Today's Scripture Reading (October 11, 2023): Zechariah 9
I have often wondered what might happen if a note
that I hastily scribbled down today somehow survived and was found a thousand
years from now. I am unsure if the advent of the internet helps or hinders the
chances of that happening. But maybe an even more significant question would be
if any of these things that are written down would even make any sense. Even
some familiar places might have disappeared in this bleak time that is to come.
I have read a lot of science fiction and even some dystopian stories that take
place after an unfortunate breakdown of our society. And in some of those stories,
the names of the cities have changed or, at the very least, have become mangled
in this vision of the future. In some stories, ruins are found at places like Cago,
Troy-it, and Fallow. It might take a few minutes to realize that these are not
unknown cities but the mangling of the names of Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo.
To these people, living far into our future, these essential cities have lost
the names we know and are now recognized by names related to their former names
but that have become mangled.
One of the worst Star Trek: The Original Series
episodes, at least according to most polls, is "The Omega Glory." In
the episode, the crew of the Enterprise lands on a planet that is at war. The
combatants of this war are the Yangs, who seem to be a white-based race, and
the Comms, an oriental race that fights against the Yangs. Maybe it is this racial
bias that has led this episode of Star Trek to find a position on the "worst
of" list.
But while "The Omega Glory" is condemned by
fans and experts alike, it also contains one of the most critical moments of "The
Original Series." That moment comes as Captain Kirk is taken captive by
the Yangs, and they introduce Kirk to their "Most Holy Words." The
words are mangled; at first, none of the captured understand what these "Holy
Words" might mean. But then, Kirk, in a moment of brilliance, puts the
words together and understands their intent. They are the words of the United
States Pledge of Allegiance. And Kirk recites the Pledge of Allegiance with
emphasis and power.
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of
the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one
Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
And then Kirk explains that the Pledge was not
intended just for the Yangs but also for the Comms. It is their shared heritage
and the basis for a common unity. The problem was that words had been so
mangled that they had lost their essential meaning.
Zechariah is the only one who mentions Hadrak. Maybe
the name is mangled or even just missing in the written record of the planet,
but we don't know where or what Hadrak might have been. Some have argued that
Hadrak is the province in which Damascus was situated; others contend that it
was a town in Northern Lebanon, or at least north of Damascus. Still, others claim
that it wasn't a place at all but rather a person; maybe Hadrak was a local God
or even the King of Damascus. But the intent of the prophecy is that the land
of Hadrak will be destroyed, followed by Damascus, and in the following verses,
he adds to the list of cities that would fall, all within view of the people of
Israel.
What doesn't seem to cause any argument is when this
prophecy would be fulfilled. While this prophecy is undated, we believe that this
prophecy came in the last years of Zechariah's life, which would mean these
words would have been spoken in the early years of the fifth-century B.C.E.,
maybe somewhere around 480 B.C.E. The fulfillment of this prophecy appears to
be found in Alexander the Great's march through the area a hundred and fifty
years later. In 332-331 B.C.E., Alexander would once again throw this area of
the world into turmoil, regardless of what the names of the area and people
might be. And Israel would be witnesses to all that was to come.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Zechariah 10
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