11-26-06 Zechariah 10:8, 9

Zechariah 10:8, 9 (KJ21)
I will whistle for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased. And I will sow them among the people, and they shall remember Me in far countries; and they shall live with their children and turn again.

Zechariah 10:8, 9 (NAS)
I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back

Zechariah 10:8, 9 (NIVUS)
I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before. Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return.

Zechariah 10:8, 9 (NLT)
When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few that are left, their population will grow again to its former size. Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember me in distant lands. With their children, they will survive and come home again to Israel.

If you have ever watched any nature programs on television, you have probably discovered that animals have certain sounds to communicate with each other. Mother animals use different calls to their young than they do with the rest of the herd or flock.

The Lord God also has certain special ways to speak to His people. In fact, the Bible says that He hisses for His people. The word hiss in this context means to whistle or be shrill; it also simply means to call.

When the Lord Jehovah wants to get your attention, He may have to hiss. Perhaps you have grown dull of hearing and only a shrill, sharp sound will arouse you. However if you are daily walking close to Adonai the Lord, you may only need God's simple call to gather you back to Himself or to join together with the rest of His family. The Lord your God is delighted when you assemble together with His other people. As one whom Jesus has ransomed, redeemed, and rescued from sin, you also enjoy getting together with your brothers and sisters in the Lord, for you are a close family unit.

As Jehovah the Lord hedges you about, protecting you from your enemies, you will grow and increase. The Lord delights in your prosperity and growth. When He sees your cooperation in this, He begins to sow you into the lives of others and you begin to bear fruit. Then people from other tribes and nations see what the Spirit of God conceives in and through you; they begin to recognize and remember Almighty God, their Creator and Lord.

Even the remotest and most distant lands will mark and make mention of Adonai's name. They along with their children will be revived, as they begin to turn back to Jehovah the Lord, who is eternal and supreme. He will save them and build them into His house. Like you, Adonai will adopt them into His family and He will dwell with them, as He does with you. Then the cycle of salvation and deliverance begins again through these new babes in Jesus Christ.