“The LORD said to Satan, “‘The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”’
~ Zechariah 3:2
Hi James and Ellen,
When you have a dream, do you remember what you dreamed? A vision is like a dream – except more real. Zechariah on the night of February 15, 519 B.C. had eight different, troubling visions. Zechariah was one of God’s prophet spokesmen to His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals. Zechariah lived during the time when God’s temple was being rebuilt in Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries of Zechariah. Ezra and Nehemiah both mentioned Zechariah in the missives that they wrote that go by their names. Zechariah over 2500 years ago was a popular name. Zechariah means Yahweh Remembers. Yahweh means Lord. It may be that mas gave the name Zechariah to their newborn baby boys because they were really glad that the Lord had a boy born to them. This Zechariah who had a night filled with visions included each vision that he had in the account that he wrote which now goes by his name. Zechariah came from a family of priests. Zechariah was born in Babylonia. Zechariah’s granddad took Zechariah to Jerusalem with him when he and a group of Jews were allowed to go to Jerusalem from Babylonia. Jew was another name for God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids. Jews had been living for almost seventy years as exiles in Babylonia. Zerubbabel led the first troupe of God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids to Jerusalem from Babylonia. A responsibility that Zechariah seems to have had as one of the spiritual leaders who was in the group of guys, gals and kids who went 2540 years ago to Jerusalem from Babylonia was to encourage God’s specially chosen guys to rebuild God’s temple that was in Jerusalem. Zechariah probably was a young guy. Zechariah did not use strong words to try to get God’s specially chosen guys to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem; Zechariah used kind words to try to influence God’s specially chosen guys to want to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. Zechariah knew that God had something very special ahead for His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in Jerusalem and in the land of Judah; he just did not know when.
Zechariah knew that God had something very special ahead for His specially chosen guys and gals because God told him on the night that was filled with visions that He was going to do something special one day for His specially chosen guys and gals. In Zechariah 3 is the fourth vision that Zechariah had that night of visions. Guys and gals today sometimes think that they have received a vision from God but . . . your grandpaa believes that God now only gives guys, gals and kids dreams when they are sleeping. For a guy to be given 2500 years ago a vision from God was to have God speaking directly to the guy about something. Zechariah in his fourth vision saw something that would happen about 550 years later on a day that is now known as Good Friday. Good Friday is the day that has been remembered from the day that it happened – which was the day when an incarnated guy sacrificed His life on two crossed wooden beams for all of His specially elected guys, gals and kids. Zechariah saw in his fourth vision a high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The high priest who Zechariah saw in his fourth vision was Joshua. Joshua was another popular name 2500 years ago. The name Joshua can be spelled other ways – such as Jeshua and Jesus. Ezra and Nehemiah both wrote about a Jeshua in their recorded accounts. Jesus was the name given to the incarnated guy who died for your sins while cruelly nailed to two crossed wooden beams. Joshua or Jeshua or Jesus all mean the Lord saves. In the fourth vision that Zechariah had, Zechariah saw Satan also standing next to Joshua as Joshua stood before the Lord. Zechariah recounts in verse 2 God’s interaction with Satan “The LORD said to Satan, “‘The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”’ The Joshua who Zechariah saw in the fourth vision that God gave to him was a guy from the Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids – God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids. The burning stick were God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids who were living as exiles in Babylonia. God was snatching His specially chosen guys, gals and kids from captivity and placing them back in the land that He had promised them that they would always have as their very own land in which to live. God had Joshua (one of God’s specially chosen guys) take off his filthy clothes (sins) and God put on him a rich garment and a clean turban (salvation). This would all take place when God the Father sent a seven eyed stone (the Messiah or His Son – Jesus Christ) to planet Earth to die for His specially chosen and elected guys and gals to have everyone of their sins ransomed and removed on that one unforgettable day. After that unforgettable day – a Friday, that took place about 550 years later, every guy, gal or kid who makes a decision of faith believing that his or her sins have been ransomed by Jesus’ suffering and death while bound and nailed to two crossed wooden beams – and who sense an innate desire to invite their neighbors to make that same decision of faith, will sit under vines and fig trees (live lives of peace, security and contentment).
Have you made a decision of faith believing that your sins have been ransomed by Jesus’ suffering and death for you on two crossed wooden beams? God had Zechariah tell His specially chosen guys and gals who had trekked to Jerusalem after having lived as exiles in Babylonia for years that God was going to send a Someone to ultimately save them. The most important bit of knowledge that you will ever need to know during your planet Earth tenure is that the Someone Who Zechariah heard about and saw in his fourth vision did come to planet Earth 2000 years ago and that you can unconditionally accept that Jesus did. If you have Jesus in your lives, every day will be a good day.
Zechariah 3 (300)