OUR FATHER WHO LOVES JACOB AND HATES ESSAU (LOVE OUR BORN AGAIN SPIRIT AND HATES OUR FALLEN NATURE

Starting in the book of Malachi in chapter 1 verses 1 - 5, we read this,

1 The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord.

“Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”

Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved;

3 But Esau I have hated,

And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.”

4 Even though Edom has said, “We have been impoverished,

But we will return and build the desolate places,” Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“They may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness,

And the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever.

5 Your eyes shall see, And you shall say,  ‘The Lord is magnified beyond the border of Israel.’

This passage is quoted in Romans chapter 9 verse 13 where Paul discusses how the calling on individuals is not self-determined but rather a divine determination that occurs before the birth of the person.

As well, in as far as the twins Jacob and Essau are metaphores for the duality of a believer, Jacob, who is the younger one and represents the born again spirit of the believer, is destined to rule over the older Essau who represents the flesh oor the corrupted spirit. The phrase ´Jacob I loved and Essau I hatedˋ illustrates the reality that the fallen nature is contraty to God while the born again spirit loves the  things of God and is loved by God,

The passage goes on to foretell that the fortunes and holdings of the flesh would be destroyed by the Lord in the work that is ongoing in believers to make them complete.

Amen,

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OUR FATHER WHOSE SON WILL REIGN IN JERUSALEM AND ALL HIS ENEMIES WILL BE SUBDUED

The book of Zachariah chapter 14 verses 16 -  21 says this;

 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

This last passage of the book of Zachariah foretells a time when the remnant people of the nations that fought against the Lordˋs people will be required to attend the annual feats of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. Any nation or people who refuse to appear in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles will be struck with drought and a plague shall be released on them.

All of humanity will be required to participate in the Feast of Tabernacles and tribute to the Holiness of the Lord will be universal and such that every accoutrement  from the bells on horses to domestic utensils will be engraved with acknowledgement of the Lordˋs holiness.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WILL STRIKE THOSE WHO STRUCK  HIS PEOPLE

The book of Zachariah chapter 14 verses 10 - 15 says this;

10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.

11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;

14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.

15 Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.

In  this passage, the prophet Zachariah provides some details of the renovations that were going to occur in Jerusalem and surrounding area. The region would be brought to grade so that the city would be surrounded by a flat platform. The city itself would be raised above the platform.

The nations that attacked Jerusalem and remained a threat to Jerusalem would be struck by what appears to be a nuclear blast where the population would dissolve where they stood. The animals of the hostile nations would also be struck by the plague that would be visited on them.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO WILL GATHER THE NATIONS 

The book of Zachariah chapter 14 verse 1 - 9  says this; 

1 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.

2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

3 Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.

4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley;

Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.

5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake

In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.

6 It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.

7 It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord— Neither day nor night.

But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.

8 And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.

9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The Lord is one,” And His name one.

This passage speaks of a time when Jerusalem would be overrun be her enemies leaving only a remnant of people within it but the Lord was going to appear at the Mount of Olives that stands east of Jerusalem and He will arrive with His saints and fight against the enemies of Jerusalem. 

That day will be distinguished by a day of darkness where the whole globe would be plunged into darkness. On that day, in the evening,  the sky will be emblazoned with a light show that will be visible throughout the earth.

This prophecy is parallel to the prophey that the Lord Jesus gave regarding the the same event in Matthew chapter 24 verse 26 - 30 which, interestingly, He gave while sitting with His disciples on the Mount of Olives.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened,  and the moon will not give its light; he stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 

The Lord Jesus adds to the milieu the desceptive political realm that will be actively working to deceive people and mislead them into following false messiahs in order to entrap them and eliminate them.

When the Lord arrives in great power and glory, the deception will immeadiately revealed and people will weep for the one whom they rejected.

The Lordˋs single unified  kingdom will be establish over the entire earth and from His headquarters in Jerusalem, springs of living water carrying life and healing will flow to all the places on earth.

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHO OPENED A FOUNTAIN TO CLEAN AWAY SIN AND UNLCEANNESS

The book of Zachariah chapter 13 verses 1 - 9 says this;

1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

2 “It shall be in that day,” says the Lord of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. 3 It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

4 “And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive. 5 But he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’ 6 And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion,”

Says the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered;

Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

8 And it shall come to pass in all the land,” Says the Lord,

“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one-third shall be left in it:

9 I will bring the one-third through the fire,

Will refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested.

They will call on My name, And I will answer them.

I will say, ‘This is My people’; And each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

In this passage, the prophet Zachariah records a prophecy about a time that would come when the shepherd would be struck and the sheep under His care would scatter. This foretells the night that Jesus was arrested by the authorities in the garden of Gethsemene and the disciples who were with Him all fled to escape the clutches of the soldiers who had come for them. This is noted by the Lord Jesus Himself on the night that He was betrayed as recorded in Matthew chapter 26 verse 31 that says;

31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 

Zachariah also foretells the dispensation where only a remnant is left behind and these who are refined as silver and tested as gold are the ones who will call God their Lord and He would call them His people.

Amen.

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OUR FATHER WHO GAVE THE SPIRIT OF GRACE AND SUPPLICATION TO OPEN THE EYES OF THOSE WHO DO NOT SEE

The book of Zachariah chapter 12 verses 10 - 14 says this;

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

The Prophet Zachariah, looking into the distant future from his time, saw a time when the Spirit of grace and supplication would be poured out on the children of Israel and a  deep mourning would settle in the land where the children of Israel would look upon the One they pierced and realize whom it was that they rejected and each individual would grieve for Him the way one would grieve at the death of a first born son.

This passage is referenced in the book of John chapter 19 verses 36 - 37 where the Lord Jesus, while on the cross, had to be taken down because the next day was the Sabbath day and in order to do so, they  pierced Him in the chest to verify that He was dead. The apostle John wrote that this event was the fufilment of the prophecy found in Zachariah chapter 12 verse 10.

 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Amen.

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 OUR FATHER WHO WILL STRENGTHEN HIS PEOPLE AGAINST THEIR ENEMIES

The book of Zachariah chapter 12 verses 1 -  9 says this;

1 The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. 4 In that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’ 6 In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.

7 “The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

The prophet Zachariah, seeing ahead into the deep future, described the geopolitical pressure that would surround Jerusalem against which the Lord would directly intervene to strengthen Judah in the face of her enemies. 

Amen.

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