King Uzziah

Isaiah chapter 6 appears in this week's Christian Science Bible Lesson. the chapter begins by telling us that the prophet Isaiah began his work in the year that King Uzziah of Judah died. That year was 739BC.

Who was Uzziah and was he connected to the prophet Zechariah who we are learning about this month?

Second Chronicles 26 informs us that Uzziah became king at the age of 16 and subsequently successfully reigned in Jerusalem for 52 years! 

His mother's name was Jekoliah (v. 3) and "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" (v. 4). Moreover "He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God"(v. 5 NIV).

How interesting to make these connections!

Further along in this chapter is one of my most favourite Bible verses:

v. 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!" (Isa. 6: 8).

Julie Swannell

 

Discouraged? "The Lord will give thee peace."

A quick review of articles mentioning the word “discouragement” in recent editions of The Christian Science Monitor include stories on church, politics, sport, and home. Murr Brewster’s hilarious April 16, 2025 story about hiding behind her undiscouraged hedge, includes this graphic paragraph:

The big side yard was bordered on two sides by a sprawling laurel hedge with Godzilla’s own ambition. It didn’t grow so much as it reared up. I caught one neighbor pouring used motor oil underneath the hedge, but that did nothing to discourage the thing. Within a year it was a threat to migrating geese.

But, discouragement is not usually funny. It can become entrenched, and it can show up at inconvenient times. It may need some wrestling to be replaced by hope and encouragement.

The prophet Zechariah had the tough job of encouraging a discouraged nation. How did he do it? My KJV study Bible’s book of Zechariah opens with this telling paragraph

               Zechariah prophesied to a group of discouraged Israelites, announcing that it was a new day for God’s chosen people. He sought to inspire those who had returned from captivity to rebuild the temple and rededicate their lives to the Lord. The message of encouragement involved surrealistic visions and vivid poetic images, focused on a reversal of God’s judgment, and called for a reversal of the people’s behavior.

Zechariah knew the way forward wasn’t going to be easy. It would require work, diligent work involving a reassessment of how people conducted their everyday lives.

Chapter One sets the pace:

v. 3 “… ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’…”

v. 8 “In a vision during the night, I saw a man sitting on a red horse that was standing among some myrtle trees in a small valley. Behind him were riders on red, brown, and white horses.

v. 9     I asked the angel who was talking with me “My lord, what do these horses mean?”

v. 10    The rider standing among the myrtle trees then explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent out to patrol the earth.”

v. 11     Then the other riders reported to the angel of the Lord, who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been patrolling the earth, and the whole earth is at peace.”

v. 16    …“My Temple will be rebuilt…”

v. 18    Then I looked up and saw four animal horns.

v. 19    What are these? I asked the angel who was talking with me. He replied, “These horns represent the nations that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”

Those words are quite encouraging. Angel messages always are.

One writer has shared the following:

Discouragement should never be admitted into consciousness on any pretext. It is never a part of good and can never be made to serve any legitimate end. It is always a harbinger of evil and never a messenger of good, and for that reason it should not be listened to or believed in by anyone who places his trust in the triumph of good. James Noble Hatch, The Christian Science Journal March 1918 “Overcoming Discouragement”

James Montgomery’s words from hymns 77, 78 touch the heart of the matter:

Place on the Lord reliance; / My heart, with courage wait; / His truth be thine affiance, / When faint and desolate: / His might thy heart shall strengthen, / His love thy joy increase; / Thy day shall mercy lengthen: / The Lord will give thee peace.
(Christian Science Hymnal 77:2)

Julie Swannell

The volume turned up

Take yourself to 500 years before Christ Jesus' sojourn on earth.

King Cyrus of Persia has granted the captive Israelites permission to return to Judah (538BC). 

A commentator writes: "The chosen people had just come through one of the worst experiences possible in the ancient world. Their homeland was devastated by invading armies, their capital city and temple were plundered and flattened, many of their people and leaders were killed, and most of the rest were carried off into pagan lands. The returnees who made the long trek back to Judah were faced with the challenge of re-establishing Jerusalem and the temple." (The book of Ezra gives some background.)

The commentator continues: "The remnant that came out of the captivity was the only hope for the future of Israel. Based on the track record of previous generations, strong language would be necessary to penetrate the stubborn shoulders, closed ears, and rock-hard hearts of God's people... Poetry served this purpose well because it allowed for language with the volume turned up."

"Zechariah used a mix of genres. His sermons, poetry, and oracles of judgment and salvation were typical of the prophetic genre. But his visions had similarities with apocalyptic literature, like Daniel."  Holman KJV Study Bible

I'm looking forward to finding out more about this prophet, his message, and his method of communication.

Julie Swannell