Zechariah 10 Devotional

Whistled Home by the LORD

“I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them.”Zechariah 10:6 (BSB)

The chapter opens by telling the people to ask the LORD for rain, because he makes the storm clouds and gives the showers (10:1). Idols speak lies, diviners see false visions, and their comfort is worthless, so the people wander like sheep with no one to tend them (10:2). God's anger burns against the leaders, and he takes up the care of his flock himself (10:3).

The promises that follow are driven by his compassion. He will strengthen Judah and save the house of Joseph, and it will be as if they had never been cast off (10:6). He will whistle for his scattered people and gather them, because he has redeemed them, and in distant lands they will remember him (10:8-9). When Jesus saw crowds that were worn out and helpless, like a flock with no one to care for it, he was moved with compassion (Matthew 9:36). Where other comforts have proved empty, the LORD still gathers his own. You can ask him directly for what you need.

To think about: What empty source of comfort have you been turning to, and what would it look like to ask the LORD directly instead?