Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20090405.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Zechariah: Paving The Path Toward A Blessed Future
Part I: Motivating God's People To Use Every Opportunity To Do His Will
(Zechariah 1:1-6 with Haggai 2:1-9)
  1. Introduction
    1. We all at times suffer the temptation to view our lives as a long string of repetitive acts in a long stream of repetitive days, a view that can easily sabotage our motivation to remain faithful to doing God's will.
    2. Zechariah 1:1-6 in its historical context reveals how important it is for us to use every opportunity we have to do God's will, a sure antidote to the temptation to become lax in our service for God (as follows):
  2. Motivating God's People To Use Every Opportunity To Do His Will, Zech. 1:1-6 with Hag. 2:1-9.
    1. Zechariah along with Haggai ministered to the returned Hebrew exiles to encourage them at the work of rebuilding the temple after the Babylonian Captivity, cf. Ezra 5:1-2.
    2. Thus, to appreciate the Zechariah 1:1-6 message, we view it in its historical context as follows:
      1. The Zechariah 1:1-6 message was given in the eighth month of the second year of Persia's king Darius (Zechariah 1:1) was delivered to Israel's returned exiles a few weeks after Haggai's Haggai 2:1-9 message, cf. Haggai 1:1; 2:1; Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, p. 1546.
      2. We recall from our study of Haggai's prophecy that the Haggai 2:1-9 message was given a month after the people had heeded Haggai's call to return to rebuild the temple, cf. Haggai 2:1 with 1:7-8, 12-15.
      3. That Haggai 2:1-9 message had been directed to keep the people encouraged in a positive way to continue what they had started to do in view of the discouragement they faced in seeing their current rebuilding efforts seemed humanly so inferior to the grand former temple of Solomon, cf. Hag. 2:2-3.
      4. Haggai's antidote for Israel's discouragement was his call to trust God would greatly bless their rebuilding effort regardless of their humanly inferior and thus seemingly futile effort, Haggai 2:4-9.
    3. Zechariah 1:1-6 then added to Haggai's message, but not from the positive angle, but from the negative one to warn of a loss of God's blessing were the people to not to continue with their rebuilding work:
      1. Coming weeks after Haggai's call for Israel to be encouraged to keep rebuilding the temple, Zechariah 1:1-2 negatively WARNED the people of God's wrath in their forefathers for their failure to obey Him that had led to the Babylonian destruction! For people working on rebuilding from the COLOSSAL RUINS of the past BABYLONIAN INVASION, this WARNING would have had GREAT IMPACT!
      2. Thus, God used Zechariah to call the people to turn to the Lord with their hearts in TRUTH for God's blessing that they not end up as did their forefathers in divine discipline , Zechariah 1:3-4.
      3. Lest they be tempted to lose motivation from the daily labor of sorting through the rubble of toppled, broken and charred stones to rebuild the temple, God reminded them they had no time to waste, 1:5:
        1. Zechariah reminded the workers that their fathers were transitory, that they no longer lived, 1:5a.
        2. He noted that God's prophets who had ministered to their forefathers no longer lived, either, 1:5b.
        3. Thus, they did not have time to waste in not keeping at the work of God by doing other things especially if they expected to see God's blessing in their lives, Zechariah 1:5c!
      4. Indeed, though Israel's forefathers and God's prophetic messengers to the fathers had passed away, the Word of God those former prophets had proclaimed had nevertheless been FULFILLED , words on God's judgment on the wayward forefathers, Zechariah 1:6a.
      5. In fact, Zechariah reported that the forefathers themselves who survived the Babylonian invasion had testified God's Word had overtaken them to put them under a state of divine discipline, Zechariah 1:6b.
Lesson: Where Haggai 2:1-9 had POSITIVELY sought to ENCOURAGE the people of God to keep busy with God's assignment for BLESSING, Zechariah 1:1-6 that came a few weeks after Haggai 2:1-9 was given NEGATIVELY to WARN Israel to KEEP MOTIVATED to REBUILD the temple from its ruins LEST God DISCIPLINE them as He had the FOREFATHERS as EVIDENCED by the colossal RUINS from which the people were reconstructing the temple!

Application: May we NOT ONLY be ENCOURAGED to HEED God's WILL, but be WARNED of His DISCIPLINE for NOT doing so, for life is short, and opportunities for God's blessing are limited!