For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
In the book of Zechariah, Zechariah had eight visions that he was curious about and desired to understand the meaning of them. So like a little child, who is full of questions he asked the angel to interpret the visions. I will not at this time discuss all his visions, you can read them yourself they are quite interesting. I was particularly interested in the vision of the flying scroll and the vision of a woman in the basket because I ran across a lost page tucked in my bible from one of my journals. The date was 12/26/2018, and it read “Land of Shinar Zechariah 5, basket- flying scroll-visions of Zechariah,” I wrote page numbers and what bible I read it from, because I knew I would forget. The journal note read “woman in the basket represent wickedness being removed from the land and a house is made for it.” Jesus second coming will see the final judgment and removal of wickedness in the world (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). As I read further two women with the wind in their wings lifted up the basket between heaven and earth (Zechariah 5:3-11; Revelation 5:9;6:12-17). So, I went to the pages listed and read the Flying Scroll and the Woman in the Basket.
In the story of the flying scroll, one must understand that scrolls represent the written word of God (Psalm 40: 7; Jeremiah 36; Ezekiel 2 — 3), this particular scroll was the law of Moses (NIV Bible). The scroll that Zechariah envisioned is described as a large banner and was clear for everyone to see. And the angel interpreted the vision saying that the scroll represented the curse that is going out the whole land. And on one side of the banner read “every thief will be banished and on the other side everyone who swears falsely will be banished,” which God declared. One commentary reads that God has sent the scroll to put things right and ensure that the guilty will not be acquitted, an action consistent with His character (Exodus 20: 7; 34: 7). Furthermore, in contrast to God’s house, the temple, that will be built (Zechariah 1: 16; 3: 7; 4: 9), the curse of the scroll will enter and destroy the houses of the guilty. The vision is related to Jesus holding in His hand the scroll in Revelation for He is the one who will judge His enemies (Revelation 5: 9; 6:12– 17).
In the story of the woman in the basket the angel told Zechariah to come forward and to lift his eyes and see what was going out. Zechariah who must have been in awe responded with the question “What is it?” In which the angel said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And “This is their iniquity in all the land.” And the angel lifted a leaden cover where there sat a woman in the basket. Now that is enough to make anyone ask “what in the world is that? The angel explained to Zechariah that she was wickedness. Then the angel quickly pushed the woman back in the basket covering her with the leaden weight. That’s when Zechariah lifted his eyes and saw the two women coming forward with the wind in their wings. The wings were described as wings of a stork. The two women carried the basket between heaven and earth. Then in in Zechariah’s inquisitiveness he asked the angel “Where are they taking the basket?” The angel said to him, “to the land of Shinar, to build a house for it and after it is prepared they will set the basket down there on its base.”
Will make a lot of sense if you know in your heart why
Some call me Father, the Shepherd, Rock, or Husband
Whom do you say I am?
Some call me Almighty or El Shaddai
I create, redeem, and judge
Whom do you say I am?
Feel my touch as I give you a soft nudge
Love so gentle, patient, and kind
Just look around you, look up, and look behind
Now do you know who I am?
Quote: To know Him, is to love Him, and to please Him.
Reading: Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
The story of Ezekiel starts out with his vision, for your understanding you must read Ezekiel chapter1 and ride on the wings of your spiritual imagination. Moving right along, Ezekiel at the end of the vision saw the brightness of the glory of God, fell on his face, that’s when he heard God’s voice, even though he was an exile by the canal of Chebar. Which goes to show you that God can speak to someone and they can hear His voice wherever they are and in whatever circumstance or situation. God spoke and addressed Ezekiel by calling him Son of Man and instructed him to stand up on his feet while He spoke to him. Like a son who acknowledges and respects his earthly father, Ezekiel stood on his feet and listened as our heavenly Father, God spoke to him. And this is what God said “ Ezekiel Son of Man eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll and go speak to the House of Israel.” So Ezekiel opened his mouth in obedience and consumed the scroll, God’s words, and found the scroll as sweet as honey and not bitter. Then God instructed him to go to the House of Israel and speak with His words to them. Just like Jesus telling His disciples go and teach the people to obey and do all that He has taught them (Matthew 28:20). God explained that He was not sending him to a people of hard language and foreign speech but to the House of Israel. God further explains to Ezekiel that Israel will not be willing to listen to Ezekiel for they are not willing to listen to Him because they have a stubborn heart and a hard forehead. I wonder if that is where some parents got the saying, “Don’t be a hardhead.” Well anyway,
In the midst of things God made Ezekiel a watchman for the House of Israel. And God told him whatever you hear a word from my mouth you shall give them warning from me. So God gave him several statements of what he was to say to the wicked and to the righteous person who had turned from there righteousness and committed injustice, in addition to explaining to him the consequences of what would happen if he did not warn the people. At the end of chapter three, God told Ezekiel when He speaks with him, He would open Ezekiel’s mouth and he shall say to the House of Israel “ thus says the Lord God” not that one should be going around saying thus says the Lord God.” But Ezekiel was instructed to say it and to say to them “He who will hear let him hear, and he who will refuse, to let him refuse,” for they are a rebellious house. Reminds one of the seven churches in Revelation who are to heed and hear what the Spirit says to the churches. “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches” ( Revelation 2:29; 3:22). Wow! From Ezekiel to Revelation what can I say.
Moral of Story: One may have a vision or dream, and God may speak to them, they may have to eat His words and tell His people what He wants them to know even if they do not want to hear or refuse to listen.