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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy
word.
Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. I
asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered
Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”
Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. I asked, “What
are these coming to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so
that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them
and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the
land of Judah to scatter its people.”
Zechariah 1:18-21
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks
be to God.
In the closing verses of
Zechariah, chapter one, we find he prophet having his second of eight visions
found in this book.
What were the particulars of
the vision?
Look again at today’s passage
to see:
Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. I asked the
angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”
He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and
Jerusalem.”
Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. I asked, “What are these coming
to do?”
He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one
could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw
down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of
Judah to scatter its people.” Zechariah
1:18-21
How would you handle a dream
where you looked up and saw four horns?
Maybe you would do as
Zechariah did and ask the Lord what it all meant.
Before we go much further, it’s
important to note that this isn’t the only place we see the imagery of horns in
the scriptures.
Daniel had a vision of a beast
which had ten horns and a smaller horn that emerged at the same time (Daniel
7:7-24). He would have another vision involving horns on a goat and ram (Daniel
8:3-22).
Fast forward to Revelation and
you will find John describing a vision he had where a Lamb who looked as if it
had been slain was sporting seven horns (Revelation 5:6). Visions involving
horns would become a common sight for John as we find in Revelation, chapters
9, 12, 13, and 17.
So what do the horns
represent?
The symbology was centered on
the matter of power and strength, in this case the power and strength of
nations who had opposed and scattered Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem. It is widely
thought that the four horns seen by Zechariah represented Egypt, Assyria,
Babylon, and Persia.
Yes, these horns (nations) had
used their might to attack and devastate the land God had given to His people,
taking away the Israelites into captivity, but note that they would be no match
for the clout and authority of God who would turn judgment back around to the
very nations who He used as instruments of judgment prior.
In other words, the enemies of
the Israelites would all end up dehorned by the Lord.
We know this because in
Zechariah’s vision we find the Lord sending “craftsmen” to “terrify” and “throw
down” the “horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of
Judah”. These four craftsmen are considered to be Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and
Greece who each came to defeat a nation and assume power as an empire. Other
bible translations substitute “workers with hammers” or “blacksmiths” which
lends itself to the imagery of God’s appointed workers pounding Israel’s
enemies into submission.
The point God’s word is trying
to make here is that all of Israel’s enemies were eventually defeated. In fact,
none of the opponents of God’s beloved nation ever persevered.
Perhaps nations who would
choose to oppose Israel should remember this today. For the threats of Iran to
obliterate and annihilate Israel, wiping it off the face of the earth, are
laughable at best. If we don’t know it by now, God will protect and watch over
His chosen people. It was true in Zechariah’s time and it’s still true today.
Any nation who tries to rise
up against the Lord’s cherished nation and its people will find it dehorned in
a hurry. You can rest assured of that.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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