Scripture

Ask the Lord for rain in the spring

For he makes the storm clouds.

And he will send showers of rain

so that every field becomes a lush pasture.

Observation

We need to ask the Lord for rain to make the lush pastures. Idols and fortune tellers are worthless and tell only lies.

God is angry towards the shepherds of Israel who have led his people astray. He will make his people into mighty warriors who will trample their enemies under their feet.

The people of Israel will be like victorious warriors and joyful as if made happy by wine. The children will rejoice in the Lord.

The people of the Lord will return from the nations, and their enemies, Assyria and Egypt, will be crushed.

Application

Here in Narrabri we normally have hot and dry summers. Grass quickly dries in the heat, and until we get rain in autumn, the landscape is usually brown. This summer is different, with abundant and regular rain keeping the grass growing and dams and rivers full.

The Lord invites us to ask him for the rain that we need to produce food and fibre crops. Despite our wealth and technology, our prosperity and survival depend ultimately on getting rain at the right time.

The image of lush pastures is a metaphor for prosperity more generally. Our economy is dependent on the favour of the Lord. If we are hit by a new disease, for example, poverty and suffering can result.

So we need to ask the Lord for what we need in order to prosper and live well.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, I recognise that in every way I am dependent on you for my daily bread. Please provide all that I need, and may my thankfulness to you be a sign to others of your kingdom. Amen.

Scripture

Tyre has made a strong fortress and has made silver and gold as plentiful as dust in the streets. But now the Lord will strip away Tyre’s possessions and hurl its fortifications into the sea, and it will be burnt to the ground.

Observation

Zechariah now brings some messages from the Lord about the surrounding nations.

Aram is doomed. The cities of Tyre and Sidon think their wealth and cleverness will protect them. The Lord will take away Tyre’s possessions and destroy its fortifications.

The Philistines also will be destroyed, although those in Ekron will join the Lord’s people.

Israel’s King will come riding on a donkey. The Lord will remove the chariots and war horses, and destroy the weapons. The king will establish peace in the land and will reign from sea to sea. He will protect His people.

Application

The city of Tyre was so wealthy that gold and silver were as plentiful as dust. Their wealth, of course, was nothing like the wealth of the nations today.

The Lord promised that all that wealth would be stripped away from them. They trusted their wealth and their innovations to protect them, but the Lord is greater than these things.

I think that we can trust in our possessions too much. Our culture thinks that we have no need for God because we are wealthy and are so clever. God is an outdated superstition, and the Bible is just an ancient book of no possible use in the 21st century.

For all of our cleverness and knowledge, the Lord could strip our wealth away in no time at all. The pandemic has shown just how quickly our economies can be disrupted.

We must always put our trust in the Lord, and not lean on our own understanding, or on our knowledge, or our own possessions. Only the Lord is for ever – everything else will pass away.

Prayer

Father, please forgive me for the times when I have sought security in my possessions or in my own abilities. I trust you to keep me safe in all things. Amen