Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Zechariah 9:9 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=zechariah+9%3A9&version=NIV
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I am sure I got your attention with a seemingly vulgar title, but I hope after reading today’s feature verse, you get it. Today, I want you to “follow closely” to the message as it is about favor and God providing in our lowliness.
Have you ever said to a friend: “hey, do me a favor?” I am pretty you have and yet, you, me, and everyone in between seemingly think favor is something you ask one to do and maybe one day you return it.
God doesn’t act that way!
Favor, grace, mercy all live in the same camp. They are all things that God gives to us freely with expecting little in return. In most cases, these gifts are unexpected or undeserving. But because God is so filled with love for us, His great providence is greater than our less than stellar Christian performance.
The first step in finding favor is to surrender to God. I know my life was meaningless, aimless, and faithless. If you notice the pattern there, my life was less. With God, I am more because He is most. God gives me and you and you His grace to empower us to become like Christ. The Greek word for grace or favor is charis. It appears in many different forms in the Bible but the one that is most important is the one that essentially means an unexpected gift.
What’s more unexpected than a King on an ass? God shares his unexpected gifts with those that are the least. Think of the prophet Zechariah when he shared in chapter 9 verse 9 how the king will come to Jerusalem –
“…your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
I love how it foretells that the rider will be lowly, or rather, humble. Even better, the rider will be on something new and untamed, like a colt. Bringing it even further, the text says that the lowly rider will carrying something as great as peace. You’re like, “it doesn’t say any of that.” Wait for it…in ancient culture the horse represented warfare; the donkey was presented as a gift at a treaty of peace.
Jesus is that great gift of peace!
One Bible figure that found the most abundant of favors was Mary, mother of Jesus. While slightly controversial, Jesus’ mother was also from the line of David solidifying Jesus’ heritage. This is my opinion, but I think Mary presents as lowly and royal. Like Mary, we may come from royal blood but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we live in a palace. Tracing my heritage back a couple hundred years or more and I, 100% know that, I am descended from English and French kings. But I for sure don’t live in a palace. I can conclude that it doesn’t matter our economic status or our place in a social class…it is how we act and what we show such as our humility, that is the key to opening the door for God’s favor.
When we put in place all the actions and attitudes that help us find God’s favor, miracles await! Life is better on the other side of that favor.
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The subsequent series of posts, 66 in all, can be used as a devotional. Each book of the Bible is unpacked by me each morning by examining: • context (historical and biblical) • connotations and denotations • connections (verses around it and cross-references) • character (God’s and mine) • commission (how can I go out and do it) I do hope you enjoy and…
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Woman at the Well
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Jesus is the snake this time.
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Jesus is the rooster
66 Verses: Devotional 
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