today's mediation (Zech.12) Being More Like God

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Zechariah 12:1-14) The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:

The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

We see not only a prophecy of Jesus' crucifixion, but also a prophecy of the end times.  When Israel goes through the Tribulation, they will see the judgements, which are their signs of Jesus' second coming and realize that Jesus was and is their Messiah.  Although His work on the cross was necessary to make salvation possible, it will weigh heavy on Israel to also realize that they crucified (pierced) the only One who is able to fulfill their covenants, which will happen when Jesus returns at the end of those seven years of the Jewish Age.

Meanwhile, oh how we love to have heroes in our lives - heroes which inspire us.  This is why the superhero franchises are so very popular.  But here we have the most loving and most powerful Superhero of all time!   Jesus died in our place to pay for all sin, then rose again to have victory over death, so that anyone who believers in Him will have eternal life.  If we make Jesus our Hero, admired and loved, we will desire to be more like Him.

We cannot be God, but we can be more like Him by allowing Him to work in and through us.  People should never be expected to first be "good enough" before approaching the Lord for salvation.  People are to go to Jesus as they are, ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  In God's salvation, power and wisdom, He will help us and change us from the inside out.  And as children of God, if we love our heavenly Father as much as we say we do, would we not want to be more like Him?