Promising Peace

May 10, 2020 Background Scripture: Zechariah 8 Lesson Passage: Zechariah 8:1 – 8, 11 – 17 You know you’re getting older when things that used to seem simple—or even foolish to you, make a whole lot of sense today. The topic of this lesson would not have made much sense to me as a young adult. I would have suggested, quite flippantly, that each person determines their own peace. I would have defended my opinion by saying, "No one should allow another person to determine their personal experience of a peaceful life.” Fast-forward a few decades and an innumerable list of life experiences and my conversation about personal peace is quite different. Today, I am quite attuned to any suggestion that implies a promise of peace. Certainly, this would have been the case for Israel at the time they received this message from the prophet. The prophecy opens by reminding the people about what led to the situation they were living in. Israel was once a very proud nation. They were “God’s people” and they had the documents passed down from their ancestors to prove it. Under King David’s reign, for forty years, they were the greatest nation on earth. Their history was rich, and it was recorded on scrolls and taught to their children. However, generation after generation, they continuously turned from following God. God punished them by allowing them to be destroyed as a nation and taken into captivity to serve the Gentiles as slaves. The time of their captivity was ending, and God began to allow some of them to return to the promised land of Canaan. They were not returning to the splendor and glory of the kingdom they once knew or had heard about. They were returning to the ruins that were stark reminders of how the nation had been brutally assaulted and destroyed by the Babylonians. Perhaps there was no national pride for those returning—just an opportunity to escape enslavement in a foreign land. Some of the returners had started the construction of a new temple but abandoned it and focused more on building houses for themselves. Jerusalem, the city of Zion, was once the national attraction. In fact, it was an international attraction during King Solomon’s reign and foreigners traveled for miles just to see it. Now, it was just a wasteland. Knowing the devastation that occurred in Jerusalem just seven decades earlier, how could they sleep there peacefully at night? Anyone who has lived through a trauma or was born within a few years of a regional or national trauma, has witnessed the effects it left on that society. The Great Depression, the World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, the 911 Suicide Bombers, etc., all left indelible marks on American society. Trauma interrupts peace. The people of Israel were traumatized, but God sent them a promise. God, Himself, was going to come and live in Zion, among His people! People would again grow old in Zion, and their children would grow up enjoying life. God was going to guarantee peace in Jerusalem. He was not going to allow their enemy to come in and assault them and carry them away as slaves. This was great news to the remnant that was returning. They would not be at the mercy of their enemies around them. God would again demonstrate that He would be a blessing to His people. They were traumatized, but God was promising them that they would live in peace. Robert C. Hudson May 1, 2020