The last in the series.

Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.” (Zech 6:1-8)
            First of all, you can't miss the similarities in this passage and the ones in Ezek 14:21 and Rev 6:1-8.  Yes, you can find small differences, but the overall picture is what matters in figurative language, not the tiny details, and the picture here is judgment. 
            In Revelation the white horse is conquest, the red is war, the black is famine, and the pale horse is death, and they were given authority… to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. (Rev 6:8)  In Ezekiel the judgments are sword (war), famine, wild beasts, and pestilence.  Obviously, then, the chariots and horses in Zechariah are also judgments sent from God.  In this case, the judgment is over the heathen. 
            Notice the full circle these visions have taken.  In the first vision, the horses had gone out to patrol the earth and had reported to God that the heathen nations were "at rest."  The next six visions deal with God's people and the promised kingdom.  God would protect them, and any who hurt them would be dealt with.  He would cleanse them, He would help them accomplish the task of rebuilding and be with them while they waited for the Messiah.  His Law was still in effect and wickedness would be removed.  And now, here, in the final vision, we are back to the pagans again.  Only this time the horses are not coming back with a report.  This time the horses are going out in judgment. 
            And so for us today, judgments from God keep coming.  Nations have fallen in wars, earthquakes have shaken and destroyed great cities, volcanoes have erupted and left vibrant cities in ruins, storms have swept in and blown away homes and families.  Sometimes we are caught in those judgments, but God does not forget who we are and what is happening to us.  (His faithful are marked in both Revelation and Ezekiel.)  God is calling for repentance among the pagans.  He is giving them another chance, and we may yet lie under the altar with the martyrs before it's over, asking Him, "How long?"
            The message is clear.  You may have to wait a long time, but the time will come.  God will judge the unbelieving.  He will avenge his slaughtered and persecuted people.  He has brought them all together in a pure kingdom under a mighty Messiah—forever.
 
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ (Dan 7:18)
 
Dene Ward
 

Then the angel who was speaking with me went out and said to me, “Lift up now your eyes and see what this is going forth.” I said, “What is it?” And he said, “This is the ephah going forth.” Again he said, “This is their appearance in all the land (and behold, a lead cover was lifted up); and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah.” Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he threw her down into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead weight on its opening. Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings; and they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heavens. I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the ephah?” Then he said to me, “To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.” (Zech 5:5-11)
            Zechariah sees an "ephah."  An ephah is a standard Hebrew measure, about 22 liters I found in several books.  However it is quite possible that the word here simply means "large."  Here is a large basket, large enough to hold a grown woman.  Evil is often personified as a woman in the Bible, but lest you get your knickers in a knot, notice who it is that carries this "Evil" away and disposes of it—two [good] women.  She is deposited in Shinar, "the ancient name for the district in which Babylon, Erech, and Akkad were situated (Gen 10)."  (Homer Hailey)  These places were associated with going against God's way.  Baldwin says they were symbolic of Satan's government.
            The message is this:  wickedness will not be tolerated in God's kingdom.  It will be removed.  So how is that encouraging, especially when we know we still on occasion sin?  It's the attitude, people.
            Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. (Ezek 9:1-5)
            In Ezekiel's vision, God is ready to slaughter the people of Jerusalem.  But first he sends a man to mark those who "sigh and groan" over the sin in that city so they will be spared.  These people are not perfect, but they don't sit back and enjoy watching the sin either.   They don't abstain while wishing they could participate.  These people hate the sin, even when they themselves slip and fall.  When you have that attitude, when you have learned to love what God loves and hate what he hates—sin!—the thought of being in a place where it no longer exists is liberating.
            And that is why God's kingdom ousts the rebellious.  (1 Cor 5, etc.) Not the people who slip and fall, but the ones who sin and dare you to do anything about it.  The ones who are proud of their sin, as well as those who approve of them (Rom 1:32).  
            If you hate sin, God's kingdom will be your haven.  It is the place you can go to get away from the filth of this world and calm your weary heart, your sore eyes, and battered ears.  This is where your soul can rest.
​
Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who forsake your law. ​I look at the faithless with disgust, because they do not keep your commands. My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law. (Ps 119:53, 158,136)
 
Dene Ward

Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.” (Zech 5:1-4)
            In this vision Zechariah sees a flying scroll, one about 30 by 15 feet, like a billboard or, as one of my students most aptly said, like one of those signs airplanes pull after them in the sky.  Although a lot of commentators go on and on about the meaning of this short vision, it really is not that difficult.
            The scroll represents the Law.  The two particular laws mentioned represent the two aspects of the Law.  Thou shalt not steal stands for all the sins against one's neighbor, while invoking God's name to swear falsely stands for all the sins against God.  The Law always carried with it blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.  These people stand a thousand years after the giving of the Law.  God is making sure they understand that He still judges them by it.  It is still relevant.  Nothing about right and wrong has changed, and neither have the blessings and curses.
            This vision also stands as an encouragement to those such as Joshua and Nehemiah who had to enforce the Law.  If they must make hard decisions concerning covenant breakers among them, God is squarely behind them.  In fact, even in their own homes, the sinners will find that lawbreaking will eventually be their undoing.  Anyone who has seen the results of sin in a home, whether adultery, abuse, drunkenness, addiction, or any other such thing, knows it is true.
            And now the people know, too, that their sin will not be tolerated; that they cannot claim affinity with the people of God while breaking his Law. 
            In our day, in our culture, we need the same lesson.  The gospel is still relevant.  The laws of God are still in effect.  The leaders we have need the same encouragement:  you must still enforce those laws, even if it means "cleaning out" the house of God.  And we must support them for if we do not, we are standing against God.
            Trying to do right in a sin-filled society is hard.  Surely it helps to know that we are standing on the side of truth, no matter what our neighbors might think, and someday, no matter what our civil laws might say. 
 
​The LORD's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous. (Prov 3:33)
 
Dene Ward

And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth.” Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?” He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zech 4:2-14)
            This night vision is a bit more involved, but many elements of it become obvious if you have spent any time in the Old Testament at all.
            Zechariah sees a lampstand.  Lampstands were common in the time, and one even stood in the Temple.  Scholars argue about the details of this one, but everyone gets the main point—this lampstand is directly attached to an olive tree on either side, from which the oil flows constantly.  This lampstand will never go out.
            In the middle of the vision, the angel gives a message for Zerubbabel—you will accomplish your mission.  Evidently, the man needed some encouragement, just as all good leaders do.  The people had been uncooperative at times—else why had the services of Haggai and Zechariah been needed?  The work was long, hard, and dangerous.  Yet, "the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation…and his hands will complete it."  How?  Not with an army, not with wealth or status, but by the Spirit of God.  How could he fail with that power behind him?
            And then the prophet gives a message for them all:  "Do not despise the day of small things."  No, this is not the glorious, restored kingdom you have been promised.  Yes, this Temple is nothing compared to Solomon's, but those glorious things cannot come without these small things happening first.  If these people had not returned, if they had not built up their nation once again, if they had not built a Temple and rebuilt the walls, then what?
            Surely you can see the application to us.  We are that glorious Messianic kingdom.  And how is it built?  Not with armies, not with wealth or status, but by the Spirit of God.  It is built when we edify one another.  It is built when the world sees our love for each other, our peace, our joy, and wants the same things.  It is built when we offer the gospel day in and day out, not worrying about the "increase" but leaving that to God.
            And though our efforts may look small, especially when we insist on quantifying it, nothing is small when it comes to the work of God.  We all have our place in His plan.  Small congregations few and far between are large in the eyes of God as long as we are working, teaching, serving, giving, sharing, spreading light to the world through our lampstands (Rev 1:20).  We must never stop.
            The vision ends with "the two anointed ones"—the offices of priest and king under the Law.  In reality for us, the priest is the king, the Messiah, two in one.  This was their hope for thousands of years, and now He is ours too.
 
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Phil 2:14-16)
 
Dene Ward

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by. And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” (Zech 3:1-10)
            First, let's get some basic information out of the way.  Joshua here is not the Joshua of the Two Faithful Spies and Successor of Moses.  This is the high priest who returned from Babylon with the exiles.  Understand, that meant the exiles were careful to keep their genealogies intact.  This had to be an exciting time for Joshua.  Ezekiel and his colleagues had been priests without a Temple.  The only duty that a priest in exile could perform lawfully was teaching the Law.  Finally they have the opportunity to perform all the tasks they had trained for.
            However, in this vision, Joshua, the high priest, represents the people standing before the Accuser in a trial of sorts.  There is no doubt about his guilt—he is clothed in filthy garments, plainly identified as "iniquity."  Animal sacrifices are never mentioned.  It takes heavenly beings to remove the dirty clothing and only God himself can replace them with garments suitable for spiritual service as priests. 
            Then the Branch is introduced in the same vision, in the same context.  While he is not specifically identified here, in 6:12,13 we see that he will build the Temple of the Lord and rule as priest on his throne.  From many other passages, we are certain this is the Messiah.  And look what he is associated with in this night vision:  the removal of iniquity "in one day."  You can argue about whether that day is his crucifixion, his resurrection, or even the Day of Pentecost when "the land" (Isa 66:8) came into existence.  Whichever it is, we know that salvation is coming with this "Branch."
            And not only that, but every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.  To those people, dwelling under your vine and fig tree symbolized peace and security.  With the trials these returning exiles continued to experience, with the arbitrary nature of the pagan kings they counted upon for provisions, with the droughts and crop failures, and the enemies who lived just over the rise, security sounded wonderful.  It was icing on the promised Messiah cake.
            And we, too, need this vision.  Sometimes we forget the wonderful thing our Savior has accomplished for us—saving us from sin—because we are so wrapped up in the trials of life.  We have security and peace too, not from persecution, not from the calamities of a physical world, but from the wrath of God.  Our sins have been removed.  That is what we have to share with our neighbors.  That is the peace we invite them to—peace with God.  But if they do not see the joy and peace it brings in our lives, even in the midst of trials, they won't think it is worth very much either.
 
​Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
 
Dene Ward

And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD. For I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heavens, declares the LORD. Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye: “Behold, I will shake my hand over them, and they shall become plunder for those who served them. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And the LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem.” Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling. (Zech 2:1-13)
            If ever a night vision should be a comfort to us in this present age, it is this one.  Yes, it also reminded those people that as long as God was on their side they needed no other protection. The temple was the priority, but when the time was right, they built the walls under Nehemiah's leadership.  But the Jerusalem Zechariah pictures here is not that ancient city.  The Jerusalem in the vision is one that experiences a population explosion like none seen before.  God's children from every part of the world--from many nations--will come into it.  God will dwell in its midst, yet we know that the glory of God that had dwelt in the physical Temple never returned to their rebuilt Temple.  Zechariah is speaking of the New Jerusalem, the one where all nations, both Jew and Gentile, would be his people, the one in which His glory would again dwell.   And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.’” (Hag 2:7-9)
            And that is us, folks, the kingdom of his son, the body of Christ, the church, "a kingdom which cannot be shaken" (Heb 12:28).  Because we are a spiritual city, we have no walls, but he is telling us that we won't need them.  He will be our "wall of fire about them, there's nothing now to fear" ("Lily of the Valley," lyrics by William C. Fry).  As we approach a new age of possible, and probable, persecution, that promise should mean even more.  People all over the world have suffered.  Our turn might be coming. 
            Understand, that does not mean we won't be harmed physically.  But it does mean that the promised kingdom will not be destroyed, and that our reward is sure.
 
O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. — Selah But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the LORD, and he answered me from his holy hill. — Selah I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people! — Selah (Ps 3:1-8)
 
Dene Ward        

And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.” (Zech 1:18-21)
            The second night vision is short and, to those returned exiles, probably very sweet.  "Horns" in the Bible represent power and especially military strength.  To cut off a nation's horn is to render it powerless against attack.  God here is promising them that the "four horns" which scattered his people will be destroyed.
            Who are the four horns?  That is a source of debate among the scholars, but I would think that Assyria and Babylon are two of them—it only makes sense.  But once again, it's that number "four" that may be the key.  Israel had enemies on every side.  Even during the siege of Jerusalem there were allies who were no help to them (Egypt) and old enemies that actively aided the Babylonians against them (Edom).  Perhaps the meaning is this:  all of their enemies on every side (north, south, east, and west) would be punished for their part in the destruction of Judah, and especially Jerusalem and the Temple.
            And who are the "smiths" in the vision?  Just as a smith is an artisan who creates and mends, these are the people who would carefully and selflessly work to put back together the nation.  I have never seen a list of possible names, but it seems to me that Ezra, Nehemiah, and the three post-exilic prophets—Haggai, Zechariah himself, and Malachi—should be included.
            God is once again telling these people that he knows what they are going through and that he cares.  But added to that, he is promising judgment on the wicked for their part in Judah's suffering.  He is also promising that His people will have what they need to repair themselves and become that promised, glorious, restored kingdom that every one of the prophets spoke of.
            And for us?  Most of us have never felt severe physical persecution.  The worst we have had is a bit of name-calling or being left out of the popular crowd.  But do not think it won't come.  Our country is moving in a direction where we may begin to feel the heat in our own lifetimes and our children and grandchildren may suffer real persecution. 
            God tells us that it is not our place to exact vengeance (Rom 12:19).  However, He has always promised that He will take vengeance for his people (1 Sam 24:12; Psa 58:10,11; Isa 61:2; 2 Thes 1:6-8, etc.).  He will not allow our suffering to go unrequited. 
            And He also gives us the promise that we will have what we need in this glorious restored kingdom of the Messiah, the church--to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (Eph 4:11-16).  Look around at the "smiths" you have among you, who work for little or no remuneration, who give of themselves for hours upon end to teach the ignorant, to heal the broken, to lead the flock, and you will see the hand of God working among you.  If we don't see it, it is only because, like so many of those people long ago, we aren't looking for the right things.  We can be certain that God will not fail us.
 
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Rev 6:9-11)
 
Dene Ward

“I saw in the night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse! He was standing among the myrtle trees in the glen, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.  Then I said, ‘What are these, my lord?’ The angel who talked with me said to me, ‘I will show you what they are.’ So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees answered, ‘These are they whom the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.’ And they answered the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees, and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth remains at rest.’ Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ And the LORD answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Cry out again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”  (Zech 1:8-17)
            First of all, don't get hung up on the horse colors.  They are not rainbow colors, but ordinary horse colors.  Just as we might call a dog a "yellow lab" when he really isn't canary yellow, we can call a horse "red" when the actual designation might be roan.  The thing that matters here is the number—four, as in "the four corners of the earth."  And the point is not that God sent actual horses out to patrol the whole earth and report back to him—though that is exactly what the vision pictures—but that God knows what is happening everywhere.
            Do not worry, Zechariah tells the people, God is aware of your problems.  In fact, he knows that your enemies are "at ease" and that their ease has worsened your problems.  He is angry with them, even more than He was before this, and He will take care of His people. 
            Does He tell them when?  No.  Does He tell them how?  No.  At some point, they have to show some faith, some trust, and just keep on serving, allowing God to take care of the things they cannot in His own time.
            That vision is just as applicable to us today as it was 2500 years ago.  God knows what we are going through.  He is constantly "on patrol."  He sees our struggles and our pain, and He will not forget who has caused it all—Satan and his angels.  Sin has polluted our world.  As Christians, we are no longer its captives (Rom 6:18), but we still live in a world that is under its influence.  We must continue to trust God, to believe in His ultimate promises, and prove our faith by our service.
            "The Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem" Zech 1:17.  Maybe it will help to understand that God's people today, the church, the kingdom of his Son, is called Mt Zion and the new Jerusalem in Heb 12:22-29.  God will choose us.  Do we know when?  No.  Do we know how? Yes! 
            For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1Thess 4:16-18)
            Let this night vision encourage you, too.
 
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. ​The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. ​When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (Ps 34:15-18)
 
Dene Ward

If you are from north of the Mason-Dixon line, please don’t turn the page!  I have converted not only several children, but several Northerners to this Southern delicacy.  It’s all about taking the problems and turning them to your advantage--and being patient.
            The problem with okra, if you’ll pardon the expression, is the slime.  One reason it was used in gumbos was its thickening power, which is a nicer way of referring to that viscous property.  My family just calls it what it is.  It doesn’t bother them because they know what I can do with that--stuff.
            Follow these directions closely.  Use a colander, not a bowl, when you slice it.  You will still get the goo on your knife and a little on your hands—my method won’t fix that—but it will disappear when you cook it.
            Slice it about a half inch thick, discarding the stem end and the tails.  If it has been in the fridge a few days, it might need a little coaxing to release some of its “juices.”  If so, put that colander in the sink and scatter a few drops of water here and there from a wet hand.  Don’t deluge it.  If it’s already good and gooey, don’t bother.  Sprinkle it with salt, then with flour, not corn meal.  (My mother taught me that and we are both GRITS—Girls Raised in the South.)  Stir it to coat.  Now walk away.  In five minutes come back.  If it’s dry, do the water trick again, just a sprinkle.  Add more salt and more flour and stir it again.  Walk away again.  You may need to do this several times, allowing the excess flour to fall through the holes in the colander into the sink where you can wash it away—loose flour will burn in the bottom of a skillet. 
            After about fifteen minutes and maybe as many as five applications of flour and salt, the flour will have adhered to the “slime” and, magically, the okra will have made its own batter.  It will stick together in clumps like caramel corn, which is exactly what you want.
            Heat a half inch of vegetable oil in a skillet.  Put in one piece of okra and wait till it starts bubbling and sizzling.  Slowly add only as much okra as there is room in the pan.  Since it tends to stick together, you will need to mash it out to spread it around.  Now walk away and leave it again.  No fiddling with it, no turning it, no stirring it. 
            In about ten minutes you will begin to see browning around the edges.  When that happens you can start turning it.  The second side will brown faster, as will the entire second batch.  Watch your oil; you may need to turn it down if the browning begins to happen too quickly.  Drain it on paper towels. 
            You will now have the crunchiest okra you ever ate.  No slime, no weird flavor, nothing but crunch.  You cannot eat this with a fork—it rolls off, or if you try to stab it, it shatters.  This is Southern finger food, a delicacy we eat at least twice every summer before we start pickling it or giving it away.  Too much fried food is not healthy they tell us, but everyone needs a lube job once in awhile.
            The trick to that okra is patiently using the problem itself to overcome it—given enough time, that slime makes a batter that is better than anything you could whip up on your own with half a dozen ingredients.
            Patience is a virtue for Christians too, not just cooks.  How do you make it through suffering?  You patiently endure it (2 Cor 1:6), and you remember its purpose and use it for that purpose.  Patiently enduring suffering will make you a joint-heir with Christ (Rom 8:17,18).  It will make you worthy of the kingdom (2 Thes 1:4,5).  If we suffer with him, we will reign with him (2 Tim 2:12).  Only those who share in his suffering will share in his comfort (2 Cor 1:7). 
            But none if this works if you don’t patiently endure the suffering.  If you give up, you lose.  If you turn against God, he will turn against you.  If you refuse the fellowship of Christ’s suffering, he will refuse you.  We must use that suffering to make ourselves stronger and worthy to be his disciple. Just like I am happy to have a particularly “slimy” bowl of okra to work with, knowing it will produce the crunch I want, the early Christians “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer,” Acts 5:41.  They knew it would make them better disciples of their Lord.  We can understand these things when it comes to something as mundane as fried okra.  Why can’t we recognize it in far more important matters?  We even have a trite axiom about this—when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  When life gives you trials, make yourself a stronger person.
            After suffering, Peter promises that God will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us (1 Pet 5:10).  He is talking to those who endure, who use the suffering to their advantage and become better people.  Remind yourself of the promises God gives to those who suffer.  Remind yourself of the rewards.  Remind yourself every day that it’s worth it.  The New Testament writers did, so it is no shame if you do it too.
 
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Rom 8:16-18.
 

I remember thinking once when I stepped into my sons' bedroom and saw toys lying everywhere, "It looks like a whirlwind came through here."  Actually, it didn't look half that bad.
            When daylight dawned after Irma blew through, the mess was astounding.  Trees had fallen across roads—huge water oaks bigger around than your kitchen table's width, pine trees taller than telephone poles, or enormous limbs from the live oaks.  Branches, limbs, moss and other air plants, brushwood and smaller sprigs of leaves, all lay across yards and fields.  For some folks shingles littered their property, for others pieces of eaves and white aluminum roof-overs lay twisted across the grass.  You could tell where the tornadoes had plowed through—trees lay in every direction like a pile of pickup sticks, their branches stripped bare of leaves.
            The clean-up started immediately.  First order of business was to start the generator so we didn't lose the almost thousand dollars' worth of food in the freezer and fridge.  It also gave us a couple of outlets for a lamp and a fan.  Then we set up the camp stove on the porch to avoid heating up an un-coolable house, and started the stovetop coffeepot.  After eating breakfast in a house we had deemed all but lost the night before, it was time to get to work.
            We tried to contact family.  For some reason we had a phone for a few minutes that morning and were able to reach our boys and my mother.  All were well and undamaged.  Then the landline went out and cell service was spotty and downright weird.  My phone kept trying to call out by itself, but of course, it couldn't.  Even on a good day I can only get one bar out here and only next to one window in the house.  Though the generator supplied those few outlets next to the fridge and freezer, my cell would not charge.  We lost it completely the third day. 
            Then it was time to check on neighbors.  We had heard the whine and rev of chainsaws earlier in the day, and because of them we were able to get down the highway, which was covered in sawdust from the tree and limb removal.  Everyone looked all right so we headed back to our own mess.
            And what do you do?  First, you haul in the water.  Heavy five gallon buckets, one next to each toilet for flushes, trying your best not to slosh it on the laminate floors.  They don't much like pools of water.
            Then you unpack.  All those things we had placed in the truck and car were unloaded, unpacked and put back into place.  Then we started on the outside.
            Keith swept off the roof, which was carpeted with twigs and leaves, and the carport which sat covered in an inch of blown-in water, and caked with mud on the edges.  We toweled off the outdoor furniture and unlashed the garbage cans.  We put the bird feeders back on their poles and filled them up.  Then came the hard part.
            Our garden cart holds about 10 cubic feet, Keith thinks, at least 6 five gallon buckets.  We filled it up half again as high as its sides sixteen times as we traversed the yard, back and forth for two days.  Bend over, lift, and drop; bend over, lift and drop.  Over and over and over until our backs ached and our heads swam from the changing height.  The temperature was slightly better than a usual September day in Florida—88 maybe instead of 93, but the humidity was nearly 100% from all the water everywhere.  It has been my experience with people that you really don't understand that until you have lived in it.  We were without an air conditioner for 9 days.  The doors swelled and became difficult to open and close.  The salt became one huge block, even in those "guaranteed" plastic sealed containers.  The dining chair backs were sticky in our hands and the table was covered with condensation every morning.  The bath towels would not dry out between uses unless they were hung out in direct sunlight for several hours with a good stiff breeze blowing.  And that's why 88 felt more like 98 and we wound up soaking wet.
            But remember what I said about the usual September day down here?  Normally the 90s don't leave us before October, and even then we might have a day or two when they return, all the way till November, with a heat index over 100.  Yet I have noticed that after every hurricane we get a little break.  A day in the 80s was a reprieve that we all needed.  And the weather continued that way for 3 or 4 days before the 90s began to show up again.  By then, for us, the brutal outdoor work was done. 
            I thought of the rainbow then, the one after the flood.  God gave them a sign that such a catastrophe would never happen again.  We know we will have more hurricanes, but we also know that God is aware of our needs.  Maybe those more moderate temperatures are His way of showing us that He cares.  We may be hurt by the warnings He has sent to a people who continually reject Him, but He will still show His mercy in ways that only the righteous may be able to understand.  For me, it led to far less griping about the inconveniences—no power, no running water, no means of communication.  It could have been so much worse, and for others it was, especially in the Caribbean, the Keys and South Florida.  But they, too, felt the cooler air for at least awhile, whether they acknowledged who sent it or not.
            God never promised to keep the storms of life away from us, but He has always promised to be with us as we endure them.
 
​For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat…(Isa 25:4)
 
Dene Ward