Thursday, March 29, 2018

EmmDev 2018-03-29 [Lent2018] One... Single... Day....

One... Single... Day....

Listen O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you who are symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. See the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,and I will remove the sin of this land in one single day.      (Zechariah3:8-9)
In the first part of this symbol rich chapter, Zechariah has had a vision of the high priest Joshua (Joshua is a variant of the name Jesus) who appeared before the throne in scruffy dirty clothes. Satan was there to accuse him for his sin, but God re-clothes him in clean clothes, taking care of sin and the accuser.

The vision continues with the promise that the Branch is coming. This is the same word as the word translated shoot in Isaiah 11 ("A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse...") Then the imagery changes to another Messianic image: The stone. We have seen this before in Psalm 118, and we remember that Peter declares that Christ is both cornerstone (the stone that is the orientation and foundation of the building) and he is the capstone (the purpose and glory of the building.)

The seven eyes on the stone are in all likelihood symbolic of God's omniscience - that He sees all our sin and brokenness. It means that God sees us as we are and doesn't give up on us.

We don't know what the inscription on the stone is, but the result is forgiveness in one single day! It is a breathtakingly accurate and to-the-point Messianic Star: It comes right down to why He came and what it means for us. The image of the stone takes us straight to the rocky outcrop of Golgotha. I have often thought that the inscription on the stone will be 'It is finished!'

Tomorrow we will remember the "one single day" on which our sins were forgiven.

May our hearts be filled with wonder, worship and love and may you be blessed and renewed as you contemplate, remember and celebrate the Cross and the Empty Tomb!

(The picture below says it very well...)



(I'll be taking a break from eDevs until the gov schools start again...)