READING: Zechariah 6:1-15, Ezra 5:3-6:14, Zechariah 7:1-8:23
Yesterday, I wrote about the importance of not taking grace for granted. Today, I’m reminded just how much grace matters.
Even the people of God can be so rebellious that it almost seems hard to believe, as we learn in today’s reading. When the people posed a question about the ritual of fasting, God in turn called them to fundamental obedience that went even deeper into their hearts. Rituals without obedience meant nothing. The response of the people, though, was clear:
- “But they refused to pay attention” (Zech 7:11)
- They “turned a stubborn shoulder” (Zech 7:11)
- “They closed their ears so they could not hear” (Zech 7:11)
- “They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the Lord of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets” (Zech 7:12)
- “They would not listen” (Zech 7:13)
Read these multiple phrases in just a few verses, and It’s no wonder God burned with intense anger toward His people and brought judgment on them. That makes sense. What doesn’t completely make sense in the human mind is that God still loved them and would do the seemingly impossible by restoring them in great numbers. That’s grace – and grace matters!
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Does grace truly matter to you today?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, I’m the one who doesn’t always pay attention to You and Your commands. Forgive me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Zechariah 9:1-14:21