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Zechariah 5:1-2 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll. ² He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.” 

Have you ever seen those messages pulled behind an airplane during special events? Often they are flown up and down a beach to attract customers to some attraction or restaurant. They fly by and almost everyone looks up and reads the message. I guess they must be a fairly effective way to advertise, the cost benefit ratio high enough to make it worth the investment of capital.

The messages on these banners must be fairly clear. People have to be able to read them and receive the intended message. If they are advertising for a specific business, people must connect the banner’s message with the business or the money would be wasted. If the message is a puzzle, then people have no clear direction.

In Zechariah a message is portrayed as being on a scroll, think banner, flying across the sky over the whole land of Israel. Up and down, back and forth it would go so that the inhabitants of the Land would receive the message clearly. And the desired message to be received by the people is very clear.

The LORD wants two specific messages to be received. Thieves and liars need not apply. They are rejected because of their sin. Their sin stands in the way of being reconciled.

So why are these two groups singled out? What impact does having thieves and liars have on a community? Why is it important to point out these two sins?

Take a moment to think about the measures we take to protect against thieves and liars? Locks on our doors. We learn to spot the telltale signs of lying, the avoidance of eye contact when there is normally eye contact, the awkward responses, the over-compensation with too many details and words.

If we are traveling as a tourist we keep a close hand on our wallets and purses. We keep our eyes open to suspicious activity. When someone approaches us we are suspicious of the motives and intents.

Thieves and liars tear at the very fabric of societies. If we can’t trust each other, there isn’t the ability to form relationships. We fall apart as a people. Families collapse. Neighborhoods disintegrate. Cities fall into ruin. Nations explode.

This flying scroll that Zechariah sees in his vision carries a fundamental message about humanity. We have to act in such a way that we build trust, not break it down. And this is exactly what is being warned against. They were not abiding by the most fundamental principles of the Law of Moses.

So the LORD through Zechariah calls them back to the basics. And those who don’t return to the basics there will be a curse on them. The blessings of being God’s people will be removed from them. They and their place in the society will be forfeited.

In what way are you being a thief and a liar? In what ways are you tearing down relationships, hiding things from others, not keeping your commitments, not giving what is due? Even if we do these things in very small ways, we contribute to the tearing down of the fabric of life.

Become a mender of relationships today. Do small things that connect people to each other. Make the extra effort to pull together not push apart.