An Ephah Goes Forth - Zechariah 5:6

In the book of Zechariah, Zechariah said, “then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, lift up now your eyes, and see what is this that goes forth”, and in chapter five and verse six of Zechariah, Zechariah shared how the angel said, “this is an ephah that goes forth” where we read,

And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goes forth. 

He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.

The verse reads, “And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goes forth. ” Zechariah began with the words, “and I said” or “and I, Zechariah, uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked”, “what is it” which means “whatsoever is this”? “And he said” or “and he, the angel, uttered, declared, proclaimed, answered and responded”, “this is an ephah”which means “this, that which Zechariah was seeing, exists as a basket or receptacle for measuring or holding a dry measure of quantity that is equal to about nine imperial gallons” “that goes forth” or “that proceeds, departs and appears”. Zechariah shared how he asked what the vision was that he saw, and the angel answered that this was a basket that held about nine gallons of dry quantities of grain or wheat. 

The verse continues, “He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.” Zechariah added the words, “He said moreover” or “he, the angel, uttered, declared and proclaimed even more that”, “this is their resemblance”which means “the basket exists as the countenance, face, furrow and presence of the people of Israel” “through all the earth” or “within each, every and the whole of the country, region, district and world”. Zechariah shared how the angel told him the basket represented the sin and iniquity of Israel within all their region and land.

When we consider Zechariah's words in this verse, we learn how the angel showed him a basket that would carry about nine gallons of grain. This represented the sin and iniquity of Israel which was spread throughout their entire nation. We shall see more of what happens with this basked in our next verses, but for now let us consider that Jehovah God is well aware of the sin and iniquity within people. He knows we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (See Romans 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (See Romans 6:23a). However, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (See Romans 6:23b). This is why God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we put our faith and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and cleanse us from all unrighteousness so we may live with Him in Heaven forever. (See 1 John 1:9) 

Next time Zechariah says, “there was lifted up a talent of lead”, 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".