Scripture Focus: Zechariah 13.4-6
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’ 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’”

Reflection: Prophetic Forgery
By Erin Newton

Zechariah foresees a time when prophets who speak in the name of God—but not in the Spirit of God—would openly admit their fraudulent ways and renounce their forged positions as prophets.

So many times, we see messages about the end of false prophets: “A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans” (Hosea 11.6). “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion” (Jeremiah 2.30).

Rarely do we see the regeneration of a false prophet. It is easier to wish for their demise than for their redemption.

The false prophets in Zechariah’s vision have changed careers—from a position of power wielded to hurt others to a life-giving position of a farmer who sows seeds that bear real fruit. The self-inflicted wounds from the ecstatic rituals (like what we saw on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18.28) are admitted to be the wounds of “friends”—false prophets like themselves.

We have false prophets in our midst today. They speak of God, but the deity is not like the God of the Bible. Self-proclaimed pastors or theologians warp the message of the Bible for their gain—financial, political, or spiritual power, or even some form of self-preservation. True prophets speak the message of God and call out abuses, corruption, and unabashed sin. False prophets deny wrong-doing, cover up sins, and call evil “good.” They are idolaters without realizing it.

We like to think of idols as representing a completely different god than our God. Truth is these false prophets aren’t merely speaking about other gods—they are preaching false words in the forged name of our God. As M. Daniel Carroll R. points out in The Lion Roars, “Israel and Judah were supremely active religious nations, but the quantity of rituals did not qualify the worship as acceptable…. These activities were directed at another god constructed according to the worshipers’ tastes and needs.” Carroll defines false prophecy in the ancient world and points toward the false prophets of our own day.

Prophetic forgery is claiming to speak on God’s behalf when the words sound nothing like the God of the Bible.

The greatest hope we have for the false prophets is that people would see the deceit, name it for what it is, and denounce that behavior once and for all.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
You are the Lord, most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. — Psalm 97.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Zechariah 13.2-9 (Listen 1:40)
Luke 22 (Listen 7:58)

​This Weekend’s Readings
Zechariah 14 (Listen 3:52), Luke 23 (Listen 6:39)
Malachi 1 (Listen 2:47), Luke 24 (Listen 6:16)

Read more about What is a False Prophet?
When every religious leader claims to be speaking truth…what will be the litmus test for all these words?

Read more about Tortured Prophets Department
Many who speak out against abuses in the church…of power and sexual abuse, found the track “Cassandra,” from Taylor Swift’s new album, devastatingly relatable

Scripture Focus: Zechariah 11.4-5, 7-8
4 This is what the Lord my God says: “Shepherd the flock marked for slaughter. 5 Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them

7 So I shepherded the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them.

Reflection: God’s Performance Artists
By John Tillman

When Christians think of God as an artist, we often think of pretty sunsets. But God’s artistic portfolio reveals edgier, darker, and grittier work beyond sunsets or rainbows. God often directed his prophets in shocking forms of performance art.

Few people understand performance art, which, like any art form, can be shocking, disgusting, or absurd. In 2014, Shia LaBeouf participated in performance art called “I Am Sorry.” LaBeouf attended events wearing a paper bag over his head that read, “I am not famous anymore.” Then, he wore the bag in the gallery while visitors sat across from him. Most verbally abused him.

“I Am Sorry” was mild compared to God’s performance art exhibits.
Isaiah prophesied naked.
Jeremiah wore an oxen’s yoke.
Ezekiel ate food cooked over feces.
Hosea married a prostitute.

Zechariah’s performance art was taking over a herd of sheep marked for slaughter. These sheep were neglected and ill-treated by former shepherds. Zechariah paid special attention to the oppressed of the flock, yet even with his tender treatment, they detested him. Zechariah turned them over to a far worse shepherd than the ones before.

God explains this as a condemnation of the shepherds and the flock. God sent a good shepherd to replace the bad, but the flock rejected him. They paid Zechariah thirty pieces of silver as an insult. It was the same price paid for the death of a servant gored by a bull.

Zechariah’s performance art previewed Jesus’ ministry. Jesus was the good shepherd sent to the abused flock. He directed his attention to the outcasts, abused, and oppressed. Israel rejected him and sold his life for thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 27.9-10) We can trust this good shepherd.

Not all art we encounter is holy in meaning or execution. But art expresses part of the image of God in us. Understanding anyone’s art helps us better understand God’s art, which reveals God’s heart.

God is an artistically expressive creator, a verbally gifted communicator, and a passionate storyteller. Like most great artists, God puts his blood, sweat, and tears into his work. We communicate with God through art inspired by and interpreted by his Holy Spirit.

God’s art, including the Bible, is complex and multifaceted but not inscrutable or absurd. Even at its darkest, there is hope. Even at its most confusing, we can trust the heart of Jesus, the ultimate artist and good shepherd.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
On the last day, the great day of the festival, Jesus stood and cried out: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me! Let anyone who believes in me come and drink! As scripture says, ‘From his heart shall flow streams of living water.’” He was speaking of the Spirit which those who believed in him were to receive; for there was no Spirit as yet because Jesus had not yet been glorified. — John 7.37-39

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Zechariah 11 (Listen 2:40)
Luke 20 (Listen 5:07)

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Scripture Focus: Zechariah 5.3-4
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. 4 The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’”

From John: This past Monday evening, I wrapped up volunteering in my eighth Alpha course with our church. In it we speak with and listen to those with no faith, lost faith, and injured faith and try to help them pick up the pieces. It seems appropriate to return to this post about deconstruction and reconstruction from 2022. When injury or damage happens, we often must take things apart before we can put them back together.

Reflection: Defilement, Deconstruction, and Reconstruction
By John Tillman

Many of Zechariah’s visions are about cleansing and rebuilding afresh. Those returning from exile face a destroyed and defiled landscape.

It isn’t so hard for us to imagine something similar today. Millions of people have fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the cities and towns left behind have been bombed to rubble in ways not seen since World War II. Not only bombed buildings but mass graves await those who hope to one day return. Destruction and defilement.

Like post-war Europe, much of Jerusalem in Zechariah’s day would have to be reconstructed from the ground up. However, God isn’t only concerned with physical reconstruction. He wants to reconstruct the people’s faith, starting with their hearts.

God is and always has sought to deal with the corruption and defilement of human hearts. The mental, social, and physical damage we cause one another flows from inner corruption. When our cities are wicked, our hearts are the source. When our countryside is corrupt, our hearts are the cause. When Jerusalem and its walls and Temple were destroyed and burned with fire, it was because of their hearts.

As the new community of Jerusalem rebuilt the Temple, their homes, and eventually the wall, God was concerned that no spiritual defilement would be present. Zechariah sees a vision of a flying scroll that represents a curse. This curse will target those whose hearts seek wicked ways of prospering and will destroy their homes.

Zechariah’s “timbers and stones” language echoes some passages about physical molds in Leviticus. (Leviticus 14.35-45) Priests inspected homes with mold. If the mold spread, the first step was to remove only the affected stones. But if the mold returned, the entire house had to be deconstructed, “stones, timbers, and all the plaster,” and removed from the community. 

May we never allow ourselves to think we, or our culture, are immune to the rot of sin. In our individual lives, our churches, and the structures of our denominations and nations, we all face defiling influences from our cultures.

Defiling influences have to be fully removed to save existing structures. If small steps do not stop the seeping spread of defilement, more extreme measures are required. Defiled structures must be completely deconstructed and rebuilt.

Cutting out corruption is salvific. Destruction is not God’s goal. Reconstruction is. Take care to deconstruct and destroy only when corruption persists.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
He looks at the earth and it trembles; he touches the mountains and they smoke. — Psalm 104.33

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Zechariah 5 (Listen 1:35)
Luke 14 (Listen 4:36)

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Read more about Invitation to Re-creation
Zephaniah is predicting God will dominate and destroy every evil thing in creation…He will wipe the floor with them.

Scripture Focus: Zechariah 4.5
5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.

Reflection: Confused Along with the Prophets
By Erin Newton

Zechariah is one of the more difficult texts of the Old Testament. Like the prophet, I read these passages and think, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Thankfully, Zechariah was equally confused.

The setting for Zechariah is after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Solomon’s Temple was a pile of rubble (perhaps even the mountain mentioned in verse 7). Zechariah’s visions were of hope and restoration in the midst of suffering and doubt.

The imagery is somewhat mysterious—golden lampstands with branches and channels. The lampstand is representative of God, whose eyes are on the work of the people.

A message was also given to Zerubbabel. These additional statements interrupt Zechariah’s vision and the conversation he was having with the angel. Despite the erratic conversation bouncing from one topic to the next, the interruptions add to the overall message. There are answers within the chaos. Zerubbabel will finish the temple. The work of restoration that seems insurmountable will indeed find completion.

I tried to look through various commentaries, hoping to find scholars far more skilled and familiar with Zechariah to help explain exactly what these images mean. You know what? Everyone is a little bit perplexed. Part of me gets frustrated when I read passages that make me scratch my head. Looking for clarity here, I find whole crowds of biblically trained headscratchers.

Nevertheless, this head-scratching scene is one of hope—and the hope part of the vision is clear. The temple will be completed. God is present. God is watching over them. The presence of God with his people in this restored temple is prophesied as a certain future.  

Isn’t this the beauty of Scripture sometimes? The vision that is vague in some places and clear in others coincides with the complexity and confusion of our lives.

Zechariah looks out on the piles of stones that once formed the magnificent temple. Zerubbabel was stirred by the Holy Spirit to work on rebuilding the temple (Haggai 1.14), but the work is fraught with difficulties. Zechariah declares, however, it is by God’s power that the work gets done.

In a strange way, I am thankful for these complicated and confusing passages. The vision of our future is always filled with questions. What we see as a mess, God sees as a future of hope. What we fear is up to us, God knows he can empower.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him. Amen. 

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Zechariah 4 (Listen 1:53)
Luke 13 (Listen 5:02)

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