Zechariah 6:1-7: a reflection

1Again I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2In the first chariot were red horses. In the second chariot were black horses. 3In the third chariot were white horses. In the fourth chariot were dappled horses, all of them powerful. 4Then I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5The angel answered me, “These are the four winds of the sky, which go out from standing before the Lord of all the earth. 6The one with the black horses goes out toward the north country; and the white went out after them; and the dappled went out toward the south country.” 7The strong went out, and sought to go that they might walk back and forth through the earth. He said, “Go around and through the earth!” So they walked back and forth through the earth.

Zechariah sees four chariots with horses of different colors coming out from between two mountains of bronze, and the angel explains: these are the four winds, or spirits, of heaven, going out from standing before the Lord of all the earth, patrolling the whole earth at his command. Sent to the north, the south, and every direction, they go out from God's presence to do his bidding across the entire world.

Notice the picture of God's sovereignty in this strange vision. The chariots go out from before the Lord of all the earth, dispatched from his presence to patrol every quarter of the world. Nothing on earth is beyond his reach or outside his governance; his agents range over the whole of it, north and south, at his word. The vision assures a people who felt small and vulnerable that the God they served rules the entire earth.

That is a steadying assurance when the world feels chaotic and out of control. Behind the swirl of events, in every direction, is the Lord of all the earth, from whose presence his purposes go out to the ends of the world. Nothing is happening in some corner beyond his oversight. When the world seems to spin without direction, remember Zechariah's chariots, going out from before the Lord of all the earth. He governs the whole of it, everywhere, and your small corner is not outside his rule.

Lord of all the earth, Zechariah saw your chariots going out from your presence to patrol the whole world, in every direction. When the world feels chaotic and out of control, assure me that nothing happens in any corner beyond your oversight. You govern the whole earth, everywhere, and my small corner is not outside your rule. Steady my heart in your sovereignty.