HIs Obstacles

Praying for one of the most precious young women that I know last night, and I was just rolling along praying for "obstacles to be removed and a path cleared for her and her ministry"  when God interrupted me, told me to stop and said, 'Pray for MY obstacles to be put in her path, obstacles that will make her stronger and grow her faith in Me.'  And so I did, and when I shared that with her, there were tears in her eyes, her heart understood what God was saying.
It takes me back to the definition of the fear of the Lord.


"The Fear of the Lord, is the "willingness to justify God in all that He allows into your life."
Trials, temptations, tribulations, suffering... ALL that He allows into your life!"  Roy Hession


And this that I read today, is also another way of saying, 'Live your life in the fear of the Lord.'
"You have to die to self everyday. How? By allowing your circumstances to help you become more like Christ–especially the circumstances you don’t like. Anytime you feel the pain of an insult, disappointment, suffering, physical challenge, failure, injustice, or trial–it’s an opportunity to die to pride, die to ego, die to sin, die to self. And if you keep dying to self, you’ll come alive in ways you never imagined. In fact, you’ll live forever."

Self-pity is a raging sin in my life, I did a "4th step" with my friend Steve the other day and looking back on my resentments, frustration and anger, they are almost all related to self-pity, so repent, and walk in the fear of the Lord.

Zechariah Bible Study #3 The Horns and the "Carpenters"

Zechariah Bible Study #3
Zechariah 1:18-21
The Horns and the ‘Carpenters’

18 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. 19 So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he answered me, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”     NASB

18 Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19 “What are these?” I asked the angel who was talking with me.
He replied, “These horns represent the nations that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 21 “What are these men coming to do?” I asked.
The angel replied, “These four horns—these nations—scattered and humbled Judah. Now these blacksmiths have come to terrify those nations and throw them down and destroy them.”   NLT

This vision connects to the comforting words of the last vision.  It shows that those nations who ‘went too far’ in harming the Jewish people will be judged/conquered/defeated/humbled.  Zechariah would have been familiar with Daniel and his prophecies.  Also in Revelation, horns represent ruling world powers.  Daniel’s prophecy contains an image of a statue with four types of metal, and another dream/vision that had 4 beasts.  Babylon is the power that took Daniel and many others from Judah captive.  Persia defeated Babylon during Daniels lifetime and a Persian king is the one who allowed the remnant Jews to return to Jerusalem and begin rebuilding.  Greece would be the next world power, Daniel spoke of the leadership of Alexander the Great, long before Alexander was born.  The last great world power is Rome.
A good question is, “How is it a comforting word to be told, ‘Here are the two world powers that scattered you recently and here are the next two who will step up and do the same?’”  The answer is two-fold.  #1 God is totally in control, knows the end from the beginning and knows what next will befall His people.  #2 As each world power comes and goes, because of God’s calling, Israel remains.  The preservation of Israel’s national identity and even Hebrew language, has to be seen as something that only God could do.  Jeremiah 30:11  ‘For I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will not destroy you completely.
But I will chasten you justly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’
If you know that you deserved to be ‘destroyed completely’, not being destroyed will be seen as the mercy that it is.  It is only those who do not see their own depravity and God’s holiness, who have to be told about mercy.
Abraham experienced a lot of favor from the nations around him, but from Isaac, down to the present day, God no sooner called Israel, His son, than the nations began to hate them.  The nations pushed and prodded by the principalities and powers of course, who are always jealous and hateful towards God’s merciful, grace-filled choices.
“The more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew.”  Exodus 1:12.

An example of this from history is the surprising, sad, origin of the phrase,
Hep Hep Hurray, English Hip hip hurray   "Hierosylma est Perdita," Latin for "Jerusalem is lost," which later was shortened to its acronym, "hep."  The crusaders shortened it to the first letter of each word.  Why this excessive hatred, toward a city and a people?  God’s right to choose, to elect, grinds against the pride of man like nothing else.

Again one of my favorite, Reggie Kelly quotes, “Everything is fine, until someone gets a coat of many colors."

Psalm 83 gives a good rendition of this truth which will continue to the end of this age.
 “1 O God, do not remain quiet;
Do not be silent and, O God, do not be still.
2 For behold, Your enemies make an uproar,
And those who hate You have exalted themselves.
3 They make shrewd plans against Your people,
And conspire together against Your treasured ones.
4 They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation,
That the name of Israel be remembered no more.”
5 For they have conspired together with one mind;
Against You they make a covenant:
6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites;
7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8 Assyria also has joined with them;
They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah.”
We should  take a minute with this Psalm to consider it, which is what Selah means.
The enemies experience great unity when they want to bring Israel down.  The mention of 10 nations lines up with other end time scenarios where 10 nations are mentioned.  Verse 2 makes it clear that the anger and unity of the enemies is, at its root against God.

Verse 19 - The mention of Judah, Israel and Jerusalem in the same verse shows the unity of the nation as it goes through tribulation.  Actually, we see this in the church in persecuted lands, they have no time or energy to ‘waste’ on denominational disagreements, there is a unity in tribulation that does not exist in prosperity.  The purifying work that God does in our lives as individuals, and in the life of the Church (1 Peter 4:17), is the same work He is doing in the Jewish people.  Fire purifies, so if God is coming back for a pure and spotless church... how do you think He will get us from where we are now to where we need to be at that time??

Verse 21 - The ‘carpenters’ are craftsmen with specific tools to do their job.  So how is it comforting to be told, “Here are four powerful kingdoms that will overthrow your people and here are four kingdoms that will in turn overthrow them.”?   Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome are the kingdoms, and each succeeds in destroying the one before it, lastly leaving Jesus Himself to destroy the final kingdom, which has sprung out of the vast Roman empire.  Bottom line,  the sovereign God is in control of it all.  Kingdoms rise and fall at His command and His care of the Jewish people continues without interruption or end.

With the reformation and the move of God that put the scriptures in the hands of the ‘common man’ there was a need for direction on how to properly interpret scripture.  The reformers came up with the perfect solution.  Let scripture interpret scripture, and so we turn to the book of Daniel for a very similar section of scripture to get more insight into what Zechariah is showing us.

Daniel 7:19 “Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up, and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them 22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’

28 “At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my face grew pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

This quote, to show God’s unyeilding plan, from one of the first five books in the Bible written by Moses.

Deut. 4:
27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you. 28 There you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice. 31 For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.

Knowing the truth and sticking with what God has said, and knowing that none of His words will fall to the ground, we press on!!

Syrophoenician woman

Asked to teach the adult class and this is what came out.

Turning Aside to See the Syro-Phonecian Woman

Mt 15:21-28; Mk. 7:25-30

Prayer
The heart of God to be revealed, for hope to spring in hearts that are dry and barren.


I can not teach on this by myself, and that is God’s design.  Each person in this room is eligible to “complete" what God is wanting to teach all of us.  You are free to interrupt to add your “two cents" and when you do you will be answering the call of God, that we be a body, and that each one has input that can help the whole.


Exclusion, Exclusive, what comes to mind when you hear those words?...

No one said “Jesus”.  We need to turn aside to see this real event that is recorded for us and learn from it.

“Everything is fine, until someone gets a coat of many colors”  Reggie Kelly

 1) Why does Jesus refuse the Syrophoenician woman’s request for exorcism? 2) Why does Jesus indirectly refer to her as a dog? 3) Why does Jesus change his mind and grant her request?

If you find in your Bible Study, the need to apologize for God, or to “cover” for Him.  I can assure you, you are missing the meaning of the passage.  You need to dig deeper, as we will be doing tonight.

We need to face the reality that this event would have been a “suffering” in the life of this woman.  Ignored, rejected in a general way, rejected in a very specific, hurtful way.
What did she want?
Who did she want it from?
According to Matthews gospel Jesus had already healed the Centurion’s servant at this point and given high praise to the Centurion for his faith.  So this isn't a case of 'racism.'
Why is He treating her like this?
What does He know that we do not know?
Is it okay for God to use our lives as symbols for others to learn from?
Is a part of the answer to the question, “Why does suffering exist?” that the Redeemer is using/will use what is happening in your life for a good effect in the life of another?  Is that okay with you?  When you gave Him your life, did you really give Him your life?  Or do you have limits, lines that you don’t want Him to cross?

God is exclusive.  In His plan of salvation there is a step that must be included and that is the total death of, “I deserve...(good thing)”  The ground upon which we receive from God is marked by the words and the life that says, “I do not deserve any thing good, death and hell are my destination if not for the mercy of God.”
The important question is not what she wanted?  If she only wanted healing for her daughter, she had every opportunity to tell this pompous, arrogant, Jewish teacher where He could get off and continue her search for some one else to heal her daughter.  The important question is, who did she want?  She wanted HIM!

This quote from John Piper fits in here.
John Piper: “Ordinarily faith would mean trust or confidence you put in someone who has given good evidence of his reliability and willingness and ability to provide what you need. But when Jesus Christ is the object of faith there is a twist. He himself is what we need. If we only trust Christ to give us gifts and not himself as the all-satisfying gift, then we do not trust him in a way that honors him as our treasure. We simply honor the gifts. They are what we really want, not him. So biblical faith in Jesus must mean that we trust him to give us what we need most — namely, himself. That means that faith itself must include at its essence a treasuring of Christ above all things.”

Could it be that our inability to see what is being shown here is because, inwardly, we still hold to a belief that something in me was good, something in me was attractive, and God seeing that little “spark” in me, chose me for that reason.  This turns the fact that we are “chosen” upside down.  This leaves room for pride and ugliness in our dealings with others.
God makes it very clear that His choice of Israel was not based on ANYTHING in them,
Deut. 7:7 “The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,”  Ezekiel 16:1-6
“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem, “Your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite, your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing; you were not rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths. 5 No eye looked with pity on you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you. Rather you were thrown out into the open field, for you were abhorred on the day you were born.
6 “When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your blood, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were in your blood, ‘Live!’”

Did you catch that?  This book is no ordinary book, these words are no ordinary words.  It applies to Israel, to each one of us individually and to the Church.
Ephesians 2:1
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;"
It is not what you are going through, but it is Who that is with you. 
We do not realize how precious and costly a thing faith is.
God does.
We perceive what Jesus did as cruel, because we do not see the ultimate value in where this “dark night of the soul”  with no answer, even with rejection, even with a time of feeling totally forsaken and alone was leading.  For this woman, for Israel, for the gentiles, for you and me, for the Church these times of suffering, are leading somewhere.

This definition of the fear of the Lord, fits in here.
The Fear of the Lord, is the "willingness to justify God in all that He allows into your life."
Roy Hession
Trials, temptations, tribulations, suffering... ALL that He allows into your life!

We are not promised explanations, we are not promised easy answers, we are promised something of far greater value.  HIM.

Our cries of “Where are You?”   Our very real times of feeling forsaken and alone are revealing true faith, strengthening true faith.  That is one side of the coin, the other side is they are putting the knife in “performance faith.”
Performance faith is “watch me do.... and then God will move.”

Let’s look closely at this verse in Revelation and then bring it back around to the woman from Syria.
Rev. 6:6 “And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”
Oil?  Symbolic of the anointing of God on our lives.
Wine?  Symbolic of the Joy of the Lord, that transcends circumstances.

Yes she wanted healing for her daughter, but she had no “right” to it.  When she acknowledged that she had no right to it, but pleaded for it, crying out for mercy, she was then standing on the ultimate RIGHT ground with God, the only ground from which we can truly approach Him, and from that place her answer came.  No matter what the cost was to get to that place, it is worth it.

We get God when we bring nothing.  Deut. 32:36, Psalm 102, Daniel 12:7, Leviticus 26:40-42, Zechariah 4:6

In our individual lives, and in the Church as a whole, this is the truth that needs to be revealed.

In the same way that this woman had to come to a place of desperation, where she would submit to God’s sovereign choice of Israel, that put her on the outside, we must come to a place of admitting our natural and moral disqualification from receiving grace before we can receive grace.  A true and deep conversion, like with Bobbie on Sunday, will result in an acknowledgment that everything that God had done up to that point, was worth it, to get to that point.
   “Jesus must take before he can give, that is to say he must remove natural hope in order that she might receive God’s gift on the basis of grace that is only accessible to faith.” Reggie Kelly

“God has not changed tactics. He still uses silences and Bible difficulties and offensive situations as challenges for us to rise to the occasion and prove that we believe that no matter what, the answer is found in Jesus and in him alone, and that if we cling to him for long enough, all that we need will be revealed.

We again see this in Jesus’ interaction with the Canaanite (Syrophenician) woman. She needed him. He gave her the silent treatment. Instead of giving up, she hounded him all the more. When she finally wrung a response from him it was worse than nothing. He insulted her and said he wouldn’t give her a thing. Still she hounded him and ended up receiving not only her request but Jesus’ high praise (Matthew 15:21-28). It turned out that despite not revealing a hint of it until it was all over, her persistence thrilled him. And when you receive the silent treatment, your determination to keep badgering him because you believe he cares and will not remain silent forever, will likewise thrill him, gain you high praise and you’ll hear from him as well.”

Grantley Morris

This is the pattern of God, The law is given.   The acknowledgment is given “We can not do this."   The sacrificial death of Jesus for us.   Grace is given, but grace is only grace when you see the rightness of God in excluding us.    Death before resurrection.       (prayer)

Palm Sunday Wisdom

I teach 3-5 year olds Sunday School every other week.  Moments like this one, humble me.  Aleena was deciding if the lesson I was teaching at the table could compete with the blocks she was playing with at the other table.  Eventually, she was drawn over to my table as I waxed eloquent about Palm Sunday, Judah, who was helping me said, "Yeh and 5 days later they were crucifying Him."  I said, "True, but today we are emphasizing how they welcomed Him as a King."  Aleena chimed in, "We don't want Him as our King, we want to be king ourselves!"  .......
Class dismissed!

Last trumpet, first resurrection "Has God said?"

This is a burden on my heart, so I am posting.   If you just read Matthew 24 or Mark 13 could you come to the conclusion that the 'gathering'  of the living and the dead occurs before the end of the tribulation?

If you just read these two scriptures could you believe in a rapture and a a resurrection of the dead,  before the last trumpet?   

1 Cor 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
"Last" is translated "last" or "final" in every translation that is not a paraphrase.

^{Revelation 20:4} Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. ⁶ Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

In response to the new teaching that Christ snatches the church out of the world before the Tribulation, George Mueller reportedly said, “If you can show me a trumpet after the last and a resurrection before the first, then I can believe this new doctrine.” 

It is a real problem for their exegesis to note that the “first resurrection” receives its designation as first in direct connection to the resurrection of those particular martyrs that were beheaded by the final beast of the final persecution (Rev 6:9-11; 20:4-6).  Reggie Kelly

God has promises to Israel that He must fulfill, these are not side issues.  They speak of the foundation of the faithfulness of God.  Can we trust His promises?  Can we take His word literally?  

Satan's first deceitful thought planted into the mind of a human, is still his favorite lie.  “Indeed, has God said,"  Genesis 3:1

Satan pushes, the Good Shepherd leads.

Years ago I read an article in Last Days Magazine, called “The Tyranny of the Urgent” by Charles Hummel.  It is still available for free here,
http://www.navigators.org/us/ministries/college/navfusion/assets/Tyranny%20of%20the%20Urgent%20[Hummel].pdf

It came to my mind recently while praying for a chosen vessel of God, who was being crushed by the weight of ‘tasks.’  That was weeks ago and slowly God has brought about these thoughts.

Diablos is a Greek word for Satan.  Diaballein is a word used for ‘accuser or slanderer.’  When this word is broken down it is dia = “across, through” + ballein “to throw”.  To throw across.

That reminded me of the meaning of the word, Hebrew, ‘to cross over.’

So, Satan can be discerned in a situation because you will feel like you are being thrown by a tyrannical power.     Jesus can be discerned in a situation because you will feel like you are being led by a Good Shepherd.

A good Shepherd leads His sheep who hear His voice and want to follow across, to cross over, out of love.
Diablo is not a good shepherd, he drives or throws across.  When we are feeling driven instead of led we need to be aware that these feelings point to a source.
I pursue the one I love out of love.
When I am feeling driven, I have to do this to impress, or keep up appearances, or show myself better, that is Diablo.

To confirm all this a post from Proverbs 31 ministries was displayed on Facebook.

The Good Shepherd...
Stills you
Leads you
Reassures you
Enlightens you
Comforts you
Calms you
Encourages you
Convicts you

Satan ...
Rushes you
Pushes you
Frightens you
Confuses you
Discourages you
Worries you
Condemns you

One last thought when I was young, a person who sold illegal drugs was known as a 'pusher.'

Zechariah 1:7-17 Study #2

Zechariah Bible Study # 2
Zechariah 1:7-17
The Angel of Jehovah Among the Myrtle Trees


Patrol of the Earth

1:7 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 prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows: 8 I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, sorrel and white horses behind him. 9 Then I said, “My lord, what are these?” And the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” 10 And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol the earth.” 11 So they answered the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.”

12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?” 13 The Lord answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. 14 So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.” 16 Therefore thus says the Lord, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ 17 Again, proclaim, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”   NASB




   All of these visions are connected, and are leading to a conclusion.  This first vision has a specific purpose, to comfort God’s people.  Though it is a vision, it is the word of the Lord.  One man summed it up this way, “God’s personal care.”

Verse 7 - The mention of the specific day is significant.  Exactly 5 months before under the preaching of Haggai the people had been stirred up to begin the work of rebuilding the temple.  Now, as happens, maybe some of the wind had gone out of their sails and they were in need of fresh wind.  God cares about specific days, Passover was fulfilled on Passover.  (Jesus being crucified)  Unleaved Bread and First fruits were fulfilled by Jesus.  Pentecost was fulfilled on Pentecost.  The Feast of Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles are yet to be fulfilled.  The Feast of Trumpets will coincide with the ‘confirming of the 7 year treaty’ to start the final 7 years.  The feast of Atonement will be one of the final events and the feast of Tabernacles which is spread out over 7 days will end it all, and not accidentally, this feast lasts more than one day, therefore, “no man knows the day or the hour.”  Neat, huh?
Numbers 12:6 “ He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, the Lord, shall make Myself known to him in a vision.
I shall speak with him in a dream.”
God reveals that a very valid way that He communicates His word to people is through visions and dreams.  In a vision the mental and spiritual faculties of the prophet were awake and able to ask questions and respond to and interact with the vision.

Verse 8 - The eye of the prophet is drawn to a ‘man’ standing in the midst of myrtle trees.  Myrtle = the Hebrew name Hadassah which equals our rendering of Esther.  They were fragrant trees that grew in the valley.  In Isaiah 55:13 they are what God replaces the thorn bushes with in the New Kingdom.  They are a symbol of Israel, a symbol of a people lowly and contrite, growing out of the sight of most.  In the deep, symbolizes that the people are still under the control of the great world powers.  But the great, ‘nevertheless’, of God is no matter who it seems is in control, no matter what the circumstances of your life the main thing is that “I am with you.”

It is not what we are going through, it is WHO is with us.

Who is this ‘man’ standing among the myrtle trees, verse 11 opens our eyes it is the “Angel of Jehovah”, none other than the pre-incarnate Jesus.  Israel, bowing under the weight of the world powers with no national independence was nevertheless, not cast off by God.  God is there in their midst.  Jeremiah 30:11  “For I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will not destroy you completely.
But I will chasten you justly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.”
This is also a great comfort to us.  We are dealing with this same faithful, covenant-keeping God.  His promises are sure.  He does not change.

The colors of the horses are significant.  Red is judgment, blood, vengeance.  The speckled or bay horse, has a mixed character of judgment and mercy.    The multitude of the army is symbolic of the power of Jehovah to accomplish what He sets out to do.  His Hand is not weak or short.

Verse 9 - The angel that talked “in me” is the interpreting angel addressed as “adoni” my lord.  Not Adonai which equals “my Lord” (capital ‘L’).  This angel prepares Zechariah’s heart to understand the visions.  Zechariah’s questions are an important part of him gaining understanding.  God loves it when we ‘dig deeper’ into scripture, searching it out.

Verse 10 - God has sent them on a mission to patrol the earth/land.

Verse 11 - These angels answer to their ‘captain’, that all is peaceful and quiet.  This could mean that the gentile world powers that had persecuted the Jewish people were at peace at the moment.  It could also be an encouragement to the people to build, because it was a time of peace, not war.  
Verse 12 - The 70 years of captivity are over, but the people are still living like things are bad.  They are not wholly taken up with the rebuilding, they are discouraged and downcast.  There has been a ‘carry-over’ of a defeated spirit.  And the cause, and the solution are one in the same - God!  So this is seen as Jesus, high-priestly intercession for the people.

Verse 13 - Gracious words, comforting words.  WOW, we had better ‘selah’ here - stop and consider and be grateful for a God who has gracious words, comforting words for us.  In times of darkness, trouble, discouragement, this is the God with whom we have to do!

Verse 14-17 What kind of words does the Lord consider to be comforting words?  It is important to see that the Lord does not give sympathy, He puts their eyes back on HIM.  His faithfulness, His jealousy for them, His plan for their future, His absolute control over the nations and kingdoms and times.
First, His jealousy for Jerusalem and Zion.  This is a comfort for the present time that Zechariah was speaking and also for us and for the final times.  Jerusalem is His choice from which to rule and reign.  Zion is both a specific spot in Israel and a mystical reference to the church, the servants of Jehovah, us.  There is a certain comfort in righteous jealousy, that has a “my boyfriends back and you’re gonna be in trouble” feel to it.  God’s anger flows from His love.  God’s chastisement flows from His love.  His choice is to keep on loving us.
Second His displeasure with the nations for taking a greater zeal and a deeper hatred in their actions toward the people of God than He had intended.  Isaiah 47:6 “I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show mercy to them,
On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.”
It is especially evil that many atrocities have been committed against the Jews, by people and powers operating in the name of Jesus.
Prophecy is clear that punishment will come upon the Jews when they disobey God.

“Prophecy, is given to us, not that it may be fulfilled, but because the omniscient God, who sees the end from the beginning, knows that it will be fulfilled, and man is left a free and responsible agent; and the nations who know not that the great God is overruling all things, even their wicked actions, to be the fulfillment of His predetermined counsel, are held accountable for  their deeds.”
David Baron

So there is sort of a “loose sovereignty” here.  I don’t know how else to explain it because under the direction of Satan who has an everlasting hatred for the Jew and the purpose and covenant of God, the nations go “too far” in their persecution of the Jew.  (Christians should never be persecuting Jews, we are to be living in such a way as to cause them to be jealous for ‘their God.’)

Verse 16 - “I am” returned is in the present perfect tense.  It is a sure thing.  It is never ‘forever’ and it is never unto the death, that Jehovah forsakes His people and the land.  They are still the center of the unfolding of His purposes of mercy to all mankind.
 Hosea 5:15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.   6:1“Come, let us return to the Lord.  For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
6:2 “He will revive us after two days;
He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.

God makes specific promises, so that, the comfort that He is offering in this vision is something the people can count on.
“My house shall be built in it”  a visible sign of the restored fellowship between God and His people.
“a line shall be stretched over it”  indicates a plan and an arrangement of the city.
“My cities”  These are peculiarly HIS, His chosen cities, and they shall overflow with prosperity.
The ultimate promise is that the Lord Himself, will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.  This choosing demonstrates in the sight of all the world the fact and the immutability of His original choice of her.
All of this was partially fulfilled at the time of Zechariah, and partially fulfilled at the time of Jesus.  But after Jesus, James quotes an Old Testament scripture, Amos 9:11,12 in Acts chapter 15, to indicate that ultimate fulfillment was yet to come.  Jehovah has big plans for His chosen people and His chosen land and they have never been fulfilled and will not be fulfilled by the current political state of Israel.  Isaiah 2:2-4 Now it will come about that
In the last days
The mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains,
And will be raised above the hills;
And all the nations will stream to it.
3 And many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
That He may teach us concerning His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For the law will go forth from Zion
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And He will judge between the nations,
And will render decisions for many peoples;
And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.   Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they learn war.

Micah 4:1-3  And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come and say,
“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.”

We yet await for the true glory to be fulfilled by the hand of God.
We yet await for the ultimate comfort of Zion.
We yet await for the exhaustive fulfillment of the choosing of Jerusalem.