How Zechariah Vision Take Concern Us Today?

1-3. (a) How things be for Israel people when Jehovah send Zechariah go meet dem? (b) Why Jehovah tell im people make dem ‘come back to am’?

THE vision wey Zechariah see, just be like drama! E see scroll wey dey fly, one woman wey dey inside container and two women wey dey fly for up. This two women get wing wey be like big bird own. (Zech. 5:1, 7-9) Why Jehovah give Zechariah this kind vision? How things be for Israel people that time? How this vision take concern us today?

² Jehovah people happy well well for 537 B.C.E. After 70 years wey dem take be slave for Babylon, dem come free! Dem want go back to Jerusalem. Dem want go build Jehovah temple so that dem go fit worship am well again. So, for 536 B.C.E., wey be one year after dem reach Jerusalem, dem dig the temple foundation. The people happy well well as dem start this work. Bible talk sey dem happy sotey people dey hear their voice from far. (Ezra 3:10-13) But their joy no last. People wey hate dem start to disturb the work. And because of this one, dem come stop to build the temple. Wetin come dey their mind na to build their own house and to plant wetin their family go chop. Sixteen years after dem reach Jerusalem, dem never still build Jehovah temple finish. In short, the work don stop! Jehovah people need help. Dem need to remember sey dem suppose do Jehovah work first before their own. Jehovah want make dem come back to am, make dem use all their mind worship am like before.

³ How Jehovah take help im people? For 520 B.C.E., e send prophet Zechariah go meet dem. Zechariah help dem remember why Jehovah free dem from Babylon. Zechariah name mean “Jehovah Don Remember.” This one go don help Israel people see sey Jehovah still dey remember dem, even if dem don forget how e take save dem. (Read Zechariah 1:3, 4.) Jehovah promise dem sey e go help dem serve am well again. But e still let dem know sey dem must use all their mind serve am. Make we come talk about the sixth and seventh vision wey Zechariah see. We go learn how this vision take help Israel people and how e fit help us today.

JEHOVAH GO PUNISH PEOPLE WEY DEY THIEF

4. Wetin Zechariah see for the sixth vision, and why dem write for the two side? (Go check the first picture 1.)

⁴ Zechariah chapter 5 start with wetin Zechariah see for the sixth vision. (Read Zechariah 5:1, 2.) Zechariah see one scroll wey dey fly for up. The scroll nearly long reach 30 feet (9 m) and e wide reach 15 feet (4.5 m)! Dem open the scroll and dem don ready to read am. Dem write wetin Jehovah go do bad people for the two side of the scroll. (Zech. 5:3) That time, people dey write for only one side of scroll. But as dem write for the two side of this scroll, e show sey the message really serious.

5, 6. How Jehovah dey feel about people wey dey thief?

⁵ Read Zechariah 5:3, 4. Bible let us know sey Jehovah go judge wetin everybody dey do. Even im own people wey do bad, e go judge dem. People wey love Jehovah know sey if dem thief, e go spoil Jehovah name. (Prov. 30:8, 9) Some people dey feel sey na condition dey make person thief. Na true? Make we no deceive ourself. Anybody wey dey thief dey think about only imself and wetin e go gain. E no dey think about how God go feel, wetin God law talk, or sey e go spoil God name.

⁶ You see wetin Zechariah 5:3, 4 talk? E talk sey curse go enter the house of people wey dey thief and e no go comot. The curse go finish everything wey dey their house. Nothing fit stop wetin Jehovah go do. If person wey dey serve Jehovah dey thief and elders for im congregation, im papa and mama, people wey e dey work for and even police no know, e mean sey e free? For where! Even if e hide for where nobody go see am, Jehovah go still see am and e go punish am. (Heb. 4:13) When you know sey people wey dey around you no dey thief, how you dey feel? E no dey make your mind come down?​—Heb. 13:18.

7. Wetin go make the curse wey dey the scroll no reach us?

⁷ Jehovah no want make we thief at all. Whether na “small thief” or “big thief,” thief na thief. We no want do anything wey go make people talk bad about Jehovah. Instead we go do wetin go make people praise Jehovah. This one go make the curse wey dey the scroll no reach us.

ALWAYS DEY DO WETIN YOU PROMISE

8-10. (a) Why people dey swear? (b) Which promise King Zedekiah no keep?

⁸ The message wey dey the other side of the scroll, concern people wey dey ‘use God name swear.’ After dem swear finish, dem no go come do am. (Zech. 5:4) Many people dey swear to show sey wetin dem talk na true. Dem still dey swear to show sey dem go do wetin dem promise.

⁹ To use Jehovah name swear na serious matter. Na wetin Zedekiah, the last king wey rule for Jerusalem do be that. E use Jehovah name swear sey e go do everything wey the king of Babylon tell am. But Zedekiah no do wetin e promise. Na this one come make Jehovah tell am sey: ‘As far as I dey alive, you go die for Babylon. You go die for the place wey the king wey make you king dey stay. The king wey you make promise to but you no do am, the king wey you make agreement with but you no keep am.’​—Ezek. 17:16.

¹⁰ Because King Zedekiah use Jehovah name swear, Jehovah expect am to keep the promise. (2 Chron. 36:13) But no be wetin Zedekiah do. E go meet Egypt people to come help am fight Babylon.​—Ezek. 17:11-15, 17, 18.

11, 12. (a) Which promise dey important pass? (b) How we go take show Jehovah sey we dey keep our promise everyday?

¹¹ Wetin happen to Zedekiah show sey Jehovah dey hear any promise wey we make. E want make we do wetin we promise. That one go make am happy. (Ps. 76:11) We dey make many promise, but the promise wey dey important pass, na the one wey we make before we baptize. We tell Jehovah for prayer sey, no matter wetin happen, we go serve am. This promise na serious one wey we suppose keep.

¹² Everyday, we dey face different different problem. The way we take dey handle dem, go show whether we dey keep our promise. (Ps. 61:8) For example, if person for school or for where we dey work want make we be im boyfriend or girlfriend, wetin we go do? We go reject am? We go show Jehovah sey we want do wetin e talk? (Prov. 23:26) What if na only us dey serve Jehovah for our family and our family people no dey behave well? We dey beg Jehovah make e help us continue to behave like Christian? We dey always pray to am? We dey thank am as e love us and as e help us come know am and dey serve am? We dey make time to read Bible every day? If we look am well, we go see sey this things na part of wetin we promise Jehovah and we must do am. If we use all our mind serve Jehovah, e go show sey we love am and we dey keep our promise. To worship Jehovah na part of our life, we no just dey do am. When we do wetin we promise Jehovah, we go really gain. Jehovah go bless us and make our tomorrow better.​—Deut. 10:12, 13.

13. Wetin we learn from Zechariah sixth vision?

¹³ From Zechariah sixth vision, we don learn sey, if we love Jehovah, we no go thief and we go keep our promise. We still learn sey, Jehovah no tire for Israel people because of their mistake. E know sey life no easy for dem because of the many enemy wey surround dem. Jehovah don really show us better example. E dey always do wetin e promise and e ready to help us do wetin we promise. One thing wey e don do to help us, na to give us hope sey e go soon comot wicked people. We go see this one for the next vision wey Zechariah see.

JEHOVAH GO COMOT WICKED PEOPLE

14, 15. (a) Wetin Zechariah see for the seventh vision? (Go check the first picture 2.) (b) Who be the woman wey dey inside the container, and why the angel cover am?

¹⁴ After Zechariah see the scroll wey dey fly, one angel come tell am sey make e ‘look up.’ E want show am the seventh vision. Wetin Zechariah see? E see one container wey dem dey call “ephah.” (Read Zechariah 5:5-8.) The container get round cover wey dem use lead make. When dem open the container, Zechariah see one woman wey sitdown inside. The angel talk sey the woman na “Wickedness.” Zechariah go don fear well well when e see sey the woman want come outside. But the angel no let am come out. At once, e throw am back inside the container, come use the heavy cover, cover am. Wetin that one mean?

¹⁵ This part of the vision dey show sey Jehovah no go allow anybody wey dey do wicked things remain for congregation. E no go let wicked thing spread. But e go quick comot am. (1 Cor. 5:13) The speed wey the angel take cover the woman inside the container, really show sey this one na true.

16. (a) Wetin happen to the container? (Go check the first picture 3.) (b) Where the two women carry the container go?

¹⁶ The next thing wey Zechariah see na two women wey dey fly for up. Dem get wing wey strong like big bird own. (Read Zechariah 5:9-11.) This women different well well from the one wey dey the container. Dem fly with their strong wing come carry the container wey “Wickedness” dey. Where dem carry am go? Dem carry am go keep for Babylon, wey be “the land of Shinar.” Why dem carry am go Babylon?

17, 18. (a) Why Babylon be correct place to keep “Wickedness”? (b) Wetin we ready to do about wicked people?

¹⁷ Israel people for Zechariah time, know sey Babylon na the correct place to keep “Wickedness.” That time, wicked people full Babylon no be small. Dem dey put hand for sex wey no clean for God eye and dem dey serve juju. Even though sey e no easy for many Israel people wey grow for Babylon, dem no join this wicked people. This vision go don make their mind come down! Why? Because, e show sey Jehovah no go allow wicked people spoil the better way, wey dem take dey worship am.

¹⁸ This vision still show sey Israel people get work to do. Dem must make sure sey dem worship Jehovah the way e want. Dem no go allow any wicked person enter or remain for Jehovah house. Today, Jehovah don show us sey e love us. E don bring us come im clean organization wey dey protect us. You think sey e make sense to allow any wicked person dey for this clean organization? Make we no let am happen. Make we do everything to make sure sey Jehovah house clean!

JEHOVAH GO BLESS PEOPLE WEY WORSHIP AM WELL

19. How Zechariah vision take concern us today?

¹⁹ The sixth and seventh vision wey Zechariah see, na serious warning for people wey no want comot hand from bad thing. Jehovah no go take am easy with dem at all. As people wey dey serve Jehovah, we must hate wicked things. The vision still show sey Jehovah go bless us if we dey try do things wey go make am happy. Jehovah go protect us make the curse wey dem talk for the vision, no reach our side. E no easy to live clean life for this wicked world. But, make we get am for mind sey, if we try our best, Jehovah go help us. Na true sey we fit worship Jehovah well for this wicked world? As we dey near great tribulation, we dey sure sey Jehovah go protect im organization? We go talk about this two question for the next topic.