Passage of the Day - March 4, 2011

Zechariah 1:7-17

 ⁷On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:

 ⁸I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him.

 ⁹Then I said, "My lord, what are these?" And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, "I will show you what these are."

 ¹⁰And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, "These are those whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth."

 ¹¹So they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, "We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet."

 ¹²Then the angel of the LORD said, "O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?"

 ¹³The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words.

 ¹⁴So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, "Proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.

 ¹⁵"But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster."

 ¹⁶'Therefore thus says the LORD, "I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it," declares the LORD of hosts, "and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem."'

 ¹⁷"Again, proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem."'"

There is peace at this time because God had allowed evil to win the battle.  The Jews were in captivity and since Satan didn’t need to wage spiritual warfare on the nation of Israel/Judah, there was relative peace in the region.  However, God will win the war.  He was going to free His people and raise up Jerusalem.  This was only a foretaste of what is to come when Christ returns to establish His kingdom with His headquarters in Jerusalem.

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/)