1:11,12
The horseman come back from their travels and have “found the world at rest and at peace”. The point of the vision here is that the Lord knows what is going on in the world. At this time the world is quite happy with the way things are. However, this raises a question. What about Jerusalem? The angel knows that the Lord has made promises to Jerusalem and Judah. Seventy or so years ago Jerusalem was destroyed, now some have returned, but things are still pretty terrible. The angel also knows that this has happened because of Judah’s sins against the Lord, the Lord was angry with Israel. So how can the fact of the promises, the fact of Israel’s sins, and the fact of God’s righteous anger be reconciled? It is only through the mercy of God.
1:13
“So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words”. When we have two or more apparently irreconcilable facts our response is often to ignore at least one of them. This is never the right way to interpret the Bible. God does not neglect reality, and most importantly does not neglect our sins and sinfulness, but this does not negate His promises either. It is the mercy of God that saves us. As individuals we may be facing seemingly impossible circumstances, and one of those factors may well be our own sinfulness. If we are trusting in Christ then we can be confident that the Lord is speaking “kind and comforting” words. There is hope!
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