ZechariahChapter 5

Zechariah Chapter 5: Meaning

Zechariah sees a giant flying scroll and a woman in a basket, both showing that evil will be removed.

Summary

Zechariah looks up and sees a huge scroll flying through the air. It is about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide, very big. The angel tells him this scroll is God's curse going out over the whole land. It will go after two kinds of people: those who steal and those who lie and swear falsely in God's name. The curse will enter the homes of people who do these things and will completely destroy them.

Then Zechariah sees another vision. An angel shows him a basket, like a large container, and inside the basket sits a woman. The angel says the woman represents wickedness. A heavy lead cover is pushed down over her to keep her inside. Then two women with wings like a stork come and pick up the basket. They carry it through the air.

Zechariah asks where they are taking it. The angel says they are taking the basket all the way to Babylon, a land far to the east, and it will be set down and kept there. The meaning is clear: evil and wickedness are being carried far away from God's people. The land is being cleaned up so God can live among His people again.

Historical Context

In Zechariah's day, the Jewish people had just come back from being captives in Babylon. One of the big hopes for the new community was that they would live in a way that was different from the past, pure and honest before God. But sin was still a problem.

Babylon in the Bible often stands for the place where evil lives. Sending wickedness back to Babylon in the vision was a powerful picture, it is as if sin is being returned to where it came from, far away from God's holy people and land. God was serious about making His community clean.