Zechariah 5:4

I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. I WILL BRING IT FORTH, SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS, AND IT SHALL ENTER INTO THE HOUSE OF THE THIEF, AND INTO THE HOUSE OF HIM THAT SWEARETH FALSELY BY MY NAME. The 'theft' immediately meant is similar sacrilege to that complained of, the withholding of their due portions from the Lord's servants, the Levites (); and the withholding of the due tithes and offerings from the Lord (). They robbed God by neglecting to give Him His due in building His house, while they built their own houses, forswearing their obligations to...

He afterwards adds, _It shall come into the house of the thief, and into the house of him who swears in my name falsely; and there will it reside, and it shall consume the hoarse, both the wood and the stones_. Here the Prophet further stimulates the Jews to repentance, by showing that the curse would so fly as to enter into all their houses; as though he had said, “In vain shall they, who deserve punishment, fortify or shut up themselves; for this curse, which I send forth, shall come to each individual, and with him it shall remain.” We know that hypocrites so flatter themselves, as though they could escape for the moment while God is angry and displeased; but the Prophet shows here that vain is such a hope, for the curse would overtake all the ungodly, and wholly overthrow them; yea, it would consume their houses, both the wood and the stones. In short, he intimates, that punishment e...

1-4 The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are rolls, in which God has written the great things of his law and gospel; they are flying rolls. God's word runs very swiftly, Psalms 147:15. This flying roll contains a declaration of the righteous wrath of God against sinners. Oh that we saw with an eye of faith the flying roll of God's curse hanging over the guilty world as a thick cloud, not only keeping off the sunbeams of God's favour, but big with thunders, lightnings, and storms, ready to destroy them! How welcome then would the tidings of a Saviour be, who came to redeem us from the curse of the law, being himself made a curse for us! Sin is the ruin of houses and families; especially the doing hurt to others and false witness. Who knows the power of God's anger? God's curse cannot be kept out by bars or locks. While one part of the curse of God ruins the substance of the sinner...

Verse Zechariah 5:4. _INTO THE HOUSE OF HIM_] Babylon, the house or city of Nebuchadnezzar, who was a public _plunderer_, and a most glaring _idolater_....

I WILL BRING IT FORTH - Out of the treasure-house, as it were; as he says, “He bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures” Jeremiah 10:13; Jeremiah 51:16; and, “Is not this laid up in store with Me, sealed up among My treasures?” To Me belongeth “vengeance and recompense” Deuteronomy 32:34. And it shall remain, literally, “lodge for the night,” until it has accomplished that for which it was sent, its utter destruction. Lap.: “So we have seen and see at this day powerful families, which attained to splendor by rapine or ill-gotten goods, destroyed by the just judgment of God, that those who see it are amazed, how such wealth perceptibly yet insensibly disappeared.” Chrys.

EXPOSITION ZECHARIAH 5:1 § 8. _The sixth vision: the flying roll._ ZECHARIAH 5:1 THEN I TURNED, AND LIFTED UP MINE EYES; _i.e. _I lifted up mine eyes again, and saw the vision that follows. The prophet had seen, in the fourth vision, how in the new theocracy the priesthood should be pure and holy; in the fifth how the Church should be restored; he is now shown that sinners should be cut off, that no transgression should be left in the kingdom of God. A FLYING ROLL; _volumen volans _(Vulgate): comp. Ezekiel 2:9, Ezekiel 2:10

I WILL BRING IT FORTH, SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS,.... The roll was come forth, and was flying abroad; but the curse and wrath of God, signified by it, is what God would bring forth out of his treasures, according to his purposes and declarations, and execute upon sinners; which shows the certainty of it, and that there is no escaping it: AND IT SHALL ENTER INTO THE HOUSE OF THE THIEF, AND INTO THE HOUSE OF HIM THAT SWEARETH FALSELY BY MY NAME; AND IT SHALL REMAIN IN THE MIDST OF HIS HOUSE, AND SHALL CONSUME IT WITH THE TIMBER THEREOF, AND THE STONES THEREOF; when wrath is gone forth from the Lord, there is no stopping it; and where it takes place it will remain, there is no getting rid of it; it makes an utter desolation of goods and estates, and entirely destroys both body and soul in hell: there seems to be an allusion to the plague of the leprosy, Leviticus 14:45. S

CHAPTER 5 _ 1. The sixth vision (Zechariah 5:1) _ 2. The seventh vision (Zechariah 5:5) Zechariah 5:1. The three remaining night visions are of a different character. The first visions the prophet had were visions of comfort for Jerusalem and the dispersed nation, the overthrow of Babylon and all their enemies, divine forgiveness and the theocracy restored. Now follow the last three visions, and these are visions of judgment. Judgment precedes Israel's restoration, and is very prominently connected with it. The sixth night vision is the one of the flying roll. The prophet's eyes seem to have been closed after the fifth vision, for we read, “And I lifted up my eyes again.” The flying ro

A FLYING, _I.E._ UBIQUITOUS ROLL CONTAINING AN EFFECTUAL CURSE AGAINST THIEVES AND PERJURERS. In ZECHARIAH 5:3_ b_ RV does violence to the Heb. Wellhausen with a slight emendation reads: for everyone that stealeth hath for a long time past been held guiltless, and everyone that sweareth falsely hath for a long time past been held guiltless. Zechariah here answers the complaint that, while the righteous suffer, sin is not punished, and affirms that henceforth the Lord's curse will show itself active against all thieves and perjurers. [For the power of self-fulfilment inherent in a curse see Genesis 9:25 *. A. S. P.]...

I WILL BRING. I have brought. SAITH THE LORD OF HOSTS. [is] the oracle of Jehovah of hosts. See note on 1 Samuel 1:3. ENTER INTO. lodge, or abide in. MY NAME. Emphatic for "Me Myself". See note on Psalms 20:1. REMAIN. lodge, or roost. SHALL CONSUME IT. shall destroy it, or bring it to an end. Hebrew. _kadah._ Not the same word as in Zec 5:14, Zec 5:12. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 13:45). App-92. TIMBER. timbers (plural)...