Zechariah chapter 8, and I was
going to read 18 and 19, but I think I'll just drop down to
20. The pastor who brought me the gospel had some very, very
good instructions about the scriptures. said if you don't have a lot
to say about a passage of scripture, step over it, come back later
when the Lord shows you something about it. So we're going to do
that with verses 18 and 19, and we're going to pick up with verse
20. The book of Zechariah chapter 8, and I'm just amazed at what
blessings the Lord has for us here in this chapter of the book
of Zechariah. The whole book has been a glorious
study, but here in the eighth chapter, these last few verses,
we have the fulfillment of some of the promises of the Lord of
hosts that we may have witnessed some of this in our own life,
but we notice in the past a great deal of it, and it may be in
the future. We don't know. But it tells us here in the book
of Zechariah chapter 8 verse 20, thus saith the Lord of hosts,
it shall come to pass Now, I was just considering that statement
that is recorded for us here in the book of Zechariah chapter
8 and there in verse 20, it shall come to pass. Now, we're going
to read about some of the things that the Lord mentions here that's
going to come to pass, but the amazing thing about it is that
everything that the Lord ever said shall come to pass It shall
come to pass. It will not be detained by events. It will not be detained by people.
It will not be detained by time. It will not be detained. What
the Lord of Hosts has to say shall come to pass. When the
Lord of Hosts speaks, it shall be fulfilled. And it doesn't
matter what seems to appear to us. The Lord of hosts words will
be fulfilled. And what we think about the state
of things, that doesn't matter. It isn't us that is going to
direct the will of God. I heard a man yesterday saying
he had been very sick, but a lot of people prayed for him, and
now he's well. Well, that's not the reason he's
well, is a whole bunch of people prayed for him. Because God is
not going to be moved by prayer. He's not going to be moved by
the number of people that are praying or the few people that
are praying. He encourages all the saints
to pray and to pray continuously and to pray for one another.
But He's not going to be moved by our prayer in changing His
mind about something. That's just, well, we don't want
a God like that. And the God of the Bible is not
like that. He's not going to change. I change
not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." So our very
well-being in salvation is based upon God changing not. Well, the Lord of Hosts has spoken,
and it shall come to pass. His multitudes of lost sheep,
and we're going to see that happening in these three or four verses
in the latter part of chapter 8. We're going to see that the
multitudes of lost sheep shall be brought to Him, because He
has said, it shall come to pass. I'm going to be bringing people
out of these places. I will be bringing people out
of these situations, but they are going to come to me. That's
a glorious thing about the salvation that we have in Christ, that
he meets us where we are. but he doesn't leave us where
we are. He doesn't leave us in that condition.
He brings us out of that condition. He meets us there, just like
he had Philip meet the Ethiopian eunuch where he was. Well, God
used Philip. Philip was the spokesman for
the Lord of Hosts, and he moved on him to go there, and he spoke
to that Ethiopian eunuch where he was, but he didn't leave him
there. He didn't leave him in that condition, didn't leave
him with the same thoughts or the same God that he had when
Philip arrived. We find that his multitudes of
lost sheep shall be brought to him, and the church shall rejoice
in this. The Lord of hosts has spoken,
it shall come to pass. And it's difficult for you and
for me to comprehend that in Papua New Guinea, now I mention
this because Brother Lance Heller has been with us and shared with
us some of the work that's down there. When they have a conference,
a Sovereign Grace Conference, can you imagine making enough
room for 600 people? 600 people. Now, that may have happened
in England two or three hundred years ago. It may have happened
in the United States two or three hundred years ago. But here,
if we can have a Sovereign Grace Conference and there's a hundred
or a hundred and fifty people, we think, hallelujah. And here
in the Dalles, when we get thirty or forty or fifty people together,
we say hallelujah. But can you just imagine that
the Lord has worked there in Papua New Guinea in such a manner
that they can have 600 people show up to a conference Now,
I wouldn't be so bold to say that they're all saved. That
would be foolishness. But there is some interest there.
How glorious that is. The Gentiles shall be added to
the church, and it shall increase greatly. When the Gentiles were
brought into the church, the church increased greatly. And
in the Gentile world, they shall come and hear the word and believe
in Christ and join together in the gospel church. So we have
these words of the Lord spoken to us here in Zechariah 8, verse
20. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
it shall come to pass that there shall come a people and the inhabitants
of many cities. God has spoken and it shall take
place and he will bring his people out of the farthest reaches wherever
they are. Now they might be right here
in the Dalles or right where you live but to them at that
point they are in the farthest reaches because we by nature
are enmity against God and we will have nothing to do with
him. We'll have everything to do with religion and a God. Would
you turn, keep your finger right here, we're going to be back
here in just a moment. But would you turn with me over
to the book of Acts chapter 2. The book of Acts chapter 2 is,
we think about the Lord speaking and here in Acts chapter 2 and
verse 41. as the messages went out. We know it as the day of Pentecost.
You know, Pentecost was a feast day for the Jews. It wasn't something
created by some people today to have a Pentecostal meeting.
It was a feast day. It was ordained in the Old Testament.
And they were there to commemorate that they were there to be religious. Let's just be plain with it.
They were there to be religious. And here on this day, God ordained
that there would be 12 preachers preaching the gospel in the languages
of the people that were present there. And it gives us a list
of them. But notice here in Acts chapter 2 and verse 41. Those preachers were preaching
the gospel because those people said, we hear the word of God
in our own language. and the word of god is the gospel
that's what they were preaching was the gospel of jesus christ
the good news i bring to you good tidings of great joy and
that's what the gospel is so here it tells us then they that
gladly received the word were baptized and the same day they
were added to them about three thousand souls Can you imagine
that group of people that were gathered there in Jerusalem that
day and to see this multitude brought in? Why? Because the
Lord of hosts shall said it yet shall come to pass and God ordained
this great event on this day when a whole bunch of religious
people were there and God brought the gospel to them and there
were 3,000 of them brought out of that religion and brought
to Christ He brought him out of that place where they were
that's the glorious thing about Christ He does not leave us where
we were he brings us up now. We may be in the same town And
we may live in the same house But when God saves us, He does
not leave us as He found us, because God is greater than that. He is going to bring us out to
a place. Now, if you'd step back over
there into the book of Zechariah, and read with me that next verse,
verse 22. In Zechariah chapter 8, verse
22, we've already heard Him say, There in verse 20, he says, Thus
saith the Lord of hosts, It shall come to pass, that there shall
come the people and the inhabitants of many cities, now verse 21,
and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord
of hosts. I will go also. Verse 22, Yea,
many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord.
You know, this is just totally against the naturalist state
of man, is to seek the Lord. In fact, we find the Lord said,
He looked down from heaven to see if there were any that did
seek after Him, and His commentary, His word, The whole thing was
none were seeking me. So something has happened here
God has worked the work of grace here He has been gracious to
a people that for all their life long. They have been an adversary
they have been a against God. They have been grievously against
God. And He has been merciful to bring
the gospel to them and that He would give them the new birth
and bring them out of the place that they were in. says there
in verse 21, the inhabitants of one city shall go to another
city. Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the
Lord of hosts. I will go also. Now, what a statement
is found here as we find that these people were brought to
a place where they no longer were attached to the gods or
the idols that they had been attached to. Now, God does such
a wonderful work that he detaches us from that which we were attached
to by nature, whether it be the invention of our own mind or
the invention of someone else's mind, or we just come to some
conclusion how God's going to save us if our good works that
way or bad works, he's going to take care of it. Well, we
find out that when God saves his people, that they have a
totally different attitude towards their former thoughts. My thoughts
were not God's thoughts at all. And then we find out that God
has a word, and his word to us is, I will save you by my grace
and lift you out of the pit that you're in, and you will come
to me, thus saith the Lord of hosts. It shall happen this way.
Well, turn with me, if you would, over to the book of 1 Thessalonians
again, chapter 1 and verse 9. We've read this several times
in our study of the book of Zechariah and also over there in the book
of Numbers, but if you'll turn there with me to the book of
1 Thessalonians, chapter 1. The inhabitants of one city shall
go. Now, we see in this verse that God's work does not leave
us where We are yet. He does not leave us there. He
finds us there He he brings the gospel there, but he does not
leave us there He is the Lord that is where we are brought
and since he is the Lord of hosts He has the power to do all of
that just as we read here in first Thessalonians chapter 1
and verse 9 as the Apostle Paul recounts and how often we need
this to recount and What did God do for us? Recount what God
did when He saved us. Recount when He brought us to
the gospel. Recount where we were when He found us. Recount
what He did with us after He found us and gave us the new
birth. How He brought us out of that. Well, here in 1 Thessalonians,
the Apostle Paul is used to recount this. And there in verse 9, it
tells us this. For from you sounded out the
word of the Lord. Excuse me, verse 9. For they
themselves show unto us what manner of entering in we had
unto you. Now this is a demonstration of
what happened when God brought the gospel. Now, those who hear
the gospel because God unstopped their ears and opened their eyes
so that they could hear the gospel and see Christ, this is going
to happen. Now, not everybody that gets
religious gets this. Not everybody that goes through
a forum gets this. Not everybody that hears the
gospel gets this. But here's what happens to those
who do. I'm not leaving you where you
are. Have power to bring you out of
that spot I have power to bring you out of that religion and
that's the Lord of hosts He has the power to do that for he says
here we had unto you and how ye turned to God what what gracious
activity God performed when he turned us and we shall be turned
we were turned to God and We never had that turning in our
religion. We never had that turning by
our natural birth. We never had that turning by
all the pleadings we may have gone through, all the religious
activities that we performed. We never had that turning. We
were still turned to our own self and to our own devices.
And it goes on and tells us here in the book of First Thessalonians
chapter one and verse nine, how you turn to God from. Now, God does not leave us there. He does not leave us in that
position. He turns us to God. Now, as I said, we may live in
the same community, live in the same house, we may have the same
family and everything else, but there has been something that
God has miraculously done for us. He has turned us to God. What? What from? from idols to
serve the living and true God. And when we study about the Lord
of hosts, the Lord of armies, the Lord of the armies of heaven
and earth, that Lord has power to turn us and to turn us to
God. Turn us to God from our old self,
from our old idols, from our old position that we were in.
That Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing. Why? Because
he had been taken from the very clutches of religion and brought
to Christ. He had been taken out of the
kingdom of darkness and placed in the kingdom of his dear son. That's what God does. that he
has promised to do that to every one of his lost sheep, and he
will be faithful to do it, to bring every one of his lost sheep
out of the place that they're in, to bring them to Christ,
and put their idols behind them. Now, we're going to go back to
the Old Testament for two or three readings, so if you join
me in the book of Isaiah, in the book of Isaiah, They're in
chapter 2, Isaiah chapter 2. Now Isaiah is the gospel, just
like Song of Solomon and Psalms and Proverbs. It's the gospel.
that God saves his people from their sins by the grace of God,
by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here in the
book of Isaiah, chapter 2, we have this message given to us,
beginning with verse 17. Now, it would be well if I read
the whole chapter, but you know, you're going to have to do that.
You read this whole chapter, but notice here in verse 17 of
Isaiah chapter 2, it says, And the loftiness of man shall be
bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low, and
the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Now what does that
say about God's activity in His elect? What does that say about
God's activity in those He saves? He takes our loftiness and humbles
us. Why? Because He's going to be
exalted in that day. He is the one. And God's people
get to say, I'm trusting Christ and Christ alone. Because he's
exalted. He's been exalted in us. He's
been exalted around us. He's been exalted in our thoughts,
in our mind. He's been exalted as we read
the scriptures. He is the sum and substance.
He shall be exalted. And then notice here in verse
18. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. What's that mean? He's
going to turn us away from them. We're not going to be looking
to these things for our salvation. You know, if we do, if we're
separated between God and these things, God in works, law in
grace, if we're separated here, we have a problem. God has not
done a work if we have that issue, because I, the scriptures say,
God says, I will take you from those idols. I will move you
out of them. As it says here in the idols,
he shall utterly abolish. God's people no longer have any
interest in any of those things that we once did for our salvation.
Now, we're still sinners, but saved by grace. Going on here,
it says, and they shall go into the holes. This is where these
idols will go. They shall go into the holes of the rocks and
into the caves of the earth for the fear of the Lord and for
the glory of his majesty when he arises to shake terribly the
earth. When God saves his people, these
things are going to be scattered. They're going to be taken away.
We're not going to be worshiping these dumb idols. We're going
to be worshiping Christ. We're going to be looking at
his word with a absolutely new thought about a new mind. God's
going to reveal his son in the Word of God. We're going to find
him in types and shadows and pictures, and we're going to
come to the conclusion that the gospel in the Old Testament and
the gospel in the New Testament is exactly the same gospel. He
hasn't changed it. Well, as we look again in the
book of Jeremiah, would you turn with me to the book of Jeremiah?
Just one book further, chapter 16. Chapter 16. And there in verse 19, chapter
16 of the book of Jeremiah, verse 19, O LORD, my strength, and
my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles
shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall
say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies. Vanity and things
wherein there is no profit. What a change has taken place
in the hearts, the minds of people, Gentile people. You and I, when
we find out, we look back and say, you know, our fathers believed
a lie. They worship dumb idols, just
like we were doing. And now God in His graciousness
has brought us out of that. Why? Because the Lord of Hosts
has decreed it. he will not share his glory with
anyone why do we find over there in the book of first corinthians
chapter one the last verse he says for he that glorieth glory
in the lord that's where it is there is a a verse in uh... the book of zephaniah would you
turn there so it's a little gospel book religion calls them the
minor prophets We call them the gospel according
to zephaniah a little minor book The book of zephaniah and it's
only three chapters long and I want to go to the second chapter
the book of zephaniah chapter 2 verse 11 the book of zephaniah
chapter 2 and verse 11 The lord will be terrible unto them for
he will famish all gods of the earth He doesn't have any cotton
to him. He didn't have any He doesn't
give them any room. There's no place for them. The
gods of the earth. You know, the attitude, the thoughts
that we have by nature about God's sovereignty, about a holy,
high and lifted up God. A God that does as he pleases,
to whom he pleases, when he pleases. We don't have any cotton to that
in our natural thought about God. But that is a major part
of the gospel is that the gospel is about a God that is great
and mighty and powerful and that he deals with other gods as he
sees fit. Now he's going to leave many
with a strong delusion. But to his people, he brings
them out of the delusion. He says, and for he will famish
all gods of the earth, and men shall worship him, everyone from
his place, even from all the isles of the heathen. He's gonna
have people worship him. Now, those people down in New
Guinea, if they're worshiping God, they're worshiping the same
God that you and I worship. They're worshiping him. And you
talk to Brother Lance about the people down there and the gods
that they have by nature. You know, religious people kind
of mock them because they have all of these strange idols, but
really, religion has all strange idols. And it isn't really strange
to us until God saves us and causes them to scatter. We find
out what we were actually worshiping. Usually it's ourself and a god
of our imagination. But God is so gracious to bring
us out of that. Even as it says here, God will
be terrible unto them and will famish all gods of the earth.
I'm thankful that God took away the God of free will. That God
took away the God that I had that I can get God to do things
I want Him to do. All of those things that we have,
that it's up to me, it's up to, I have to initiate, and all these
things we have in our mind by nature, and yet we find that
God has decreed, He has declared, He has purposed to save a people,
and He will make sure that they hear the gospel. Why? Because
He is sovereign, and His word is great and powerful, and that
He is Almighty God. So he can do this with our gods. He can send them asunder. He
can cast them about he can put them behind us and we are given
the privilege of worshiping the Lord God Almighty Without reservation
we have all our salvation is based upon his righteousness
and his righteousness alone We have no dependence upon ourself.
We don't we don't trust ourself with anything that would produce
anything spiritual. Every spiritual thought we have
comes from God. Every spiritual work that we
do comes from God. Everything is from God. And so
we just relish and delight in that, that He would take all
of these things and put them behind us. In the book of Acts
chapter 9. Travel with me over to the book
of Acts chapter 9 if you would. This is the account of the salvation
of Saul of Tarsus. Now there was a man that God
came to in the book of Acts here. Acts chapter 9 verse 13. Acts
chapter 9 verse 13. And, you know, we've mentioned
this and heard a number of lessons recently about this. It says,
And Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man how
much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem and here he hath authority from
the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name but the
Lord said unto him this is that Lord of hosts that we read about
over there in the book of Zechariah Lord of hosts is mentioned oh
so many times in the book of Zechariah. That's the name of
God in the book of Zechariah. Mentioned many places in the
Old Testament, but so many in the book of Zechariah. But the
Lord said unto him, go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto
me. to bear my name before the Gentiles
and kings and children of Israel. Isn't it interesting to just
consider that God had his ministry already decreed before the foundation
of the world before he ever saved that guy? This is what he will
do. I will take away all his idols. I will take away Judaism from
him. And we find that the Apostle Paul, when he brought the messages
of grace in all those letters that he was used to write, God
gave him the privilege of declaring, as God gave him the words to
utter, to declare that all of that was done. What did God do? Turned him from dumb idols to
God. well goes on to say he is a chosen
vessel unto me to bear the name before the gentiles and kings
and the children of the earth for i will show him how great
things he must suffer for my namesake so this this man ananias
complied when the lord said he is a chosen vessel what's he
saying he's one of my elect just like you're one of my elect He
has been saved by the grace of God go over there and he went
over there, but we noticed God changed him God took him out
took Saul of Tarsus out of that wicked religion of Judaism law-keeping
Legalism and maybe even a little bit of law and grace, but he
did not leave him there He brought him completely out of that in
the book of In the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the statement is
made here to us Gentiles. The statement is made to us Gentiles
and really this applies to everyone God has ever saved. It tells
us here in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. 1 Corinthians chapter 12
verse 1. Now concerning spiritual. Now
if you notice that word gifts is in italics. Oh, how much has
been made out of that one italics word. It's not what he's talking
about. He's talking about spiritual,
concerning spiritual. Brethren, I would not have you
be ignorant. Ye know. Now he's taking them
right back to where they came from. God did not leave them
there. He brought them out. Why? Because
of His power. He's powerful. He's able to do
what He said He will do. Ye know that ye were Gentiles,
what? Carried away unto these dumb
idols, even as ye were led. You were carried away unto these
dumb idols. One generation produces another
generation, produces another generation of foolishness and
religion, and yet when we're in it, we don't think it's foolish,
we think it's right, as even Saul of Tarsus thought he was
doing God's will. Well, Paul writes here under
inspiration, he says, ye know that ye were Gentiles carried
away unto these dumb idols even as ye were led. Wherefore I give
you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God
calleth Jesus accursed. What does happen in religion
that these people have been taken out of? What happens there? They
call Jesus accursed. How do you do that? He's not
sufficient. I must help him. His word isn't enough. I must
help him. That's calling Jesus a curse. And it goes on to tell us here,
he says, no man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy
Ghost. And only after we're saved do
we really mean that. that he is Lord. So God does
so much for us. He brings us out of such a place,
brings us out of such a horrible pit. And how wonderful it is
that the Lord would do this for his people. And he tells us there
in the book of Zechariah chapter eight, he says, the Lord of hosts
has decreed this, has purposed this. Let's go back over there
to the book of Zechariah for just another reading, because
we're gonna look at another verse here and how glorious it is. We're not gonna finish this verse.
There's so much in this verse of scripture but in the book
of Zechariah chapter 8 and there in verse 23 let's just back up
here for just a moment it tells us here in verse 20 thus saith
the Lord of hosts it shall yet come to pass that shall come
there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities that's
going to happen And he's done that. He's done that today. He
did that yesterday. He's going to do that tomorrow.
Wherever he's pleasing, he's going to be calling his people
out of these places. And verse 21, and the inhabitants
of one city shall go to another city. Let us go speedily to pray
before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations
shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray
before the Lord." What an event takes place in them that they
would quit worshipping idols. They would turn to God and quit
worshipping idols, quit worshipping the god of their imagination
or a stone god or a painted god or whatever it is that God would
take care of that. No nation, no people. No tribe
has anything on anybody else when it comes to religion. Some
may be more gruesome. Some may be more heinous. But they are no different than
what we worship by nature and what God had to save us out of
by His great work of grace, by the preaching of the gospel,
by the new birth that He takes us out of that religion and gives
us the Lord Jesus Christ. As we drop down here now, verse
23, notice this with me. I want to read the whole verse,
but we're just going to deal with a little part of it tonight.
There is so much here. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
One more time, the Lord of Hosts speaks. And this is the God of
Heaven. This is the Lord God Almighty.
This is the Lord of Armies. He is wanting us to know as He
speaks these words here in the book of Zechariah or anywhere
else throughout the Bible, this is My Word. This is My Word. I want you to know that this
is My Word. Respect it. Honor it. And he
says, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, In those days it shall
come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all languages
of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that
is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that
God is with you. Now this is not talking about
any Jew. This is talking about the Jew.
This is talking about Christ. He's the only one that truly
has God with Him. And we have God with us because
of Christ. We're in Christ. That's the reason
we have Him. So let's just think about this
for a moment. There are great benefits resting on the sure mercies of
another. I want to say that again. There
are great benefits resting on the sure mercies of another,
especially resting on Christ. Now I want to read two or three
examples in the Old Testament when people realized that there's
somebody that might be merciful to them, might be merciful. Oh, we need mercy. Lord, God,
be merciful to me a sinner. Now the first one I direct your
attention to is found over in the book of 1 Kings. In the book
of 1 Kings, you know, as we read through the Kings and Chronicles,
we find that so often there's an army coming up against Israel
or coming up against Judah. This happens to be against Israel
at this time. In the book of 1 Kings, 1 Kings
chapter 20, First Kings chapter 20 and I want to begin reading
with verse 26 now once again I should read this whole chapter
But I'm gonna leave that to you you have an assignment read the
whole chapter of the book of First Kings chapter 20 and once
you do that read verses our chapter 19 and verse 20 chapter 21 and
It's been some time there, but notice this The Syrians had come
up prepared to fight with Israel, and they had outnumbered Israel
by a whole lot. And it came to pass at the return
of the year that Ben-Hadad numbered the Syrians and went up to Apec
to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were
numbered, and were all present, and went against them. And the
children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of
kids, but the Syrians filled the country." Now that's just
a comparison. If you looked at how many were
on your side and how many were on the other side, two little
flocks and the Syrians filled the country. Doesn't look good. And there came a man of God and
spake unto the King of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord,
Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills,
but not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great
multitude in thy hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord."
What a demonstration of the Almighty Power of Almighty God to Ben-Hadad
the King here at this time. This is not where we're going
because we want to find out about some Syrians that are caught
in the crossfire. You know, they're the enemies
of God. Were we? They're the enemies
of Israel. Yes, we were. We were enemies
of the church. Saul of Tarsus was an enemy of the church. He
was an enemy of Israel, spiritual Israel. And it tells us they're
Verse 29, And they pitched one over against the other seven
days, and so it was that the seventh day the battle was joined,
and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand
footmen in one day. My goodness! But the rest fled
to Apec, into the city, and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven
thousand men, and left. and 7,000 men were left. And
Ben-Hadad fled, and came into the city, into the inner chamber.
And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that
the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, I
pray thee, put satcloth on our heads. Now I've heard that the
kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Now what
do they do? It says, Let us, I pray thee,
put sackcloth on our heads, and ropes upon our loins, and ropes
upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Peradventure
he will save thy life. Now what do these guys do? They
recognize where they are is not very good, and so they come with
sackcloth, and they have ropes, ropes around their necks. You
know that king had every right to hang them if he pleased. But
let's go on. So they girded sackcloth on their
loins and put ropes on their heads and came to the king of
Israel and said, Thy servant Ben-Hadad saith, I pray thee,
let me live. And he said, is he yet alive? He is my brother. And now the
men did diligently observe all thing would come from him, and
did hastily catch it, and said, Thy brother been a dead. And
he said, Go ye bring him. Then Ben-Hadad came forth to
him, and he caused him to come out into the chariot. And Ben-Hadad
said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father
I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus,
as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee
away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him,
and sent him away. Ahab, king of Israel, is commented
on being a merciful king, and yet we find these guys come over
and says, let's go appeal. You know, it's a great benefit
to rest on the mercies of others. Turn with me, if you would, to
2 Samuel. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. 2 Samuel, chapter 15. In 2 Samuel,
chapter 15, verse 29, excuse me, verse 19,
2 Samuel chapter 15, 2 Samuel chapter 15, verse 19. Then said the king to Attai,
the Gittite, Wherefore goest thou also with us? Return to
thy place, and abide with the king. Thou art a stranger, also
an exile, whereas thou camest up but yesterday. So I this day
make thee go up and down with us. Seeing I go with her, I may. Return thou, and take back thy
brethren. Mercy and truth be with thee.
And Atai answered the king, and said, As the Lord liveth, And
as my Lord the King liveth, surely in what place my Lord the King
shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy
servant be. And David said unto Attai, go
and pass over. And Attai the Gittite passed
over in all his men and all his little ones that were with him.
He said, where you are, I will be with you. Where you die, I
will die. What does that mean? There's great benefits in resting
on the sure mercies of another. He said, I want to be with you.
Now, one of the most historical, most blessed passages in the
Old Testament along this line is, you remember what Ruth said
to her mother-in-law? Don't send me away. Ruth, chapter 1. Now we notice in that verse we
read over there in the book of Zechariah, that these folks are
coming to a Jew. They're going to put their hands
on his skirt. For we have heard that God is
with you. Oh my, to come to that place.
We have heard that Christ is the Son of God. That God is with
him. Here in the book of Ruth, chapter
1, verse 16, the scriptures share this. And Ruth said, entreat
me not to leave thee. or to return from following after
thee. For whither thou goest, I will
go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my
people." Now notice this last phrase, and thy God, my God. Of all the things that took place
when Ruth's mother-in-law and father-in-law, husband and brother-in-law
came over here to this place, of all that we read, all we know,
there was one blessing poured out and that was Ruth heard something
she heard the gospel she says here in verse 17 where thou diest
will I die and where and there will I be buried the Lord do
so to me and more also if ought but death part of me where you
are I want to be oh how valuable it is to have someone to rest
on that knows the sure mercies of God well As we look at that
verse of scripture there, going back to the book of Zechariah,
our time is about up, but let's look here at Zechariah one more
time. In verse 23 of that eighth chapter, as we think about all
that God has done for his people, I'll call, they'll come. What
I say will be done. They will be brought out. Their
gods will be taken away from them. I will be their God and
they shall be my people as the covenant of grace declares. It
tells us there that the Lord of Hosts, He has spoken, the
inhabitants will come from one city, another city, they're gonna
come. Gospel will be taken to those people. Yea, many people
and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in
Jerusalem and pray before the Lord. Now notice that last verse.
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, in those days it shall come to
pass that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of
nations. even shall take hold of the skirt
of him that is a Jew. Where you are, I want to be.
I want to hang on here. What you say, I want to say.
What you hold, I want to hold. What you are, I worship you,
the true and the living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, saying,
we will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Now we're going to come back
to this verse of scripture, Lord willing, next Wednesday when
we gather on this book of Zechariah chapter 8. We'll close out our
study of the 8th chapter with looking at this verse. There's
much to be looked at in this verse and it's not eschatology
or future, it's not end times, it's the glory of the Lord in
the person of Jesus Christ. So we'll look at this again.
And we pray that as we look through here, the book of Zechariah,
the gospel will come out and be made manifest to us.