The Woman in a Basket | Zechariah 5:6-11

Scripture

• Zechariah 5:6–11

About this sermon

Introduction: The promise of righteousness on the earth REQUIRES the purging of sin. If the hope of God’s people is a world in which righteousness dwells — if the hope of a renewed usefulness (in Zechariah’s time) is to be realized — then God must deal with the problem of sin. Not only must there be forgiveness of sins, but there must also be the judgment of sin and unrepentant sinners. This is why, after 5 visions of encouragement for the people of God, we find visions of God’s warnings concerning judgment. These visions are simple, straightforward, without much explanation, but they are profoundly important. God’s plans for Israel include the purging of Israel. God will do a work in Zechariah’s day, but God is also pointing Zechariah and His people to an even greater day — a day of salvation and separation. These things are not AT ODDS with each other. The judgment of God is required for the promise of righteousness and renewal. As we noted last Sunday morning in Revelation chapter 8, true worship does not just adore God for His grace and mercy, it adores God for His holiness, truthfulness, and justice. The first vision of judgment had to do with God’s law and covenant curses for unfaithfulness. Zechariah was given a vision of a flying scroll and the pursuing and consuming effects of sin. This vision is of a woman in a measuring basket. And this vision doesn’t just pertain to Zechariah’s present circumstances. This vision looks to a problem throughout the ages, and to the end of that problem at the end of the age. I. WHAT ZECHARIAH SAW The interpreting angel signals a new vision. He directs Zechariah’s attention to something else that is in movement. Zechariah doesn’t know what it is that he sees. The angel explains that it is an ephah. Now, the ephah was a standard of measurement. There is a disagreement about the exact size of the ephah. Some say around 5 gallons; some say around 10. But it was a way of measuring grain, for example. Some say 2/3rds of a bushel. In this case, it refers to the container that was used for the measurement. And regardless of what the exact size of the ephah was, a container that measured it would never be large enough to hold a person. So, this ephah must have been larger than normal, just like the scroll was larger than normal. There is a textual question in verse 6. You’ll see that reflected in the different translations, and it comes down to the difference in one Hebrew letter. It could either be “iniquity” or as most Hebrew manuscripts have it, the word for “eye” so that it is translated “appearance.” Based on the Septuagint and the Syriac versions, many believe that iniquity is the better translation. Regardless, given what we see in verse 8, the message is clear. THIS IS A MESSAGE ABOUT INIQUITY. THIS IS A MESSAGE ABOUT WICKEDNESS. So, if is to be translated “appearance” it would have to do with God doing something regarding wickedness that EVERYONE WILL RECOGNIZE AND WITNESS. The significance of that ephah is then revealed by the angel. A lead cover (cover is the word for “talent”) is lifted and a woman is revealed. The woman is identified as wickedness. So WICKEDNESS IS PERSONIFIED. This is not uncommon, to identify sin or wickedness with a woman — in this sense of a prostitute or a false prophetess. And then we see her violently constrained and contained as she is thrown down into the middle of the container and lid is thrown on to the opening. After this Zechariah sees two women with wings like the wings of a stork. The stork is a migratory bird. Each year these birds leave Palestine apparently in the direction that the basket is being taken. And the basket, according to the angel, is being taken to the “land of Shinar.” THAT IS THE LAND OF BABYLON. And Zechariah is told that a house will be built for her in the land of Shinar, and that she will be placed on a pedestal there. THAT IS, WICKEDNESS WILL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM ISRAEL, AND BE SET UP IN SHINAR.