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.” – Zechariah 5:1-4 ESV
In God’s economy, the roles of king and priest were essential for maintaining the civil and moral order of the nation. Together, Zerubbabel and Joshua were responsible for rebuilding the Temple and re-instituting the sacrificial system of Israel. But Yahweh knew that the Temple could not guarantee an obedient people and the sacrifices could devolve into repetitious rituals that held no meaning and made no difference in the people’s behavior.
The reason the people of Judah had spent 70 years exiled in Babylon was because of their sinfulness and disobedience. Jeremiah the prophet had warned them that the Temple could not save them from God’s righteous wrath.
“Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the LORD’s Temple is here. They chant, ‘The LORD’s Temple is here! The LORD’s Temple is here!’ But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.” – Jeremiah 7:4-7 NLT
The prophet Isaiah delivered a stinging indictment against God’s chosen people for their faux-faithfulness and hypocritical display of ritualistic and heartless worship.
…the Lord says,
“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT
God had warned them of the consequences for their disingenuous displays of adoration and rule-keeping.
“…I will bring disaster upon you,
and there will be much weeping and sorrow.…
“I will be your enemy,
surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls.
I will build siege towers
and destroy it.” – Isaiah 29:2-3 NLT
God expected both heart transformation and behavior modification. His Law was intended to be a road map for righteous living. The sacrificial system was graciously provided as a means for maintaining a right standing with Him when the sins were inevitably committed.
In his role as governor, Zerubbabel was expected to deal with matters related to law and order. He was responsible for policing and enforcement of all civil laws designed to ensure the community’s safety and well-being.
When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily.
But wise and knowledgeable leaders bring stability. – Proverbs 28:2 NLT
As the high priest, Joshua was responsible for fostering the spiritual well-being of the nation. He and his fellow priests, along with the Levites, were to care for the Temple and orchestrate the sacrifices and feasts prescribed by God. But they were also to serve as judges, providing legal counsel and judicial decisions on difficult cases.
“Suppose a case arises in a local court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the Lord your God will choose, and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict. You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at the place the Lord chooses. You must do exactly what they say.” – Deuteronomy 17:8-10 NLT
Zerubbabel and Joshua represent the religious and civil leadership of the nation. As God’s appointed caretakers, they were expected to shepherd His flock. This would require equal amounts of love and discipline, something their predecessors failed to provide.
“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the LORD.” – Jeremiah 23:1 NLT
All of these factors provide important background to what takes place in chapter 5. In his sixth vision, Zechariah is shown a giant scroll, measuring 30 feet in length and 15 feet in height. On one side of this massive parchment is a list of all those who have committed theft. The other side contains the names of all who are guilty of swearing. This massive scroll contains only the name of thieves and those who pledge false oaths. But why did God focus on these two transgressions? Aren’t there far worse crimes that deserve God’s attention and judgment?
It seems that these two categories of sin both deal with taking what something that belongs to another. The seventh commandment clearly forbade stealing, and God but in the Book of Leviticus God expands His list of prohibitions.
“Do not steal. Do not deceive or cheat one another. Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not make your hired workers wait until the next day to receive their pay. Do not insult the deaf or cause the blind to stumble. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. Do not twist justice in legal matters by favoring the poor or being partial to the rich and powerful. Always judge people fairly. Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.” – Leviticus 19:11-16 NLT
Stealing and swearing seem to serve as broad categories that encompass all sins of speech and action. There are a lot of ways to steal from someone else. You can take their property and possessions but you can also rob them of their reputation. An employer can commit theft by failing to pay his workers a decent wage or by withholding payment for purely selfish reasons. But as the Leviticus passage makes clear, our words can also rob others of their joy, honor, dignity, and self-worth.
Later in this same book, God will expand on this topic of theft and swearing.
“I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid. 16 But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.” – Zechariah 8:15-17 NLT
But there appears to more here than meets the eye. This scroll and the names of the guilty it contains is meant to get Zechariah’s attention. Its sheer size conveys the number of names that Zechariah saw, and he must have recognized many of them. Perhaps he saw his own name in the list. It seems likely that everyone living in Judah at the time would have found their name written on both sides of the scroll.
In the Book of Malachi, God issues a stern warning to the descendants of Jacob, calling them change their behavior. He accuses them of stealing from Him and they seem shocked by His words.
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.” – Malachi 3:6-9 ESV
The people were guilty of short-changing God. They had repeatedly failed to give the required tithes and offerings, leaving the storehouses of the Temple empty. And God declares the entire nation to be guilty of this crime.
But that wasn’t the only transgression God’s people had committed. According to the Book of Numbers, God outlawed the making of false or fraudulently pledges to Him.
“This is what the Lord has commanded: A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.” – Numbers 30:1-2 NLT
The Book of Numbers reiterates this command.
“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin.” – Deuteronomy 23:21-21 NLT
Swearing an oath to God and failing to honor it was a form of stealing. It was to rob God of what was rightfully His. Jesus picked up on this theme of vows and swearing in His Sermon on the Mount. As with all His other saying in this famous sermon, Jesus took the Old Testament teachings on vows, swearing, and oaths and made them even more practical.
“You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the LORD.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.” – Matthew 5:33-37 NLT
Stealing and swearing were common practice among the people of God in Zechariah’s day, and Zerubbabel and Joshua were far from guiltless. All stood before God condemned of robbing Him of glory, cheating Him of what was rightfully His, and offering false assurances of adoration and praise to cover up for their transgressions. But God wanted His people to know that He took their sins seriously and would deal with them harshly.
“…my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it—even its timbers and stones.” – Zechariah 5:4 NLT
Yahweh wanted true heart change. He would not be satisfied with false piety, faux faithfulness, or fraudulent forms of worship. And God’s expectations remain just as high today. The apostle Paul reminded the believers in Thessalonica that God demanded words and actions that reflected true devotion and a commitment to holiness. Their behavior was to reflect their beliefs.
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 NLT
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.