Zechariah 5:1-4

Zechariah 5:1-4

[1] Then I turned,  and lifted up  mine eyes,  and looked,  and behold a flying  roll.  [2] And he said  unto me, What seest  thou? And I answered,  I see  a flying  roll;  the length  thereof is twenty  cubits,  and the breadth  thereof ten  cubits.  [3] Then said  he unto me, This is the curse  that goeth forth  over the face  of the whole earth:  for every one that stealeth  shall be cut off  as on this side according  to it; and every one that sweareth  shall be cut off  as on that side according  [4] I will bring it forth,  saith  of hosts,  and it shall enter  into the house  of the thief,  and into the house  of him that sweareth  falsely  by my name:  and it shall remain  in the midst  of his house,  and shall consume  it with the timber  thereof and the stones 

What does Zechariah 5:1-4 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The priests and the kings in Israel were responsible for justice in the nation (cf. Deuteronomy 17:9; 2 Samuel 15:2-3), though neither group could prevent wickedness from proliferating. The sixth and seventh visions deal with the removal of wickedness. This sixth one deals with the elimination of lawbreakers, and the next one with the removal of wickedness from the land. What God promised in the preceding two visions required the purging predicted in these two visions.
"At this point the series of visions takes a sharp turn from that which heretofore has been comforting, to a stern warning that the Lord (Yahweh) is a holy God and cannot brook evil." [1]
". . . before the blessing of the first five visions will be actualized, there will intervene in the life of the nation a period of moral declension and apostasy. God must and will purge out all iniquity, though He has promised untold glory for the godly in Israel." [2]