John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 5:5-8

"Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is the ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their appearance in all the land (and, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead); and this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is Wickedness: and he cast her down into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof." — Zechariah 5:5-8 (ASV)

Here I stop; I intended to add all the verses, but I can hardly finish the whole today. It will be enough for us to understand that this is the second part of the vision, in which the Prophet, in order to relieve or in some measure to mitigate the sorrow of the Jews, shows that God would not treat them with extreme rigor, so as to punish them as they deserved, but would chastise them with paternal moderation.

Therefore he says that a measure appeared to him and a woman in the measure. The woman was wickedness; there was also a covering of lead, a wide or an extended piece. The plate of lead was carried upwards when the woman was seen in the measure.

He then says that the measure was closed up, and that there impiety was kept hidden as a captive in prison. He afterward adds that it was driven away into the land of Shinar, very far from Judea, and that wickedness was thus turned over to the enemies of the chosen people.

We see that God, as I have already noticed, gives here a token of favor, for he says that wickedness was shut up in a measure. Though he had previously spoken severely, so that he might shake the Jews with dread, it was still his purpose soon to add some alleviation. For it was enough that they were proved guilty of their sins, so that they might humble themselves and suppliantly flee to God’s mercy, and also that repentance might really touch them, lest they should murmur, as we know they had done, but submit themselves to God and confess that they had suffered justly.

Since the angel had already shown that the curse had deservedly gone over the face of the whole land, because no corner was free from wickedness, the angel now adds that he came to show a new vision, saying, Raise now thine eyes, and see what this is which goes forth.

The Prophet was no doubt cast down with fear, so that he hardly dared to look any longer. Since the curse was flying and passing freely here and there, the Prophet was struck with horror, and not without reason, as he beheld the wrath of God spreading everywhere indiscriminately. This is the reason why the angel now animates him and bids him see what was going forth.

And he tells what was exhibited to him, for he saw a measure (which in Hebrew is איפה, aiphe). Some translate this as 'measure' or 'bushel,' others as 'firkin' or 'cask,' but this distinction is not critical here. When the Prophet saw this measure, he asked the angel what it was, for the vision would have been useless had he not been informed what the measure, the woman sitting in it, and the lead covering signified. He therefore asked what they were.

Then the angel answered, This is the measure that goes forth, and this is their eye in all the earth. By saying that the measure is 'their eye,' he no doubt means that the ungodly could not thus be carried away at their own pleasure, but that God restrained them whenever it seemed good to him, for they could not escape his sight. For by 'their eye,' he understands this to refer, in a passive sense, to God's power of seeing, by which he notices all the sins of the ungodly, so that he may check them when he pleases, when they hurry on without restraint.

But so that the meaning of the Prophet may be made clearer, let us first see what 'wickedness' means—whether it is to be taken for those sins which provoked God’s wrath against the Jews, or for those wrongs which pagan enemies had done. The latter is the view I prefer, though if we take it as the wickedness which had previously reigned in Judea, the meaning would not be unsuitable.

For as wickedness is hateful to God, his vengeance against the Jews could not have ceased except by cleansing them from their sins and by renewing them by his Spirit. For they had carried on war with him in such a way that there was no means of pacifying him but by departing from their sins.

And whenever God reconciles himself to them, he at the same time renews them by his Spirit; he not only blots out their sins, regarding the guilt, but also regenerates those who were before devoted to sin and the devil, so that he may treat them kindly and paternally.

Therefore, regarding the subject at hand, both views may be suitably adopted. We may consider the meaning to be: that God would take away iniquity from Judea by cleansing his Church from all defilements, since the Jews could not partake of his blessing unless iniquity were driven far away and banished.

Since God then designed to be propitious to his people, he justly says that he would cause wickedness to disappear from their midst. Yet the other view, as I have said, is more agreeable to the context: that wickedness would not be allowed freely to prevail as before, for we know that free rein had been given to the cruelty of their enemies, since the Jews had been exposed to the wrongs of all.

Since they had been so immoderately oppressed, God promises that all unjust violence should be driven far away and made to depart into the land of Shinar; that is, that the Lord would in turn chastise the Babylonians and reward them as they had deserved. The meaning of the whole is that God, who had chosen the seed of Abraham, would be propitious to the Jews, so as to finally put an end to their calamities.

Now the Prophet says that wickedness, when first seen, was in mid-air, and in a measure; but at the same time he calls the measure the 'eye of the ungodly,' for though wickedness extends itself to all parts, yet God confines it within a hidden measure. This he designates by 'eyes,' by which he seems to allude to a former prophecy that we have explained. For he had said that there were seven eyes in the stone of the high priest, because God would carry on by his providence the building of the temple. So also he says that God’s eyes are upon all the ungodly, according to what is said in the book of Psalms:

The eyes of the Lord are over the wicked, to destroy their memory from the earth (Psalms 34:17).

And this mode of speaking often occurs in Scripture. The meaning then is that though wickedness spreads and extends through the whole earth, it is still in a measure; but this measure is not always closed up. However this may be, God still knows how to regulate all things, so that impiety shall not exceed its limits.

And this is most true, whatever view is taken; for when enemies harass the church, though they may be carried along in the air (that is, though God may not immediately restrain their wrongs), they still sit in a measure and are ruled by the eyes of God, so that they cannot move a finger, except so far as they are permitted.

In short, let us understand that in a state of things completely disordered, God watches, and his eyes are vigilant, to put an end to injustices. The same also may be said when God gives up to a reprobate mind those who deserve such a punishment; for though he casts them away, and Satan takes possession of them, yet this remains true: that they sit in a measure.

They are not indeed shut in; but we should not, as I have said, suppose that God is indifferent in heaven, or that sins prevail in the world as if he did not see them, for his forbearance is not blindness. The eyes of God then mark and observe whatever sins are committed in the world.

Now the angel adds that a thin piece of lead was cast over the mouth of the measure, and that wickedness was cast into the measure. The expression that wickedness was thrown into the measure may be explained in two ways:

1. That God would not permit so much liberty to the devil to lead the Jews to sin as before (for how does it happen that men abandon themselves to every evil, except that God forsakes them and at the same time delivers them up to Satan, so that he may exercise his tyranny over them?).

2. Or, that a bridle would be used to restrain foreign enemies, so that they might not in their wantonness oppress the miserable people and exercise extreme violence.

God, then, intending to deliver them from their sins or to check wrongs, shuts up wickedness, as it were, in a measure. Then he adds a cover; and it is said to have been a thin piece, or a weight of lead, because it was heavy, as though the Prophet had said that whenever it pleased God, iniquity would be taken captive, so that it could not go forth from its confinement or its prison.