Zechariah foretold of the peaceful nature of the reign of Christ when he wrote of how God would “cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off” (9:10a).  God wanted the prophet to let the Jews know that their Messiah would “speak peace to the nations” (9:10b). Christians, do we understand what this means?… Read More Zechariah: The Peaceful, Universal Reign of the Messiah

Remember, God had not commanded these fasts.  The Jews had come up with their observance completely of their own accord.  They commemorated the coming of the Babylonian army (the tenth month – 2 Kings 25:1), the breach the Babylonians made in Jerusalem’s wall (the fourth month – Jer. 39:2), the burning of the temple (the fifth month – 2 Kings 25:8), and the killing of Gedaliah (the seventh month – 2 Kings 25:25).  God wanted them to observe them no longer.  Now they were commanded to feast instead of fast, and to do so with joy, gladness, and cheerfulness, loving truth and peace.  Their joy would motivate those in the cities around them to serve the Lord as well (8:20-23).… Read More Zechariah: An Old Testament Lesson About New Testament Joy