Seventh Day of Lent

Seventh Day of Lent

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

…See your king comes to you…, riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:9

Imagine how these words were heard in the time they were spoken. Zechariah prophesied between 520 and 489 B.C. People didn’t know a lot of things that we know today, but they did know that it is not smart to ride an animal that has not been broken! A horse broken for a rider, yes. A donkey accustomed to carrying a load, okay. But a foal? Not unless you have a death wish! He’d throw you in a moment!

So what did they think when they heard that? Don’t know why, but it was important enough for Zechariah to preserve. And good little Jewish boys would have heard this strange little prophecy, maybe even laughed at it.

Matthew remembered this prophecy when he was writing his gospel! (Matthew 21:5) His promised king, riding on a foal! Exactly as God promised, Jesus entered Jerusalem!

Somehow this encourages me to really believe what God says when he promises me something, even if it seems an unlikely promise. My favorite promise is, “I, myself, am coming back to get you and take you where I am.” (John 14:3, my paraphrase) How can he possibly come and get each one of us? Not send one of his angels but come himself? The steps between where he is and where we are are too important to entrust to a mere angel. No, HE is coming to get us someday! If he’d fulfill a promise by coming on a foal, he’ll come back for us! He promised! We can count on that!

Prayer: Father, you are indeed an awesome God! That you would fulfill one promise to help us believe another is just too wonderful! Thank you. Amen.

And He Set His Face toward Jerusalem. . . .

A Lenten Devotional Guide
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, Spring 2007,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator