ch.29 - Job continues
And so Job laments his current situation wishing that things could be as they were before his calamities.

ch.30 - Job continues
He now contrasts how he was viewed before his calamities with how he is now viewed. Whereas then he was esteemed now he is reproached.

29:1 In using the word 'parable' as in 27:1 we see a shift in Job's approach.

30:1 Is Job's comment about age a comment on the three friends - or maybe a rejoinder to prevent Elihu joining in the debate?

29:2 So is Job now seeing his fate as an indication that God was no longer 'preserving' him? As previously mentioned we must take care not to presume that God is only taking care of us when things are going well. He always cares for His children, ordering things in their lives for their eternal well being even though at the time they may not be pleasant (Hebrews 12:11)

30:9 In seeing himself as the 'song' and 'byword' Job seems to have a 'persecution complex' and all this because of the friends who had come to help!

29:8 So Job has lost the respect of all around him.

30:19-23  The repeated ‘thou’ in these verses contain a rather direct criticism of God who is being presented as the source of all his troubles. Whilst indeed the troubles were provoked by God their purpose had not been recognised by Job. Hence the invective.

30:1-9  Having denigrated his friends Job observes that all they are doing s deriding him. But they thought that they were helping him!

29:12-16      Here Job, echoing the first words of Eliphaz – Job 4:3-4 and rebutting his words - Job 22:5-9 – speaks of his former years as if doing good brought blessings.

30:9 Whilst we might see Job’s problems as simply this sever illness it is clear from this, and earlier comments from Job, that his standing in society had been severely affected by his illness and problems.

6:2 red horse Revelation 6:4
6:2 black horse Revelation 6:5
6:3 white horse Revelation 6:2
6:3 bay horse Revelation 6:8
6:11 crowns Revelation 19:12
6:12 he shall build the temple Hebrews 3:3
6:15 they that afar ... build in temple Isaiah 60:10

The way in which the horses of Zechariah are used in Revelation 6 shows that judgment is associated with the coming of the horses.

6:7 The phrase 'to and fro in the earth' is a refrain in Zechariah. Zechariah 1:10,11 4:10 6:7 and reflects the sentiments of Hanani in the days of Asa 2 Chronicles 16:9 who was reproving the king for relying on the king of Syria.

6:13 'priest ... throne' shows that the one who is spoken of is to be a priest king. That is a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek

Chapter 7 is the third prophecy
7:1 4th YEAR Darius 4th DAY 9th MONTH
7:3 fifth month Jeremiah 52:12
7:5 seventh month Jeremiah 41:1
7:5 seventy years Jeremiah 25:11
7:10 oppress not ... the stranger Exodus 22:21
7:11 pulled away the shoulder Jeremiah 7:24
7:13 they cried and I would not hear Jeremiah 11:11
7:14 I scattered them ... nations Deuteronomy 28:64

7:3 - 5 'fifth month' See Jeremiah 52:12 The fifth month was when the house of the Lord and the king's house were burned. The prophet is commenting on the fact that Israel fasted to commemorate this event - and others - during the 70 years captivity. However it was not to Yahweh that they fasted. They did it Zechariah 7:6 'for yourselves'.

This appearance of penitence / worship being a sham is not unique. See:- Amos 5:25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? 26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.

6:12 The 'BRANCH' quotes Jeremiah 23:5 33:15 so who did the people in Zechariah's day think the BRANCH was? Would they think it was Joshua or Zerubbabel?

7:5 The slaying of Gedeliah in the seventh month is the basis for the fast in the seventh month spoken of here. Whilst we might think that the fast was the day of atonement which occurred in the seventh month I feel that this is not the fast referred to because of the mention of 70 years in Zechariah 7:5.

6:15 The promise that 'they that are far off' would come and build the temple might well have been seen by the returning exiles as an indication that other scattered sons of Jacob - maybe those who were taken to Assyria - would come and help with the rebuilding of the temple. In reality it is a promise of the involvement of the gentiles in the kingdom age.

ch. 7 Despite the enthusiasm of the return there was soon a slipping away to lax behaviour. Hence Zechariah (7:9-10) reproves the people, even though he has previously given them encouragement.

Zech 6:9. The night visions are now complete, the following morning the LORD spake unto Zechariah giving him instructions to accept gifts offered by certain of the exiles from Babylon and take them to witness the coronation of Joshua the high priest who is a type of Christ. The visions had pointed to the future glory, now the prophet is called to enact the type of person in whom the glory would be revealed.

Zech 7:1. After a period of almost two years the prophet once again hears from God. During this period Ezra fills us in on what Zechariah would have been doing. In Ezra 6:14 we are told that the elders of the Jews builded, and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai and Zechariah.

6:15 'those that are afar off' who would be involved in building the temple may well have been thought of as being the Jews who were still in Babylon though Isaiah (60:10) had spoken of gentiles being involved in building the walls. So maybe we have reference to the call of the gentiles here in Zechariah 6.

7 We noticed (notes on chapter 1) that there is a division between chapters 6 and 7. From now on we do not get visions but rather we see God speaking

7:1  The word of the Lord came
8:1  The word of the Lord came
9:1  The word of the Lord
12:1The word of the Lord

Again, care should be taken not to jump at references which appear to be the same.  Zechariah's vision of four chariots being pulled by red horses, black horses, white horses, and dappled horses, seem similar to the four horses of Revelation (Rev 6:1-8).  However, there are differences.  Zechariah's vision is of chariots being pulled by multiple horses being dispersed to their duties at the same time.  John's vision in Revelation is of single horses being revealed in historical sequence as each seal (time period) is unveiled.  Zechariah's vision portends the LORD's judgement on the world (Gentile nations), with particular emphasis on the north country), where two chariots, pulled by black and white horses, are sent (6:6).  One chariot indicates the destruction of Babylon, while the other denotes Medo-Persia.  The grizzled  (dappled) horses heading south indicate vengeance on Egypt.  However, the red horses would seem to indicate the overthrow of the Assyrians by the Babylonians (6:2). John's vision, on the other hand, reveals the conditions under several Caesars subsequent to the first century. 

a) The last of the visions is in Zech 6:1-8. Different coloured horses drawing chariots came from between brass mountains. Brass is probably connected with the brass of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan 2:39), and represented the next power of Greece. It takes the vision firmly into the local era of Zechariah, and encourages the returned Jews by saying that God will preserve them through the days of this next world power. Of-course, looking into the future, this vision speaks of God’s Kingdom, and the “North country” of Zech 6:8 probably means the Gog and Magog power.
b) The remainder of the chapter is an acted parable, (Zech 6:9-15). The prophet is told to take some silver and gold, and to make crowns for the head of the High Priest. The crowns are then to be hung for a memorial in the re-built temple. Because a priest would wear a mitre, this is obviously speaking of Jesus Christ, the King-Priest.

6:3 Whatever, historically, the four chariots with their horses represent they clearly are God at work. They are seen ‘standing before the Lord of all the earth’. As such they are examples of His ‘ministering spirits’ – Psa 104:4.

7:5 So Zechariah now is moved to comment on the behaviour of Israel whilst in Babylon. Hey kept feasts and mourned – but in reality is was not mourning before God.

6:11 In putting crowns on the head of the high priest we see an activity which must have confused the people. Joshua was not of the tribe of Judah, he was of Levi. So he would not have been seen as in line for kingship. However here we have a subtle prophecy of the future work of Messiah – the king priest that Jesus is to be n the kingdom.

7:1,8  We might wonder why the prophet gives his name here whereas on other occasions he simply is referred to as ‘me’ – Zech 6:4 – for example.  Maybe the answer is in his name which means Yahweh has remembered. Israel were remembering the mourning for Zion as can be seen in Zech 7:3-6. Whereas they had been remembering their sorrows God was remembering their plight and delivering them from Babylon.

6:8 The ‘spirit’ that was quieted in the north country was Babylon who had allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem.

Christ is the branch - Zech 6:12;3:8;Jer 23:5-6;Isa 11:1-5.

Christ will rule the earth (from Zion) as priest and king - Zech 6:13;Gen 14:18-20;Psa 110:1-4;Heb 5:5-10.

THINK THE BEST

Over and over through the prophets we get a similar message that is thrust in front of us so that we learn the lesson. The message of Zechariah is no exception. "This is what the LORD Almighty says, 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassopn to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'" (Zech 7:9-10)

We are very familiar with most of this as we are reminded of it many other times, but the last phraze is one that doesn't seem to occur in so many other places. "In your hearts do not think evil of each other." This takes us right out of the normal rule-keeping mindset. It is not something we do in a public environment - it is done in the privacy of our own heart. It takes place in the thoughts - even before words and actions come into being.

Everyone is different and there are very few people we we will find who think on a same or even similar wavelength to ourselves. This is what makes it so easy to think evil of each other. We don't understand the way people think. But, making the instruction into a positive one, we must think the best of each other. If we impute motives into someone's actions, make them good motives.

Think the best. Not only will it give us a more godly perspective as we look at other people, others may also rise to live up to the expectations we have of them.

3:2 In saying 'strengthen the things that remain' Jesus was not providing a clarion call that we might use in our ecclesias. It was a call to an ecclesia to salvage something from the desperate situation it was in. If we care to us this phrase we must be careful to recognise that it was used by Jesus of an ailing ecclesia. It was not a phrase that Jesus used to warn an ecclesia or brethren and sisters how they should address the problems of others.

4:6 The 'sea of glass' here is a foretaste of that wonderful time of Revelation 15:2 when the redeemed will have overcome the beast and all that it stands for.
Look for 'tasters' in the early chapters of the kingdom of God that is to be established.

The promises to David form a major element of the gospel message. Here the use of Isaiah 22 reinforces this element of the gospel by describing the risen Jesus as the one who has fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah.

Isaiah 6 speaks of the risen Christ - John 12:41. So the one spoken of in Revelation 4 must be the risen Christ.

3:18 We ought to 'buy' of the Lord now because a time is coming when all will have to 'buy' from the beast system (Revelation 13:17)

4:3 The 'rainbow' assures us that God will never again destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9:11). This reassurance is important because Revelation is going to tell us of great judgements that are to come upon the earth.

3:17 In Putting the words "I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing" Jesus is quoting Hos 12:7 where rebellious Ephraim are spoken of.

4:3,4,6 "Round about" is a recurring phrase in this chapter and is also found inRev 5:11, 7:11. On each occasion the throne is involved.

3:1-4 The ecclesia at Sardis came in for criticism.  However, there were a few faithful members of that ecclesia .  The profile of Sardis is not unlike that of many ecclesias today.  The faithful did not run away and form a new ecclesia, but stayed and acted as watchmen (Eze 33).  We must follow this example.  It is wrong to withdraw ourselves and form another ecclesia to uphold the purity of the Truth.  This is judgemental and divisive.  We must stay and try to help our spiritually weak brethren.  

4:6-8 The four living creatures correspond to the four living creatures of Ezekiel's vision (Eze 1).  Each beast corresponds to the Major Prophets and the gospel accounts (See my note on Ezekiel Ch.1 for Sept. 5). 

True followers believe in the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ  which understanding is contained in the prophets and the gospels accounts.  Therefore, the eyes on the living creatures represent the redeemed saints who will forever worship Yahweh.

3:5 ‘white’ is ‘the righteousness of the saints’ Rev 19:8. The promise which is later made for all is first given to the brethren in Sardis, despite their problems. Now that is encouraging.

4:8 The ones who ‘rest not day nor night’ are rather like those who mourn for Zion – Isa 62:6

4:3,4,6 The repeated use of ‘round about’ highlights the fellowship that the Father seeks with His subjects.

4:8    The cry ‘holy, holy, holy’ quotes Isa 6:3 where God is being praised.

Rev 3:21 First Principles>Sure Mercies of David>Government
The rulership of God's Kingdom is not limited to the twelve apostles. The faithful will play a part as well.
For more information about the government of God's Kingdom, go to Matt 19:28

3:14  That Jesus is ‘the beginning of the creation of God’ echoes and highlights the teaching that he is the ‘firstborn’ – Rev 1:5 – and that ‘all things were created by him’ Col 1:16