NOTES for Zec 5:1-11
1 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. |
2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. |
3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. |
4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. |
5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. |
6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. |
7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. |
8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. |
9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. |
10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? |
11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base. |
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Theft and a false oath are different crimes, but here they are mentioned side by side and cursed together. The difference in the nature of these actions does not alter the sameness of their essence: unlike sins are equally abhorrent. Moreover, the sinners themselves bring them closer together by choosing the same arguments for self-justification (“There is nothing terrible about it; everyone does it...” ).
An ephah, a measure of liquid equal to forty liters, contains the woman who personifies wickedness, and this reservoir of sin must be removed far away. But then we see that in a pagan land people want to build a house—that is, a temple—for the wickedness being banished, which means that they want to make wickedness an object of worship. We have no right to say that because pagans are mentioned here, these words do not apply to us. By permitting ourselves “small and forgivable sins,” we imperceptibly turn away from God and risk sinking into sin up to the crown of our heads, becoming its servants and worshipers. The consequences may prove sadder than the fruits of open paganism.
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