Zechariah

Zechariah 5: The LORD carries wickedness away

Begin in prayer

Before we read of the flying scroll and the LORD’s curse on sin, please bring our family to Him in prayer. Ask Him to show us our sin, and His way of dealing with it.

Yahweh looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men.

Psalm 33:13

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You see every sin and that You carry wickedness away, and help us to see Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Zechariah sees a flying scroll, about nine metres long and four and a half metres wide. The angel says it is the curse that goes out over the whole land. Everyone who steals, and everyone who swears falsely by the LORD’s name, will be cut off by it. The curse enters their house and destroys it with its timber and its stones. Then Zechariah sees an ephah basket with a woman in it, and the angel says, “This is Wickedness.” A lead weight is put on the basket, and two women with wings carry it away to the land of Shinar.

As you read Zechariah 5, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD sees sin in every house, and He carries wickedness away from His land.

Zechariah’s night visions continue, and now he sees a flying scroll (verse 1). The angel says it is the curse that goes out over the whole land (verse 3). The LORD names two sins, stealing and swearing falsely by His name (verses 3 and 4). These sins break the law He gave (Exodus 20 verse 15, Leviticus 19 verse 12). The curse enters the house of the guilty and stays until it has destroyed it (verse 4). The second vision shows wickedness itself shut in a basket under a lead weight (verses 7 and 8). Then it is carried far from Jerusalem to the land of Shinar, where a house is built for it (verses 10 and 11). Shinar is the land where Babylon stood (Genesis 10 verse 10). The LORD is not blind to wickedness, and He is the One who deals with it.

How does Zechariah 5 show us that the LORD sees sin in every house, and that He carries wickedness away from His land?

The LORD sees every theft and false oath, and His curse goes out.

The angel says the scroll is the curse that goes out over the whole land (verse 3). One side of it is for everyone who steals, and the other is for everyone who swears falsely. The LORD says the curse will enter the house of the thief and of the false swearer (verse 4). It will stay in the house and destroy it with its timber and its stones. Christ took the curse of the law on Himself for His people (Galatians 3 verse 13).

The LORD carries wickedness out of His land.

Next Zechariah sees an ephah basket, and a woman sitting in it (verses 6 and 7). The angel says, “This is Wickedness,” and throws her down into the basket under a lead weight (verse 8). Two women with wings lift the basket between earth and sky, and carry it to Shinar (verses 9 to 11). The chapter does not say more about the women, so we say only what it says.

Memorise

This is the curse that goes out over the surface of the whole land; for everyone who steals shall be cut off according to it on the one side;

Zechariah 5:3

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what wrong have I hidden from the LORD, and why do I need Jesus?

The scroll carries a curse over the whole land, and the LORD sees every house. Jesus came to a people who had broken God’s law. The law said that everyone who does not keep it is cursed, and Jesus took that curse on Himself (Galatians 3 verse 13).

On the cross He carried the sin of His people, the stealing and the false words and every other wrong. The curse for sin is real, and Jesus bore it in full for those who trust Him. Then God raised Him, so the curse has no hold on His people.

If you have hidden a wrong, bring it to Jesus. Turn from it and trust Him. The LORD promises forgiveness to everyone who comes in this way.

Parent's note

Tell your children that the LORD sees every sin, and that Jesus bore the curse for His people. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart. Parents, please explain the curse in your own words, gently.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He sees our sin and has a way to carry it away, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 6:14

Lord God, thank You that You see every sin, and that You carry wickedness away. Thank You that Jesus bore the curse for His people. Please show each one of us what we have hidden, and lead us to turn from it and trust Him. Amen.