Passage of the Day - March 3, 2011

Zechariah 1:1-6

 ¹In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo saying,

 ²"The LORD was very angry with your fathers.

 ³"Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Return to Me," declares the LORD of hosts, "that I may return to you," says the LORD of hosts.

 ⁴"Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds "' But they did not listen or give heed to Me," declares the LORD.

 ⁵"Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

 ⁶"But did not My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, 'As the LORD of hosts purposed to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.'"'"

George Santayana uttered one of the most famous lines of all time “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.  This pretty much sums up Zechariah 1:1-6.  This passage and George Santayana’s famous quote can be applied globally, nationally, socially, economically, religiously, and personally.  We must learn from the mistakes made throughout the history of the world.  We must learn from the mistakes made by our own country.  We must learn from the mistakes our society has made.  We must learn from poor economic choices and flawed economic policies and philosophies.  We must learn from the mistakes the Christian Church has made throughout its history along with the mistakes the Jews made before the birth of the Church.  We must also learn from our own mistakes. 

Do we really want to endure the consequences that others or we have endured already by making the same mistakes?  We have learned throughout history that evil must be confronted, not appeased.  We have learned that God detests societies that do not lift up and protect their vulnerable.  We have learned that sinning destroys relationships, erodes reputations, and depresses psyches.  We have learned these things, yet we fail to remember them and condemn ourselves to repeat them.  Let us do forget no more!

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (http://www.lockman.org/)