Zechariah-The People Will Be Driven Far From Their Land

By Mary Vee
Zechariah 5

From Zechariah's Journal

Photo Courtesy

An angel of the Lord visited me in a vision. It happened at night when I was alone.  Actually the angel ended up showing me several visions. This is the sixth vision. You can scroll down to past posts to read the other visions.

The first vision happened while I was in Jerusalem. We were rebuilding the temple. Darius was in his second year of reign in Babylon. The second, third, fourth, and fifth followed, all in the same night. This is the sixth and seventh visions I saw:

I looked up and saw a large scroll flying in the air. The scroll was still rolled up which means it was not open yet.

The angel asked me, "What do you see?"

I answered after seeing the scroll unrolled, "I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide."

The angel said, This scroll is the curse that is going out over all the land. According to what the scroll says on one side, every thief will be banished from the land. According to what it says on the other side, everyone who doesn't tell the truth will be banished from this land. 

"The Lord Almighty said, "I will send the scroll out and it will enter the thief's house and the liar's house. The scroll will remain in their house and destroy it, including the timbers and the stones.

This ended the sixth vision.

The seventh vision started right away.

The angel who stood nearby leaned closer to me. He pointed up. "Look."

Something appeared in the sky. It was far away. I rubbed my eyes and still couldn't tell what it was. I asked, "What is it?"

The angel said, It is a measuring basket. The kind used to take objects to market to sell and also used to carry things that must be gotten rid of. This represents the sins of the people throughout the land."

The lid of the basket raised up. Inside was a woman.

The angel said, "This woman is wickedness." He pushed the woman back in the basket and forced the lid to close." She and the basket must be sent away."

I looked up and saw two women. Wind blew in their wings. They had wings like those of a stork. They lifted up the basket between heaven and earth. For neither heave nor the men of earth want to be near these wicked Jews."

"Where are they taking the basket?" I asked the angel.

"To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in it's place.

Author's note: In time, scholars learned that the Romans would take over the land. Many Jews would escape to far away places never returning to their homeland. Not for a period of seventy years like their last punishment in Babylon, but they will never reunite. The Israelites will become blind to their sin. Fathers will not teach their sons the law. They will be a wicked people.

God showed Zechariah one more visions. Come back next time to see the rest of the story.

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source: Matthew Henry's Commentary volume 4, Hendrickson Publishers. 2000.

1.  Who was Zachariah? 
2.  What did Zachariah see in these two vision?
3.  What did the scroll stand for?
4.  What did the basket stand for?
5.  What did the woman in the basket stand for?
6.  Where did the women with wings take the basket?
7.  Why was the basket taken there?