Day 268, or September the 25th. Hands together,
eyes closed. Our thoughts today come from Zechariah
chapter 7, verses 11 and 12. But they refused
to pay attention. Stubbornly they turned their
backs and covered their ears. They made their
hearts as hard as flint and would not listen
to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty
has sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets.
And now the big picture surrounding these verses.
Zechariah moves on from visions to verbals as
he continues to try to teach the people of Judah
what God wants them to know. He condemns hypocrisy
and disobedience, and reminds his hearers that
they must listen, otherwise they will never know
what God requires. After the negative, he comes
to the positive, and reminds everyone that the
future is bright for those who trust God. After
the calamity of the exile, God was as good as
his word and brought them back to the promised
land. Now that the temple is almost complete,
the hard physical work is over, and Messiah's
coming is certain. And now today's action step.
It's hard to believe that these verses today
are referring to adult people, isn't it? You
can almost hear them singing, la la la, I'm not
listening. I clearly recall waiting outside school
to collect our grandchildren one day and hearing
the different approaches of parents with their
children. Some spoke to them quietly and the
children responded. Others spoke loudly and the
child didn't seem to hear. The volume was cranked
up but still the child didn't seem to hear. They
had to be physically touched before contact was
made. God is telling Zechariah that the people
he is addressing truly are the children of Israel.
I wonder if the instructions that we have all
heard many times, particularly at school assemblies,
is more practical than we ever suspected. When
we place our hands together, we can't block up
our ears. Why not spend just one minute now listening
to see what God has to say to you? Hands together,
eyes closed.