Not Alone

“Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?” (Zec 1:12 AV)

 

I cannot prove it, but I think the angel here might be Michael the Archangel.  It may not be.  It may be another prophet or Zechariah himself.  Who the angel is, is not the point this morning.  Noticing Israel has someone other than themselves interceding before God for them is.  Israel has been in captivity for 70 years.  This timeline was revealed by Jeremiah.  Israel would be in captivity for one year for every Sabbath year they ignored since settling the land hundreds of years ago.  When God blessed them, they turned their back on Him and pursued their own interests.  They failed to let the land lay fallow once every seven years so God required the land to be at rest for 70 years while they served their sentence.  This is where we pick up the narrative.  The seventy years are up.  Now, we see an angel interceding with God for them.  What a privilege to have someone who loves you enough to go to the throne of God and seek your welfare on your behalf.  Especially someone who has God’s ear.  Israel and Michael.  But we have the LORD Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit!

One of the greatest privileges I have had in ministry was serving as a volunteer chaplain at our local hospital.  The duties of such are many.  Our first duty was to provide spiritual guidance and emotional support for the patients.  On a typical day, our rounds would primarily consist of prayer and scripture reading.  There were other tasks as well.  The medical team wanted us to help patients fill out advance directives.  If the patient did not have them on file, it was our responsibility to get the material to them and broach the uncomfortable topic of end-of-life decisions.  This was not easy.  Many patients do not have a Biblical world view so steering them into one was a challenge.  Every once in a while, we would have a dramatic case where we became a patient advocate.  Perhaps they needed something as simple as another pillow or help getting to the restroom.  Other times, it was a matter of life and death.  I have experienced a few cases like this.  One fella needed a heart transplant because he had only weeks to live.  I advocated for the transplant and attempted to move him further up the list.  Another was completely out of her mind and was in a dangerous situation.  I had to talk her out of it all the while getting the nurses staff to act.  Another was dying and her estranged daughter refused to talk to her.  We worked with the patient and her family toward reconciliation so the patient could die in peace.  The stories go on and on.  But one thing is certain.  When the patient feels all alone and helpless in their situation, knowing they have someone who will fight for them often makes a difference.

We have that someone.  We have Jesus Christ our LORD.  He stands before the throne of the Father making intercession for us.  It is His wounds that are proof we are worth the intercession.  Not by our merit, but by His!  He pleads before the Father when we are in need.  He covers our sin account with His blood and it is that love of sacrifice which drives His plea.  The Bible also tells us the Holy Spirit of God makes intercession for us with words that cannot be uttered.  Communication between the Godhead is a three-way conversation and we are the topic.  They have a divine conference call, so to speak, and their conversation is for our own good.  What a comforting thought!  As we pray, the Holy Spirit is on one side.  The LORD Jesus Christ on the other.  Both make the case for us that the Father may approve that which we seek.  We are not alone.  We have intercessors.  These intercessors love us more than we will ever understand.  We are not alone!