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8/12/2019 1992 Issue 5 - Sermons on Zechariah: The Woman in the Ephah - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/4
8/12/2019 1992 Issue 5 - Sermons on Zechariah: The Woman in the Ephah - Counsel of Chalcedon
2/4
We must keep in mind that this
prophecy is more or less Palt Two of
the preceding one. And in Zechariah
5: 1-4 we saw
clearly that
Israel
was
being dealt With. So why not
here?
Also the sinners of Israel mentioned
in verses 3 and 4 clearly seem alluded
to in verse
6:
This is their appear
ance, after which the woman appears
in verse 7. Funhermore, he says that
this is their appearance through
all
the eanh. In our last
message
we saw
that this phrase through all the eanh
could better
be
translated through all
the Land," I.e., the Promised
Land
of
Israel.
Thus, Israel is before us in this vi
sion. But in the previous vision was
presented individuals in lsrael: "one
that stealethand one that sweareth.
Here, however, the scattered indi
viduals are collected into
one
symbol:
a unified woman. Whereas the previ
ous vision pointed out Widespread sin
in lsrael, this one sees that sin
as
in
fecting
Israel
as a nation,
as
a unified
system. The first vision looked at the
trees; this one looks at the forest,
as
it
were
.
2. The Significance of the Ephah.
Now
we
must move
from
a consid-
eration of the identity of the woman to
the significance of the ephah. The
ephah was a common measure of dry
weight in ancient Israel. As such it was
generally associated
With
the basket
that was actually used to measure an
ephah. Its measure was roughly
equivalent to a bushel of
grain,
or
some other such dry goods.
We
might
call the ephah here a bushel basket.
In the vision we discover the woman
hidden inside the basket,
verses
6-7.
For a very imponant prophetic reason
Israel
is
pictured
as
in the measuring
basket. We should note that when the
heavy lead lid is lifted
up
to
reveal
the
woman in the basket, the interpreting
angel does something. His action here
is crucial
for
the interpretation of the
vision. Unfonunately, its significance
is
obscured in the
New
American
Standard Bible . The NASB translates
verse
8:
Then he said, 'This is Wick
edness '
And
he threw her down into
the middle of the ephah. The King
James
reads:
"And he said, This is
Wickedness.
And he cast It into the
midst of the ephah. Should
we
read
''it'' or "she" in this verse? The NASB
translators noted that the pronoun in
question
is
a feminine pronoun; hence,
the translation her. Nevenheless, I
believe that this view is mistaken for
the folloWing reasons:
First, the pronoun should refer
back
to the nearer noun Wickedness' C .
6),
ratherthan the noun fanher away,
"woman"Cv. 7).
The noun
Wickedness
happens
also
to be feminine and would
require a feminine pronoun.
Second, in verse 7 we see the woman
sitting in the midst of the ephah
."
Nowhere do
we
see her
get
out. Con
sequently, how could she be cast into
the midst of the ephah, when she
is
already there?
Now
let me attempt to bring out the
idea of this action. Israel is in this
measuring basket. The
idea
clearly
is
that she
is
being measured.
But for
what? We should note that there
is
a
strong negative connotation in the
whole picture of the woman in the
vision, particularly in regard
to
the
angel's action in verse 8.
Let us consider several references
using "measure" in the sense I believe
is represented here. Then we Will
come back to the vision itself and how
it specifically relates to Israel.
In Genesis 15 :16 we read of the
delay of God's judgment on the
Amorites: Not until the fourth genera
tion of Abraham's
family,
would his
descendants come to the Promised
Land, forthe iniquity ofthe Amorites
is not yet
full."
The evil the Amorites
had in Abraham's day had not reached
its full matUlity and ultimate fruition
calling
for
God's final judgment. In
Romans
2: 5 sinners in general said
to store up sin for Judgme
nt Day:
"After thy hardness and impenitent
hean treasurest up unto thyself wrath
against the
day
of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God.
Sin may be considered
as
measured.
When it reaches full measure, judg
mentcomes.
It is more than a little interesting to
consider how the measuring up of sin
is applied to the Jews in the future
from Zechariah's time, that is, in the
New Testament. In the Old Testament
God sent prophets to lsrael;
ut
Israel's
leaders persecuted them. In Matthew
5: 12 Jesus said: Rejoice, and be ex-
ceeding
glad:
for
great
is
your
reward
in
heaven:
fOTso
persecuted
they
the
proph-
ets
which
we
re before you.
In Matthew
21:35 He teaches that the Jewish lead
ers took God's prophets and beat one,
and killed
another, and
stoned
another.
Thus,just before His own final rejec
tion by the Jews, the Son of God, the
Great Prophet.Jesus Christ said to the
scribes and Pharisees: Fill
ye
up then
the measure of your fathers (Matt.
23:32).
And
then four verses after
calling them
to "fill up
the measure of
sin
he
said: 0
eru.saJem,]
erosa/em,
tlwu
that
killestthe prophets, andsWnest them
which
aresent
unto
thee. These verses,
along
With
Acts
7:52, 1Thessalonians
2:15, and Hebrews
11:36,
show Israel
had constantly striven against Godand
His prophets; they were filling up the
measure of their sins throughout the
Old Testament and into the New.
This is why Paul speaks as he does
about Jewish opposition to the Gos-
pel: They
10rbid us tv speak tv the
Gentiles that
they
might be saved,
to fill
up
theirsins
a/way:for the
wrath is
come
upon
them
tv the uttermost l
Thess.
2:16).
Now with this in mind, let us move
back to the vision.
May,
1992 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon
21
8/12/2019 1992 Issue 5 - Sermons on Zechariah: The Woman in the Ephah - Counsel of Chalcedon
3/4
In the fiISt pan of he visionin verses
3
and
4
the scattered sins of ndividu
als are mentioned. In this portion of
the vision, Israel
as
a nation is being
measured. And wickedness is put
in
with
her
in the measurement. This
would
seem to imply the final measure
of
sinful wickedness is thrown
in
the
basket with Israel to make a full mea
sure of
her
sins.
Up to Zechauah's time, Israel's full
measure of sin had not been reached.
True, she was not bunging inthe appro
puate measure of tithes
for
the rebuild
ing of the temple, but there
w s
a delay
in judgment. She had nOt been
finally
rejected as a disqnct,
na-
' ... .,.
tional people. BUt Zecha- ' ..
nah foresees her wicked
ness as being measured in
the ephah. The prophet
foresees the fearful last
measure being
put
in v. 8).
Undoubtedly,
the
last
measure of Israel's wick
edness is her rejection of
Christ. In Matthew 21
JeSuspresentsthatheinous
act as the last straw, after
which
God will take the
kingdom
of
God
and
give
it to a nation that will bear
the fruits thereof. . In Ro
mans
11 Paul calls
her
re
jection of Christ the
transgression, that causes
her
national doom (Rom.
11:11). In Revelatiort l7and 18lsrael
appears as the Great Harlot dwelling
in the Great City Jerusalem, who is
filled With the blood of the saints. In
. Revelatioh 18:4-5 we read:
And
I
heard
anothetvoic?fromheaven, saying,
Come
out
of her, my people, that ye be not
partakers of
her sins, and
thatye
receive
not of
her
plagues. For
her sins
have
reached unto
heaven, and
God
hath re-
membered her iniquities.
Her sins at
. hat time will be taken into account as
.
being
filled to heaven.
This leads us to consider:
3. The Destiny In Shinar.
With the last measure of wicked
ness added to Israel'spredicarnent (i.e.,
the future rejection of Christ),
we
see
the lead lid put on the measuring
ephah v. 8). At that time her doom
will be sealed. Israel is shut
up to
endure the consequences of her sin.
In the first
pan
of the vision, her
homes are seen destroyed (v. 4b). n
this pan an additional aspect of God's
judgment is predicted.
Here we witness two women ap
pearingontheseen(v. 9). Theyliftup
the ephah containing Israel and catty
It
off. t
would seem that the reason
for
these being women is nothing more
than being appropriate to the
fact
they
are canying off a woman, Israel. That
there were two of them is explained by
the fact that such
an
ephah load would
require two persons to haul it off.
They represent the powers employed
by God
to cany
away this sinful people.
These women have large wings,like
those ofa stork. They liftup the ephah
with Israel in it and
cany
it away v. 9).
22 TIlE OUNSEL
of
Chalcedon , May, 1992
This obviously ponrays another de
struction and deponation
for
Israel in
her
future, not unlike the Babylonian
captivity. But a few elements of the
vision
w ll
indicate its
much
greater
consequence.
Obvionsly the place where she is
taken is of significance, because
of
her
destiny's being highlighted
by
the
question in verse 10 and 'the answer
given
in
verse 11. InA.D.30Jesussaid
this destruction would occur in the
generationofHis hearers (Matt. 24:34).
In the A.D. 50s Paul recognizes that
the wtath is come upon them to the
uttennost, which indicates its being
very near.
We
know from
history that the final de
struction and scattering of
Israel wasurtderthe Romans
in A.D.
70. Since that time
lsraelhasnothadhertemple
and has not been blessed of
God.
But why is
her
scattering
said
to
be unto Shinar ?
Andwhatis the significance
of the building of the house
there?
Shinar is an old historic
name going back almost to
the days Noah. In Genesis
10:10 and 11:2 we f)nd
it
mentioned as the
place
where the tower
of
Babel
was built. The tower ofBa
belwaS a religious structure
called a ziggurat that was
builtin
direct defiance to God by
men who
refused to spread out over the earth.
Now this is interesting. Israel's be-
setting sin in Zechariah's day was
her
refusalto build a
od
-ordained temple.
Her sin
in
Jesus' day washer response
toJesus' statement
inJohn
2:
Destroy
this
temple
and in three days I will raise
it
up
(speaking of His own body). So
as Israel comes under judgment for
rebellion against building and main
taining God's house, God promises
8/12/2019 1992 Issue 5 - Sermons on Zechariah: The Woman in the Ephah - Counsel of Chalcedon
4/4
that she will be sent out of the
land
to
dwell in the city
of
man, rather than
the city of God. Just
as
i she were
actually to be resettled in Shinaritself.
Away from the house of God to the
house of man.
But this time herdeponation, unlike
the Babylonian deportation, will be
of
lasting consequence. Never again
would she be a favored nation by God.
In the Hebrew the verb action is quite
intensified in verse 11, when it says
that Israel will have built
for
her a
house that is established and settled
on
its base (literally).
As
a nation she
is to have built for her a house outside
of the Promises of God in the land of
man.
This will
not be a tabernacle-tent,
but
a permanent, well-settled house.
Since they have so little concern for
God's House
and
its rebuilding, God
will have them carried away where
they can have a more appropriate
house: outside His kingdom. Jesus
spoke ofthis in Matthew 8:11: "Many
shall
come
Jrom the east and west, and
shall
sit down
with
Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob,
in
the kingdom of heaven."
Conclusion
There are three lessons I would like
for
us
to gain from this message.
First, despite widespread belief
among
modem
Christians that Israel
will be blessed of God as a nation aud
will
be
allowed to rebuild the temple
as a sign of God's favor, God's Word
teaches a different truth. There are
missions to the Jews today that mis
construe the promises of God
for
Israel
by
teaching that we must
favor
them
for God's sake. But Jews are like any
other people: they need to respond to
the Gospel of Christ and be let in as
individuals
to
the Church of Jesus
Christ. There is no special future for
Israel as a nation.
Too much modem day Jewish evan
gelism is mistaken in
its approach,
though we appreciate its zeal in at-
tempting to reach the Jews. We must
understand that in Christ all races are
accepted on an equal basis. Galatians
3:28: "There is
neitherJew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male norJemale:
Jorye
are all
one
in Christ
Jesus
(cp. Rom. 10:12; Col.
3:11).
Second,
as
with
our
last message
we
as Americans must learn that God is
not obligated to deliver our nation no
matter what. There have been nations
in the past who were blessed of God
while faithful, but against God turned
w
hen
they rejected Him. Let us pray
for
our nation
in
these troublesome
times, that she might be reclaimed
before
her
sins reach
up
to heaven,
before she fills
up
the measure ofsin.
Let us think
and
act like Christians
in
society -- promoting biblical truth, not
pragmatic principles.
Third,
we
must recognize the concept
of fillingupsin.
Ifweever
live
in
sin
and do not appear
to
suffer God's
judgment
for
it, this could
be
a danger
sign: God is allowing us to fill
up
the
measure of sin for a great judgment.
You cannot sin and get away with it.
Let
us not
tempt God.n
. . We
believe
in thejUll aUlhori9' of
the Bible
as
expressed
in the Westminster
Confession
ofFaith, the Heidelbelg Catechism the BelgiC Confession, nd the
Canons
of
Dart
We
are Reformed in theology.
.:- We tead a comprehensive BibUcal Worldview
in
all areas ofstudy. God's
word
is the foundation of
all knowl
edge.
. .
We haYe ahigh
view f G o d ~ revealed
law
in
both Old
andNew
Covenants,
as
a
basis
for
sodal and political
ethics.
.:- We
beUevein
theultimate
riumph
ofGod ssoyereigngracewhich wi
ll
impact
the
world.
+ +
We
believe
in
ve
ry
limited consUtutionaJ civil gove
rnment
nd
a ree
enter-
prise economic
~ s t e m
:
Webelievein and encourage Christian home
-
education (and enthusiasticalry
accept homeschoolers), as
well
as
Christian schools.
:
We
offer
a
Bachelor degree in Theology, Philosophy
History, Political
Economy, and Christian Education. Students may also take coursework (e.g.
Acccunting.
Business, Modem Languages
Sciences)
at nearby Uberty
Universi(y, a
Christian
school.
:. BoardofT ustees:
Dr.
Greg
Bahnsen, MDiv., ThM,
Ph.D.;
Dr. Kevin
Clauson,MA.,J.D. r e s i d e n ~ Dr
.
Carl Curtis, MA., Ph.D
.;
Rev. RichardE.
Knodel,M.Div.
(HEAV Boarq);
Dr. RodMays,
MEa.,
D
Min.;
Rev. Donald
H. Post, M Diy.
Many
nationalry..known Christian
scholars
Involved.
Current
resident
facul(y
of
siJc
men
.
May, 1992 THE COUNSELof Chalcedon 23