The Purposes of God

 Zechariah 8:14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

This chapter is full of Good News: Out of His Jealousy, God had chastised Judah for her infidelity, but now out of that same Jealousy, He was going to restore her and protect her.  In the next paragraph, God told His people to move forward, as He would provide the strength and resources they needed to rebuild. Here He reminds them of His purposes, both for Himself and for them. As He purposed to restore them, He called on them to carry out His purposes for them: truth, honesty, and justice. This would be what they all had longed for: True Peace.