SATAN'S HIDDEN AGENDA

 

Zechariah 7:1-7 (ESV) states, “In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lord, saying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”

What is going on here is that while in Babylon, the Jews started a new tradition on the 9th day of the 5th month: fasting to commemorate the destruction of Jerusalem. Now, though, a remnant was in the process of rebuilding the city and the temple, and the prophets said that an an even greater city and temple were yet to come. So the question arises: Should this fast be continued?

What was God's answer? He rebuked them for their traditions! Satan had tricked an entire nation with his hidden agenda – traditions! He had caused them to be so focused on the traditions that they had not done right in the sight of God. Instead of making everything about God, they made it about themselves.

In Mark 7 we once again see satan as he tries to destroy the nation of Israel through traditions. Jesus, though, wasn't having any of it! He told them exactly what He thought about their traditions. “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture], ‘These people honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. ‘They worship Me in vain [their worship is meaningless and worthless, a pretense], Teaching the precepts of men as doctrines [giving their traditions equal weight with the Scriptures].’ You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling [faithfully] to the tradition of men.”

Here, satan, once again, tries to keep Israel in bondage with his hidden agenda - tradition. But what did Jesus have to say about it? That their traditions were the problem! Just look at what Mark 7:13 says in a couple translations:

“Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word.” (GW)

“In this way the teaching you pass on to others cancels out the word of God.” (GNT)

“And so you break the law of God in order to protect your man-made tradition.” (TLB)

Religion! Religious traditions were what was keeping them from obeying the Word of God. And this is what is keeping so many today from moving in to what God is doing in the earth - their traditions! My friend, don't follow traditions – follow the Word. Don't follow men – follow Jesus. Don't follow denominations – follow the Kingdom of God. For, if we will, then we can see satan's hidden agenda destroyed once and for all within both our hearts and our churches.