Zechariah 8

The theme continues: What would God do if His people adhered to His Covenant? The prophet continues making the case that throughout her history, Israel had only rarely been faithful. Yet, were there not miracles aplenty in her official archives and prophetic records? They had yet to see what mighty powers God held back because of unfaithfulness. Zechariah’s message is for them to give God a chance to do what He wanted so much to do. The miracles stood waiting in the shadow of the Covenant. As he reminds them repeatedly, this is the God who rules over all Creation. Nothing is impossible.
Was Jerusalem a mess? It was not because the Lord hated the city. Indeed, He was cooking up some serious revenge on those who did hate it. He would restore the former nicknames regarding what a wonderful place it was, the city of His Temple. Picture it: A city so peaceful and prosperous people grow ancient there in safety, while children play in clean streets. Does that sound to outlandish? Just keep building in obedience to His command and such a vision would seem rather ordinary. He’s preparing to crush every nation on every side, shatter every empire and make His city the one best place on earth to live. The Diaspora would have no reason to live abroad.
So the Lord reinforced the message of Zechariah and the other prophets, encouraging them to keep building the Temple. In His wrath, God had removed any hope of peace, cursing the land to the point even the most primitive cooperation between animals was gone. But if the Returnees really wanted to see God’s shalom, it was already rolling across the land toward them. Crops would miraculously respond and grow like the ancient times when the spies of Israel saw huge harvests, a land flowing with milk and honey. Trust Him. God was aching to make it all return, if they would simply embrace His justice.
Those fasts? All of them would become times of feasting and rejoicing, with all the memories of the siege wiped away. Try to imagine Gentiles begging to come and live as guests in the land, not least because it was the place of God’s revelation. Jerusalem would become famous as the place to find God’s face, because His people were eager to make Him known to the world. That’s the plan. Were these people ready?