A meditation to Zechariah 9:1-17.
WHOSE king looks to God alone? The
people most blessed.
The Davidic hope of Zechariah — ultimately
Jesus of Nazareth — is that humble king, not seeking his own glory, or to reign
in his own strength, but to reign under God’s almighty power, by submission…
submission to God, so all of life may be ordered as the Kingdom decrees.
Jesus came not to show us how to
rule and reign in power, but how to reconcile and restore everything in weakness.
For, in weakness is power. A gentle and compelling power.
Zechariah 9:1-8 is a message of God’s
righting of wrongs; of the justice he was exacting over the nations for his
Kingdom’s sake. From verse 9 we see the ushering in of the King.
Jesus, the coming King, is bringing
peace, and, through him, the “prisoners” will be restored to double their
original estate, highlighting the principle of Job (v. 42:10).
He will give to those who call him
by Name every good thing of power, but only through weakness will they be able
to access such power. Only in
humility, and honesty, and in adroit humiliation. But their power will be to
them as a sword, able to strike wonderful blows of loving truth for the
Kingdom, for this sword is about the truth, and justice, and fairness. And
through truth, justice, and fairness is peace.
***
The power of the Lord is his own power. And when Jesus
was here, on this earth, not even he used his own power how he could have.
The Lord will come! His Judgment will “appear”
according to his timing and his way. Not one moment sooner. Not one iota
different to the original design.
Yet his Judgment
comes into each of our lives. We accept it and are blessed. We resist it, and,
spiritually, we’re banished. The Lord’s
Judgment is truth. It’s right. It’s appropriate. And, it’s designed for our
growth and betterment.
The Lord reigns!
When he reigns
over our hearts, he reminds us that his power is not a power for us to use or
abuse. But when we are his, and we respond by a notable submission to his will,
which is to allow the Lord to
defend — in his own way — we’re blessed ultimately in our weakness.
The King who rides
into Jerusalem on a lowly donkey shows us how to allow God to judge. He who is
the bringer of peace focuses on peace, and he leaves the foolish to war.
God is no Lord of
violence, but of peace. But the violent will one day be judged.
What matters most
to God is that we respond like Jesus.
The abundance of
God’s Kingdom is peace. Peace God gives such that we would give peace to
others. God’s Kingdom, come.
© 2015 Steve Wickham.
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