Zech. 1-4
What a fantastic book, Zechariah is! I don’t understand all of the visions by any means, but the message of hope and renewal is unmistakable. He prophesied of the coming of Jesus and the salvation of the nations. Through Zechariah, God gave us the image of our salvation. The vision where Satan accused Joshua, the high priest, who stood before God in filthy garments is quite poignant. God rebuked Satan and made Joshua clean. What an image!
One of my favorite verses in the whole book, though, is Zechariah 2:13. “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He has roused Himself from His holy dwelling.” Doesn’t that just put a sense of reverent anticipation in you!? God is patient. So patient that we ask, “How long?” We look around and wonder why and how God puts up with all the evil that we see. But there will come a day when He is patient no longer. God WILL have His day and He WILL have His way. Where will we land when that day comes?
3 John 1
Here is another familiar story – another demonstration of human nature and how some things never change. I imagine that this man, Diotrephes, is part of the reason that John wrote these three letters. I don’t know who Diotrephes was or what his role in the church was, but it seems he was in a position of leadership. It also seems that he was exactly the kind of leader that the apostles were continually warning against. Diotrephes clearly did not understand leadership in the Kingdom of God, as Jesus described and demonstrated it.
John said that Diotrephes liked to put himself first, did not acknowledge the authority of the apostles, and would put out of the church any who did not agree with his way of thinking. This is the familiar part of this story. Far too many people want to be in charge so they can feel important and set things how they want them to be. Like Diotrephes, they exercise the authority of their ‘important’ position to eliminate any who do not think like they do or go along with what they want. Even a blind man can see this behavior all over the place these days. And we expect it from those who are of the world, because it is human nature. But it has no place in the church. This is why John was trying so hard to help believers understand that true Godly love does not serve self.