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Zechariah 5 (ESV)

A Vision of a Flying Scroll
1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.”

5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, “Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And he said, “This is their iniquity in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening.

9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

REFLECTION:

• Through the prophetic vision of the flying scroll (1-4) and the woman in the weighing basket (5-11), God revealed that He is a God who cannot tolerate sin and wants to completely eradicate the sin of the chosen people. The “flying scroll” represents the Law of God; the sins of “stealing” and “swearing falsely” represent the destruction of human relationship and the relationship with God by the people (cf. Exodus 20:7, 15). It can be seen that both sins of offending God and causing loss to others are hated by God. When we love God, we should also love our brothers and sisters, and neighbours.
• In the vision of the woman in the weighing basket (5-11), the basket represents the yardstick of social justice and fairness; and the woman represents the social wickedness of the chosen people, especially the sin of failing to enforce social justice. The two flying women (9) are also symbols of superstition and sin. Their wings are like those of a stork, and this animal is also unclean under the Law (Lev. 11:19; Deut. 14:18). The two women quickly carried the measuring basket away. The angel told the prophet that the measuring basket was going to the land of Shinar (11). Shinar is Babylon and first appears in Genesis 10:10. But it is possible that “Shinar” is not a geographical name, but a symbolic meaning, which signifies the place of sin and ungodliness. When Israel returned from captivity, they should not bring their sins along, but should be sent back. Then Israel could become a holy nation.
• God will punish those who commit these sins, and will go a step further and completely remove this sin from among the people. Social justice is an issue that the church is starting to take seriously today. In the Old Testament, the rebuke by a group of prophets who came out to work in the eighth century B.C. also took the sin of the people for abandoning social justice as one of the themes. So today, upholding social justice is no longer a choice for the church, but a command from God, a correct direction to please Him and do His will.

PRAYER:

May the Lord help me to value my relationship with you and with others; Lord please give me wisdom and courage to act righteousness, and be the salt and light for You in today’s society.

HYMN:

Love God, Love Your Neighbour – youtu.be/EzaYC6eyKqI