A House in the Land of Shinar - Zechariah 5:11

In the book of Zechariah, Zechariah saw a vision of a woman in a basket being carried by two female beings, and he wrote, “Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Where do these bear the ephah?”, and in chapter five and verse eleven of Zechariah, Zechariah shared how the angel answered, “to build it an house in the land of Shinar” where we read,

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 verse reads, “And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar:” Zechariah began with the words, “and he said unto me” or “and he, the angel, uttered, declared and proclaimed to me, Zechariah”, “to build it an house” which means “to obtain, establish and construct a dwelling place, habitation and abode” “in the land of Shinar” or “belonging to Shinar whose name means country of two rivers and was the ancient name for the territory later known as Babylonia or Chaldea”. Zechariah shared how the “angel” told him that the “two women” were carrying the basket with the woman inside (which represented Israel) to make their dwelling in “Babylon”. 

The verse goes on to say, “and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.” Zechariah continued with the words, “and it shall be established” or “and it, the basket with the woman inside, will exist as fixed, made stable and secured”, “and set there” which means “and settle down, repose and remain in the location of Shinar” “upon her own base” or “on her, the woman in the basket or Israel's, own personal spot or resting place”. Zechariah shared how the “woman in the basket or the people of Israel” were to be fixed and secure within “Shinar” and make it their own personal resting place. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Zechariah how the people of Israel were to be carried to the land of “Shinar” or Babylon where they would erect their homes and establish themselves. This was a reference to the way God caused Israel to become the captives of Babylon for seventy years, and they were told to make their homes and lives there. (See Jeremiah 29:4-7) God had a plan for Israel, and He would rescue them after their exile. The people of Israel established themselves in Babylon with homes, businesses and families, and this was part of the reason many of them did not return to Jerusalem. God had a plan for Israel, and He has a plan for us. He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and lead us by His Holy Spirit to the place He wants to establish us in His Kingdom. 

Next time we begin a new chapter and see Zechariah say, “there came four chariots out from between two mountains”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".