Zechariah 8:1-8 - Blessings

This chapter consists of ten promises of blessing, each prefaced by the phrase “This is what the Lord says”. 

The first one states that God is a jealous God and is burning with jealousy for Zion. Remember that the Ten Commandments state that God is a jealous God. This has two consequences, one is that it is a most serious sin when we trust in something or someone else, or worship something or someone else. The other, and the one that is most pertinent here, is that God is passionate for His people.

Next (v3) God promises to return to Jerusalem. He will dwell there again and the city, instead of being a place of reproach, will be called the city of truth and the Holy Mountain. Now note that it implies that He has not yet done this, even though the Jews had returned to Jerusalem. The state of Judaism after the return is sometimes called “second temple Judaisim”, and there was a recognition that the promises had not yet been fulfilled, they were not yet really free. Of course, this is precisely what Jesus said when He declared that they were slaves to sin. 

Verse 4 speaks of a time when both young and old live happily in the city. When trouble and war come, these normalities of life quickly vanish and seem very precious. We should never despise the ordinary things of life.

Verse 6 poses a question. This state of affairs may seem marvellous to the people of the time, but will it seem marvellous to God? Why does He pose this question? We see things from the perspective of how something suits us, but how something suits God is actually much more important. Earlier visions had talked of God ranging through the earth and either His spirit finding peace, or His being angry because the nations were at peace.

Verse 7 states the constant refrain of the OT, “they will be my people and I will be their God”. He will also bring them from the east and west to make this happen. We need to understand that God acts in order to bring about His plans. The whole of the Bible shows that God acts. Jeremiah shows that God acts in judgement on sin, but He also acts to bring restoration. Yet so often we think and live as though God does not act.