June 12, 2022

Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 1:3

In the days of Zechariah the prophet, God’s people were not taking seriously His call to complete the rebuilding of the temple. The task was about half done, and then largely abandoned in favor of the mundane tasks of day-to-day living. Their failure to anticipate the coming Messiah actually facilitated a steady spiritual weakening that worsened with each generation. The Holy Spirit showed Zechariah that his contemporaries were functioning on the same presumption as their predecessors: living like pagans while claiming to be God’s people. But the promised Messiah was coming and would inhabit the temple. It must be built to completion!

The invitation to return is from the Creator and Redeemer who identifies Himself (three times!) in our opening verse as the LORD of hosts: the Commander of armies of angels. There are, in all likelihood, billions upon billions of angels! The humble soul who desires to return to Him is welcomed, rejoiced over, and aided by the powers of Heaven.

In the New Testament our bodies are compared to a temple that is under construction. The Savior wants to live in us through His Holy Spirit. It is not a coincidence that Jesus was trained as a carpenter by His earthly father. The skillful input of shaping, fitting, sanding and refining is an apt metaphor for the work of the Creator as He molds our character. For you are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9). Therefore we need, just as the people of Zechariah’s day, to remain engaged with Him who is the Source of life. Only He can enact the transformation from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) that will bring to completion the building of our characters.

…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6