Zechariah at 2:30 a.m.

The neon numbers on the bedside clock said 2:30 am. There I was, wide awake and couldn’t go back to sleep.  Some reading should help.  I reached for my Bible and opened it to Zechariah.  This minor prophet is sure to do it.  Read Chapter 1 and on to Chapter 2. The Israelites had been taken captive to Babylon.  After so many years in captivity, God was leading them back to their homeland. Zechariah opens with God’s instructions to them as they return.  God reminded them of how they had angered Him with their unfaithfulness and rebellion.  He had brought down punishment upon them, sometimes so severe through the capture of foreign oppressors.  He was trying to bring them back to Him.  God told Isaiah, “Comfort, comfort my people . . . Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:2 NIV) God is bringing His people home and promises a new day.

I continue to read the second chapter,

7 “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—".

I read and re-read the words.  “. . . for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—. . .”  What kind of God is this? The Israelites disobeyed and rebelled against him.  He punished them severely, but yet they remained the apple of His eye.

The most effective manager I’ve ever worked with was a man who allowed me to grow professionally by giving me the freedom to do my work my way.  He would give me a task and leave it to me to accomplish it in the best possible way I could.  But at times when he could tell I was missing the mark, he would gently help me and lead me back to what I was supposed to do.  He never breathed down my neck nor took peeks into what I was doing, but I always knew that he was there if I needed him. He was a constant, quiet presence.  It was like having the ever-present, but unobtrusive shepherd’s staff to a sheep.

God has always been there for the Israelites.  He chose them, a little nation whose entrance into world affairs was hardly noticeable – a band of tribes whose only distinction was that God chose them to be His people.

Israel’s history is a cycle of rebellion and sin against God. God’s response would be punishment that sometimes came through oppression by foreign peoples.  As they cried out for help, God sent them deliverance.  It is a narrative of God’s constant presence and ever compassionate help.  He was and had always been there for them because they were His people - the apple of his eye.

Have you had days when you’ve felt that you were the most unloved and unloving person in the universe?  I have.  If your identity depends on your performance, as mine was for a long time, it can be confused and unstable.  Many years ago, I met God, by His appointment. I realized that I needed His presence in my life.  The terms of our relationship were quite clear.  His Son Jesus bought me through His death on the cross. If I acknowledged that and gave Him my life, not only was I to be saved from sin, but He would be an ever-constant presence in my life, just like He was to the Israelites. My identity would now hang on my relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.  No longer would I despair about the wicked person that I am nor take pride in what I may see as “my” successes because I am no longer my own.  I have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus.  He has purchased me, the distinctive that allows me to be included among His people - the apple of his eye. 

Joy Behar, host of “The View” may think I am a mental case, but God did speak to me this early morning. He reminded me that I was included among those who are the apple of His eye.