Zechariah paints a picture of God’s blessing on his people as he calls them back from captivity in Babylon to the Promised Land. The words here that tug at my heart are these.
Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.
The very elderly and the young. We could read this as another expression of God’s concern for the weakest and the most defenseless members of society and I suppose it is that, but it speaks to me of something else. It reminds me of my childhood, of summer nights when the streets were actually filled with kids playing and our parents and sometimes their parents sat on the front porches talking about nothing. I would inevitably play too hard and too long – until long after dark – and then fall into bed too tired to sleep. At the time it was just another summer evening. Now it seems a golden time. Remembering it makes my heart ache just a little.
God’s blessing isn’t always seen in grand things, holy things – the temple rebuilt, the nation returned to its former glory. His richer gifts may be found in the simple joys of long evenings shared with friends.
– Paul Abbott
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