Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 24; Revelation 11; Zechariah 7; John 10
Zechariah 7:8-10 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
Zechariah was summarizing the former nature of the Israelites in regard to God’s word. Here is what Zechariah preached and what the former prophets had preached. This is the word that Israel had rejected and was the cause of their spiritual demise and exile. God wants true judgment. He does not want nepotism and favoritism. He wants for brothers to have compassion and mercy for one another. Truth is the most important thing and relationships come next!
As we live our lives following Christ, we are to never oppress the widow or the fatherless. This is reemphasized by James:
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
The stranger and the poor are to be shown mercy and compassion also. We are to be the kind of people who are hospitable and generous. Israel had neglected these admonitions. Truth and relationships were neglected. Soon the imaginations of the heart were evil toward brothers and sisters. Interestingly, this is the attitude men had before the flood.
Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Our outward behavior is important, but God is also monitoring the imaginations of our hearts. What do we think of when we think of our brothers and sisters? Do we desire good for brothers and sisters or do we think evil thoughts toward them? God wants us to value truth and relationships. He wants us to love and to show mercy and compassion. Let’s guard our hearts against the evil that sees people as things to be used and money as a thing to be loved!
Jesus is working to transform us into his image. Let’s let him do it!
In Christ,
Rody
