The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”
This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Now hear these words, ‘Let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.’ This is also what the prophets said who were present when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord Almighty. Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies, since I had turned everyone against their neighbor. But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares the Lord Almighty.
“The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Just as I had determined to bring disaster on you and showed no pity when your ancestors angered me,” says the Lord Almighty, “so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.
The word of the Lord Almighty came to me.
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the Lord Almighty. I myself am going.’ And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says: “In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” (Zechariah 8:1-23 NIV)
There’s a new phrase I’ve picked up since we moved to Oklahoma. I didn’t hear it much in other places we’ve lived. It’s painted on pick-up trucks and plastered on billboards. Know what it is? “Disaster restoration.” Have you seen that phrase? “Disaster restoration.” There are a lot of people in Oklahoma whose full-time work is disaster restoration. That’s good! After a tornado or wind or hail or fire, people need disaster restoration. Thankfully, there are people who can make your house even better than it was before. So don’t worry! For every disaster, there’s restoration.
Except, what if it’s not your house? What if that disaster impacts your heart? What if it hits your soul? What if that disaster impacts all of the society in which we live? Then what? How do things get put back together then? Sin is like a tornado. Would you agree? Sin—our sin and other people’s sin—doesn’t leave anything untouched. Sin upends everything. God hates sin. He tells us that today, “‘I hate all this,’ declares the LORD.” What if it’s your heart that’s a disaster? What if it’s your soul that’s crushed? What if the whole world is upside-down? Then what?
That’s what the Israelites were facing. You’ve heard this as we’ve studied the book of Zechariah this summer. The Jews in 518 B.C. needed restoration. They had sinned against God. They had refused to repent. So God let their land be destroyed. God let their capital of Jerusalem be burned to the ground. God let the people themselves be carried off into exile. Talk about a disaster! Seventy years later, some Jews returned to Israel, but it wasn’t the same. It was like a tornado had gone off in their lives. How could they pick up the pieces? How could they have hope?
So do you know what God had his prophets preach? Promises of restoration. That’s a real thing. The Old Testament is filled with restoration prophecies, like this chapter of Zechariah. It starts like this: God said, “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.” Do you know what God was saying to his people—to Zion? “I love you.” After a disaster, aren’t those the greatest words to hear? “I love you. A lot!” In fact, God said, “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem.” God didn’t just say, “I love you.” He said, “I am with you! If it feels like I’m gone, I’m coming back! I love you and will be with you forever!” That’s God’s restoration.
When God loves you, when God is with you, more blessings always follow. “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age.’” I love this! God says, “This is how great it’s going to be: You will see old people with canes.” Isn’t that awesome? And, “The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” Here’s how you know that you’re blessed: You see old people watching little kids play. What a beautiful thing! That’s restoration.
There’s more. God promised that when people worked, they would get paid. That wasn’t happening before. “Before that time there were no wages for people or hire for animals. No one could go about their business safely because of their enemies.” People were going to be able to work and get paid for it. Plus, “The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew.” Crops were going to grow. Rain was going to fall. The people would have food! “‘It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?’ declares the LORD Almighty.” It would sound impossible. It would seem too good to be true. But not with God. He can do it!
Isn’t this encouraging? I could preach a really long sermon on this chapter. Listen to all God’s promises, “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.” “Let your hands be strong.” “I will save you, and you will be a blessing.” “Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.” “I have determined to do good to Jerusalem and Judah.” “Do not be afraid.” Can you imagine God saying all these things to you? Talk about being restored! It was going to carry over into the people’s lives: “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely.” God’s grace was going to spill over in the way people treated each other. Restoration for all of society!
Here’s how good it was going to be: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah.” Last week, we heard how the people had asked Zechariah if they needed to keep on mourning and fasting. In what we heard last week, God never actually answered their question. He does here. He says, “If you keep fasting, it’s going to be all be joyful. All happy.” These words make me think of the verse in Psalms: “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). When restoration comes, tears of sadness turn into tears of joy. Weeping turns into rejoicing.
And here’s the greatest part: “Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going’…. In those days ten people from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.’” Can you imagine that? Ten people coming up to you and saying, “Please let us go to church with you. We want what you have!” To people who were beaten down, discouraged, defeated, alone, God said, “I love you. I am with you. One day, everybody will want what you have.” Know what you could call that? That’s restoration!
It sounds good, doesn’t it? So here’s the question: When? When will this restoration happen? That’s a good question! Reading prophecies in the Old Testament is like driving toward the mountains. Most of the way, it’s flat. But, suddenly, you look up and see them: The mountains! Except as you get closer, you realize something: Those aren’t really the mountains. They are just the foothills. Behind them are the mountains! But when you get to those mountains, you realize something. Those aren’t the real mountains either. You look up and see snow-covered peaks. Those are the mountains! This is how many of God’s promises work. As God’s plan enfolds, we see God’s prophecies fulfilled more and more, leading to the greatest fulfillment at the end.
So when was this restoration? For Israel, part of the restoration happened right away. God gives his people physical blessings here on earth. Zechariah’s words made the people’s hands strong. God gave them the strength to rebuild the temple. They were able to worship God together again. There were times of peace and security and joy. And when that happened, who were they to thank? God. In beautiful, sometimes unexpected ways, God restores our lives here on earth.
Do you think he does that for us today? Yes! Have you gone to the Gathering Place? If you do, do you know what you’ll see there? Kids playing and old people watching them as they lean on their canes. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Peace to go to the park. Medicine to prolong life. Let’s not take that for granted! When you work, I’m guessing you usually get paid, right? What a blessing! When farmers in America plant stuff, it usually grows. A lot! If we sit back and think about it, these wonderful, amazing blessings that God’s Old Testament people couldn’t possibly imagine, a lot of them are everyday life for us in America. What a gracious God we have!
But that’s not all. Those are just the foothills. There’s a bigger mountain. A bigger way God has fulfilled his promises. In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people were the nation of Israel. Do you know whom God’s chosen people are today? Christians. The New Testament says that the Christian Church is now the people of God. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). When we look for God’s blessings, we don’t just look for physical things. Many of God’s promises find fulfillment in the Christian Church.
Through Jesus, you have peace with God. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, all your sins have been forgiven. God loves you! God is with you! Doesn’t that restore your soul? Through baptism, you became a part of God’s family. No one can take that away from you! Jesus died for you. God lives in you. Doesn’t that restore your soul? And not just you: In God’s Church, you find a family of people who love you. Oh, we’re not perfect. But in God’s Church, you find a home. A place of peace and security, where people care about you and you care about them. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? Through the gospel, God’s restoration is coming to more and more people.
But what about that last part? I don’t see people begging to join our church! Did you know that in 2022, we at our little church had 12 new adults take our FaithBuilders class and join our church? That’s pretty cool! This past June, our Wisconsin Synod held its world-wide conference. Do you know how many nations were represented? 27. That’s a lot! Just this month, 57 Lutheran pastors graduated from our Seminary in Vietnam. 57! That’s almost twice as many as graduated from our Seminary in the U.S. And that’s just our little church and our little synod. Do you see what God is doing? He’s restoring the world through his Church. He’s bringing people to him.
Of course, things are far from perfect in the Christian Church. There are persecutions and conflicts and false teachings. But we hadn’t seen the biggest mountain yet. Where do you think God’s restoration will finally be complete? In heaven. See how this restoration prophecy thing works? Some fulfillment in the world. Lots of fulfillment in the Church. But the ultimate fulfillment in heaven. Weeping into joy. What’s God going to do in heaven? “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 21:4). God with us. What’s it going to be like in heaven? “God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them’ (Revelation 21:3). All nations worshiping Jesus. Who will be in heaven? “There before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” (Revelation 7:9).
Do you know what all this means? You can have hope. You can have hope every day. In Psalm 23, David wrote, “He restores my soul.” This is what God does for his people. He restores our souls. No matter what disaster has struck you, there is restoration. There is forgiveness in Jesus’ cross. There is comfort in God’s presence. There is encouragement from God’s people. There’s hope. I bet, if you look, you can see God’s blessings in your life on earth. I bet, if your eyes of faith are open, you can see God’s blessings to you through his Church. And one day, it will all be perfect. Better than ever before. In heaven. You have hope! God has planned the restoration.
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