Encouragement
Zech. 8:9 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets, since the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in; for I set every man against his fellow. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
Zech. 8:14 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “As I purposed to do evil to you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the LORD of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, says the LORD.”
Finish the Temple
They need strong hands and hearts for this last push, to finish the temple. They had arrived back to find nothing but desolation. An empty, unwelcoming land, with no jobs and no law. Every people need some form of lawmen. Someone who will remind and enforce civil society on people. They were like the Wild West of North America, in need of Marshal Dillon, or the Lone Ranger. But if every one’s heart is turned to God and our fellow man, there is no need of law enforcement. This has always been the instruction of our Lord.
And the Lord your God is to be loved with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deut. 6:5
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
Then there will be peace and abundance. The nation will no longer be a byword, forgotten by other nations. “I save you, and you shall be a blessing.”
There is also a shadow of the future here. As at the time, only Judah returned. Israel has been truly scattered. Even now they have not returned in large numbers. But as DNA becomes more reliable, there will be more. The Lord has promised it.
FYI: Covenant Theologians believe that the Church replaces Israel in all these Judah/Israel promises. [See Also: Hermeneutics]
Assurance
This is God’s great promise: when His people come back to Him, He will restore their land, their place, their things.
Discouragement is turned to Encouragement
As I purposed to do evil to you
The word translated as “do evil” can mean evil; more often, it is translated as: do injury, hurt, cause mischief, or do wickedly. However, in this context, it’s a verb, not a noun, and it’s in the causative infinitive tense. The significance lies in that infinitive. He is now, not going to discipline them forever.
The people are told to be better than their fathers. To walk true in the Faith. Speak the truth, judge the truth, make peace with God and man.
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