“Then I turned and raised my eyes and saw there a flying scroll. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I answered, ‘I see a flying scroll. Its length is 20 cubits and its width 10 cubits.’ Then he said to me, ‘This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth. Every thief shall be expelled, according to this side of the scroll. And every perjurer shall be expelled, according to that side of it. I will send out the curse, says the Lord of hosts. It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My Name. It shall remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones.’” Zechariah 5:1-4
This is the second time in Zechariah’s prophecy that he raises his eyes and sees a vision. How about us? Are we remembering to look up? Three times in Psalm 42, David asks his soul, “Why are you cast down, O my soul?” In Psalm 42:5, 11, he tells his soul to “Hope in God.” Below us are shadows, above us is light. In Psalm 121:1-2, David lifted up his eyes and declared, “My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Praise God for people like Zechariah who keep their eyes fixed on God and received from Him wonderful words of life.
The flying scroll that Zechariah saw was inscribed with the words of the curse. The scroll is 450 square feet in size. 20 cubits is about 30 feet long by 10 cubits is about 15 feet wide. The curses of the Law are recorded in Deuteronomy 27:15-26; 28:15-68. The curses are penalties for breaking God’s Law. The fact that the scroll is “flying” means that the Law’s curses are coming quickly to the transgressors. It is unrolled so its writing can be seen. Being written on both sides, “on this and on that side,” connects it with the two tablets of the Law, and implies its comprehensiveness. One side denounces thieves. The other side denounces those who bear false witness in the Name of the Lord.
Praise God, in Revelation 14:6-7, before the Lord returns, God provides an “angel flying in midheaven, having the eternal Gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people – saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’”
This angel gives people both the Law and the Gospel. The Law says to fear God and give Him glory. The Law demands. The Gospel speaks of what Christ did for us and for our salvation. The Gospel gives. Nevertheless, the angel says that the hour of God’s judgment has come. The Gospel is of no benefit unless the one who hears it believes it and professes faith in Christ.
“Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, ‘Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.’ So I asked, ‘What is it?’ And he said, ‘This is an ephah that goes forth.’ He also said, ‘This is their resemblance throughout the earth: here is a lead disc [a talent of lead that weighs 125 pounds] lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket.’ Then he said, ‘This is Wickedness!’ And he thrust her down into the basket and threw the lead cover over its mouth.” Zechariah 5:5-8
The New King James Version Bible translates the word אֵיפָה (ephah) as basket. Technically, an ephah is a Hebrew dry measure of about a bushel, or 7.5 gallons. Before their captivity, the constant crime among God’s people was falsification of measure. They defrauded one another. So, the ephah in this context refers to a basket by which goods are transported. God turned the basket that symbolized their sin into a mode of transportation to carry it away.
Zechariah sees the woman thrust down into the ephah, and a large led disc placed over the mouth it. A woman of Wickedness symbolizes their sin. The word in the Greek Septuagint for wickedness in this text is ἀνομία which literally means without the law or lawless. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul refers to the antichrist as the “ο ανθρωπος της ανομιας” the man of lawlessness. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7, Paul wrote of the “μυστηριον ηδη ενεργειται της ανομιας” the mystery of lawlessness that is already at work. In Thessalonians 2:8, Paul wrote of the “αποκαλυφθησεται ο ανομος” the lawless one being revealed whom the Lord destroys with the brightness of His coming. So, this woman multiplies lawless behavior.
A woman is likely used in the vision because a woman is capable of giving birth to people even as sin is capable of giving birth to more sin. God is removing their wickedness, taking it captive and carrying it away. Idolatry was one of the other major failings of the tribes before they were taken captive. Amazingly, since Israel returned to the Promised Land from Babylon and Assyria, they have not returned to building temples and altars to idols. However, complete fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy occurs when Israel turns to Jesus Messiah for salvation and sanctification.
On a side note, it is ironic that some parents tell their children the myth of a stork bringing babies to them. This myth likely began in medieval Europe, especially Germany. It collaborated stork migration with fertility beliefs, where storks returning in spring coincided with babies born nine months after summer weddings. In the Bible, storks transport wickedness.
“Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings. For they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. So I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘Where are they carrying the basket?’ And he said to me, ‘To build a house for it in the land of Shinar. When it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.’” Zechariah 5:9-11
The Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary says that the two women symbolize the Assyrians and Babylonians. They carried away idolatry from the Promised Land in the persons of Israel and Judah. As two “anointed ones” in Zechariah 4:14 stand by the Lord as His ministers, so the two winged women execute His purpose here in removing the embodiment of “wickedness” from the Holy Land. Their “wings” express velocity. The “stork” has long and wide wings. It is a migratory bird. The “wind” hastens their flight. As the “woman” here is removed to Babylon as her own dwelling, so the woman in Revelation 17:3-5 is Babylon.
The house in the land of Shinar indicates another dispersion. Genesis 10:10 connects Shinar with Babylon which represents the capital of the God-opposed world kingdoms. It is the seat of irreligion.
Shinar is a plain in Babylon. Many Jews went there to escape from the Romans. There the ephah shall be established. Set upon a base. The building of an house for “wickedness” there implies its permanent stay. The good news in this is that it has been removed from the Promised Land.
As Governor Zerubbabel of Judah and his workers were rebuilding the temple and rebuilding Jerusalem, perhaps, they wondered, as they wiped the sweat from off their brows, “Will this temple and city revert back to wickedness?”
The answer to that question is, “Yes.” But in this prophecy, the Lord assured them that their people will not return to the worship of idols made of wood, metal and stone.
What’s more, in Zechariah 4:6-7, the Lord spoke to Zerubbabel of His grace and of His Spirit. In a little over 450 years, Messiah will be in Jerusalem. He will give His life as ransom for the sins of God’s people. After His resurrection from the dead, He will pour forth His Spirit on His leaders, and they will speak with new tongues and prophesy. Then, the Word of the Lord will go forth from Jerusalem unto the ends of the earth.
In Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14, the Lord reveals to us the taking away of the antichrist, the false prophet, the devil and death and Hades. They will be removed never to influence God’s people again. We will forever be holy unto the Lord. Filled with God’s love and basking in His presence! Hallelujah! Amen!
References from Jamieson Fausset Brown and Matthew Henry’s Commentaries
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