S) "8 'It will come about in all the land,'
Declares the Lord,
'That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
9 'And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, "They are My people,"
And they will say, "The Lord is my God."'"
Zechariah 13:8-9 (NASB)
O) This is a very interesting passage to me. The chapter begins with Zechariah prophesying against the false prophets to come (vv.1-6). Then, in verse 7, the LORD declares that His Shepherd with be struck, that the sheep may be scattered. This is a prophecy about the Messiah, Jesus Christ (see Mark 14:27), and that makes the verses above much more significant. While there was, at that time, also existing prophecy about 2/3 of the people being destroyed (see Isaiah 6:13, Ezekiel 5:2-4, 12), this clearly has relevance to the time of Jesus, and even beyond. When Jesus gave the parable of the seed scattered on various soils (see Matthew 13), what were the outcomes of the seeds? In 13:4, He says some of the seed never reaches soil - this means that the Word wasn't actually received by people into their hearts (as Jesus explains in chapter 13). But, what are the other examples? Well, first we see that some seed falls on rocky soil, and it springs up a quick crop that dies quickly (vv.13:5-6). Then second we see that some seed falls among thorns, so it brings a crop that is choked out (v.13:7). Then, third we see some seed that falls into good soil, yielding a healthy crop. Two out of three crops fail and fall away. They received the Word but failed to bear fruit. Back to verse 9, above, there is a testing that happens through life, and being refined by the LORD, going through those fires, only one out of three makes it, to respond to Him, "The LORD is my God."
A) First, there is always the humble acknowledgment of His grace at work in my faith. I am part of the one third, only because His compassion and lovingkindness pierced my hard heart, and gave me a heart of flesh. So, starting with thanksgiving and praise, I then press on through the fiery testing that I encounter. I rest in assurance that He is refining me. I hold fast to my faith in His goodness, His faithfulness, His holiness. Through that, I rejoice, as painful as the refinement might be. I rejoice, knowing that through that trial, He is purifying me into the silver, the gold He intended me to be.
P) Father, thank You God, for saving me. You chose me, and through grace, You changed my heart to be - I'll say - soil that is better than it was. I know what it looks like, to receive the seed of Your words joyfully, but without deep enough roots, and see the fruit in my life dry up. I know the pain and anguish that comes with the worries of this world, struggling to bear fruit on my own. But, through grace, You fertilized my roots, and revived me in Your love and patience. So now, let me rest in my Savior Lord, to whether the storms of life, to bear good fruit in and out of season, according to the seed of Your words, and the waters of Your Spirit. Let me persevere according to Your will, to be refined as You want me until the perfection of Your glory. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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