If Only They Would Listen!
Zechariah 1:1-6
If only he, she, they would listen. I know I’ve said that, particularly in regards to some of the school students as I’m teaching. I know our teachers have said that, again, in regards to teaching, but it could be a husband in regards to a wife, or a wife in regards to a husband, it could be a boss, it could be a doctor in regards to his patient. Why won’t they listen if only they would listen? Do we perhaps hear that bit of frustration in the voice of God in our text? As he talks about the Israelite ancestors, “But they wouldn’t listen to me or pay attention to me.” The history of the Israelite nations is oh so full of examples of the Israelites not listening to God. The one that always just impacts me or just astounds me in certain ways is Jeroboam, the first prophet of the, or the first king of the northern kingdom. When God chose to split the kingdom in half because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God chose to keep the Davidic dynasty in place in the south, but he chose to start a new dynasty in the north, Jeroboam. And God comes to Jeroboam, and God says to him, “Be faithful to me. If you’re faithful to me, I’ll make your dynasty to be just as permanent in the north as David’s dynasty is permanent in the south.” It’s a breathtaking, amazing promise of God, right? Just be faithful to me. And what’s one of the very first things Jeroboam does? He tells the people, “Yeah, you don’t need to go to Jerusalem to worship the way God said. You don’t need to offer the sacrifices in Jerusalem’s temple as God said. Now I’m going to set up these altars at Dan and at Bethel, and you go there to worship God, direct rebellion against God.” And what did it do? It set off the northern kingdom to have a series of evil or even more evil kings. Do you realize that the Bible never lists one good king in the north? Not one. Which, of course, led to a whole bunch of unrest in the northern kingdom, eventually led to the northern kingdom being exiled and basically disappearing from the annals of history. We do not know where they went. We know they were scattered, but after that, we just don’t know. If only Jeroboam had listened, right? You see it in the Lent account. Judas, why didn’t you listen? Peter, why didn’t you listen? The whole group of Jesus’ followers on Easter Sunday dawned as they seemed at best confused by Jesus rising from the dead. Guys, why didn’t you listen? Could have had so much easier and funner and joyous. And of course, if you and I look into our head of heads and our heart of hearts, what do we see? God, God, if it isn’t the exact same thing, how often must God not look at me and say, “Tom, why don’t you listen?” Because either I failed to open up the Bible and hear what God has to say, or if I have opened it up, I haven’t paid attention to it, grasped it, or I haven’t put it into action in my life in the way that I could or should. How often doesn’t it happen that we know what God wants us to do and we don’t? Or we know what God wants us not to do, and we do. How often haven’t our ears turned away? How often hasn’t our heart been stubborn and unyielding? And what happens? We get hurt, and we hurt the people who are around us. Why didn’t they listen? Can hear God saying it about you and me? And yet what does God do? He doesn’t abandon his people. He comes to his people here in the book of Zechariah, and he says, “Return to me,” and then adds this incredible promise, “And I will return to you.” Wait, what? God would take notice of an idiot like me? That God would turn his attention to me? That God would turn his attention to put his focus on sinful human beings like us? Yeah, that’s what he’s promising. And God didn’t just promise, he delivered. Jesus did return. Jesus did come to this earth. Jesus did live for us, did die for us, did rise for us. Can you imagine? He returned to you. He put his attention on you. He won forgiveness for you. What grace. And what’s God’s desire now? Listen to me. When I tell you that your sins are forgiven, listen to me, because it’s the truth. When I tell you that you stand before me is absolutely perfect and right, listen to me, because it’s the truth. When I tell you that I will be with you always, when I tell you that I rule all things for the good of my people, when I tell you that I’m preparing a home in heaven for you, listen to me, because it’s the truth. And as we listen to God, what happens? We’re blessed. May God grant it. Amen. And amen.
