What does God do when he wants his people to remember something important? He repeats it — again and again. In this episode of The Word of the Lord Came, Rob Pine takes us into Zechariah chapter 8, where the prophet uses the phrase "the word of the Lord Almighty came to me" and "this is what the Lord Almighty says" ten times in just twenty-three verses — a rhetorical drumbeat meant to help a discouraged remnant remember and act on God's promises.

Rob sets the scene: Zechariah and Haggai, prophets called from within the returning remnant, encourage a frustrated, opposition-weary people to finish rebuilding the temple after sixteen years of inactivity — a task completed in just four years. Chapter 8 becomes one of the most encouraging passages in Scripture, promising blessing, restoration, and a future where God dwells among his people and nations stream to Jerusalem to seek him.

From there, Rob turns to today: how does God encourage his people now? Through his word (2 Timothy 3:16), through the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit as paraclete — one who comes alongside (John 14:16), and through gathering together to spur one another on (Hebrews 10:24-25). Rob highlights Barnabas, the "son of encouragement," as a model for how ordinary generosity, faithfulness, and support can encourage others toward Christ.

Next time, Rob previews Lesson 12 — a look at the possible timeline of last-days events in Zechariah chapters 9-14.

For the companion study guide and video lessons, visit lifemarkministries.org/programs.

Lesson 9: Zephaniah — A Day of Judgment, A Day of Singing

"I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth." That's not a metaphor — it's God's own words in Zephaniah 1:2-3, and it sets the scope for one of the most sobering prophecies in the Minor Prophets.

In this episode, Rob Pine walks through the book of Zephaniah and its central theme: the Day of the Lord, a coming judgment so broad in scope — that small word "all" again — that it reaches every nation, every person, every era, climaxing in an end-times event still ahead of us. Rob traces the nations God calls out in chapter 2, the near-term fulfillment in Judah's exile and the 536 BC return of the remnant, and the two sins that provoke God's wrath most: idolatry and complacency.

That second sin gets special attention. Zephaniah 1:12 describes God searching Jerusalem with lamps for people who are "stagnant in spirit" — content, self-satisfied, and indifferent toward him. Rob unpacks why complacency is just as dangerous as outright rebellion, both for individual believers and for churches, and what real repentance looks like in response.

But Zephaniah doesn't end in judgment. Chapter 3 closes with one of Scripture's most tender pictures of God: a King who rejoices over his people with singing. For the remnant that seeks the Lord, there's restoration, security, and delight.

Next week, we turn to the prophet Haggai to ask what it really means to fear God — and why that's actually good news.

Companion study guide available on Amazon. Visit lifemarkministries.org/resources for more.