“Curse not the king, no not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.” (Ecclesiastes 10:20)

ZECHARIAH

 CHAPTER FIVE

5 - “Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.”

6 - “And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.”

7 - “And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.”

8 - “And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it [her] into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.”

9 - “Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.” 

10 - “Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?”

11 - “And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.”

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The verses cited above have been highlighted and underlined to indicate the areas in which this study will be focused upon.

LIFT UP THINE EYES

This study begins with God giving Zechariah one of many visions. These visions are messages from God and have been penned or written into Holy Scripture for our admonition. “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come,” 1 Corinthians 10:11.

The angel or messenger who visited Zechariah begins by saying “lift up thine eyes.” When God speaks to His people He communicates through His written and finished Word, the Bible. During Old Testament times when God spoke personally to our scriptural forefathers, He spoke directly to them, and often in forms of visions. As God spoke He often times used the phrase “lift up thine eyes.” This phrase usually preceded a vision that God was about to deliver. In addition, perhaps it emphasized the importance of what He was about to speak. Some quick examples are as follows:

Genesis 13:14 - “And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:”

Deuteronomy 3:27 - “Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.”

Isaiah 40:26 - “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.”

Isaiah 51:6 - “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”

John 4:35 - “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”

God is about to illustrate an important message to Zechariah; a message that will, from that time on, be spoken to the entire human race. The message consists of the going forth of a mysterious ephah. In verse 5 God is saying to Zechariah “see what this is that goeth forth.” Zechariah then asks the question in verse 6, “what is it?” God thus begins to explain.

Zechariah 5:6

“And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.”

God discloses to Zechariah the object,which is an ephan, that is to go forth. He also discloses the object’s form (resemblance) that is to go forth and throughout “all the earth.” Remember that God had this vision put into His Word (Holy Scripture) for our admonition. It is doubtful that Zechariah had even a faint clue what he was seeing, only God knows for sure.

We first want to search Scripture in order to identify, or at least get an idea, what precisely an ephan may represent. Many Bible dictionaries define an ephah as “darkness.” Probably because of this very verse we are working on here in Zechariah chapter 5. However, we find the word “ephah” many times being representative of a precise measure for grain or a measure in general. “Ephah” in Strong’s Hebrew is # 374; a ephah or measure of grain; hence a measure in general. It is also translated in Scripture as measure. Some examples are as follows:

Deuteronomy 25:14 - “Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures [# 374 ephah], a great and a small”.

Deuteronomy 25:15 - “But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure [#374] shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

Notice in the above two verses that God is telling Old Testament Israel NOT to have many or different (divers) measures or ephahs in their houses. God is telling them to have a perfect and just weight or a perfect and just measure (ephah). Why is this, we should wonder?

The ephah or measure represents a portion

of Old Testament Israel’s offerings unto God. This can be a grain or wheat offering. There are many offerings in the Old Testament that use the ephah as a source of measurement. These offerings ultimately pictured or pointed to the time in which God’s true and completed Israel (Jews and Gentiles) would worship God is spirit and

in truth. Yes, these wheat offerings and other offerings symbolized a then future time in which God’s corporate church worldwide would bring their offerings and sacrifices unto Christ. What is today’s offering or sacrifice that the believer is to bring to God? Should we offer up animals? Do we include an ephah, perhaps of grain or wheat in our offering? Of course not. We are on the New Testament side of God’s plan for our eternal salvation. Christ has already been offered as the ultimate sacrifice. The Old Testament was merely a physical and outward showing that pointed to, and symbolized in many material fashions, the spiritual fulfillment of God’s Law. Today, we offer up sacrifices according to New Testament Scripture.

“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name,” Hebrews 13:15.HEBREWS 10: 5-18

5 - “Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:”

6 - “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.”

7 - “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

8 - “Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;”

9 - “Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.”

10 - “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

11 - “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:”

12 - “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

13 - “From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.”

14 - “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

15 -“Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,”

16 - “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;”

17 - “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”

18 - “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”

Today there is no more need for the Ephah or for any and all of the other forms of offerings and sacrifices unto God, as Israel did in the Old Testament era. Notice in the above, verse 14, that it is Christ as the one and only final offering that has perfected for EVER those that are sanctified, i.e. the true believers.

Going back to Deuteronomy 25:14-15 we saw that God is commanding Old Testament Israel NOT to have many different Ephahs or measures [both from same Hebrew word #3374]. In verse 15 God commands Israel to have a perfect and just measure or ephah. God is precise in all areas. How do we explain this wheat offering? Why must it be of a perfect or just measure? What difference does it make if an ounce or two spill form the measure or is added to it? The meaning of “perfect” or “just” in Deuteronomy 25:15 is to be whole; ready; full; quiet or peaceable.

Proverbs 11:1 - “A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.”

Proverbs 20:10 - “Divers [many; different] weights, and divers [many; different] measures [ephah #374], both of them are like abomination to the LORD.”

Why does God demand precise accuracy in the Old Testament ephah offerings? It must be that this exact and precise measurement or exact and precise ephah is representing the straight and narrow path that our Good Shepard calls us to and leads us through. It is the exact and precise way of Christ and His Cross. Christ is our ultimate sacrifice of which all of the Old Testament ephah sacrifices and offerings only represented. As with Old Testament sacrifices and offerings - they had to be exact. Likewise, in the New Testament church, as we worship Christ and offer up our sacrifices of praise unto Christ, the God of Creation, we must be precise and just in our offerings. In other words, the measure or ephah in our New Testament offerings must again be strictly according to Scripture. We must not and cannot expect eternal salvation if we offer up “divers” measures or ephahs in our praises, metaphorically speaking.

What would constitute “divers measures” in the New Testament church? SIMPLY BY ADDING OR TAKING FROM THE INSPIRED WORD OF GOD. These are different measures of offerings that are (as we have seen) nothing more than abominations to Christ - our Holy God.

John 10:1 - “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door [divers measures] into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”

John 10:10 - “I am the door [just measures]: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.”

Matthew 7:14 - “Because strait is the gate [precise or ‘just’ measures] and narrow is the way [precise or ‘just’ measures], which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it [divers measures].”

The word “Ephah” is also a name given to one of the sons of Midian. However, this name in the Hebrew is an entirely different Hebrew word than that of the ephah, when used as a measurement.

Genesis 25:24 - “And the sons of Midian, Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.”

The “Ephah” that God has in view in Zechariah chapter five is the ephah or measurement (Hebrew # 374).

Exodus 16:36 - “Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.”

Leviticus 19:36 - “Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

Numbers 5:15 - “Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealously, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.”

Ezekiel 46:14 - “And thou shalt prepare a meat offering for it every morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of an hin of oil, to temper with the fine flour; a meat offering continually by a perpetual [everlasting] ordinance unto the LORD.”

As we have discussed the word “ephah” used in the context of Zechariah chapter five, we must conclude that it is a definite measurement used by the children of Israal during Old Testament days. In every instance where the ephah was used, it is vital to understand that it was used in relation to an offering to God. This is what the biblical ephah is all about. It had everything to do with Israel worshiping in a just manner the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It ultimately pictured or foreshadowed the New Testament believer’s just offering unto Christ our God.

SOME NEW TESTAMENT

 ‘JUST’ OFFERINGS

Hebrews 11:6 - “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Romans 2:7 - “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:”

2Corinthians 12:10 - “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Galatians 5:24 - “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.”

Ephesians 4:32 - “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

1Peter 4:13 - “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

Revelation 22:18 - “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, [divers measures]God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:”

We can continue on and on in describing the true Gospel of Salvation. It is a specific measure that God has designed and demands its righteous offerings from believers in the form of righteous or JUST worship and a righteous or JUST life style reflecting Christ in all things. Yes, the true Christian is still plagued with the sins of the flesh which will continue until all believers receive the transition and resurrection of their physical bodies unto heavenly glorified bodies. No Christian is perfect. In fact, all Christians are eons away from a Christ-like physical perfection. Not even eons - for they will never arrive in and of themselves. However, only those people who know and attempt to live and walk the narrow path of Christ have been made perfect even while yet in their fleshly unregenerate and sinful bodies. Christ has done all of it for them. They, as true believers, have been made perfect in God’s sight. This alone is the PERFECT MEASURE we must have in our offerings. It is the true Gospel of Christ or we have nothing but a future of eternal darkness.

Nowhere in Scripture does it say we are to cease from Old Testament language or terminology. Yes, we are to cease from the Old Testament Law in order to follow the New Testament Law or New Covenant. With this in mind, we can, by borrowing Old Testament terminology, ask the question: ... Is your ephah to Christ a just ephah? Or do you believe in divers measurements (ephahs) in your worship and lifestyle in Christ’s name?

Today, as we steam toward the end of the age, we see the “confessing” Body of Christ worshiping in “divers” ways. They worship according to what pleases them and they have thrown out God’s Law and have replaced it with man-made (feel good, soul exhorting) ordinances designed to please their congregations. Perhaps this is why God uses the ephah in this parable of Zechariah chapter five? God is measuring the sin and abominations of the people that declare they are called by His Name. God uses the ephah to hold and measure these abominations because it is appropriately a unit of precise measurement of holy offerings.

Matthew 7:21-23 - “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 - Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 - And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: [divers measures] depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Their ephahs of worship and offerings had many and different measurements, thus they were not truly worshiping the one true God of Creation - they were offering to the gods of their own desires.

Today there are religious people, just as the Scribes and Pharisees were religious people in Christ’s day. Many people today claim to know Christ; they claim they are Christians. To a great multitude it matters not how they worship or where they worship. Many will go to new age churches and refer to themselves as “Christians” simply because their literature or perhaps their congregational leader may mention the name Christ in passing. Some will worship in a church that will exalt science and technology. Others may worship together in exalting the universe. Still others may exalt the human body and/or mankind and refer to their meeting places as a “church.” There are still others in large numbers that will exalt the Virgin Mary and many of their appointed “saints,” ignoring the fact that Scripture refers to all believers as ‘saints.’ Sadly, there are many more groups of which would be far too difficult and time consuming to elaborate on. They call themselves churches only because they gather together at a meeting hall or they may own their own building. They converge and ponder something ‘spiritual’ in their thinking - even to the point of being outlandish. Something that is far removed from the narrow path of Christ’s good news Gospel.

There are many congregations and denominations today that appear so Christ-like in doctrine that Scripture gravely warns “. . . if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect,” Matthew 24:24. The reason for this is due to the fact that people do not read their Bibles today and have no real understanding of spiritual things. We must remember that a good place to begin in your understanding of God is to realize that it is He and He alone that opens your spiritual eyes and causes you to believe in Him and in His Word. This then is the just measurement in which to offer up to our God. This alone is the righteous EPHAH of Holy Scripture.

God is about to disclose to Zechariah the identity of this ephah. God has readied His messenger to relate in parabolic form just exactly what this measurement or ephah represents. The remainder of verse six speaks of this ephah’s form or resemblance going forth through all the earth.

Zechariah 5:6

“And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth.”

God is preparing to unveil the resemblance of this ephah as it fills the earth. The word “resemblance” is translated in Hendrickson’s Interlinear Bible Hebrew as “form.” This word carries with it many slightly different meanings such as eyes, countenance, outward appearance, site, etc. However it is “form” or “resemblance” that best describes or fits this passage according to Strong’s and Hendrickson’s Hebrew. As God is about to display the form of this ephah we must remember two important facts. First, God refers to the resemblance of this ephah in the plural, as ... their resemblance. The ephah must then be representative of many people. Secondly, God tells us that their resemblance will be seen globally. A resemblance or form is something that is or can be observed. God tells us in Zechariah 5:6 that the resemblance or form of this ephah will be seen through ALL the earth. “All” is the Hebrew word for “whole.” The ephah will go out among all of the earth or the whole world. Now God’s messenger begins to paint a symbolic picture for Zechariah of the meaning of this ephah.

Zechariah 5:7

“And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.”

The first thing that God shows Zechariah is that within the midst of the measurement (ephah) sits a talent of lead. This talent of lead was lifted up. We do not read where God or the messenger lifted up this talent of lead. The verse simply states that there was lifted up a talent of lead. As we saw earlier the scriptural ephah is a measurement for holy offerings. ‘If If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth,” Proverbs 30:32.

Here too we see another measurement, one that surely does not belong in or mixed with God’s just ephah. A talent is said to be the largest Hebrew weights for metals. As we read of the building of God’s House - Solomon’s Temple - we read of many talents of varying metals being used. There were talents of gold, silver, brass and iron. There is no mention in Scripture of talents of lead, except here in Zechariah chapter five.

“And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron,” 1 Chronicles 29:7.

 “Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much,” (Ezra 7:22).

“And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels,” (Exodus 38:29).

What does God say about lead? All of the verses in Scripture that mention “lead” are listed below: We see in Exodus 15:3-12 Lead is used symbolically as the weight of unsaved man sinking into the depths of God’s judgment. Consider these verses carefully.

3- “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”

4 - “Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.”

5 - “The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.”

6 - “Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.”

7 - “And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.”

8 - “And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.”

9 - “The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.”

10 - “Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as LEAD in the mighty waters.”

11 - “Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?”

12 - “Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.”

In Numbers 31:21-24 (Lead, probably used in armory, was included in the list of those items that would have to be purified after warring with the Midianites.)

21 - “And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;”

22 - “ Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,”

23 - “Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.”

24 - “And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.”

Job 19:18-25 (Lead in a rock; perhaps meaning unmovable or forever)

18 - “Yea, young children despised me; I arose, and they spake against me.”

19 - “All my inward friends abhorred me: and they whom I loved are turned against me.”

20 - “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”

21 - “Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.”

22 - “ Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?”

23 - “Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book!”

24 - “That they were graven [cut] with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!”

25 - “ For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:”

Jeremiah 6:26-30 (Grevious revolters portrayed as lead consumed in the fire.)

26 - “O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.”

27 - “I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.”

28 - “They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are [as] brass and iron; they are all corrupters.”

29 - “The bellows are burned [the bellows blow], the lead is consumed of the fire [the lead is consumed from the fire]; the founder melteth in vain [the refiner refines in vain]: for the wicked are not plucked away [for the evil is not escaped].”

30 - “Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.”

Ezekiel 27:12 (Lead - along with all other merchandise is portrayed here in a highly symbolical fashion and at times may be shown to be synonyms for the Gospel of Christ. This chapter parallels Revelation chapter 18 in many details. Lead is included with numerous other physical merchandise that was in abundance in that “Great City” of Tyre or Tyrus. Her mariners traded this merchandise by sea throughout the vast world.

“Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs,” Ezekiel 27:12.

Ezekiel 22:17-22 (Lead, along with other metals, used here in representing those who are useless to the Lord. “Dross” means “waste” or “refuge” [Strong’s Hebrew # 5509], and is derived from it’s root word [Strong’s Hebrew # 5472] meaning “backslider,” “turn back,” “driven backward,”

17 - “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,”

18 - “Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.”

19 - “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.”

20 - “As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.”

21 - “Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof.”

22 - “As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.”.

RETRNING TO ZECHARIAH 5:7

“And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.”

"There was lifted." Hebrew "nise'th," or lifted, is a passive participle used to describe the talent. Literally it is "And behold, a having been lifted talent..." Thus the ephah is presented as having a lead stone as a cover which was lifted or opened to allow Zechariah to see inside. " Verse 7 mentions “talent of lead” while verse 8 refers to it as a “weight of lead.” The weight is the talent. Perhaps the lifting up would represent both unsaved pride and the fact that the talent was literally lifted up in this vision to allow us to view the contents of the ephah? If so, then the ephah is presented as having a lead weight (talent) atop it’s mouth, which was lifted up or opened in this vision to allow Zechariah to see inside. Again, the lead may also represent man’s offerings or unjust offerings. More on the ‘mouth’ when we look at verse 8.

"A talent of lead," Hebrew "kikar," is a frequent dialect used to refer to a weight or talent. The word itself means a circuit or round shape, like a flat round loaf of bread. Most likely it is used here because of its round shape to fit the mouth of the ephah and because it represents a standard weight.

One commentary says the following of this talent of lead: “The ‘talent of lead’ is a lid made of lead of that weight. When the lid is lifted up a woman is found to be inside. The heavy weight of the lid suggests that the woman is eager to break free and must be firmly held.”

That may not be what is implied in this case. As we shall see, the woman in the ephah represents wickedness. Spiritual wickedness has existed since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Wickedness has never been eager to escape; it has had its full reign upon this earth. Although Satan was bound at the cross, he will or has been loosed at the Great Tribulation. Another thought on this idea may be that this talent of lead is ‘lifted up’ because the nature of unsaved man self exalts or “lifts” himself up in all areas of life, not recognizing that they are merely passing clouds with no rain, soon to pass on.

What does Zechariah see when God shows him the inside of this ephah? Verse seven ends by showing us what is in the ephah:

“ ... this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.”

"This is a woman." The original Hebrew states “woman” in the singular tense. The "is" is misplaced. The text says "This woman."

"That sits." Hebrew "yoheveth," is a feminine participle modifying woman. Since there is no "present tense" in Hebrew, both modern Hebrew and Biblical Hebrew use this grammatical form to show current action in progress. It means "is sitting" or more commonly "is dwelling." A correct and meaningful translation of this verse: "And behold, an opened lead talent [cover] and this woman is sitting in the midst of the ephah."

“This woman sitteth in the midst of the ephah.” What is wrong with a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah? First of all, as previously stated, the highest meaning of the ephah is ultimately representative of Christ’s sacrifice and offering at the cross. It is the measure of God’s wrath poured out upon God Himself. Who then can share Christ’s sacrifice and offering with Him? Who are the recipients of this crucifixion offering? Of course, it is only the true believer who can share this measure with Christ.

2 Coranthians. 1:7 “And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.”

Hebrews 3:1 “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; “

Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

James 2:5 “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

Ephesians 5:5 “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. “

Col. 3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

1 Peter 1:4 “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,”

Question: With this in mind, we ask the question ... who is the woman that sits in the midst of the ephah? Could it be the true Church of Christ, who is symbolized in the New Testament as a woman? Could it be national Israel who is symbolized in the Old Testament as a woman? Who then is the other woman symbolized throughout much of scripture? Her spiritual roots indeed come from Old Testament physical Israel and New Testament spiritual Israel. She has been there all along. She is Satan’s ambassador sent to crush the Christ child. She can only be the religious harlot consisting of ancient idolatry of Jezebel and even the many goddesses who were typical of idolatrous religion and acted as a snare to ancient Israel. She is the pagan religions of ancient Babylon. She is the pagan harlotry of many empires that plagued Old Testament Israel in many ways. The Babylonian Empire not only stripped Israel of her physical and spiritual treasures, but enticed and entrapped the minds of many Jewish followers of Jehovah God.

The woman continues into the New Testament Age. With her cunning guile and counterfeit religions, she leads astray the masses of humanity, generation after generation, century after century. Finally, when God’s allotted time has come, He removes His restraint (2 Thessalonians 2:7,8) and allows Satan to desecrate the temple (the outward manifestation of the true Church) with an overrunning of abominations that causes the church to become desolate. God allows this symbolic harlot to enter into the churches as His final spiritual judgment upon the corporate church worldwide. Judgment for her gradual defilement of herself and the abandoning of her Gospel light for a compromising world of man-made and man-exalting doctrines. The true believers of Christ and His “narrow way” Gospel will increasingly flee these churches. This is the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

Concerning this woman in the ephah, some commentators will say “The picture would seem to represent the fact that measurement is being made, judgment is being carried out and the wickedness and idolatry thus discovered is contained in the ephah.”

But is her judgment in view here in Zechariah 5:5-11? Is wickedness and idolatry contained in this ephah? No, God’s judgment has yet to fall of her. No, her wickedness is not contained in the ephah. She sits in the ephah because she has fully entered into the church! In fact, we shall see in verse nine that her harlotry multiplies within and in the “midst” of the ephah! WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU ABOUT TODAY’S CHURCH?

In concluding verse seven, God speaks of this woman as:

“ sitting in the midst of the ephah.”

According to Strong’s Hebrew, word #3427 “sitteth” is translated as: to dwell; abide; remain; inhabited or inhabitants; to continue; to tarry; sitteth; sat; endure or together. Strong’s states that “to sit” is in conjunction specifically with: 1) sitting as Judge 2) sitting in ambush 3) sitting in quiet.

She dwells in midst of the ephah. The word “midst” is translated also as among or within. This woman is not sitting in quiet. She possibly could be sitting under the false pretense as being judge. More likely she fulfills the many verses of “sitteth in ambush,“ which is according to Old Testament Scripture, to lieth in wait or sitteth in wait. These come from Strong’s Hebrew word number #693, meaning to lurk, ambush, lie in wait or sitteth in wait.

Proverbs 7:12 “Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.”

Proverbs 12:6 “The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them.”

Proverbs 24:15 “Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:”

Lamentations 4:19 “Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven: they pursued us upon the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.”

Micah 7:2 “The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.”

Psalm 10:8-9 “He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. [9] He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.

Ezra 8:31 “Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.”

We could continue with verses offering this type of language. Let us now examine a few verses that speak of “woman.” There are a great number of references in Scripture that speak of righteous women but we want to briefly look at those references that allude to the symbolic woman of spiritual unrighteousness.

Proverbs 2:16-21:

16 - “To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;”

17 - “Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. “

18 - “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.”

19 - “None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”

20 - “That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.”

21 “For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.”

The word “strange” in the above verse: Hebrew #2114; a primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically (active particaple) to committ adultery :-(come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-) strange (-r, thing, woman).to turn aside or foreigner.

Proverbs 5:20 “And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? “

Proverbs 6:24 “To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. “

Proverbs 6:26 “For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”

Proverbs 6:32 “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.”

Proverbs 7:5 “That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.”

Proverbs 14:1 “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”

Proverbs 23:27 “For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.”

Proverbs 30:20 “Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.”

Ezekiel 36:17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. “

Hosea 3:1 “Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.”

Revelation 2:20 “Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”

Revelation 17:3 “So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.”

Revelation 17:4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: “

Revelation 17:6 “And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”

Revelation 17:9 “And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.”

Revelation 17:18 “And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”

Revelation 17:2 “With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”

Revelation 17:4-7:

4 “And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

5 “And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 - “ And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”

7 - “And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.”

Revelation 18:3-11:

3 - “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”

4 - “ And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

5 - “For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”

6 - “Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.”

7 - “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”

8 - “Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.”

9 - “And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,”

10 - “Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. “

11 - “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:”

Revelation 18:15 “The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,”

Revelatioon 18:18-20:

18 - “And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city! “

19 - “And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.”

20 - “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.”

Revelation 18:24 “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.”

ZECHARIAH 5:8

“And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it [her] into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of the lead upon the mouth thereof.”

"Cast it." Hebrew for "it" is "othah,”which is feminine, not "it" but "her."

Wickedness is symbolically portrayed much of the time in Scripture by a strange woman or harlot. This can be both physical and spiritual wickedness. We must remember that spiritual adultery is just as horrible to God as is physical adultery.

There are two Hebrew words used in the Old Testament for wickedness. Each are very similar to the other. Every verse using this word has much in common with wickedness toward God. We really need not quote many verses with this word because all mankind is aware of wickedness, however , we will quote some references.

Proverbs 11:5 “The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.”

Proverbs 13:6 “Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner.”

Ezekiel 18:20 “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” [The way of Christ is the ONLY means of having one’s sins forgiven.]

Proverbs 4:17 “For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.” [The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the bread from heaven with which we must spiritually eat of. Christ is the manna from heaven. Any other bread that we eat of is spiritual wickedness.]

Psalm 84:10 “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

Proverbs 10:2 “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.”

Compare the similarities of the following two verses:

Proverbs 30:20 “Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.”

Revelation 18:7 “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”

Please read the following verses carefully:

Ezekiel 5:5-11

5 - “Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.”

6 - “And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them.”

This historic parable focuses upon Jerusalem, which is representative of God’s Old Testament church, assemblies or congregations. They were filled with unbelievers just as today’s corporate church is filled with unbelievers. God shows us in the above verses that it was not the nations as much as it was the church of that time that changed God’s laws and turned them into wickedness! They refused God’s judgments and statutes, and did not walk in them but turned them into whatever was more pleasing in their site.

7 - “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye multiplied more than the nations that are round about you, and have not walked in my statutes, neither have kept my judgments, neither have done according to the judgments of the nations that are round about you;”

8 - “Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations.”

God speaks of this false church of Old Testament times as having multiplied more than the nations. By all definitions this is wickedness multiplying in the name of God, while in reality merely masquerading as followers of God. They have a different agenda than what God has given them. This is typical of all congregations, assemblies and Old Testament synagogues, throughout history. There are true believers within these assemblies, but by far there is great spiritual wickedness multiplying. As in the Old Testament church, God finally took Jerusalem away from Israel, and the people of God were scattered throughout the world. Much of them being slaves and captives in Babylon or the Babylonian Empire - the land of Shinar. Once again, at the end of the New Testament church age, wickedness will have multiplied within the churches to such a high degree that God judges this worldwide apostate church by removing His true Gospel from their midst.

This then is the time wherein God allows Satan to set up his rule squarely in the midst of the global Christian church. This is the Abomination of Desolation that Christ mentions in His gospels. Returning to Ezekiel chapter five:

9 - “And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.“

10 - “Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.”

11 - “Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

Just as God executed judgment within the Old Testament congregations, likewise He will judge the New Testament church, but on a much broader scale. He will judge the corporate church worldwide. He gives true believers the warning to flee from her or “come out of her, My people,” Revelation 18:4.

The remainder of Zechariah 5:8 reads:

“. . . and he cast it [her] into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of the lead upon the mouth thereof.”

"Cast it." Hebrew for "it" is "othah,” which is feminine, not "it" but "her." Any Hebrew Interlinear will tell you that this verse is actually translated as “cast her” and not “cast it.” Even if it did say “cast it,” it would still be in reference to the woman. In verse seven we saw that the lead talent or stone was lifted up and we saw a woman sitting inside the ephah. Now in verse 8 God reiterates by showing Zechariah that He has cast this woman into midst of the ephah and in addition God has cast a lead weight