(REFLECTIONS ON Zechariah 5:1-11)

What did the prophet Zechariah see in today’s Scripture? A flying scroll. What is on the scroll? On one side it is the judgment and consequences of those that steal, and the other for those that swear.

The words on the flying scroll tell of what happens when someone takes from others, and those that make false promises and lies in the name of the Lord. What will happen to those that do such things?

They will be purged away, meaning the Lord will judge them, take them away, and remove them. This flying scroll does not just symbolically appear in the air floating aimlessly, but it goes forth by the Lord,

4 “I will make it go forth,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”

The flying scroll will go forth, to where those that steal and swear falsely by the Lord’s name are. No one can hide, no one can disappear from the Lord’s judgment, but the flying scroll will find them out, and bring them to justice.

The flying scroll reminds us that the Lord is not far away, His judgments are not far off, and the enemy can do nothing to avoid, hide, or escape the hand of the Lord.

In addition to the flying scroll, we see something else going forth in today’s Scripture.

6 I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land 7 (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.”

What is an ephah? It was a standard measure used for grain. But in this vision, the important thing is not simply the container itself, but what is inside the ephah.

Inside the ephah is a woman, identified as “Wickedness!” Wickedness is thrown down into the middle of the ephah and a lead weight is cast on its opening, sealing Wickedness inside the ephah.

Lastly, two women lifted up the ephah, with Wickedness trapped inside, between the earth and the heavens, “to build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.”

In the Bible, Shinar was associated with Babylon and, earlier in Scripture, with the Tower of Babel. It is representative of the place where humanity gathered in pride and rebellion against God.

Here, Wickedness is being removed from the land where God’s people are being restored and carried away to a place associated with rebellion against God.

At the time Zechariah received these visions, the Jews had returned from seventy years of captivity in Babylon. They were rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple. But God was showing them that He was not simply rebuilding their city physically. He was also spiritually purifying His people.

Oh Lord, come spiritually purify your Church, trapping Wickedness in its sin, falsehood, stealing away souls from the place you have established as the body of Christ. Come spiritually purify your people, that they may be led by the Holy Spirit, through Christ, towards the cross, that what is left is no longer the old self, but Christ in them.

Come spiritually purify your creation, that all may be restored in Your time, so that we can enjoy the glory of Your presence, that we can worship and adore You in all purity and with all our heart, so that what remains is us in Christ, and through Christ by the Holy Spirit, in God.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Zechariah 5