Zechariah 5
January 26
Reading: Zechariah 5
1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll!
2 And he said to me, "What do you see?"
I answered, "I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits."
3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones."
5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, "Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out."
6 And I said, "What is it?"
He said, "This is the basket that is going out."
And he said, "This is their iniquity in all the land."
7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket!
8 And he said, "This is Wickedness."
And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.
9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they taking the basket?"
11 He said to me, "To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base."
Chapter 5 describes the sixth and seventh of the eight night visions of Zechariah.
The sixth vision is of a huge flying scroll, 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. (vss. 1-4) It is a picture of the curse of the Law against all those who break God’s Law. The Law-breakers “will be purged away.” The size of the scroll and its invasiveness are an indication that, despite appearances to the contrary, God’s Law reigns sovereign over all morality and the beliefs of man. God’s law will eradicate sin and rebellion by finding and removing sinners from the people of God. As Romans 1:18-32 makes clear, the right judgment of God follows hot on the heels of the corruption of sin.
The seventh vision is of a wicked woman in a basket being flown away by two women with the wind in their wings. (vss. 5-11) Like the harlot of the book of Proverbs, this woman in the basket represents the immorality of Israel. She, like sin often is, is hidden by a heavy cover. People keep their sin under cover, but the Lord knows that it is there.
In this case, for the sake of the people of Judah, the Lord has a plan to deal with their hidden sin. The word “wind” can just as well mean “Spirit.” By the working of the Spirit of God, the sin of His people will be lifted up and flown away into the east where she can be served by others to their demise. Only the Lord has a solution for sin. Only the Spirit of God can remove our sin from us so that we can live as God’s holy people.