding water that truly cleanses can be difficult. After Pontius probably as slaves of the occupiers (see 25:12). The remainder of the Pilate conceded to the crowd’s howls to crucify Jesus, the Roman Israelites who survived were led as captives to the land of Babylon. governor publicly washed his hands in an attempt to deny his guilt Many of them eked out an existence there for more than 50 years, (see Matt. 27:24). However, the stain remained even after the water although a few—Esther, Daniel, and Nehemiah, for example—rose to had dried. Zechariah prophesied of a fountain that forever cleanses positions of great influence. the stains of sin and guilt from the souls of God’s repentant people. When Cyrus the Great marched his Persian army into the city of Babylon in 539 B.C., it marked a new beginning for the Jewish VERSE 2 exiles. Cyrus proclaimed a royal edict that allowed the Jews to return Zechariah prophesied of a day when the Lord would remove idols, false to the promised land and to rebuild the Lord’s temple (see Ezra 1:2- prophets, and the unclean spirit from the land.