Zechariah 9&12: Prisoners of Hope

While rebuilding the temple, God's people are worried for their safety. Their neighbors/enemies could attack at a moments notice, and they would have very little protection. No army and no real fortress. But as they are living out God' calling to rebuild the temple, God promises them protection -- not just for the present, but for the future as well. And so they work. Because God gave his promises and because they are protected and because they have Hope in the coming of their King.

 Cry out with joy, O daughter of Zion!
        Shout jubilantly, O daughter of Jerusalem!
    Look—your King is coming;
        He is righteous and able to save.
    He comes seated humbly on a donkey,

        on a colt, a foal of a donkey.[ 

Christ is coming. CHRIST IS COMING. Oh what Hope. Oh what a reminder that the last generations and generations and generations have not wandered for not. What a reminder that each and every brick they lay as to build His Temple that the real Hope and Restoration is coming. It is by his humility that Christ will come into this earth, intervening on their behalf and fulfilling every single prophetic word. 

And in this, we can still hope! Knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells among us today and Christ will come again, establishing his New Creation -- we can hope. And by his grace we can make wrong things right and serve humbly just as Christ came. I love that the Lord calls his people prisoners of hope. That's all they could be as they vulnerably built the temple. And we too can be, should be, prisoners of hope. With all the wrong and dumb and twisted... we can be hopeful and we can bring hope to others.