09/11/2019 PLAY
Zechariah 8:4-5 The LORD of HOSTS declares that Jerusalem will have peace and prosperity so long that there will once again be aged men and women hobbling through her streets on canes, and the streets will be filled with boys and girls at play.
[Living Bible Translation]
Summary
Zechariah was a prophet and a Levite (a descendant of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob, whose members became one of the tribes of Israel and who during the time of Moses were given priestly and religious duties regarding the care of the Tabernacle and later Temple). See, Deuteronomy 18:1. Zechariah was the son of Berekiah and the grandson of Iddo, the priest, and prophet. Zechariah was born in Babylon, in exile. He was a contemporary of Haggai, the prophet and Zerubbabel, the governor.
Jerusalem fell to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. and most of the Jerusalem inhabitants were deported to Babylon, where they stayed for about 70 years (as prophesized by the Prophet Jeremiah). See, Jeremiah 25:12. When the Babylonian Empire fell to the Persian Empire in about 529 B.C., Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. See, Ezra 1:2-4. Only a small group of those deported returned, including Haggai and Zechariah. See Ezra 5:1 and Ezra 6:14. Zechariah encouraged the people to rebuild the temple and encouraged them to greater spiritual renewal.
In Zechariah Ch. 1, Zechariah delivers a message from the LORD calling for national repentance.
The message of repentance continues in Ch 7, where Zechariah tells the people that the LORD ALMIGHTY wants the people to “show mercy and compassions” (verse 9), to stop oppressing widows and orphans and foreigners (i.e. immigrants) and poor people, and to stop plotting evil against each other (verse 9 and 10). There is a warning that they not be disobedient as the previous generation, which turned their backs, plugged their ears and hardened their hearts like stone (verses 11 and 12) to GOD.
In Zechariah Ch 8 GOD gives Zechariah a message for the people which includes a prophetic vision of what a restored Jerusalem will look like. Zechariah vision of Jerusalem is one of peace. So peaceful that elderly people (i.e., senior citizens) will be secure and safe and walk the streets with their canes. Likewise, children (boys and girls) will be able to safely play. The Jerusalem streets will be filled with playing children.
Just as Martin Luther King had a prophetic dream that one day in Alabama, “little black boys and little black girls will hold hands with little white girls and boys,” Zechariah prophesized there will be a time when Jerusalem will be safe for even the most vulnerable, its senior citizens and children. Peace will truly prevail in Jerusalem when children can play. Zechariah tells the people to keep working, keep building, continue to lay strong foundations because the LORD is “sowing peace and prosperity” for them and their children. Zechariah 8:12.