Zechariah 6:15 – “Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
God had given the people a promise concerning the building of the temple. The last sentence of this verse needs to be carefully noted. What God had promised would not come to pass if the people did not hold up their end of the bargain. The promise was contingent upon careful obedience: “And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.” No obedience, no fulfilled promise.
I begin to ask myself the question, “How many promises of God have I missed because I didn’t do what I was supposed to? How many times have I blamed God for something that was really my fault?”
What is God saying that the people need to pay close attention to? I believe we can find the answer in today’s reading in Zechariah 7:8-10 “Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.’’” The bottom line of these verses is God wants us to treat other people the right way, especially those who might be easily vulnerable in our society. Take up for those who don’t have a voice and who are taken advantage of.
This is a great passage of scripture this time of year and it embodies the spirit of Christmas. May you and yours be blessed this season and may that blessing be extended from you to others who need the Savior.