Mon, 18 December, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.
1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”
Zechariah is a difficult and highly symbolic book with many strange and confusing pictures. In this chapter we have a flying scroll and a woman in a basket. Very interesting, and for some, quite an opportunity to launch into speculative interpretations.
We’ll try to keep it simple. This is a picture of the covenant with its stipulations of what we need to do, and consequences if we don’t obey.
God has told us what He requires of us. It is summarized in the moral law of the Ten Commandments. In today’s chapter, the flying scroll brings judgment to those who have violated the eighth (stealing) and ninth (false testimony) commandments. Obviously these are just to example sins that will be brought into judgment. God will also judge violations of the other commandments. But we see that God sends out the covenant lawsuit to the house of the covenant lawbreakers.
What do we learn from this?
God judges sin. He will bring people into judgment for their violation of His commands. Be sure that your sin will find you out. Eventually the flying scroll will find you out and you will face the judgment sent by God.
Where is Christ in this passage?
Since we have all sinned, we all face God’s flying scroll that spells out the punishment we must face because of our sin. All sin must be punished.
Our only hope is if Someone else takes that punishment on our behalf.
Jesus Christ, as the God-Man, came to earth to live the perfect life and to bear the punishment for the sins of everyone who comes to Him in faith. He takes the punishment for the sins of His people upon Himself on the cross. The punishment stipulated by this symbolic flying scroll is placed upon Jesus Christ, and all His people do not have to bear the punishment for their violations of the law. They are accepted by God as perfectly righteous, and are spared the eternal punishment for their sins, all because of the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf.
