Archive for month: February, 2024

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Zechariah 10:1-12.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Zechariah 10:1 (NIV)
1  Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.

On verse 1:  God is the ultimate source of every good thing we have in life, every provision.  Verse 1 encourages us to look to God as our provider.

Zechariah 10:2 (NIV)
2  The idols speak deceit, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain.  Therefore the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.

On verse 2:  In verse 2 Zechariah warns the people of Judah against worshiping idols and resorting to divination for guidance.  He says that what idols and diviners give are empty promises and false visions.  Instead of turning to idols and divination for help, Zechariah tells the Jews to ask God who provides and “who sends the thunderstorms” (v1).  Don’t look to idols for help.  Look to God. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Zechariah 9:9-17.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV) 
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 

On verse 9:  Here the LORD has a message for Jerusalem.  Through Zechariah the LORD tells Jerusalem to rejoice and shout.  Why?  It’s because their king comes to them.  Who is this king? The king being referred to here is the Messiah, the saviour king that the Jews had been waiting for.  Verse 9 describes this king as “righteous”, “having salvation”, “gentle and riding on a donkey”.  Jesus would fulfill this prophecy 500 years later.  Righteous, gentle, and armed with salvation, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in approximately 33 A.D. (Matthew 21:1-5).

Why a donkey?  Scholars say that back in the ancient Near East, when a king was getting ready for war, he would enter a city on a war horse (as did Alexander the Great).  But if the king came in peace, he would enter on a donkey.  

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Zechariah 9:1-8.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

In Zechariah 9:1-8, Zechariah receives a prophetic message from the Lord.  The message is that a number of famous cities surrounding Judah would be destroyed, while Judah itself would be protected and preserved.  About 150 years after Zechariah wrote down this prophecy, Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. would march through the region, destroying many of the cities mentioned in these verses, but sparing Judah.  It goes to show that God’s Word is reliable and God’s protection is real.

Zechariah 9:1 (NIV) 
1 The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and will rest upon Damascus– for the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD– 

On verse 1:  Damascus was the capital of Aram, which is modern day Syria.