Gary Gleans

The fourth vision give to Zechariah is one of Joshua, the high priest, standing in the presence of the Lord with Satan by his side.  This gives us a glimpse into what goes on in the spiritual realm and the battle that rages in the heavens.  It is very clear that this is not a battle between two equals.  Satan is subject to the Lord, but he does have genuine power that must be respected.  However, this is a vision about Joshua and the position he has before the Lord and the nation of Israel.  God is sovereign over the world but He uses men to accomplish His will.  He empowers us to do His bidding and accomplishes His will as He sees fit. THE BATTLE: Satan desires to thwart the plan of God in the world.  As an accuser of believers, Satan wants to discourage us in any way that He can.  God in His sovereignty allows Satan to have a certain amount of access to the lives of His children because He knows that our battles with temptation will prepare us for the service He has planned for

The plans of God are not always what we would expect, but He does reveal them to us in the Scriptures.  God continues to give Zechariah a glimpse into the future and the plans that He has for the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel.  The seventy years of captivity are over.  The first exiles have returned and are in the process of rebuilding the city.  Progress has been slow and the people have been distracted.  God calls them to get to work and rebuild His temple and has promised to bless them in this endeavor.  However there still remains a question as to the long-term plans of God for this nation.  Zechariah has a vision of a man who is going to measure the city in preparation for an expansion of the city that God is planning.  There seems to be and immediate as well as a future fulfillment of this vision. GOD WILL PROTECT THE NATION: God is measuring the city as a symbol of His plans for the nation.  He is planning to bless this city with supernatural protection and He

Zechariah writes to the same audience as Haggai, the captives who had returned to build rebuild Jerusalem.  Haggai had promised that they would prosper if they built the temple of the Lord and they started the work, but here we are several years later and the people seem to be dragging their feet.  Zechariah comes with a message of warning as well as promise for the people to be motivated to get busy with the task at hand.  It is easy for us to become distracted from the work God has called us to do.  We must be careful not to be negligent of the priorities God has established for us. A CALL TO REPENTANCE: Zechariah’s first word is a word of warning.  He calls for the people to look back at the rebellion of their fathers and see the consequences that they suffered as a result.  They had been repeatedly warned by many prophets but had not paid any attention to the constant warnings.  Now they found themselves in a very similar situation.  God had allowed them to return to the city

Discouragement is a dangerous thing.  The rebuilding of the temple had begun.  Times were far different from the building of the original temple in the days of Solomon.  At that time Israel was united and at the height of its power and prosperity.  Now Israel was divided and returning from captivity to a destroyed land and under the authority of a pagan king.  This new building was not nearly as large and ornate as the original temple.  The leaders and the older people who had seen the original version were likely very discouraged by what they were able to do.  It is in this context that Haggai delivers three messages from God in order to encourage the people.  When we are discouraged we can start to think that our efforts are worthless and be tempted to just give up.  These messages are important for us to keep in mind.     YOU ARE BUILDING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD: When the people began to compare the new temple with the old temple they were unimpressed.  The new temple was much sma

Comfort is one of our greatest priorities.  All of us want to be comfortable.  We have climate controlled homes and automobiles.  Our furniture and beds are soft.  We go to great lengths to make sure we are as comfortable as possible.  However, life is not always comfortable.  There are times of war, sickness and suffering that strip away all of the trappings of comfort and we become focused on survival.  When these times of hardship pass we slip back into our desire for comfort.  It is a natural cycle we all experience.  The nation of Israel had been destroyed, the people were taken captive and for two generations the nation went into “survival mode.”  However, they were allowed to return to their land and rebuild the city and their homes.  They began to get comfortable and forgot their duty to the Lord.  It is in this context that Haggai writes this short book. THE SIN OF COMPLACENCY: The return from exile started with a bang.  The people under Nehemiah rebuilt the walls and the

We have and expression that says: “things will likely get worse before they get better.”  This is often true in time of economic crisis but it is also true in the history of the world as well as God’s eschatological plan.  As we read through all of the prophets they foretell a time of great trials for the nation of Israel, but that time of trial is always followed up with a promise of restoration.  This world will still face much tribulation and God’s judgment will be seen on this planet in a way that we have never seen before.  However, that time of judgment will be followed by a time of blessing and peace that is also far beyond anything that we have ever faced in the past.  Things will get worse, much worse, but then things will get better, much much better! THE JUDGMENT OF JERUSALEM: A time of judgment is coming upon the nation of Israel and specifically the city of Jerusalem that is catastrophic by nature.  We have seen that this took place in the past at the hands of the Rom

Judgment is not a very popular subject.  We all prefer to think of grace, mercy and love.  However, the prophets have a message of judgment and wrath that they have been called to deliver in order to bring the Lord’s people to a place of repentance and restoration.  The danger of considering only God’s love and mercy is that it will lead us to a false sense of security that will have a devastating effect when the truth of the wrath of God is revealed.  Warnings are never fun to deliver because nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news, but it is very necessary for us to give strong warnings because the coming wrath of God is very real. A CALL TO REPENTANCE: Zephaniah’s message is a call for the people to gather together and repent.  They are called a shameless nation because they have been involved in sin for so long that they simply no longer have any shame over their sin.  The danger of living in sin and ignoring God’s Word is that it will harden our conscience over sin.  We mus

“The Day of the Lord” is and expression that is used in Zephaniah more than in any other book of the Bible.  This expression is the source of much debate and confusion as we consider its meaning.  Zephaniah clearly describes the “Day of the Lord” as a Day of Judgment and destruction on the earth during which time there will be great devastation.  He seems to be referring to the coming judgment of God on the nation of Judah at the hands of Babylon.  However, he also seems to be describing a day that is still in our future during which time God will judge all of the nations of the earth.  We call this period the Tribulation.  It is not uncommon in Scripture to see prophecies with double fulfillment.  Clearly, Zephaniah’s intention was to warn the people of his day but the events of that day will be very similar to the coming day when judgment will fall on all the earth. GOD WILL JUDGE IDOLATRY: God hates idolatry and Judah had been full of all kinds of idolatry.  Zephaniah specifica

Habakkuk concludes his book with a prayer in which he calls out to God requesting that He judge with mercy.  He also remembers God’s past provisions and then concludes the book with a declaration of His trust in God and His commitment to God to be faithful and trust Him no matter what may come his way.  The proper response to any crisis in our lives is always to pray.  This is a great example of prayer that we would do well to follow. PETITION IS A VITAL PART OF PRAYER: In light of all that Habakkuk has learned about God and the promises He has made, Habakkuk asks God to take action against the invading nations as well as to be merciful in His judgments.  We know that God will judge and we know that His power is without limits.  He has demonstrated His willingness to judge all of mankind in the past but He has also demonstrated abounding love and mercy.  This is a request based on the knowledge God has revealed about Himself.  We are certainly encouraged to pray in such a way.  We

God will always do right.  He may not fit into the schedule we would like and He may not do as we expect Him to do; but He will always do what is right.  One day this reality will become very clear to us.  In the meantime we are called to simply trust Him and understand that He knows best.  Habakkuk is confused about how God will use a wicked nation to judge the nation of Israel.  God’s answer assures him that despite his confusion, all is well.  God answers Habakkuk with two pieces of advice that all of us would do well to follow. WALK IN FAITH: It is impossible to live in a way that is pleasing to God without faith.  That simply means that we will not always see everything that we want to see and we will not always understand all that we do see.  This is where faith comes in.  We have enough information to know what God wants us to do.  We do not need to see or know more in order to be able to live in a way that is upright and just.  The call of God on our life is to simply trus

God’s ways and means are far different from the way we might expect them to be and how we might want them to be.  It is often confusing to us as we see history unfolding to see the big picture of what God might be doing.  He often acts later than we expect and when He acts it is usually very different from what we have in mind.  Habakkuk begins his book by voicing his mystification with the ways of God.  He says what others may only think.  This first chapter almost sounds like a Psalm.  I believe it is good instruction to pray in honesty.  When we are confused by God’s workings it is far better to call out to Him about our confusion than to hypocritically pretend all is well and live behind a fake facade. HABAKKUK’S COMPLAINT: Habakkuk has a very common complaint: why do the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer?  His question has been asked from the time of the fall of man.  Once sin entered the world we see the wicked Cain killing the righteous Able.  On and on through histor

God has great amounts of experience at judging people and nations for their sin.  He has demonstrated His willingness to destroy people from entire nations and even the entire planet in the past.  Unfortunately, people have learned to ignore history and make assumptions about their own well-being that are simply not true.  Nineveh was one such nation.  They were strong and feared by many, but they also had many enemies.  Their greatest problem was the sin of their culture and their refusal to submit themselves to God.  The same could be said for many of our cultures.  Too many nations and individuals continue to live as if there were no consequences for our sin. WHY NINEVEH WILL BE DESTROYED: In a word, the reason given for the coming destruction of Nineveh is: sin.  Sin is always the motivating factor behind the judgment of God.  The sins of men are what led Jesus to be judged on our behalf.  Those who refuse to trust Christ and recognize Him as their only hope for salvation cont

“Be sure your sins will find you out.”  We say this warning because we know that even though sins are not always immediately revealed, experience tells us that they will be eventually revealed.  Nineveh had long been a city known for its violence and perversion.  At the preaching of Jonah they repented but the generations that followed did not walk in repentance and ended up returning to their sinful lives.  God used the Assyrian people to judge the sinfulness of Israel but their pride over this conquest led them to a path of destruction from which they would not recover.  God was well aware of their sin and they were about to pay the price for this sin.  The sobering part of all of this is that the earthy judgment of God on sin is only an appetizer of God’s eternal judgment.  It is meant to demonstrate God’s hatred of sin in hopes of convincing men to turn from sin to Him in order to be reconciled to Him through repentance and faith. THE ARMIES OF NINEVEH WILL BE DEFEATED: The As

Nineveh was the capital city of Assyria.  Jonah warned the city of God’s impending judgment and they repented.  God spared them from judgment because of their repentance, but it was not very long lived.  Nahum writes about one-hundred years later and the nation appears to have returned back to its old ways as God renews His promise to destroy the city and judge the nation. NAHUM GIVES A DESCRIPTION OF GOD’S CHARACTER: We learn several lessons about God’s character from Nahum’s description.  God is a jealous God who takes vengeance upon those who are corrupt and rebel against Him.  This is not the picture that we normally think of when we think of God, but it is important that we realize that God is jealous and He will take revenge on the wicked.  God is patient in the exercise of His justice and He will grant much time for people to turn from their wicked ways and follow Him, but His anger will not be delayed forever.  God will condemn the guilty and justify the righteous.  God is

No matter how bad things may get as far as the sinfulness of man and the ensuing judgments of God; there is always hope.  The source of our hope is not due to the goodness of man or the ability of man to withstand hardship.  Our only source of true hope is found in the fact that God is merciful and forgiving.  God desires to be reconciled with us.  So much so that He was willing to send His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sin.  His love for us is only exceeded by His personal holiness which is why He must exercise justice for sin; but He does so through the sacrifice of His own Son.  Micah closes His book with a look at God’s judgment, restoration and forgiveness. MICAH PRONOUNCES JUDGMENT ON SIN: As Micah observes the state of His nation, he sees a nation that looks like a harvested field.  There is nothing left.  It appears as if all of the godly men have been harvested from the face of the earth and all that are left are violent, vindictive men who are bent on doing only wha

God knows the condition of the hearts of men.  People often act as if their deeds were hidden and God is unaware of their actions.  The reality is that God not only know all of our activities but He knows our thoughts and the very motives of our hearts even better than we do.  Nobody has ever been alone.  There are no private thoughts and there are no hidden motives.  God is always with us.  He is also the judge of our hearts and all men will one day stand before Him and give an account of their lives.  Israel became a nation that became more fearful of the nations around them and tried to live in a way that would please them instead of living according to the revealed will of God.  This failure to fear the Lord led them to a place of condemnation before the Lord and captivity in the very nations they were trying to please.  This is the same way that people continue to act before the Lord today.  We fear men more than we fear God and end up being captives to the sins of this world and

Micah reveals truths about who Messiah would be and what that would mean for the nation of Israel.  He is writing hundreds of years in advance of the coming of Jesus to the earth but his prophecies are very accurate.  The fulfillment of what the coming of Messiah would mean are still in the process of being fulfilled in some cases.  However, we can be assured that each and every one of them are completely accurate.  God’s Word will always come true in His time.  We may not understand His ways or His timing but all that He does is perfect and will make perfect sense in the end. WHO JESUS WILL BE: The hope of Messiah had long been awaited by the nation of Israel.  They were expecting a king of royal descent that would deliver them from their enemies.  Micah reveals that Messiah would suffer and be struck by the rod.  This is not what they expected but is exactly what happened.  Messiah would be born in Bethlehem just as the Scriptures revealed happened.  Messiah would be God in the

The message of all of the prophets is a sobering one for the nation of Israel as they all warn of the coming judgment of the nation.  However, they also have a hopeful message as they point to a future restoration in which they will be returned to the land, experience security, have prosperity and most importantly be revived spiritually.  God’s promises are always secure and He is always faithful.  Just as His promise of judgment was and is being fulfilled; so His promise of restoration will be fulfilled.  God is in control of the events on this planet.  We can be assured of His sovereignty over all of our lives and ought to live our lives accordingly. FUTURE PLANS: Micah begins this chapter be revealing God’s future plans for Israel and for all of the nations.  He will establish His kingdom on Mt. Zion and from this exalted place He will reign over the nation of Israel and all the nations.  A time is coming during which the Word of God will no longer be scoffed at and the name of

Leadership is vital to the success of any organization and to the well-being of any nation.  Israel was experiencing a crisis in leadership.  Instead of having leaders that encouraged them in righteousness and punished evil; the leaders were practicing unrighteousness and persecuting those who spoke out on behalf of God.  Much time has passed and the names of nations are different but we see very similar correlations to our world today.  Corruption is wide spread and those who call for repentance and proclaim the Word of God are ignored, ridiculed and persecuted.  Micah’s message warning of God’s coming judgment is as relevant in today’s world as it was in the day he penned these words. THE CORRUPTION OF THE POLITICIANS: The political leaders in Israel were driven to corruption through the abuse of their power.  Instead of serving the people and promoting righteousness; they exploited the people and practiced unrighteousness.  The leaders oppressed the people with taxes in order t