Gary Gleans

Well, the journey through the Bible a chapter at a time has been completed.  Today I just changed the welcome post on the right side under my picture to explain what my plan is for the remainder of the year.  Thanks for reading and I hope you will continue to join me on at least a weekly basis with this new approach.  God bless

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of this journey through the Bible a chapter at a time.  It has been over a five year exercise but here we are in the last chapter of the Old Testament and the last six verses of Malachi.  For those of you who have been with me all the way through this time I thank you for your input, encouragement and patience.  The knowledge that there are people reading these thoughts has provided me with both motivation and accountability.  I am certain I have learned much more from doing this than I have been able to transmit to you but the process of making it available to you has made it more meaningful to me so thank you.  Final words are always very important words so as we come to the final words of the Old Testament it is significant that the last word is destruction.  We started with creation and end with a warning about destruction.  The prophet writes to prepare his readers for the arrival of Messiah.  It is important to note that the Old Testa

Intentions are important for us to understand.  In our relationships, whether romantic or business, we find it very helpful and even vital to understand one another’s intentions.  It is also very important to our relationship with God for us to understand His intentions towards us.  This is one of the many reasons that God gave us Scripture and is the real point of all prophecy.  God understands our intentions perfectly because He knows everything about us including our thoughts and motives.  We, on the other hand, would be at a complete loss for understanding God’s intentions were it not for the Scriptures.  Malachi 3 gives us some very clear insights as to God’s intentions for His people and what He intends to accomplish with His coming. GOD INTENDS TO CONFORM US TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON: The coming of the Lord Jesus to this earth, both His first and second comings, were and will be for the purpose of conforming people to the likeness of Jesus.  He fully intends to refine and pur

God’s expectations are one of the most important things for us to consider in our lives.  We often struggle with our own expectations because we will usually create unrealistic expectations for other people or about certain events.  However, God’s expectations are always right on target.  He knows everything so His expectations and instructions are not only realistic but are vital for us to fulfill.  He puts us in certain circumstances and expects us to fulfill His commandments during those times.  He promises not to allow anything to happen in our life that is beyond the abilities that He gives us to withstand.  Malachi warns both the religious leaders as well as the citizens that have come back from exile that they must align their lives with the instruction and expectations of God. A WARNING TO THE PRIESTS: When God appoints a priest and places him in charge of the worship and the instruction of His people; God expects that job to be taken seriously and performed with reverence

There is, perhaps, no greater sorrow than to have our love spurned.  When we love someone and they don’t feel the same way we do it is a hard thing for us to take.  God feels that heartbreak constantly.  He loves us with a perfect love and yet we question and doubt Him.  We don’t return His love or many times even respond to His love at all.  When we do love Him it is always an imperfect love and often it is a half-hearted love.  Malachi is written in such a context of people who doubt God’s love and respond to His love with cold indifference instead of the passion He deserves.  Unfortunately, our love is often like that of the readers of Malachi. THE REALITY OF GOD’S LOVE: God declares His love for Israel.  The people respond with a heartbreaking question. How have you loved us?  This is the question that people all over the world throw in the face of God.  We often blame the consequences of our sin on God and then question His lack of love because of our own disobedience and lac

The second coming of Christ is an event that seems to be described in this passage.  Since this event is still in the future, there is language in this description that is difficult for us to comprehend.  I believe that when these events are taking place the exact interpretation for some of these things will become clear.  There are a few things that seem to be clear in general terms from which we can learn and for which we ought to prepare.  Much was revealed about Christ’s first advent but the people were not prepared so we would be wise to always be ready for the second coming of Jesus.  There are two basic truths surrounding Christ’s second coming that we should recognize and be prepared for. THE SAINTS WILL SUFFER: The time leading up to the second coming of Christ will be a time of great tribulation on this earth.  Revelation describes wars, famine and plagues that will all be a part of life on earth in the years before the return of Christ.  It will not be a time of peace o

Purification is a painful process.  When we purify metals we use fire with extreme heat to burn away the impurities from the precious metals.  This process of refining makes the finished product much more valuable.  God does the same with His people.  He uses suffering and many trials to burn away the sinfulness of our lives and conforms us to the image of His Son.  This may be painful and discouraging but the final result is that true believers bring greater glory to God and experience a joy in Christ that far exceeds the suffering that may take place in the process.  THE DESTRUCTION OF FALSE PROPHETS: Everything that is valuable runs the risk of being falsified.  People do not make counterfeits of things that are worthless.  Throughout the history of the nation of Israel God had sent many true prophets of God to reveal to them the will of God and call them to a life of obedience.  These men of God had a vital role in the nation and were truly sent by God.  Unfortunately, other m

As Zechariah reveals the future plans of God for the nation of Israel he takes us on a vision of the many up and downs of the history of this nation.  The previous chapter was perhaps the culmination or low point in the history of the people.  However, immediately following that chapter of despair and destruction we come to this chapter of hope.  God does still have a plan for the nation that is far better than any of the blessings they have received to this point in their history.  Zechariah sees a day when this nation will not only have strength and security as they are victorious in battle; but he sees a day when the hearts of the people will be softened before the Lord and they will mourn over their sin and enter into a real relationship with Messiah.  As wonderful as peace and prosperity may be in our lives, there is nothing to compare with the joy of having our sins forgiven and being rightly related to the Lord Jesus Christ. A PROMISE OF POWER: In the previous chapter we sa

Many times when we think that things are as bad as they can get; we go from bad to worse.  Zechariah prophesies in a time when Israel has just been restored from a very brutal and devastating captivity.  The nation is just now beginning to dig out from the rubble and become reestablished as a nation and people.  One would hope that the captivity under Babylon and Persia was as bad as it could get.  Sadly, Zechariah is here to proclaim that they have not seen anything yet.  This rebellious nation will continue to rebel and they will suffer far more than they have suffered to date.  The same could be said of all today who have rejected Christ.  They ignorantly claim that they are experiencing “hell on earth.”  There is no such thing.  The worst suffering on this earth is only a drop in the bucket compared to the eternal torment of hell.  For all who reject Christ things really will go from bad to worse.  Zechariah foretells the coming rejection of Messiah by the nation of Israel and the

There are blessings that are associated with obedience and there are consequences that are associated with disobedience.  Israel and Judah have experienced both of these realities throughout their history.  They had experience both poverty and prosperity; captivity and liberty as a result of their willingness to follow the law of the Lord or not.  As Zechariah writes the people have recently returned from a season of captivity and the nation is in a phase of rebuilding.  However, they are very far from being at peace of prosperous and they are also not being very faithful to the Word of God.  In this passage Zechariah looks forward to a time where there will be a much more complete restoration; not only in the physical realm, but more specifically in the spiritual realm.  We see here a great contrast between the consequences of sin and the blessings of obedience. POVERTY AND PROSPERITY: God’s people are pictured in this opening figure as a people who pray to the Lord for rain and

The coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord mean different things to different people.  Not only are their theological debates about the definition of these terms; but when they occur, they will have a profoundly different impact on different people.  For some people the coming of the Lord will mean utter destruction while for others it will mean utter delight.  The impact that the coming of Christ will have on us is solely dependent on how we view Christ right now.  If we have trusted Him as our redeemer from sin and have been reconciled to God through His blood; we will be delighted by His return because we will experience the reality of our position in Christ.  However, those who reject the Son of God, considering Him to be a fable or myth, will experience His return as destruction. GOD WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS:  Zechariah now begins to address the coming judgments of God on the nations surrounding Israel.  These writings are long after the first part of the book and refer to a

We are blessed to be a blessing.  This is the purpose of God throughout history.  He has chosen people to bless in wonderful ways so that they can be a blessing to many other nations and people.  This was God’s call to Abraham and this is God’s call to the church today.  God never blesses us so that we can hoard those blessings for ourselves.  He bless so that He can bless many others through us.  Those of us who have experienced the Lord’s blessing must recognize that we are blessed with a purpose.  The focus of our lives must be to share those blessings with the nations of the world so that all men everywhere might experience the great joy of loving and worshiping the Lord.  This is what honors and glorifies the Lord and this must be the driving force of all that we do. GOD WILL BLESS WITH PEACE: Zechariah is given a vision of a future peace that has been promised to the nation of Israel from the very beginning of their history.  God reaffirms this promise here by telling them t

One of the greatest struggles we face in our walk with God is to simply obey Him out of a heart of love with joy in our hearts.  We have a very strong tendency to make everything be about our efforts and we become legalistic in the way we relate with the Lord.  It is easy to make everything be about rituals that we perform in order to impress God.  What God truly desires from us is a recognition of His grace and a joyful submission to His loving Word in our lives.  We obey Him because we trust Him and love Him and know that He loves us.  We recognize our own sinfulness and humble ourselves before Him with deep gratitude for His mercy and grace.  This is a relationship that fills our hearts with joy and peace as we walk with our Lord.  This has been the struggle from the beginning of time and will continue to plague our hearts moving forward. GOD IS NOT IMPRESSED BY RELIGIOUS RITUALS: A commission of men comes to the house of the Lord to make an inquiry about whether or not they sh

The Lord our God is the King of all that is.  He rules and reigns over the nations of the world, the circumstances of our lives and the human leaders of this planet are all under His sovereignty.  Zechariah has two visions in this chapter about colored horses with chariots and about crowns for the high priest, Joshua.  Both of these visions seem to have immediate and future fulfillments as well as reference to the both the first and the second advent off the Lord Jesus.  Admittedly, there can be a great deal of discussion and confusion about what these interpretations might be, but one thing is certain, God is sovereign over us and the world in which we live. GOD’S ABILITY TO RULE: This vision of four horses seems to be teaching of God’s ability to rule over all the nations of the world.  He sets up the nations and He tears them down according to His sovereign will.  These four sets of different colored horses seem to represent the four nations that rule over the nation of Israel

Zechariah has two more visions in this passage.  One of a flying scroll the other of a woman in a basket being flown away to Babylon.  Both the scroll and the basket represent particular sins and the vision is to warn the reader of God’s judgment on sin.  We must never think that sin is benign.  Sin is always damaging and will always bring about disastrous results in our lives and the lives of those who are enslaved to it.  Sin will bring down individuals, families and entire nations if left unchecked.  God calls His people to be holy as He is holy and He makes a provision for us to be holy through the cross of Christ.  Those who trust Him are purified of their sins and set free from the power of sin in their lives. THE RESULTS OF SIN: The flying scroll represents two very prominent sins.  The first is stealing that which does not belong to you and the second is swearing or taking oaths that are not fulfilled.  When we steal we take that which belongs to another for our own gain. 

Zechariah now has a vision of a lamp stand with two olive trees on either side of it.  This vision is to represent the presence of God in the midst of His people and His empowerment of Zerubbabel and Joshua to complete the construction of the temple.  It is useless to take on any endeavor without the presence and power of God.  The task may be accomplished but it will not be for the glory of God and will not provide us with eternal reward.  Only what is done for and through Christ is of eternal significance.  THE PRESENCE OF GOD: The lampstand that is described in this vision is identical to the one described in the original construction of the tabernacle.  It symbolizes the presence of God in the midst of His people.  God has promised His blessing on the efforts of Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple.  The foundation of the temple had been constructed but there had been a pause in the process so with the loss of momentum there was a question as to whether or not the job would get do