Zechariah 5

[1] Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying scroll.

·         This is the sixth vision

[2] And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying scroll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.

·         This is the size of the room of the holy place of the temple they were building. (30ft by 15ft)

[3] Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it.

·         This scroll is the curse of the Mosaiac law that Israel had failed to keep. “Cursed is everyone who does not obey all the law”

·         Because it goes out to all the earth it’s similar to the Covenant of Works

·         Imagery is shared in Rev. 5:1-10

·         Seems to be the 10 commandments, one sin being picked out from each of the tables

[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.

·         This was the curse that God would pour out on the unfaithful,

·         This scroll, curse, the requirements of the law were nailed to the cross

[5] Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
[6] And I said, What is it? And he said, This is a basket that goes forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.

·         This is now the seventh vision, a basket of about 5 gallons going forward

·         It was a grain basket, which is why the commentators think of it as the sins of materialism.

[7] And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the basket.
[8] And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.

·         The woman is the representation of wickedness, and seduction, and ruin.

·         The warning is borrowed from Prov 5:4-8

·         Imagery is repeated in Rev 17:3 as a woman who is riding the beast

·         The woman is trapped inside the basket under the lid, indicating that the sin of the land would be contained and dealt with

[9] Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

·         The basket was taken up and removed from Jerusalem, to be taken from Babylon.

·         MacArthur thinks the two women are unclean, and are doing this to protect the evil. If so, that’s very encouraging for the people living in the land, because it means that evil will want to flee from them

[10] Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Where is the basket going?
[11] And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.

·         The idea probably is that the wickedness represented by the woman would be purged from Jerusalem and taken far from them. Since they had just come from Babylon, they were unlikely to return there.