TEXT:

"[18] And the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, [19] "Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.

[20] "Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. [21] The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.' [22] Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. [23] Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Have there been painful moments in your life that you’re now able to look back on with joy?
Spend a few moments discussing the importance and difficulty of loving truth and peace.
How can you/we do a better job of inviting people to follow Jesus?
Read verse 23. Who in your life can you see clearly that God is with?

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

Few verses in the Bible leave our hearts more hopeful than the verses we will be looking at today. They're unbelievably practical yet unbelievably rich. In these verses, the LORD allows his people to peek behind the curtain, showing them what the future holds for his people. In doing so, he's telling his people that he will do the miraculous on their behalf. He will transform tears into laughter, hopelessness into hopefulness, and barrenness into fruitfulness. They will no longer be a people who mourn the past; they will become a people who celebrate it. Their city will no longer be a barren land that the neighboring countries mock; they will become a fortress to the nations where people from all over come to reside. They will be a city without walls, a royal priesthood, a people who dwell with God.

So, let's dive in.

NO WASTED SUFFERING

If you remember, at the start of chapter 7, we see God's people from Bethel journey down to Jerusalem with a question. They wanted to know if they needed to continue to weep and mourn the fall of Jerusalem and the temple now that they were being restored— "Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?"

But, as we've seen over the past few weeks, the LORD took the scenic route in answering this question. He initially responds to their question with his own question, and it's not until thirty verses later that we finally see him give them a direct answer.

Now, the answer he provides is remarkably beautiful and tremendously hopeful. He says the very thing they once mourned and wept over will become something they joyfully celebrate— "The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts."

Joy, gladness, cheerfulness, rejoicing... This is all celebratory language used by the LORD here. But what is it they will be celebrating?

Well, the Hebrew word here for "cheerful" is the same word used in Genesis 1 when the LORD looks at his creation and declares that it's good— "And God said, 'Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw that it was good... And God called the dry land 'earth,' and the gathering together of the waters he called 'seas;' and God saw that it was good...The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

It's also the same word Joseph used when speaking to his brothers, who sold him into slavery— "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today."

So, this is a word often used to describe how one feels when gazing upon the finished work of God. When one can peek behind the curtain and see the work of God before them, good is the only thing we can rightly characterize it as. In the same way God was able to look at his creation and declare it as good, his people will be able to look back at their trials and declare them as good. In the same way that Joseph could look back on the painful moments of his life and see God working out his good plan, God's people will look back on the things that once brought them tears and joyfully celebrate them as good!

There is no wasted suffering in the kingdom of God. Thomas McComiskey rightly says: "They will rejoice in their captivity.… They will see the captivities of the two kingdoms not as cruel strokes from an uncaring God, but as the discipline of a loving God, angered that his people should forfeit the treasures of his love for the worthlessness of pagan idols and unjust gain." So, even in discipline, God's people can cling to the hope that he's working out his good plan for their lives. Their mourning will turn to celebration. They can reflect on the very thing that brought them pain and celebrate it as good.

May these words be water to our souls this morning. You may find yourself amid great calamity. It may seem like you're more acquainted with tears than laughter. And I am not trying to diminish that pain. You've cried real tears. You've felt real pain. But, the Christian hope in suffering is that your tears will be dried up one day. Your tears will turn to laughter, and your mourning will turn to joy.

Maybe not today, but one day, you will be able to look back on the trials of your life and joyfully celebrate how the LORD intended them for good. We will cheerfully celebrate what we once mourned when the veil is removed from our eyes, and we can see God's good plan being carried out. We may not know what the LORD is doing through our suffering, but we can cling to the hope that he's doing something good.

A PORTRAIT OF OUR SALVATION

God has always been in the business of interjecting hope into hopelessness, life into lifelessness, and joy into sorrow. At this moment, he's telling his people there's hope for them. Their weeping and mourning will turn to joy and gladness.

As I read commentaries this week, I thought Richard Phillips drew a helpful parallel to the gospel in these verses. He said, "Every true Christian knows what it means to go from the fast of conviction of sin to the feast of salvation through faith in Christ."

We say this often, but you cannot believe the good news until you first believe the bad news. The death of Jesus is not beautiful, nor is it necessary, unless we realize that we're trapped in sin.

The heart of the message of the cross is a transformation from sorrow to joy— "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity (Ps. 32:1-2)." Those who have experienced the deep joy of knowing Christ first experienced the deep sorrow of knowing sin, and we have gone from the fast of conviction to the feast of salvation.

LOVE OBEDIENCE

Following this promise given to God's people, the LORD calls them to "love truth and peace." They aren't to begrudgingly walk in obedience to what he's called them to do; they are to love what God has called them to do, trusting that he knows what's best for them.

We must ask ourselves daily, "Do I love obedience to God? Do I love truth and peace? Am I ashamed of the truth of God's word? Do I love peace and not truth, preferring falsehood over truth in an attempt to not ruffle feathers? Do I love truth but not peace, using the truth to tear down my neighbor? Do I love truth and peace?"

GOD IS KING AND JUDGE

Side note: throughout history, man has wanted to pit God's sovereignty and man's responsibility against each other. But, that's never a war we see present in Scripture. God's sovereignty doesn't eliminate man's responsibility. No. In the Bible, we find God's sovereignty and man's responsibility standing side by side, hand in hand. The Bible teaches us that God is both King and Judge. He's both orchestrating his purpose, carrying out his will, and calling his people to walk in obedience. Man's responsibility and God's sovereignty are friends, not enemies. Those who trust the good sovereign LORD should obey him in all situations, eager to live out the truth and peace we deeply love.

A TRANSFORMED CITY

The LORD then goes deeper into describing what life would be like for them in the future. He says, "People's shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going. Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."

Here the LORD expounds on the transformation their city will experience. They will no longer be seen as a cursed people; they will be a blessed people. Because the LORD is with them, the nations will enter their city in droves. Because God is with them, revival will take place in their city. God's presence with his people will lead to people from every tribe, tongue, and nation coming in. Their remnant of a people in a small city will transform into a large and strong nation.

Now, depending on how you interpret the millennial kingdom, you may or may not believe these verses have been fulfilled. Personally, I think the LORD describes where we find ourselves now in history. In chapter 3, God told his people that he was preparing to make Jerusalem a city without walls. In other words, he was preparing to create for himself a people that walls could not confine. Well, not long after these words were spoken, we know walls were built around Jerusalem. So, God was referring to a spiritual city, not a physical one. The spiritual city of Jerusalem would soon be stretched to immeasurable lengths, where men and women from all over the world would dwell with God through faith in Jesus.

So, I believe God here, in Zechariah 8, speaks of the time we find ourselves in today. God promised his people that there would be many people from all over the world who would come to entreat the favor of the LORD, and he has been faithful to keep that promise. We live in a time when people worldwide are coming to the LORD in faith.

Look at verse 21, "The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, 'Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going."

Could this not be evangelism and discipleship? Here we have one group of people going to the LORD, and as they go, they invite their neighbors to come with them.

Sometimes we seek to make evangelism into debates and deep theological discussions. And although those things are good and necessary, evangelism is nothing more than a loving invitation to join us in worshipping the LORD. Could it be that a lack of revival in our city rests solely on the fact that we've stopped inviting our neighbors?

When was the last time you invited someone to follow Jesus with you?

The Christian faith is not a closed society but a city without walls. So, we should be welcoming people. We're not a people who turn our nose up to our neighbor; we're a people who stick our hands out to our neighbor, saying, "Come with me."

An invitation to join should always be on the lips of a believer. And, we invite confidently, trusting that the LORD will grow his church. Verse 22 says, "Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD." God tells his people here that his plan is for many to come, not few. So, you can bank on God growing his church. Looking back throughout history, we can see this as accurate. God has and will continue to expand his people. God has promised to grow his church, and the instrument he's chosen to use to grow his church is the lips of his people. So, as we share our faith, we do so confidently. As we invite, we do so confidently.

Verse 23 says, "In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'"

Some see this Jew that people are grabbing ahold of to be Jesus. Like the woman grabbing Jesus' tassels, the nations are coming to Jesus, holding his robe, and saying, "We have heard of who you are and what you've done, and we know you are the Messiah. You are our only hope. Let us join you!" There's legitimacy here as the gospel invitation is, "Come and take hold of Christ. Go with him. Follow him. Surrender your life to him so that you may live."

Others see this Jew as a reference to a general person of God, signifying the rapid growth of God's people. For every Jew, there will be ten men from each nation grabbing their robes, saying, "We know God is with you. Let us go with you!"

I'm not sure it's one or the other; I think it's more of a both/and. It is those who are in Christ, the ultimate King of the Jews, who God is using to multiply his kingdom.

But, as we close, I want us to notice the reason the nations give for coming. "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."

Church, listen to me. In our day and age, we can use many things to try to grow the church. We can look to grow the church with good music, fun programs, passionate preaching, and a good community. But, the moment we look to these things instead of God is the moment we've lost sight of the purpose of the church.

Although community is vital, Biblical community is a byproduct of union with God. Although singing is necessary, we don't sing to attract. We sing to worship. Although preaching is essential, we don't preach to attract. We preach to equip God's people to know and serve God better.

You can find community in CrossFit. You can find good music at concerts. The chief goal of the Christian faith is God. It is through faith in Christ that we get to enjoy a relationship with God. The people of God will grow because God is with them.

Could a lack of revival in our city be because God's people are far from God? Can people look at your life and see God in you?

So badly do I want this to be true of me and us. So badly do I want people to look at my life and say, "I want to go with you because I can tell God is with you." So badly do I want people to look at us and say, "We've heard of what God is doing in your midst, and we want to join you."

We live in a sinful world full of darkness. But this passage has reminded me that there are people in this world who are hungry for God and who want to know him. So, may we be a people who walk closely with God. And when we walk closely with God, may we pray that people will see God with us.

Zechariah 8:18-23

Harbor Community Church, 126 Mobile St, Mobile, AL 36670