Open Your Doors, O Lebanon - Zechariah 11:1

In the book of Zechariah, Zechariah shared how Jehovah God said of Israel, “I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, says the LORD”, and in chapter eleven and verse one of Zechariah, Zechariah said, “open your doors, O Lebanon” where we read,

Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars.

The verse reads, “Open your doors, O Lebanon, ...” Zechariah began with the words, “open your doors” or “loose, break forth and let go free your, the people within the following country's, gates”, “O Lebanon” which means “O Lebanon whose name means whiteness and was a wooded mountain range on the northern border of Israel”. Zechariah called upon the country of “Lebanon” to loosen and set free their gates. 

The verse goes on to say, “... that the fire may devour your cedars.” Zechariah continued with the words, “that the fire”or “so the fiery burning flame” “may devour your cedars”  which means “might eat, burn up, consume and slay your, Lebanon's, cedar trees”. Zechariah called upon “Lebanon” to loosen their gates so the burning fiery fire could consume their cedar trees. 

When we think through Zechariah's words in this verse, we see how he instructed the entry gates of “Lebanon” to be freely opened so the burning fiery fire might consume the cedar trees that were there. “Lebanon” was known for having an abundance of cedar trees, and if their entryway were to be loosed, many of the trees would be destroyed. We shall see how Jehovah God uses this consumption of the cedar trees in our next few verses, but for now let us understand that God has control over the entire earth and everything is at His disposal. God's plan of salvation is for everyone, and He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. When we surrender our lives to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and to empower us to live according to His perfect will and desire for His creation. 

Next time Zechariah says, “Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen;”, 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".