Session 11: CHRISTMAS
03 November 2020
Zech 9:9 (ESV) – The Coming King of Zion
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Title: God’s Strategy
In 2019 and 2020, there has been a lot of unrest around the world. Even in the small circles I belong to, people are very agitated. They discuss politics, environmental issues, racial discrimination, poverty. The main response I hear in response to this issue is to ‘stand up and fight for your rights’. How do people act on it? I’ve seen two responses. First, some take to bashing their opponents on public forums on the internet. And their public bashing begets more public bashing. Second, some retreat to private groups (also on the internet) and do their bashing of the opponents ‘in a safe space’. These groups become echo chambers of anger, and people who usually go there to find refuge, eventually leave because they stop feeling safe.
This is the strategy the world uses to counter the problems of today. It must definitely look like a good strategy, otherwise why would so many people decide to join in on these wars of words? But God’s strategy is different.
In Zeph 9:9-10, the prophet tells of a king who is coming. He is humble and gentle… and he rides a donkey, not a warhorse. In Israel’s culture, donkeys are beasts of burden, meant to carry loads. They are never used to fight wars.
So here, God pulls his winning move. He doesn’t avoid the war, he enters the thick of it. But he doesn’t approach with the intent of tearing people down. Instead, he places a gentle king into the world, not to fight his enemies but to carry their burdens. Not to gun them down, but to lift them up. In the eyes of the world, this may seem like a stupid thing to do. But God who looks down at the chessboard knows that it is the way to win. And I do think, if we are to win, we should do likewise.
Zech 9:9
My donkey is like a pinata donkey. Like for a child, filled with wonderful gifts Inside. Something so humble came bearing a magnificent gift and we are to celebrate and shout out/announce that gift. The palm leaves… The flowers… Remind me of joy.
Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey — riding on a donkey’s colt.
Although he is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble. He chose to ride on a donkey, to associate with the common people. Just like our Master who is humble, we need to make ourselves available to serve our king.
A donkey that “no one has ever
ridden “that “the Lord need it”
This verse reminds us that we have a purpose in life, to serve only God. Our stubborn character as a donkey, need to be tamed by our Master.
In the picture I drew three other things that related to availability. A willing person like Mary, a empty boat and a giraffe. Like Mary she made herself available to be the mother of Jesus. Just like an empty boat made available to Jesus for his preaching. To me the giraffe represents the character of availability. A giraffe travels with a herd and is available to serve its herd by standing guard, providing defense or watching the young.
During this Christmas season, let us be available to serve Jesus.