Lent Devotional

Zechariah 12:10-14 (ESV)

 And I will pour out on the house of David
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace
and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me,
on him whom they have pierced,
they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child,
and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
On that day the mourning in Jerusalem
will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon
in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn,
each family by itself: the family of the house of David
by itself, and their wives by themselves;
the family of the house of Nathan by itself,
and their wives by themselves; the family of the
house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves;
the family of the Shimeites by itself,
and their wives by themselves;
and all the families that are left,
each by itself, and their wives by themselves.

Although Zechariah spoke these words, they were the words of the Lord. Yet how could this be? How could God say, “They look on me, on him whom they have pierced?” Could God be wounded? Even more puzzling, could God be “pierced” – which indicated a killing? In other words, could God die?

Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy. Not only was he fully God, but he was also fully man. Moreover, as the prophecy predicted, Jesus was the “only child” and “firstborn” Son of the Father (John 3:16). He died and, on the cross, he was pierced: “One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water” (John 19:34).

The prophecy, however, said more. It said that those who pierced him would mourn because God would pour out on them “a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy.” In other words, the Spirit would open their eyes to see what they had done and how grievous their sin had been. This mourning would be widespread yet intimate – “the land shall mourn, each family by itself.”

In part, this prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost. Peter said to his listeners, “You crucified and killed [Jesus] by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). Then, upon hearing the gospel, they were “cut to the heart” and 3,000 were saved that day (Acts 2:37-41). Today, this prophecy is still being fulfilled. As the Spirit fills us with grace, we mourn over Christ’s death because we know that “he was wounded for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:5). In our sorrow, however, we also rejoice because his death “brought us peace, and with his stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

– By The Park Forum

Prayer

Lord, we confess that our sin pierced Jesus. Thus, we mourn and ask you to pour out your Spirit of grace and mercy. In humility, we rejoice that your loving kindness never fails – while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Zechariah 9:9-10 (ESV)

 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

In the Ancient Near East, a king entered cities riding on a warhorse in order to convey his military power, particularly when he was entering into newly conquered cities where his rule may have been regarded as illegitimate or met with suspicion or outright rejection. The exception to this custom was when a beloved king entered his own capital city. There he would ride in on a donkey — the benevolent king.

The prophet Zechariah speaks of a day when Jerusalem would see her king return. He would conquer the enemy once and for all, secure a lasting salvation and establish a new reign of peace for all. This hope of the true king, riding on a donkey, led the crowd to shout: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” when they saw Jesus riding into Jerusalem, yes, on a donkey.

And yet this crowd soon became the angry mob that cried for blood: “Crucify Him!” Jesus, who was once welcomed as the returning king, would be met with the violent rejection of a hostile people. The true king returned to his capital city to find that it had betrayed him. Yet still, he mounted a donkey, not a warhorse, and entered in peace. And he won the ultimate victory for his treacherous people by submitting himself to their violence — our violence — confirming our guilt and achieving our forgiveness in one decisive victory. The enemy this king would conquer turned out to be us, and the cost of the victory we longed for was the death of our beloved king. And he did it. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Prayer

Lord, we rejoice and shout aloud that you would give your life to pay the price for our treachery. We praise you as our beloved king we have been waiting for. Come reign in our heart, our lives and our city. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Haggai 2:6-9 (ESV)

 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Yet once more, in a little while,
I will shake the heavens and the earth
and the sea and the dry land.
And I will shake all nations,
so that the treasures of all nations shall come in,
and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of hosts.
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,”
declares the Lord of hosts.
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former,”
says the Lord of hosts.
“And in this place I will give peace,” declares the Lord of hosts.

The book of Haggai was written to those who had returned from Babylonian to rebuild the destroyed temple of God. It was an encouragement and a call to rebuild amidst rubble, hope despite desolation, and believe even during times of hardship and disappointment.

In verses 6 to 9, Haggai spoke of a time to come when the world would be shaken up as it had never been shaken before. Ironically, this was intended to be a comfort for people who were standing in rubble! While this may seem difficult to understand at first glance, the writer of Hebrews took comfort in the shaking of this world, as it “indicates the removal of things that are shaken … in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain … a kingdom” (Hebrews 12:26-28).

At the heart of Haggai’s declaration that all of creation (v. 6) and all nations (v. 7) would be shaken, there is the promise that “the treasures of all nations shall come in.” “Treasures” is a Hebrew word that can function as a singular or plural noun. In other words, not only will the treasures of the nations be brought to the house of God in tribute, but there will also be One, the true treasure, who fills the house and is to be prized above all the wealth of the world. For Haggai, it was only when the world was shaken that we could see what really will stand and which treasures will endure.

When your world shakes, are you shaken with it, or are you unshakable in spite of it? When the treasures of your heart disappoint you, does your heart fail, or does it take hold of the treasure of all nations?

Prayer

Father, help me to hold onto your unshakable kingdom when my world is being shaken; to remember that Jesus Christ experienced the earthquake of the cross, so I would not be moved; and to remember that while treasures in the world may fail, you are the treasure of all nations. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Ezekiel 34:23-31 (ESV)

“And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David,
and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David
shall be prince among them.
I am the Lord; I have spoken.

“I will make with them a covenant of peace and
banish wild beasts from the land, so that they may dwell securely
in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.
And I will make them and the places all around my hill
a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season;
they shall be showers of blessing.
And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit,
and the earth shall yield its increase,
and they shall be secure in their land.
And they shall know that I am the Lord,
when I break the bars of their yoke,
and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them.
They shall no more be a prey to the nations,
nor shall the beasts of the land devour them.
They shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid.
And I will provide for them renowned plantations
so that they shall no more be consumed with hunger in the land,
and no longer suffer the reproach of the nations.
And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them,
and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,
declares the Lord God. And you are my sheep,
human sheep of my pasture,
and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.

The image of the people of God as a flock of sheep occurs several times throughout the Bible. In the earlier part of Ezekiel 34, the current shepherds (rulers of Israel) are rebuked for their abuse of power (34:1-22). The prophet describes a situation where they had grown fat and wealthy at the expense of the very people they were supposed to care for. We are told that because of that, God would bring judgment on them. The chapter changes in its focus as the warning turns into a promise for the future in the verses above. Not only will the Lord save his sheep, he will also appoint a king who, like David, will shepherd them in such a way as to bring lasting peace (v. 25). It was peace and rest which humanity lost through sin (Genesis 3:15; 4:8) and which prophets like Ezekiel had been pointing to ever since (Isaiah 9:6-7). This is where we lift our eyes to see Jesus, who is God’s ideal shepherd-king and the opposite of the corrupt leadership described in the earlier part of the chapter.

 The gospel writers tell us that Jesus came to proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind (Luke 4:18). It is Jesus who weeps over Jerusalem because they didn’t know what would bring them peace (Luke 19:41). It is Jesus who lays down his life for his sheep so that we might have peace with God and one another. And it is Jesus who will one day bring everlasting peace to the world through his return (Revelation 21). In the meantime, there are seasons of disappointment and suffering that can sometimes make us lose hope that God will fulfill his promise. The injustice of the world around us can make us cynical. It is at those times that we must reflect on Jesus as our good shepherd and remember that because he laid down his life for his sheep, we will one day “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank you for your love and care for your sheep. Thank you for laying down your life on the cross so that I might know your peace and be adopted into your family. During this season of reflection, in light of your love for me, help me to find ways to seek peace in my relationships and lay down my life for others. In Christ’s Name, Amen.