The existing narration covers Zechariah 5 and 6.
Zechariah 5 presses a hard truth: the restored community must be purified. Theft and false swearing are exposed, and wickedness is carried away rather than given a place in the house of God’s people.
Where This Chapter Stands
The sequence follows Zechariah 4 naturally. The Spirit sustains the rebuilding, but the community cannot carry hidden wickedness into the restored house.
The Flying Scroll and the Public Judgment of Sin (Zechariah 5:1-4)
1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked and behold a flying sickle. 2 And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I see a flying sickle, of the length of twenty cubits, and of the breadth of ten cubits. 3 And he said to me, This is the curse that goes forth over the face of the whole earth: for every thief shall be punished with death on this side, and every false swearer shall be punished on that side.
4 And I will bring it forth, saith the Lord Almighty, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that swears falsely by my name: and it shall rest in the midst of his house, and shall consume it, and the timber of it, and the stones of it.
The flying scroll makes hidden sin public. Theft and false swearing are not private moral defects. They tear the covenant fabric of the community. A rebuilt temple cannot coexist peacefully with corruption in ordinary life.
This passage deepens the meaning of restoration. The Lord does not rebuild merely to give the people religious architecture. He rebuilds to make them truthful, just, and holy.
Wickedness Removed from the Land (Zechariah 5:5-11)
5 And the angel that talked with me went forth, and said to me, Lift up thine eyes, and see this that goes forth. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the measure that goes forth. And he said, This is their iniquity in all the earth. 7 And behold a talent of lead lifted up: and behold a woman sat in the midst of the measure. 8 And he said, This is iniquity. And he cast it into the midst of the measure, and cast the weight of lead on the mouth of it. 9 And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, two women coming forth, and the wind was in their wings; and they had stork’s wings: and they lifted up the measure between the earth and the sky. 10 And I said to the angel that spoke with me, Whither do these carry away the measure? 11 And he said to me, To build it a house in the land of Babylon, and to prepare a place for it; and they shall set it there on its own base.
Wickedness is personified and carried away. The image is strange, but its purpose is clear: evil must not be domesticated inside the restored community. It must be named, contained, and removed.
Pastoral Guardrail
This vision must not be taught as suspicion toward women. The woman in the ephah is a personification of wickedness, not a statement about women. The spiritual point is communal purification: what corrupts worship must be removed from the house of God’s people.
Spiritual Fruit
God does not restore us so we can preserve respectable wickedness. The flying scroll and the ephah press us toward truthful life and the removal of hidden compromise. Bring theft, false swearing, and tolerated dishonesty to confession rather than allowing them to live beside worship.
Teaching Notes
The Flying Scroll and the Public Judgment of Sin (Zechariah 5:1-4)
- Ask: Why do theft and false swearing matter for worship?
- Emphasize: Covenant sin corrupts ordinary life and therefore worship.
- Watch for: Do not reduce sin to private guilt only. Zechariah treats it as communal corruption.
- Connect: Connect to confession and truthful life before the Eucharist.
Wickedness Removed from the Land (Zechariah 5:5-11)
- Ask: What does this vision teach about hidden compromise?
- Emphasize: Wickedness must be removed, not decorated or normalized.
- Watch for: Protect the class from misogynistic readings of the woman in the ephah.
- Connect: Connect to Christ cleansing His people and removing sin from the house.
Sources
- Embedded Scripture is from Brenton’s English Septuagint (LXX).
- Brief New Testament references are cited by reference.