There are two readings for today.
SCRIPTURE: Zechariah 13
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. [Zechariah 13:1]
This passage speaks of how God will “clean” His people, removing “unclean” (immoral, wicked, deceitful, etc.) from the world.
The harsh example of parents stabbing their son if he prophecies is hyperbole, showing how instead of listening and believing the false prophets, people will hate their lies.
This is in contrast to how it had been for so long – killing the true prophets and accepting the false ones (the one’s who said, ‘everything is ok!’).
God will also remove the worthless leaders who abused and neglected their sheep, and let them wander into all kinds of trouble.
God will get rid of everything and everyone that is corrupting His people, His world.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. [John 15:2-3]
Jesus combines the idea of “cleansing” with the idea of “pruning”.
By His words, Jesus separated between those who were open to the truth and those who rejected it – the false shepherds.
Through Jesus, God is pruning people, exposing those whose hearts are selfish and deceitful, separating between the ‘righteous’ and the ‘unrighteous’.
This is all a part of how God is rebuilding His kingdom, His creation.
How we respond to Jesus’ teaching is the key, whether we are open to the truth or prefer to believe the lie, whether we cling to a moral or an immoral life.
The fruit that God is looking for in His world include things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
This is what His Spirit is working to produce in God’s garden.
Or to switch analogies, this is what the river of living water (or fountain) of the Spirit is doing in the world, cleansing it from sin and impurity.
Sometimes it’s hard to make sense of the images and illustrations used in the Bible, but the basic sense is clear – God is cleaning up this world, which is such a mess.
He is at work to prune away that which is evil, and to build up that which is good.
He is washing away the filth and the dirt, and raising up a clean, holy people.
He is doing what it takes to restore His creation paradise.
And Jesus is the key to this.
Through Him our sin is punished, our guilt removed, and we can be forgiven.
Through Him we are restored to God and His Spirit, Who transforms us into the good people we were created to be.
Are we, like the people Zechariah describes, eager to be people of the truth, eager to separate ourselves from sin and impurity?
Do we want to be clean, do we want to be pruned?
PRAYER:
Lord, my quick answer is yes, I want to be clean. And yet pruning is hard. Help me not to resist when You want to improve me through pruning! Make me teachable and willing!