REVIVAL

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to Me?” declares the Lord Almighty.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save My people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be My people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.

Zechariah 8:1-11

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Israel and Judah were a wasteland, looted and left in ruin, deserted and desolate. Such was the aftermath of God’s judgment on His people after their willing and willful sinfulness, a sinfulness that included the worship of false gods and idols, an act detestable to God, an act that ignited His wrath and punishment.

Included in the destruction of Judah was the holy city of Jerusalem, the main city within God’s holy land, the city where God’s temple once stood. I say once stood because even God’s sacred house of worship was not spared during the Babylonian onslaught. And as it was brought down and reduced to rubble, God’s presence departed with it.

This is where things stood for seventy years, the time period God imposed for His penalty.

Well, the seventy years ended and the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians. This ushered in God’s plan to allow His people to return home to rebuild their nation, their homes, their relationship with Him, and, as you would imagine, His holy temple. You’ll recall that this book named after the prophet Zechariah was set during this post-exile period as a remnant of Israelites returned back to Israel to reestablish themselves as God’s people and a big part of that reestablishing would take place in a newly constructed, revived Jerusalem which sets the stage for the opening eleven verses of Zechariah 8. Look at those again here:

The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to Me?” declares the Lord Almighty.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save My people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be My people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.  Zechariah 8:1-11

As we have seen in other parts of this book, Zechariah receives words from “the Lord Almighty” and in this message we find God giving His prophet the following assurance:

“I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”

Jerusalem was going to be restored to the stature it held before the Babylonian invasion and it all was going to happen because the Lord was going to “return to Zion” and “dwell in Jerusalem” within the newly rebuilt temple, a temple God ordered Israel’s governor, Zerubbabel, to construct.

What would life within the revived Jerusalem look like?

We find the Lord painting the following picture for His people:

“Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

It’s beautiful imagery that projected life, peace, happiness and vitality, no matter the age, a place the Israelites were eager to live in after seventy years of oppressive living in a foreign land under the auspice of the Babylonians.

But the Lord wasn’t finished. In fact, He promised even more, vowing to:

“…save My people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be My people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”

Friends, that’s a snapshot at what restoration and revival through God looks like. For even after a period of time where He sentenced His people to suffer consequences for their wicked disobedience, God still loved His people to where He wanted them to once again be His people and He their God. After all, He Himself professed:

“I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

Today, nothing has changed regarding God’s beloved Jerusalem and the Israelites. He still loves them and burns with jealousy over them. And He still abides with His people, just as He will for all time.

Now take this picture of God’s desire to restore and revive His holy city and His chosen people and apply it to the lives of anyone of His children now. For God still longs for all of His children to open up the temple of their hearts so that He could once again reside inside, eliminating iniquity while restoring and reviving their souls to a place of peace, joy, and vigor, to a life one can have when they come back to God and enter into His favor again.

It’s this life that I pray for you today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com