Zechariah 6:14-15 - “Then put the crown in
the Temple of the Lord, to honor those who gave it—Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah,
and also Josiah. These three who have come from so far away
represent many others who will someday come from distant lands to rebuild the
Temple of the Lord. And when this happens, you will know my messages have been
from God, the Lord Almighty. But none of this will happen unless you carefully
obey the commandments of the Lord your God.”
Zechariah’s vision continued as he saw 4 chariots that were
pulled by colored horses. The angel told
him that they represented the 4 Heavenly spirits that patrolled the earth…
executed God’s judgment and quieted his anger. Then he told him to have a crown made out of the
silver and gold that 3 faithful men had brought back from Babylon with
them. It was to be put on Joshua’s head
so he could represent the ‘branch’ that was coming after him to rule both earth
and spirit.
His last words are the ones that stuck in my spirit this
morning. The angel said that the ‘branch’…the
promised Messiah…could not come unless all the commandments of God were
obeyed. He rewarded the obedience of
these three men and held them as an example of how he wanted all his people to
be.
God loves us no matter what. He will never give up on a soul
who has asked him to be their savior. But God’s plan for the world includes
using us to help him accomplish the small things that lead up to his second
coming. The angel was saying that obedience is key to understanding the plan of
God and seeing it come to full completion.
Obedience is more than keeping the ten rules Moses was given
on that mountain. Obedience is studying….praying…teaching...and stepping out on
faith when we are given a task to do. It may be a small thing…like collecting
some gold and silver to bring back form Babylon. It may be a great thing…like wearing the
crown of a nation to represent the Messiah that will come from your royal bloodline. It may be something completely between the
two like using your snowplow to clear a path in your tenant’s driveway….or
taking hot chocolate and cookies to the men you see working outside in 12 plus
inches of snow.
Obedience is how we can all share in wearing that crown of
Joshua till Christ has everything else out in place to come back and rule this
earth in peace and love forever. Read and study …every day….love with your
hands and feet …everyday…pray for yourself and others….everyday….teach someone
something about God….everyday….throw fear to the wind and use the Holy Spirit
God placed inside us to have the courage to be obedient when we asked Him to be
our Savior…everyday.
Father…thank you for the reminder that you placed a crown on
my head the day I asked you to save me.
Forgive me for forgetting that the crown you placed there should
represent. Help me to clean it up a bit….and
dust off the cobwebs and dirt that I let satan trick me into collecting on it. Clean
out my ears to hear more of what you would have me to do with the resources you
have placed in my hands. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment