Zechariah 8: Foretaste of Fullness

​Key Verse
11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 
 
Meditation
God’s sovereign grace provides a great reversal moving believers from devastation to restoration. In God Himself our mourning is replaced with joy because God’s covenant faithfulness finds fullness in the finished work of Jesus. 
 
The historical context of today’s reading is God promising to restore His presence with His people through the completion of the second temple. Ten promises of blessing, each beginning with “Thus says the Lord…” (vv. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14, 19, 20, 23), outline the chapter. God’s desire for restoration is highlighted in revealing His covenant faithfulness and His renewing His promises of covenant fruitfulness. 
 
With God’s return to His people, Jerusalem will move from ruin to restoration, being called “the fruitful city” (vv. 1-2). God’s covenant faithfulness will fill Jerusalem with peace, streets filled with intergenerational joy (vv. 3-5) and God’s righteousness dwelling with His people (vv. 6-8). The land will be fruitful, a sowing of peace with vines giving fruit, the people strong, and fear not taking root (vv. 9-14). The nations will be drawn to see people who have received God’s grace and look like God’s character (vv. 14-23). God’s presence transforms past frustrations into future fruitfulness!
 
God’s presence is ultimately restored in the person and work of Jesus. Through faith in His representative life and substitutionary death, believers are free to repent of sin (2 Corinthians 7:10) and turn to Him to begin again. In Jesus we discover the fullness of God’s covenant faithfulness, His presence, peace, and prosperity fueling personal piety for all His people. 
 
Today’s Reading
And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

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.’”
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s reading, especially the shower of blessings of which the Lord longs to flood His people?

-God’s restored presence changes everything, promising to redeem the past, renew the present, and give fruitfulness in the future! Which of the ten promises from today’s reading resonates in your heart? Why?
 
-Where can you embrace God’s grace through Christ to look forward in life to focus on future fruitfulness? Be specific. The struggles of your past are soil for a fruitful harvest in Christ!
 
Key Verse
11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.