Simply the Bible Blog

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication…” (Zechariah 12:10, NKJV)

Which came first…the chicken or the egg? Of course, the creation account tells us:

“So God created…every winged bird according to its kind.” (Genesis 1:21, NKJV)

It took the supernatural work of God creating in order to make the chicken.

A similar debate exists among those who believe in spiritual revival. Is it an act of God or an act of man? In Zechariah 12:10, it is clear that God takes the initiative. As I pointed out in my previous blog, this refers to a revival that will soon occur in Israel. While people often reserve “acts of God” for tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, it is refreshing that a revival can also be an act of God.

We see this in other places in Scripture. In the days of the prophet Hosea, Israel was unfaithful to God and had joined herself to idols (Hosea 4:17). She had “played the harlot” (Hosea 2:5). Nevertheless, the LORD said:

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely…” (Hosea 14:4, NKJV)

When God revealed to Ezekiel the New Covenant that was coming soon, He said:

“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh…” (Ezekiel 11:19, NKJV)

As God showed the prophet Joel what He would do in the last days, He said:

“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28–29, NKJV)

Of course, we know that this was fulfilled at least in part on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:16-18).

Observe that in all these examples God repeats the words “I will”. It comes from His heart and is His doing. This should build anticipation in our hearts that spiritual revival is not dependent upon people. It’s not dependent upon who is in the White House. It’s not dependent on the latest Gallup poll of what percentage of Americans believe in God. It’s not dependent upon Supreme Court decisions. At a time when Israel’s immorality was most severe, God said, “I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely…”

Does that mean that we have nothing to do with it? You’ll have to tune in to the next blog for that one! 😉