Week of 3/3-3/9: Scattered - Further Restoration Awaited

Day Two: Zechariah 8:1-8 The word of the LORD of Hosts came: “The LORD of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” The LORD says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, the mountain of the LORD of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain.” The LORD of Hosts says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” The LORD of Hosts says this: “Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?”—the declaration of the LORD of Hosts. The LORD of Hosts says this: “I will save My people from the land of the east and the land of the west. I will bring them [back] to live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

THERE IS NOTHING MORE FUN and nothing more regretful than telling a child the plans about an exciting trip in advance. There is nothing more fun because you get the pleasure of watching their excited reaction. There is nothing more regretful because you have to listen to the questions over and over and over again: “Is it time for us to go yet? When are we going on our trip?”

Telling a child they are going to Disneyland during the summer will cause them to live in constant expectancy of the trip. They are always checking how close is it to being time. How long will it take us to get there? Can we go visit the castle when we are there? And so on and so on the questions go.

This can be quite annoying for a parent. But the kid is living in the light of a promise that the parent has made them. They are living in anticipation of the parent’s promise coming true and becoming a reality.

This is the situation in which the people of God found themselves in Zechariah 8. God has promised that He will be their God and they will be His people. He is going to live among them in Jerusalem and give them peace. The people of Israel, who had experienced exile and trials, lived in light of this promise. Believers today, while often living in turmoil and strife, look to the day of the fulfilled promise of God. God promises us that there is a day coming that He will live with us, in the new heavens and new earth, and we will dwell in perfect peace.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

▷▷What are some of God’s promises to man?

▷▷How do we learn about the promises God makes to us?

▷▷How do those promises impact the way we live our lives?