Today's vision is even stranger than yesterday's vision of a flying scroll. Zechariah sees a measuring basket with a woman inside.
"Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, 'Look up and see what is appearing.' I asked, 'What is it?' He replied, 'It is a basket.' And he added, 'This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.'" (Zechariah 5:5-6) The word translated "basket" here is "ephah", which is a measuring unit for grain. Its volume was about give gallons.
We found Judah falling into idolatry and hypocrisy before she was defeated and taken captive by Babylon. The captive people of Judah have been released now that Persia has conquered Babylon, and we never find them falling on their knees to false gods again, but they must beware of falling for another type of idolatry: greed. The use of the ephah basket is symbolic of trade and commerce, of prosperity, and of a busy and bustling society. The Lord has promised to restore Judah's fortunes, but apostasy often follows on the heels of prosperity. It is a common human failing to think less about God during comfortable times than during lean times.
The children of Israel who came out of captivity in Egypt had a tendency to turn to idols after having witnessed the religious practices of the most idolatrous nation on earth at that time. The people of Judah have just come out from under the rule of two of the most prosperous ancient empires of the ancient world: Babylon and Medo-Persia. They have witnessed the lavish lifestyles and the immense wealth of these two nations. The danger now is not so much that Judah will bow to foreign gods but that she will bow to the gods of greed and covetousness.
Zechariah continues his description of the vision, "Then the cover of lead was raised, and there in the basket sat a woman! He said, 'This is wickedness,' and he pushed her back into the basket and pushed its lead cover down on it." (Zechariah 5:7-8) The angel raises the heavy lead cover on the basket to show Zechariah what is inside. To the prophet's surprise, the small basket holds a woman.
Some versions of the Bible render the lead cover as a "lead talent" which would be used as a weight on the scales when measuring out goods to be sold. When we studied the book of Proverbs we found Solomon deploring the wicked practice of using dishonest scales and dishonest weights to cheat people, "The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with Him." (Proverbs 11:1) We also find the prophets Hosea, Amos, and Micah speaking out against the use of dishonest scales and weights. (Hosea 12:7, Amos 8:5, Micah 6:11) The Lord hates dishonesty. He hates the wickedness of greed. After giving Zechariah a brief glimpse of what is in the basket, the angel quickly pushes wickedness back down into the measuring basket and shoves the heavy lead weight on top of it so the woman cannot escape. The last thing Judah needs is a new form of idolatry.
Many of us would refuse, even under threat of death, to bow to a false idol. But how many of us have ever bowed the knee to greed, even if it was only for a moment? What would we be willing to do if it meant we'd never have to worry about money again? It's a lot easier to shrug our shoulders at the sin of greed than at the sin of bowing before an image. Greed is a far more acceptable sin in the eyes of the world, but that's what makes it so prevalent and so dangerous.
Next the prophet sees two more women, and they have a different role to play than that of the woman in the basket. "Then I looked up---and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings! They had wings like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between heaven and earth." (Zechariah 5:9) These women fly up on large, strong wings and take hold of the basket to lift it from the land of Judah. They are about to remove this wickedness---this sin---from the nation.
"'Where are they taking the basket?' I asked the angel who was speaking with me. He replied, 'To the country of Babylonia to build a house for it. When the house is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.'" (Zechariah 5:10-11) These women are taking the basket filled with wickedness back to the place where rebellion against God began. They are taking it to the area where man attempted to build a tower to reach the heavens because they did not believe God's promise that He would never cover the world with a flood again. In the original language the word used here for "Babylonia" is "Shinar", also known as "Babel". The Lord is sending wickedness back to its beginning. The women are going to place it not in a house, as the NIV translates it, but on the type of pedestal or foundation which was used to set large idols. In the plain of Dura there is still a large square foundation which may actually be the one upon which King Nebuchadnezzar placed the golden image that he commanded all the people to worship. This is the type of setting upon which the angel is telling Zechariah the basket of wickedness will be placed, for the type of wickedness enclosed in the basket is simply idolatry in another form. Satan has learned that most people in modern times will not bow down before an image. All he's done is cloak idolatry to disguise it so that we will find it more acceptable. Serving money is the same as serving a false god.
It's no coincidence that these women take the basket filled with the wickedness of greed back to Babylon, for "Babylon" is the name that will be used for the corrupt world financial system in the last days. Revelation 18 describes the enormous wealth and the immense greed present in the economy of the end times. There will be the finest of jewels and precious metals, the best of food and wine, the most expensive and exclusive brands of clothes, and the flashiest of transportation. The world, under the one currency system of the Antichrist, will appear to have it all. The Babylon of the end times will stand as the ultimate symbol of prosperity. God will have no place in such an economy or in the minds of those who bow to the idol of greed. But the cup of Babylon's sins reaches its fullness and runs over in Revelation 18 and her doom comes upon her suddenly.
God will be God. There is no other. Every knee will bow to Him someday and every tongue will confess He is Lord. He will put down the final rebellion of symbolic Babylon just as easily as He put down the first rebellion in literal Babylon. Since the beginning, many "gods" and many kingdoms have risen and fallen, but God and His kingdom will stand forever. When the King comes and reigns over the world from David's throne, sin will be removed from Judah forever, just as the women who lifted the basket from the earth were removing sin from the land. And just as the women lifted the basket up between heaven and earth, so also Christ was lifted up between heaven and earth to take away the sins of the world.
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