God’s Word for You

Zechariah 5:3-4 A curse

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, July 13, 2022

3 He said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land.

“Land” could be the whole world, but this special curse is only for the land of Judah, where there should be pure teaching and doctrine. Because there is not, the curse has been sent over the land. By this time, the Samaritans had already inhabited the land of Ephraim and brought about a perversion of the Word of God, performing their worship at Mount Gerizim rather than on Mount Zion, as the Lord had commanded, and for which Jesus calls them to task (John 4:20-22). Paul often has this and similar curses in mind: “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse” (Galatians 3:10), and “If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him!” (1 Corinthians 16:22). And again: “Land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed.” He doesn’t mean the dirt, but the useless soil of unbelieving hearts.

The second part of verse 3 is a challenge for the translator, and I am obligated to show both possible meanings and the different applications for them. This might be tiresome to some readers (or listeners), and for you I might suggest jumping ahead to verse 4 below.

Verse 3, translation 1:

Under it, everyone who steals from this moment shall be purged out, and everyone who swears falsely from this moment shall be purged out.

In this case, the curse is the curse of God to especially purge out or rid the land of those guilty of breaking the seventh, eighth, and second commandments. These are those who show their unbelief by the rotten way they treat their neighbors, stealing and falsely accusing them, and stepping all over the Word of God by misusing the name of God. They will be “purged out” of the land, that is, ejected, as God threatened through Moses: “If you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. Everyone who does any of these detestable things—such persons must be cut off from their people” (Leviticus 18:28-29).

Or, verse 3, translation 2:

Under it, everyone who steals from this moment will be exempt from punishment, and everyone who swears falsely from this moment will be exempt from punishment.

The difference between the translations is remarkable. Which meaning does the word niqah have here: “purged out,” or “exempt from punishment”? The passage would seem to mean the opposite of what it says if this is so, and the exploration we made in the previous verses (Zechariah 5:1-2) into the only correct way of interpreting the Bible would fall apart. But God will guide us here.

The standard concordance for the Old Testament is the Even-Shoshan Concordance that lists all 36 occurrences of this word in the Bible. The word always means “be free, be innocent,” or in this stem, “be exempt from punishment” as I have translated above. Jeremiah 49:12: “Why should you go unpunished?” Job 10:14: “You would not let my offenses go unpunished.” Psalm 19:13: “I will be blameless.” The only exception to this is the idea of being “deserted” or “ravaged” (Isaiah 3:26) which leads us toward the meaning in Translation #1.

Luther was in favor of Translation #2, and his application might be summarized in this way: This is the curse on the land that has been brought forth by the false teachers. They are saying that people will be held innocent. They teach thieving and godless living, and the people take that to be their banner (LW 20:237). This is the teaching of all false teachers. They want the people to become hypocrites just like them. “They deceive the hearts of the simple minded” (Romans 16:18). People submit themselves to the lies of those who reject the truth (Titus 1:14). They devour widow’s houses and meager possessions (Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47). Living under this cursed banner, “their destiny is eternal destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame” (Philippians 3:10). “They devour my people the way men eat bread” (Psalm 14:4), and “their throat is an open grave” (Psalm 5:9). And God’s condemnation is clear: “They are worthless. When their judgment comes, they will perish” (Jeremiah 51:18).

Since both of these interpretations are valid, we must turn to Scripture to guide us, allowing Scripture itself to interpret Scripture. In this case, the Scripture that interprets is the very next verse:

4 I will send the curse forth, says 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 lodge in that house and consume it, both timber and stones.”

The curse, says God, will be sent out; allowed to range throughout the land of Israel. It will go where these sins are committed (the house of the thief, the house of him who swears falsely) and the curse will consume those houses. The guilt will pile up higher and higher and it will infect those lives more and more deeply, until it consumes those places and those people. False teachers have led people astray, and both the teachers and those who have sinned by listening to them will be consumed by the wrath of God on judgment day. Jesus makes the same condemnation of those who teach falsely: “You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew 15:5). Such false teaching even led to the horrific idea that the gold that coated the temple and the altar was more valuable than the temple itself (Matthew 23:16).

Beware of those who want to lead you astray. Search the Scriptures. Ask a teacher who concerns you: Exactly who is Jesus Christ? Exactly how does one get to heaven? Compare their answers with what the Bible says about Jesus, especially Philippians 2:6-8, and about what the Bible says about salvation, especially 2 Corinthians 5:19 and 5:21, and also Ephesians 2:8-9, Galatians 6:14, and Paul’s message throughout his great Epistles. By the grace of God through Jesus Christ, you are no longer under any curse. You are blessed because the blessings of God flow from Christ through your faith directly into your heart, soul, mind, and life. Praise be to Jesus our Savior, who loves you and made you his own.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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