I\u2019ve always loved these verses in 1 Samuel, where this young boy (Hebrew word is \u201cna-ar\u201d \u2013 Strong\u2019s number H5288) gets introduced to hearing the voice of the Lord during a time when things were pretty bleak, the priest being lazy, without discernment (thought Hannah praying quietly was a drunk) and functionally worthless, with his sons being despicable. In other words the people who had been called to the OT office of hearing the Lord, weren\u2019t hearing, and God who loves to speak was wanting to speak. And He chose a young man. Na-ar:<\/p>\n
1 Sam 3:1-5
\n1 Then the boy (na-ar) Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.
\n2 And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow so dim that he could not see,
\n3 and before the lamp of God went out in the tabernacle of the LORD where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down,
\n4 that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, \u201cHere I am!\u201d
\n5 So he ran to Eli and said, \u201cHere I am, for you called me.\u201d And he said, \u201cI did not call; lie down again.\u201d And he went and lay down.
\n(NKJ)<\/p>\n
Wildly, the first thing the Lord tells to this young boy are some heavy words of judgment against Eli, and his sons. You can finish that chapter for yourself. God speaks what God speaks. Point made.<\/p>\n
But now let\u2019s come to Zechariah, one of the most eschatological (dealing with end times) books of the bible, and what do we come across, but another na-ar. Sadly, most American bible translations (NKJV, NIV, ESV) take the liberty to call Zechariah a \u201cyoung man\u201d while in 1 Samual na-ar is translated as \u201cboy\u201d. Go figure. Did the translators figure a \u201cboy\u201d would be too young for this heavy stuff? Part of the glory of the expressed revelations of Zechariah is that God determined to entrust some incredible yet-to-occur truth to a BOY, someone not yet a teenager, and maybe even way younger than that. Who says you are too young or too old? Old saint John, on Patmos, had another powerful revelation. Age obviously is not the issue.<\/p>\n
Zech 2:3-8
\n3 And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him,
\n4 who said to him, \u201cRun, speak to this young man (Strong\u2019s number H5288 \u2013 na-ar) , saying: \u2018Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.
\n5 \u2019For I,\u2019 says the LORD, \u2018will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.\u2019\u201d
\n6 \u201dUp, up! Flee from the land of the north,\u201d says the LORD; \u201cfor I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven,\u201d says the LORD.
\n7 \u201dUp, Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon.\u201d
\n8 For thus says the LORD of hosts: \u201cHe sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
\n(NKJ)<\/p>\n
Whoa, now! Here we have some seriously profound expressions of the Father God, the Lord of heaven and earth, beginning the eight revelatory experiences that came to young Zechariah (perhaps in one night) \u2013 and we\u2019re discovering this was revealed to a kid under the age of 13? Na-ar? So much for requiring a bar-mitzvah before you can function as a man of God.<\/p>\n
Nehemiah 12 lists heads of households (12:16) in this order: of Iddo, Zechariah. No Berechiah. Ezra 6:14 introduces Zechariah as the son of Iddo. No Berechiah.<\/p>\n
But the book of Zechariah begins with this way:
\nZech 1:1-7
\n1 In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
\n2 \u201dThe LORD has been very angry with your fathers.
\n3 \u201dTherefore say to them, \u2018Thus says the LORD of hosts: \u201cReturn to Me,\u201d says the LORD of hosts, \u201cand I will return to you,\u201d says the LORD of hosts.
\n4 \u201dDo not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, \u2018Thus says the LORD of hosts: \u201cTurn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.\u201d\u2018 But they did not hear nor heed Me,\u201d says the LORD.
\n5 \u201dYour fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?
\n6 Yet surely My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?\u201d \u201cSo they returned and said: \u2018Just as the LORD of hosts determined to do to us, according to our ways and according to our deeds, so He has dealt with us.\u2019\u201d
\n7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet:
\n(NKJ)<\/p>\n
Verses 1 and 8 clearly include Berechiah between Iddo and Zechariah.<\/p>\n
Is it possible that Berechiah, the actual father of Zerechiah, somehow was not in place in the office of prophet? Deceased, disqualified in some manner? Might he even have been one of the fathers about which the Lord was angry? I don\u2019t know. Meanwhile, Berechiah\u2019s young son, just a boy, finds himself called and chosen by God to receive some powerful revelation, revelation that we are beginning to understand we are living in.<\/p>\n
What can we conclude?<\/p>\n
1. God speaks, and He is looking for willing people with ears to hear. It\u2019s always been that way.<\/p>\n
2. Hearing God is not issue of office or title, it is an issue of humility and availability.<\/p>\n
3. God will say what God will say, and what He says is to be embraced in its truth.<\/p>\n
I love the fact that young, humble Zechariah consistently inquires of the supernatural cast of characters he encounters: \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d \u2013 and because he was humble enough to inquire, we are blessed to be able to read the explanations. Just like a kid. Not as hung up as us mature folks.<\/p>\n
Oh Lord, speak and Your servant will listen.<\/p>\n
I do plan to be discussing Zechariah in much greater depth. We\u2019re living in some of it, and more is surely upcoming. Israel being the apple of the eye of God has profound impact upon the praying church, and the world, and even the timing of His soon-coming return. He is returning, you know. The Pharisees were labeled by Jesus as hypocrites (actors) for not discerning the times of the first coming. More is written about the second coming than the first. Sort of makes you think it is a priority of heaven, that the people of God would be able to of course not know the day or hour, but at least be able to recognize the signs of the times.<\/p>\n
1948 began a time-sequence that, up until then (when that nation was literally born in a day \u2013 Isa 66:8), was considered by many of the most astute bible scholars as being hyperbolic. Imagery. Pre-1948 there was no Israel. Get over it. It\u2019s not about the LAND. Picture it spiritually.<\/p>\n
Well, surprise, surprise. We would do well to picture it in reality. There really is an Israel. God named it, and the people. God still sees that nation, and its people, AND that land, those mountains and valleys, rocks and trees (says Ezekiel 36:6-10) as being quite special, because His promises remain His promises. And God is acutely sensitive to being poked in the apple (the iris) of His eye. And He is getting poked right now, by the nations raging (Ps 2).<\/p>\n
There will come a time, because it is spoken of in Scripture, when Jerusalem will be without walls. Israel will be at peace. There will be no more enemies threatening. And the Jewish people will look on the One whom they pierced (Zech 12:10), and will invite Him into His special city:<\/p>\n
Luke 13:34-35
\n34 \u201dO Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!
\n35 \u201dSee! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, \u2018Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!\u2019\u201d
\n(NKJ)<\/p>\n
God will no longer be poked in the eye. And we will understand what all the raging is about. EZ3728 is a scripture reference to a day of profound revelation, when all the world will finally get it:<\/p>\n
Ezek 37:28
\n28 \u201dThe nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.\u201d\u2018\u201d
\n(NKJ)<\/p>\n
The nations won\u2019t fully know \u2013 nor should we actually be surprised that they don\u2019t know \u2013 the sanctification and trustworthy calling of Israel until God\u2019s sanctuary is in their (Israel\u2019s) midst forevermore, never to be removed again. HHY. Hasn\u2019t Happened Yet. But it will. Bet your life on that. You are, in fact.<\/p>\n
Young Zechariah, as our Lord testified, eventually lost his life to martyrdom, slain between the porch and the altar of the temple. The religious folks didn\u2019t want to hear the truth, and they would stop at nothing to shut it down. Nothing new.<\/p>\n
I want to meet Zechariah some day. He is one of my heroes.
\nAnd I want to hear the voice of the Lord. I want visions. Angelic encounters. I\u2019ve had a few. I am hungry, Lord.<\/p>\n
And you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve always loved these verses in 1 Samuel, where this young boy (Hebrew word is \u201cna-ar\u201d \u2013 Strong\u2019s number H5288) gets introduced to hearing the voice of the Lord during a time when things were pretty bleak, the priest being … Continue reading