Zechariah 05: Trust God When It Don't Make Sense

A giant flying scroll. A woman named Wickedness sealed under a heavy lid and carried away. Zechariah 5 sounds wild at first glance, but the heart of these visions is surprisingly practical: God sees the wrong we can’t fix, judges it with clarity, and removes it for our good. We open the text together and discover why trust is not a last resort—it’s the doorway to understanding.

We start with the scroll, written on both sides like a legal deed, announcing that the land belongs to God and that theft and false swearing won’t stand. This isn’t abstract morality; it’s public justice that reaches into houses and dismantles structures built on deception. Then we turn to the basket: Wickedness is restrained, sealed, and flown to Babylon, a symbol that corruption will not be allowed to shape God’s people. The message lands in a weary season for returning exiles and speaks to ours too—when life feels confusing, God is actively holding back more harm than we realize.

Along the way, we talk about reading hard passages without panic, how trust reshapes our perspective, and why integrity in the small things is spiritual warfare in slow motion. We offer practical ways to lay burdens before God, sleep on tough decisions, and return with a clearer heart. If you’ve been trying to solve everything with sheer effort, this conversation invites you to breathe, believe, and look again. Sometimes the next look is clearer not because circumstances shift, but because trust resets the lens.

If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs peace today, and leave a quick review. Your support helps more people find a path to Scripture that is honest, hopeful, and anchored in the God who remembers.

Contact us- 

Ask a Question
Send Encouragement

Take a Next Step-

SOAP Bible Study Method.
Bible Reading Plan.
Free Weekly Newsletter.

Socials-

Facebook.
Instagram.
X.
YouTube.

The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Welcome And Series Focus

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Zechariah’s Context And Big Idea

Vision One: The Flying Scroll

Vision Two: Wickedness In A Basket

From Confusion To Promise

Trusting God Beyond Understanding

Prayer And Final Encouragement

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, Zechariah chapter five. And today's title is Trust God When It Don't Make Sense. I know that's bad English, but I'm gonna say it again. Trust God when it don't make sense. I'm gonna tell you something. One of the things I love about going through God's Word one passage at a time is I love that we have an opportunity, some of the low parts of scripture. And can I just say it? Some of the downright confusing parts of scripture. Like it's God's word, it's inspired. The more we dig, the more we find. But when you just take a quick look at it without looking deeper, you just scratch your head and go, I'm sure God knows what he's doing, because I don't. And if you ever felt like that in your life, maybe today's chapter will help you. So if you got your Bibles, want to open up with me to Zachariah chapter five. While you're doing that, take just a moment, maybe pause. Whatever you got to do, take a moment, like, share, subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help. And make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. There's a wonderful group of people doing a wonderful job, and they just faithfully are just helping us to engage with God's Word. And I know there are so many of you who are reading and watching and looking and all the things. Make sure you engage with us. We want to learn from you. What are you learning from God's Word that maybe we we've not encountered yet? And we can learn from each other. And always make sure you go to the Biblebreakdown.com for just all that information. Well, once again, hopefully I've given you a moment to get there in your Bible. We are going through the book of Zechariah, and we have said the overall big idea of Zechariah is his main message is it's time to come on home. It's time to come back to God from where you are. And I want to remind you of something that we learned way back in the first part of the of the first chapter, and that is to remember that Zechariah's name means the Lord remembers. And he prophesied at a time when the nation had felt like they had been forgotten. It was a time when all these other things are going on. They've come back from their exile and they're trying to figure it out, and it's just hard. It's just hard. Can you you imagine, you know, if you went into an area that had just been overrun for 70 years with other people, with no intending crops, with all these different things. I mean, you're just trying to survive. And while all these other nations are experiencing wealth and success, because they haven't been through a time of exile like you have, you really feel like God has left me behind. And Zachariah is writing to these people and as inspired by the Holy Spirit, and he's trying to say, you have not been left behind. It's time to come on home. Trust God. God's going to take care of things. And that is so important because there are seasons when we go through that time of life, when we know we know God must be up to something and we can see God moving, and that's so great. But what about those times when everything's going wrong? When I'm sure God's up to something, I just have absolutely no idea what it is. I can tell something's happening. I can tell that life seems to have a certain momentum about it. I just have no idea where it's going to end up. Well, that's what I think about when I think about today's chapter, because in today's chapter, the Lord, through the prophet Zechariah, almost said Ezekiel, he's going to tell two metaphors. You know, he's going to talk about two different things. One is a flying scroll, and the other is a woman in a basket. That one's crazy. And when you first look at it, you go, What does this mean? But as we dig deeper, maybe we can get some understanding. Are you ready? Here we go. Zechariah chapter 5, verse 1 says this. I looked up again and I saw a scroll flying through the air. What do you see? The angel asked. I see a flying scroll, I replied. It appears to be about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. So in other words, that is not a flying scroll. That is a flying giant scroll. That's like the Shaquille O'Neal scroll right there. And then he said to me, This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land. The other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land. This is what the Lord of heaven's army says. I am sending this curse into the house of every thief, into every house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. My curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it, even its timbers and stones. Okay. All right. A flying book is going to do. But you know what's interesting is a scroll that had writing on it on the inside and the outside was most of the time a deed, you know, like a land deed. So he's saying, This land belongs to me, and I'm going to use what I, my land, and I'm going to curse those who have cursed me. So it's very interesting, but yeah, flying books. All right, here we go, verse five. Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, Look up and see what's coming. What is it? I asked. And he replied, It is a basket for measuring grain, and it is filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land. Then a heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. I love this. The angel said, The woman's name is wickedness. And he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again. Then I looked up and I saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew it into the sky. Where are they taking that basket? I asked the angel, and he replied, To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket, and then the temple is ready, or when it is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal. Yep. Okay, all right. This is what I mean. I love God's word, and one of the main reasons is this right here. When we first look at it, we always say, okay, so there's a flying book, a scroll, and there's a woman in a basket. Her name is Wickedness, and they keep on putting that heavy lid back over her head so she can't get out of there. So you look at that and you go, that that's just confusing. But then when you dig deeper, what God's word is actually saying is God's word is saying that there are people in this land that they have been cursing me for a long time. They they have been doing things they shouldn't, they've been lying, they've been stealing, and you know what? The Lord of heaven's armies, he sees it. He sees what they've been doing. And for a while, they thought they were going to get rid of it, that they were gonna get away with it. But I am gonna remind them whose land this is. And I am going to have my way, and I'm gonna have such justice over them that they're not going to be able to ever come back again. Then we look at the woman in the basket and we go, What was up with this? That sounds like that sounds like my ex-mother-in-law or something like that. You know, no, that's not what it's talking about at all. It's actually talking about that there is a this woman is a metaphor for the wickedness that they've been doing. And that this wickedness has actually been held back by God more than Zachariah realizes. And what's going to happen is that they are going to be those who are going to take that wickedness and take it to another place where it will bother them in that area no more for a season. And so when you first look at it, you look and you go, okay, all right. Well, you know what? God's ways are higher than my ways. I don't understand a word of it. And you know what? That's true. But the more we dig, the more we find. And so we dig deeper, we realize what God was actually saying is there are people that are in your world right now, in your, you know, your closed circuit world, your life, that are lying and stealing. But their time's about up. And then there is evil that's trying to have its way with you. But instead of that, I'm holding it back more than you realize, and I'm about to take it far away from you. That goes from being confusing to being a beautiful promise. And it's only when we trust God that even when I don't understand, trust Him, that we actually get perspective. You know, one of the greatest ways to learn God's word is when we just step back and go, God, it's okay if I don't understand it. I trust it anyway, because it came from you, so I trust it. And then with fresh eyes, you go back and you look at God's word and you go, Oh, now I get what it was trying to say. I was trying too hard to impose my ideas on the text, rather than just letting the text be what it is. Then we can begin to understand it better. And so here's here's my challenge for you today. Is there an area in your life that you are desperately trying to figure out? You're desperately trying to maybe make the right decision or say the right thing or lead this in the right way, and there's nothing wrong with all of that, but you've been trying so hard that your perspective has gotten all out of whack. What if today, if you can do this, what if today you quit trying to figure it out and instead you laid it before the Lord and you said, God, I don't understand, but I know that you do. I'm just gonna trust you with it. I'm gonna sleep on it, I'm gonna come back tomorrow. And even if I don't understand, I trust that you do. Watch what'll happen. I think there's a really good chance that when you just decide you're gonna trust God with it, and you look at it again with fresh eyes, you'll see that it actually makes more sense. Sometimes we care so much that we can't see something for what it is. But when we realize that God's already got it in his hands and we can trust him, there is a freedom to openly look at something and to realize God knows what he's doing. It's just I don't yet see what it is he's doing. I don't think God's will is this finicky thing that we move in and move out of. I think sometimes we recognize it and we don't recognize it as much. And you need to process through that in your own heart. But what would it look like today if you trusted God even when you don't understand? Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, God, that you're trustworthy. Lord, we are not gonna hold you hostage based on our next prayer request. But we've already made a decision. Lord, if you don't do anything else for us, we trust you. I pray you will help us to trust you even more so that we can see how you are already moving in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Anyway, God's word says in Zechariah 1, verse 3, it says, Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of heaven's armies. Christianity is a constant coming home to God. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Zechariah chapter six.