Zechariah

Zechariah 8: The LORD turns curse to blessing

Begin in prayer

Before we read of Jerusalem restored, please bring our family before the LORD in prayer. Ask Him to show us how He turns a curse into a blessing.

Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Zion the law shall go out, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.

Isaiah 2:3

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that You turn curse into blessing and call the nations to Yourself, 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

The LORD says He is jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and He has returned to Zion to dwell in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and old men and women and playing children will fill its streets. He will save His people from the east and the west, and they will be His people, and He will be their God. Before the temple was begun there were no wages and no peace, but now the LORD will give the remnant the seed of peace. As Judah and Israel were a curse among the nations, so the LORD will save them, and they will be a blessing. He tells them to speak truth, judge with truth and peace, and love no false oath, and He turns their fasts into feasts. Many peoples will come to seek the LORD, and ten men will take hold of the skirt of a Jew, saying, “God is with you.”

As you read Zechariah 8, look for the answers:

• What does the LORD say He has done, and what will Jerusalem be called? (verse 3)
• What was Judah a curse among, and what will they be now? (verse 13)
• What will many peoples and strong nations come to do? (verse 22)

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD turns His people from curse to blessing, and many nations will come to seek Him.

Chapter 7 ended in scattering and a desolate land. Chapter 8 answers with a string of promises from the LORD of Armies. The same people who were scattered hear Him say, “I have returned to Zion” (verse 3). He will dwell in Jerusalem, and it will be called the City of Truth (verse 3). Old men with staffs and children playing in the streets show a city at peace (verses 4 and 5). The remnant may think this too marvelous, but the LORD asks if it is too marvelous for Him (verse 6). Judah and Israel were a curse among the nations, but He says He will save them, and they will be a blessing (verse 13). The LORD changes how He treats them, for He once thought to do evil and now thinks to do good (verses 14 and 15). Last, nations come to seek Him and say, “God is with you” (verses 22 and 23).

How does Zechariah 8 show us that the LORD turns His people from curse to blessing, and that many nations will come to seek Him?

The LORD returns to Zion and fills Jerusalem with peace.

The LORD says He is jealous for Zion and has returned to dwell in Jerusalem (verses 2 and 3). It will be called the City of Truth (verse 3). Old men and women will sit in its streets, and boys and girls will play there (verses 4 and 5). It is a picture of a city at rest, where the old and the young are safe.

The LORD turns a curse into a blessing.

Judah and Israel had been a curse among the nations (verse 13). The LORD says, “so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing” (verse 13). Once He thought to do evil because their fathers provoked Him, and now He thinks to do good (verses 14 and 15). He still hates lies and false oaths, and tells them to speak the truth to one another (verses 16 and 17). He says to them twice, “Don’t be afraid” (verses 13 and 15).

Many nations will come to seek the LORD.

Many peoples and strong nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD (verse 22). Ten men will take hold of a Jew’s skirt and say, “We will go with you” (verse 23). They say they have heard that “God is with you.” Jesus said that salvation is from the Jews (John 4 verse 22). In Christ the blessing given to Abraham reaches the nations (Galatians 3 verse 14).

Memorise

as you were a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Don’t be afraid.

Zechariah 8:13

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what curse of sin do I need Jesus to take from me?

A people who had been a curse among the nations heard the LORD say, “so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing.” God’s blessing for the nations came through Jesus (Galatians 3 verse 14).

Sin put us all under a curse, and we could not lift it ourselves. Jesus became a curse for His people when He died on the cross. There He did all that was needed to turn the curse into blessing. The Father raised Him, and He now gives His people peace with God.

The LORD says, “Don’t be afraid.” Come to Jesus, turn from your sin, and trust Him. He gives forgiveness and peace to all who come.

Parent's note

Tell your children that Jesus turns the curse of sin into God’s blessing for those who trust Him. 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.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for turning a curse into a blessing, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”

Isaiah 12:6

Lord God, thank You that You turn curse into blessing, and that Jesus bore the curse for His people. Please lead each one of us to turn from sin and trust Him. Help us to speak the truth and love peace this week. Amen.