The Pivot of Providence: From Wrath to Favor Text: Zechariah 8:14-17
Introduction: The Grammar of Covenant
We live in a sentimental age, an age that wants a God who is all blessing and no bite. The modern mind wants a grandfatherly deity who winks at sin, who would never dream of bringing about evil, as our text puts it. But a God who cannot purpose calamity is a God who cannot purpose anything at all. He is a celestial bystander, a cosmic well-wisher, but He is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not Yahweh of hosts.
The God of Scripture is a covenant-making and a covenant-keeping God. And every covenant, rightly understood, is a solemn bond, sovereignly administered, with attendant blessings and curses. You cannot have one without the other. To ask for a covenant with only blessings is like asking for a coin with only one side. It is a nonsensical request. The very thing that makes the blessings glorious is that they are a merciful deliverance from the curses that we have righteously deserved.
Here in Zechariah, the prophet is speaking to a people who have known the sharp edge of the covenant curses. They are a remnant, returned from the desolation of exile. Their fathers had provoked God to wrath, and God, true to His own word, did not relent. He brought upon them the very evil He had promised. The ruins of Jerusalem were a stark and tangible reminder that God means what He says. He is not a man, that He should lie. His threats are as certain as His promises.
But now, the pivot. The same sovereign will that purposed disaster has now purposed to do good. This is not a change in God's character, but a change in His covenantal administration toward His people. He is turning the page. The winter of judgment is passing, and the spring of restoration is at hand. And with this gracious declaration comes a set of ethical demands. God's grace is never a license for laxity. His favor is not a permission slip for sin. Rather, His goodness is designed to lead us to repentance and to a life that reflects His own character. He blesses us so that we might become a blessing, and this requires us to love what He loves and hate what He hates.
The Text
“For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to bring about evil to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I have not relented, 15so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear! 16These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. 17Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love false oaths; for all these are what I hate,’ declares Yahweh.”
(Zechariah 8:14-17 LSB)
The Unrelenting Purpose of God (v. 14)
We begin with God's own testimony about His past actions.
“For thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Just as I purposed to bring about evil to you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says Yahweh of hosts, ‘and I have not relented...'" (Zechariah 8:14)
Notice the active verb: "I purposed." The exile was not an accident. The destruction of the temple was not a historical contingency. It was the deliberate, judicial act of a holy God against a rebellious people. He purposed to bring about "evil." This is not moral evil, as though God were the author of sin. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. This is the evil of calamity, of disaster, of judgment. The same Hebrew word, ra, is used for both, and the context determines the meaning. Here, it is clearly the evil of covenantal curses, the sword, famine, and pestilence promised in Deuteronomy.
Their fathers provoked Him to wrath. Sin has consequences. Covenant rebellion invites covenant sanctions. And when the time for judgment came, God says, "I have not relented." He did not change His mind or back down. His warnings were not bluffs. When the cup of iniquity was full, He drank it down to the dregs. This is a terrifying and glorious truth. It is terrifying for the impenitent, for it means that no amount of kicking against the goads will deter the judgment of God. But it is glorious for the believer, because the same unyielding resolve that guarantees judgment for sin also guarantees salvation for His people. The God who does not relent in His wrath is the God who will not relent in His mercy.
This establishes the bedrock foundation for the promise that follows. The certainty of His past judgment becomes the guarantee of His future blessing. If He was this faithful in carrying out the curses, how much more can we depend on Him to be faithful in carrying out the blessings?
The Sovereign Reversal (v. 15)
Now comes the great turning point, the "so" that changes everything.
"...so I have again purposed in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!" (Zechariah 8:15)
The same sovereign will is now at work, but the purpose has reversed. "So I have again purposed... to do good." The same divine determination that brought ruin is now pledged to bring restoration. This is grace, pure and simple. They did not deserve this reversal. They were the children of rebellious fathers, and they had their own sins to account for. But God, in His mercy, chooses to act for His own name's sake. His purpose to do good is as firm and unshakeable as His previous purpose to bring calamity.
This is why the command "Do not fear!" is not cheap sentiment. It is not a flimsy "chin up" from a well-meaning but powerless friend. It is a command grounded in the omnipotent resolve of Yahweh of hosts. Why should they not fear? Because the one who controls all outcomes has declared His benevolent intentions. To fear in the face of such a promise is to question the integrity and power of God Himself. It is to believe that the rubble around them is more powerful than the Word that created the heavens and the earth. Our fears are often a form of practical atheism. God says, "I have purposed good," and our trembling hearts reply, "But what if...?" God's command is to silence the "what ifs" with the bedrock reality of His stated purpose.
The Covenant Life (v. 16)
God's grace is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end. That end is a restored people living in a restored relationship with Him, and consequently, with one another. This is what verse 16 describes.
"These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates." (Zechariah 8:16)
The indicative of God's grace ("I will do good to you") is immediately followed by the imperative of human responsibility ("These are the things you should do"). Grace is the engine; obedience is the track the train runs on. Notice the first requirement: "speak the truth to one another." Truth is the currency of God's kingdom. It is the essential fabric of covenant community. When truth breaks down, everything breaks down. Lies, slander, gossip, and dissembling are sand in the gears of fellowship. The Apostle Paul picks up this very verse in his letter to the Ephesians, saying "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another" (Eph. 4:25). We are a body. Lying to a brother is like your right hand deceiving your left. It is self-mutilation.
The second requirement flows from the first: "judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates." The "gates" were the place of civic life and legal rulings. Justice was to be administered there. And true justice must be grounded in truth. A just verdict is simply the truth of a matter spoken into a conflict. When justice is done, the result is "peace." Not the peace of appeasement, not the peace of "let's just all get along," but the robust shalom that comes from righteousness. Shalom is not the absence of conflict; it is the presence of a rightly ordered world. When truth is spoken and justice is rendered, the community flourishes in a state of wholeness, health, and concord.
The Things God Hates (v. 17)
The chapter concludes with a negative restatement, telling the people what they must turn away from. God's ethics are not just about doing good things, but also about hating evil things.
"Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love false oaths; for all these are what I hate,’ declares Yahweh.” (Zechariah 8:17)
First, God addresses the root: "devise evil in your heart." Sin begins in the imagination, in the heart that plots and schemes against a neighbor. Jesus taught the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount. Murder begins with anger in the heart; adultery begins with lust in the heart. God is not merely concerned with our external actions; He demands purity in our motives and intentions. To harbor bitterness, to nurse a grudge, to plot someone's downfall, this is to cultivate a garden for Satan in the soil of your soul.
Second, He addresses the tongue: "do not love false oaths." A false oath is a lie with an exclamation point. It is calling upon God to witness a falsehood, thereby profaning His holy name. It combines the sin of lying with the sin of blasphemy. To "love" a false oath is to have a character that is comfortable with deception, that sees perjury as a useful tool for personal advancement. This is the epitome of a corrupt society, where the very concept of truth has been abandoned.
And the reason for avoiding these things is stark and simple: "for all these are what I hate." Our standard for ethics is not what is pragmatic or what is popular. The standard is the character of God Himself. We are to love what God loves and hate what God hates. Religion consists in conformity to God's nature. God hates the devising of evil and the swearing of lies. Therefore, if we are His people, we must hate them too. This is not an optional add-on for the spiritually mature. It is the basic grammar of the Christian life.
Conclusion: Grace and Gratitude
So what is the takeaway for us? This passage is a beautiful portrait of the gospel logic that undergirds both the Old and New Covenants. God acts first, in sovereign grace. He purposes to do us good, not because of our merit, but because of His mercy. He did this supremely at the cross, where He purposed to bring the ultimate calamity, the full force of His wrath against sin, upon His own Son, so that He could purpose to bring the ultimate good, eternal life and fellowship with Him, to us.
Just as God did not relent in pouring out His wrath on Christ, so He will not relent in pouring out His blessings on all who are in Christ. He has purposed to do us good, and nothing in heaven or on earth can thwart that purpose. Therefore, do not fear. Do not fear your past sins, for they are nailed to the cross. Do not fear your present struggles, for He is with you. Do not fear the future, for He holds it in His hands.
And because of this great salvation, we are called to live a certain way. Our lives are to be an offering of gratitude. We are to be a people of the truth. In our homes, in our church, in our business dealings, we are to speak the truth. In our conflicts, we are to seek true justice that leads to real peace. In our hearts, we are to root out the bitterness and malice that devises evil. And on our lips, we are to be people of our word, despising all falsehood.
Why? Because these are the things that our Father loves, and we want to be like our Father. He has turned from wrath to favor, from curse to blessing. Our response must be to turn from the things He hates to the things He loves. This is not how we earn His favor, but it is how we enjoy it. This is the fruit of a life that has been touched by the unrelenting, sovereign, and gracious purpose of God.