Zechariah 12:1; Isaiah 40:25-31

It appears that the nations and evil are in the ascendency.  The worthless shepherd leads the flock and he doesn’t care about the flock.  But God gives Zechariah another burden of the word of the LORD (Ch. 12-14).  It reveals both Israel’s spiritual salvation and her deliverance from the nations.

Before we examine this step-by-step salvation of Israel let us not miss the God who alone can do this.  In 12:1 the LORD is God the Creator.  No other God but the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth can be counted on to use the course of history to faithfully keep His word.  It is reminiscent of Isaiah 40 where God speaks comfort to Israel after she has been judged double for her sins.  Israel thinks her way is hidden from the LORD (40:27).  But the LORD is her Creator.  

·        40:6-8: As Creator His word stands forever, unlike the grass that withers, etc.

·        40:12-14: As Creator He knows the weight of the mountains and the span of heaven.  He takes council from no one because no one knows what He knows.  Paul quotes this in Rom. 11:34 after promising the salvation of Israel.

·        40:15-24: The nations are nothing to Him.  The gods men make are nothing to Him.  Why?  Because He is the Creator and Sustainer who sits above the circle of the earth.  He brings the mighty people of earth to nothing.

·        40:25-26: He is incomparable, being the God who created all things, even calling the stars by name.

·        40:27-31: Since He is the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Israel should not doubt that He knows their situation and is fully capable of keeping His word to them.

One of the most insidious attacks on truth is that which denies an all-wise, all-powerful Creator.  This denial is totally foolish because it requires that we think something came from nothing.  It’s that simple.  It CANNOT be true.  Then add what this denial does to humanity: it leaves us with little reason to live, no reason to live right, and no power outside ourselves.  How pointless and hopeless.

Israel, your God is for you.  He will keep His word.