The flying roll

The flying roll.

Zechariah 5:1-4.

5:1-4 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.

Lambert’s Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri has a tradition of throwing dinner rolls to customers. That might be the first kind of “roll” that enters the thoughts of American readers. However, this flying roll in Zechariah is a scroll, the “roll of a book” (cf. Jeremiah 36:2,4,32; Ezekiel 2:9), a written message from God. The Messiah the Branch will remove sin from the land (3:9b; Daniel 9:24-27). This removal of sin is either through forgiveness or destruction. Luke 13:3, 5 “except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Cf. Zech 3:8-9 and 4:6-7.

3:8-9 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH. For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

4:6-7 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

The law of the Lord is worldwide it “goeth forth over the face of the whole earth” (v. 3)

• John Gill notes that God has exact knowledge of the sins of all men, and strict remembrance of them.

The law of the Lord is equal, it is “for every one” (v. 3).

Matthew 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

• On this side “that stealeth” (the 8th commandment on the second table; relationship to man)
• On that side “that sweareth” (the 3rd commandment on the first table; relationship to God)

The law of the Lord is fixed in God’s purpose, enforced by the Lord, “I will bring it forth” (v. 4).

• The curse of the law and the wrath of God are certain, fixed in God’s purpose.

The law of the Lord is triumphant, enforced on the sinner, “it shall enter…and shall consume it.”

• The curse of the law and the wrath of God are certain of victory. God will overcome and overwhelm all sin.

Conclusion.

The curse of the law extends as far as the rule and control of the law. The law is in writing “on a roll” and “in the hearts” (Joshua 8:34; Romans 2:15).  It is universal in its scope of time (perpetual) and space (global) and impartiality (for all man). “What I have written I have written" (John 19:22; Daniel 6:8). The angel asks “What seest thou” and Zechariah answers, “I see a flying roll.” In size the roll was twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide, that is, 30 feet X 15 feet. It is an uncommon size.

The sinners against whom the judgment of the curse of the law is levelled are: (1) “every  one that stealeth” and (2) “every one that sweareth.” The curse lands on those that break either table of the law. Here God does not rank one sin above the other. These two kinds of sin are representative of and summarize the “two tables of the law,” man’s relationship to man and man’s relationship to God. The curse applies equally to those who break either table. James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

In the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, God has inscribed and preserved his law and his gospel. 

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Sin must be removed through either forgiveness in Christ or destruction from Christ. God’s word is the standard by which we are judged, and all must give account to God. God’s roll of his writing has flown through the face of the whole earth. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men – but God does not tolerate sin. The unrepentant unbelieving will be punished, with the Lord “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”

When the great day of his wrath is come, who shall be able to stand?