"But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid." ~Zechariah 8:15, NLT
The Israelites have had a rough history. They'd been in exile, and there was only a remnant of them left - they could easily be wiped out, nevermore to be remembered by anyone. But in Zechariah, God gives promises to bless Jerusalem, to bring back the remnant and grow them into His country. His anger, God's wrath, it's been extinguished. The punishment has been paid.
Now, He's "determined to bless Jerusalem." To further encourage His people, God adds "don't be afraid." We can take this to heart as well, for as God's wrath had been poured out, the punishment paid by the Israelites, so now in the man known as Jesus this has been done once more - for all time. God's fury was pacified, as it were, by Jesus and His death on the cross. Thus we can have hope again, that God will bless us, and that we don't need to be afraid of His wrath, so long as we trust in Jesus and have Him living in our hearts and making us into His image.
So don't be afraid.
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