Preface
The prophecies of Haggai and
Zechariah were written almost at
the same time, when a remnant of
Israel had returned from
captivity to rebuild the temple
at Jerusalem. Haggai, in common
with Ezra, emphasizes the
temple, while Zechariah is more
occupied with the city of
Jerusalem, as was also Nehemiah,
though both Ezra and Nehemiah
returned to Jerusalem later than
did Haggai and Zechariah. Both
of these prophets speak solemnly
of the failure of the returned
remnant, just as their fathers
had failed, and seek to stir up
Israel to return in heart to the
Lord.
Zechariah emphasizes that God
had returned to Jerusalem with
mercies (Zech. 1: 6) and paints
a beautiful picture of blessing
yet to come for Judah in
particular, but in which all
Israel will share. However, he
also clearly shows that this
cannot be fulfilled until many
sorrows engulf the nation,
culminating in the great
distress of the future
tribulation and the coming of
the Messiah in power and glory.
The remnant that returned to
Jerusalem by permission of
Cyrus, King of Persia (Ezra 1:
1-4), had at first begun to
build, but this was hindered
until the reign of Darius. In
the sixth month of the second
year of his reign Haggai
prophesied (Haggai 1: 1).
Zechariah wrote in the eighth
month of the same year.
The New King James Version is
used throughout this commentary,
except in a few instances where
the difference is noted by the
use of the letters JND to
indicate the very accurate "New
Translation" by J.N.Darby, or by
NASB (New American Standard
Bible).
ZECHARIAH 1
God's Call to Return to Him
(vv. 1-6)
Zechariah's name means "Jehovah
remembers." He was the son of
Berechiah ("Jehovah blesses")
who was the son of Iddo ("the
appointed time"). Israel had
long been in a depressed state.
It seemed as though God had
forgotten them, but He
remembers, and in His own
appointed time He returns to
them in blessing. But the
measure of revival and blessing
in Zechariah's day was very
limited, and Israel lapsed again
into a depressed condition that
was still seen when the Lord
Jesus came, in whom we see
another striking evidence of
"Jehovah remembering." By
rejecting Christ, Israel has
lapsed into a worse state than
ever, now for many centuries,
and by the time of the great
tribulation they will be brought
to feel deeply that God has
forgotten them. Only then will
the prophecy of Zechariah be
fully accomplished. It will be
God's appointed time of
remembering and blessing Israel
with blessings that will never
end.
Zechariah's message to Israel
begins abruptly: the Lord has
been greatly displeased with
their fathers. How could Israel
boast in their lineage when this
was true? They had become
accustomed to the sins their
fathers had allowed, and lacked
the exercise that Josiah had (2
Kings 22: 10-13) when he heard
Scripture read to him and
realized how far his fathers had
departed from its precepts. Well
might the Lord tell Israel to
return to Him, with the promise
that, if so, He would return to
them.
Despite the Lord's sending
prophets to urge the people to
return to Him from their evil
ways and doings, they simply
would not listen. Where are
their fathers now? Do the
prophets live forever? Men
cannot long continue living in
rebellion. Death overtakes them
and then they realize their
rebellion to be folly, but too
late! The prophets too were only
sent by God at specific times to
give an urgent message: they did
not continue indefinitely as
merely servants to be treated as
the people pleased. Israel could
not depend either on their
fathers or on the prophets: they
must have their confidence in
the living God.
Therefore verse 6 insists on "My words
and My statutes,
which I commanded My servants
the prophets." Though men die,
"the Word of the Lord endures
forever" (1 Peter 1: 25). This
is the only remedy in any day of
decline and failure, whether for
Israel or for the Church. But
God's words had overtaken (NASB)
their fathers in spite of their
unbelief, and only then did they
return and acknowledge that the
Lord had done to them just as He
warned, because of their
disobedience. Would Israel not
learn by the history of their
fathers?
A NIGHT VISION: THE FIRST OF
EIGHT
(vv. 7-11)
Three months later the Word of
the Lord came again to
Zechariah. This is a prophecy,
though in the form of a vision
which Zechariah sees at night.
The man riding on a red horse is
spoken of in verse 11 as "the
angel of the Lord," - the Lord
Jesus Himself - who often
appeared in the Old Testament as
the angel or messenger of the
Lord. Horses are spoken of in
Zechariah 6: 5 as "the spirits
of the heavens"-the energizing
power that sustains their
riders. Here the horse is red,
reminding us of judgment and
bloodshed (Isa. 63: 2-4). He
stood among "the myrtle trees in
the hollow." The myrtle, growing
in low-lying areas, is symbolic
of Israel reduced to a state of
lowly humiliation. He is
standing, not fighting. This
reminds us of Habakkuk 3: 6, "He
stood and measured the earth."
The Lord does not judge
precipitately, but calmly takes
account of every matter before
judgment.
Behind the red horse and its
rider were other red horses,
also speaking of judgment and
bloodshed. There also were
"sorrel" horses, a mixed color
between red and orange. This
speaks of judgment tempered with
mercy. White horses - the symbol
of victory - also were present.
These other horses were waiting
for the time when their proper
ends would be accomplished. In
some cases severe judgment would
fall, in other cases judgment
mingled with mercy, then the
ultimate victory of God over
evil.
Zechariah asks who these are.
Then we are told of "the angel
who talked with me," who answers
that he would show him. "The
angel who talked with me"
(spoken of in this way 11 times)
is distinguished from "the angel
of the Lord." The answer is
actually given by the Man who
stood among the myrtle trees,
and verse 11 shows this to be
"the angel of the Lord" who
answers that these horses had
been sent by the Lord to walk
back and forth through the
earth. Then "they"- the red,
sorrel and white horses -
responded to the angel of the
Lord that they had walked back
and forth, and all the earth was
resting quietly. This seems to
be again the patience of God
before judging, just as there is
often a time of calm before a
violent storm. Their walking
through the earth indicates
their work is not yet finished.
THE LORD'S PROMISE TO COMFORT
ZION (vv. 12-17)
Then the angel of the Lord
(Christ), the true Intercessor
for His people, addresses God,
the Lord of hosts, asking, "How
long will You not have mercy on
Jerusalem and on the cities of
Judah, against which You were
angry these seventy years?" (v.
12). He is speaking of the 70
years captivity, for though some
of Judah had returned to
Jerusalem, many of the people
were still not really liberated
from the oppression of their
enemies, as Ezra and Nehemiah
bear witness. How much more may
the same expression be used
today, "O Lord, How long?" -
since now it is almost 2000
years since Israel rejected
their Messiah, and has continued
under the judgment of God.
The Lord's answer to the angel
who talked with Zechariah was
with good and comfortable words,
for God is the God of all
comfort and does not desire His
people to be discouraged by
their circumstances, but to be
encouraged in
the Lord. Therefore the
angel who talked with him gave
instructions to Zechariah to
cry, saying, "Thus says the Lord
of hosts, "I am zealous for
Jerusalem and for Zion with
great zeal." Jerusalem was God's
center, and He would not give
her up in spite of the many
failures of His people. The King
James Version uses the word,
"jealous," for this is used in
the sense of its dictionary
meaning of "protective and
solicitous." This is jealousy of
an admirable kind. He also calls
Jerusalem "Zion" which is the
special name given her in view
of the great blessing she will
receive in the Millennium - the
thousand year reign of the Lord
Jesus following the tribulation.
Zion means "sunny," for it
anticipates "the Sun of
Righteousness" who will arise to
Israel with healing in His wings
(Mal. 4: 2), speaking of the
coming of the Lord Jesus in
majestic glory.
Also, God announces His extreme
displeasure with the nations who
were at ease and taking
advantage of their prosperous
circumstances to oppress the
Jews because they were
downtrodden and afflicted. It
was true that God had been
displeased with His own people
and had allowed them to suffer
for their disobedience, even
using the Gentile nations to
punish them in many ways. So the
nations had helped God punish
Israel, "but with evil intent"
(v. 15), being willing even to
cut off Israel from being a
nation. Many of the nations
since that time have had the
same cruel intention, and at the
time of the end, with bitter
enmity mounting against Israel,
the King of the North and his
armies will seek to accomplish
Israel's destruction. This is
not God's purpose when He
chastens His people: He has in
view their eventual restoration
and blessing.
Therefore it was to be
proclaimed to all the people
that He had returned to
Jerusalem with mercies. If they
were in a humble state to
receive mercy, they would be
greatly blessed. God's house
would be built in the city, and
a line would be stretched forth
upon Jerusalem. Zechariah 2: 1
refers to this measuring line,
which indicates God's vital
interest in discerning the
precise condition of Jerusalem
and blessing it according to His
own wise estimate in due time.
Again Zechariah is told to
"proclaim," raising his voice to
draw the attention of all the
people, "Thus says the Lord
of hosts." This name of God
is emphasized in Zechariah,
Haggai and Malachi at a time
when Judah was far from a "host"
(many people), but had been
reduced to a very small number.
What a mercy that God was not
reduced: He was still "the Lord
of hosts," and He promises "My
cities shall again spread out
through prosperity: the Lord
will again comfort Zion, and
will again choose Jerusalem" (v.
17). The complete fulfillment of
this will only be when Zion
becomes in truth the "sunny"
metropolis of the world. This
will be when Jerusalem is chosen
a second time as the true
"foundation of peace," with
which name she will then prove
consistent during the age to
come, the Millennium.
THE FOUR HORNS AND FOUR
CARPENTERS (vv. 18-21)
A vision of four horns now draws
the attention of Zechariah. He
asks the angel who talked with
him the significance of these
horns, and is told they are the
horns that have scattered Judah,
Israel and Jerusalem. Verse 21
shows they are Gentiles. Daniel
7: 4-7 identifies these four
kingdoms. The first, a lion with
eagles' wings (v. 4), is
Babylon. The second, a bear (v.
5), is the kingdom of the Medes
and Persians. the third, like a
leopard with four wings and four
heads (v. 6), is the Grecian
empire. The fourth, a strong,
terrible beast with iron teeth
(v. 7), is the Roman empire.
Daniel 2: 37-40 confirms this
from a different viewpoint.
These four enemies have distinct
characters, each being
responsible for harming and
scattering Judah, Israel and
Jerusalem. Babylon speaks of
dignified, despotic rule as
emphasized in Nebuchadnezzar who
executed people as he pleased
and kept alive whomever he
desired (Dan. 5: 19). The Medes
and Persians prided themselves
on making laws that could not be
changed (Dan. 6: 8). This is
stern, proud legality. Greece
stands for self-righteous
indignation, as seen in Daniel
8: 5-8. Alexander, the he-goat,
was moved with bitter anger
against the ram (Medes and
Persians). The Roman empire
illustrates the brute strength
by which that empire ruled,
taking control by the force of
superior strength.
These very evils have repeated
themselves in the history of the
Church on earth, and she too has
suffered greatly for this.
First, people have exalted
themselves, assuming a dignity
of being spiritually above the
common level of the saints of
God, and others have willingly
given them this place. When this
system of things breaks down, as
it will, then the people resort
to the principle of imposing
binding laws, as did the Medes
and Persians. They may begin
with relatively good rules and
regulations, then degenerate to
bad rules. But whether good or
bad, they set aside the pure
grace of God, which is the only
principle on which the Church
can receive blessing from God.
This legality must break down
too. The laws become so
intolerable that people revolt
against them with self-righteous
indignation, reacting in bitter
anger that throws off the
restraints of law. Still, when
not turning in faith to the pure
grace of God, their new liberty
is only freedom to pursue their
own willful ways. This brings
confusion, for every
individual's will is contrary to
those of others, and unity is
hopeless. Out of such a
situation the natural result is
that the strongest will becomes
predominant: might becomes
right, just as the Roman empire
(the strong one) became the
oppressor of God's people.
What is the answer? The Lord
also showed Zechariah four
carpenters, and Zechariah asked
for what purpose these came. The
answer is that, while the four
horns have scattered Judah, the
carpenters had come to terrify
and cast out the horns of the
nations. Their work is
constructive, effective and
decisive, but the actual
fulfillment of this could not be
in Zechariah's time, for the
Grecian and Roman empires had
not even arisen.
Ezra 5: 1-2 furnishes us with
the names of four men who
strikingly resemble these four
carpenters, all of whom were
present at that time: Haggai,
Zechariah, Zerubbabel and
Joshua. The first two were
prophets, Zerubbabel the
governor and Joshua the high
priest. All of these are
pictures of the Lord Jesus, the
one predominant Carpenter, but
as seen in the four distinct
characters in which the four
Gospels present Him.
Zerubbabel, the governor, is
typical of Christ as seen in
Matthew, God's anointed King. As
such He is in contrast to
Babylon whose dignified pride
and authority He reduces to
nothing, while He takes the
place of absolute authority.
Haggai, the servant-prophet, is
a type of Christ as seen in
Mark, the lowly Servant of God,
a contrast to the haughty
legality of the Medes and
Persians. In this willing,
humble, lowly service of the
Lord Jesus is the destruction of
the spirit of legality, for as
such He attracts the
willing-hearted devotion of
those who are born of God.
Joshua, the high priest,
typifies Christ as seen in Luke,
the sinless Son of Man, who,
because He has in grace become
partaker of flesh and blood
(Heb. 2: 14-17), is "the one
Mediator between God and men,
the Man Christ Jesus." Thus He
is contrasted to Grecian
self-righteous anger as the
Intercessor on behalf of those
who fall. He triumphs
wonderfully over the wrath of
the people.
Zechariah is a prophet who
emphasizes the deity of the Lord
Jesus (Zech. 9: 14-16; Zech. 12:
10; Zech. 13: 7; Zech. 14:
5-17.) This corresponds to
John's Gospel, and indicates the
eternal majesty and power by
which the Lord Jesus will
overcome the brute strength of
Rome and the strong wills of
those who have sought to
dominate the Church of God in
this present age. How marvelous
is every character in which we
see this blessed Christ of God
in His casting out of evil and
building that which glorifies
God for eternity! In all four of
these wondrous aspects of His
glory, He is indeed "the
Carpenter."
ZECHARIAH 2
The Third Vision - A Man With a
Measuring Line (vv. 1-5)
Another vision draws the eyes of
Zechariah-a man with a measuring
line. Zechariah 1: 16 told of a
line being stretched upon
Jerusalem. Now, in answer to
Zechariah's question, the Man
tells him that he has come to
measure the length and breadth
of Jerusalem. This Man is the
Lord Jesus who alone is capable
of discerning the precision of
God's counsels in regard to the
future blessing of the earthly
Jerusalem. Notice that only the
length and breadth are measured.
In contrast, Revelation 21:
15-16 shows the measuring of the heavenly Jerusalem.
"Its length, breadth, and
height are equal." The
height of the earthly city is
not considered at all.
Two angels are mentioned in
verse 3, the angel who talked
with Zechariah and another angel
who instructs the first to run
to tell "this young man"
(Zechariah) that "Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as towns
without walls, because of the
multitude of men and livestock
in it." This can only be future,
for Jerusalem has never yet been
so free from danger as to
require no "walls," no
protection from marauding
enemies. It looks forward beyond
the day of "Jacob's trouble,"
the great tribulation, to the
millennial reign of the Lord
Jesus. The size of Jerusalem
will be greatly increased, as
"towns" include not only many
people, but domestic animals.
Walls will be unnecessary, for
the Lord Himself will be a wall
of fire encircling the city as
well as being "the glory in her
midst." This will be true when
Israel is finally broken down in
repentance and faith to receive
the Messiah whom they had before
despised and rejected. In
simple, unquestioning faith they
then will depend on the proven
faithfulness of their blessed
Redeemer who cannot fail them.
Their walls, gates and bars will
go (Ezek. 38: 10-11): the Lord
alone will defend them. This
should be a clear, ringing
testimony to the Church of God
today, for we have too often
resorted to the help of
creatures and of organizations
for our protection and help in
bearing a witness for Christ
before the world. Can we not as
fully depend on the Lord alone
as Israel will do when once they
have received Him?
ISRAEL'S FUTURE JOY SHARED BY
MANY NATIONS (vv. 6-13)
Verse 6 is a call to the Jews to
flee from the land of the north,
and verse 7 indicates this
refers to Babylon, where so
large a number from Judah
settled down in captivity. At
this time the Medes and Persians
had subdued Babylon, and there
was now liberty for the Jews to
return to their own land, but
many had become wealthy and did
not want to be transplanted
again. Babylon is east of
Israel, but is called the land
of the north because in
attacking Israel, Nebuchadnezzar
had come by way of the north.
Since then Israel also has been
scattered further north, and
therefore the north is specially
mentioned in many prophecies
concerning Israel's regathering.
Yet in verse 6 the Lord also
speaks of His spreading Israel
abroad as the four winds of
heaven-in every direction away
from their land. But the larger
number have gone northward,
great numbers remaining to this
day.
Zion is told to deliver herself,
for she was dwelling with the
daughter of Babylon. This had
become a willing, wrong
association. When God sent them
into captivity, they had no
choice but to go (Jer. 39: 9),
but when the way was open for
them to return, they should
certainly have done so, but only
42,360 responded (Ezra 2: 64).
Thus, the city (Zion) was
considered as still dwelling
(settled down) with the daughter
of Babylon. The Church too,
because of disobedience to God,
has been carried into a state of
confusion (the meaning of the
name Babylon), and we have to
bow to the shame of this under
God's governmental hand. But
should we willingly remain in
such confusion when the Lord
gives opportunity to be
delivered from it and to return
to God's center and an honest
witness to the truth of the one
body of Christ? Many acknowledge
the truth of the one body, but
few seek grace to put that truth
into practice, just as most Jews
appreciated Jerusalem (God's
center), but remained in
Babylon.
Zion has never delivered itself,
but God's Word here will have
special force to them in a
coming day, when they will
indeed be delivered. However,
God's work with them in this
regard will not be completed
until "after glory" (v. 8), that
is, after the glorious
manifestation of the Lord Jesus
as King of kings and Lord of
lords. He will appear in
Jerusalem to Judah first (Zech.
12: 9-14), and the Jews will be
broken down in deep repentance
before Him. Afterward, He will
go forth from Zion (Joel 3: 16)
to fight against the King of the
North and his armies, together
with other armies also, and then
Judah shall indeed be delivered.
He will be jealous regarding His
people, for those who touch them
are touching "the apple of His
eye," the pupil, the most
sensitive area. He feels deeply
everything that affects His
beloved people Israel, and
certainly no less that which
affects His body, the Church.
The Lord would shake His hand
upon the nations and they would
become a spoil to Israel, who
had so long served these nations
(v. 9). This great reversal
would assure them that the Lord
of hosts had sent the Lord
Jesus, the Messiah of Israel,
who is Himself called "the Lord
of hosts" in verse 8. How clear
is the truth of the deity of
Christ in this declaration from
the Lord of hosts that "the Lord
of hosts has sent Me."
No wonder the daughter of Zion
is told to sing and rejoice.
This same Lord of hosts would
come and dwell in the midst of
her. He would take the place of
central importance, which would
cause the greatest rejoicing to
the long depressed and troubled
people.
The nations would not only be
defeated in the deliverance of
Israel, but in matchless grace
many nations would be blessed in
being joined to the Lord, and
they too would be called God's
people (v. 11). This work would
be so clearly a divine one that
it is again insisted, "You will
know that the Lord of hosts has
sent Me to you." He is both the
Sender and the Sent One!
Israel's recognition that Christ
is God will be a marvelous joy
to their hearts.
The Lord will inherit Judah as
His portion in the holy land.
Judah is the royal tribe from
which Christ came.
Appropriately, its name means
"praise," the portion that
rightly belongs to Him from all
His people. He will again choose
Jerusalem as His center. It
means "the foundation of peace."
The city has not been true to
its name in the past, and
therefore has never ceased to be
troubled by wars. Peace must be
founded on righteousness, as
Isaiah 32: 17 tells us, "The
work of righteousness will be
peace, and the effect of
righteousness, quietness and
assurance forever." Only when
Jerusalem recognizes Jesus as
the Son of God will
righteousness become the
character of the city, and the
city finally be consistent with
its name, "the foundation of
peace."
"Be silent, all flesh, before
the Lord, for He is aroused from
His holy habitation" (v. 13).
After centuries of turmoil,
confusion, trouble, anger and
sorrow, how wonderful will be
the intervention of the Lord of
glory when His long silence is
broken by His rising up out of
His holy habitation to measure
the earth. How becoming then is
the call to all flesh to be
silent before Him, just as Amos
expresses God's command at that
time in one word, "Silence!"
(Amos 8: 3-JND). It is He alone
who can calm the turbulent sea
of the world's conflicts,
troubles and sorrows. Well might
the Lord Jesus tell Israel, "Be
still and know that I am God"
(Ps. 46: 10).
ZECHARIAH 3
The Fourth Vision - Grace to the
Representative High Priest
Overcoming Satan's Opposition
(vv. 1-5)
In verse 1 the angel who talked
with Zechariah showed him Joshua
the high priest standing before
the Angel of the Lord, and Satan
standing at his right hand to
resist him. We have seen that
the Angel of the Lord is Christ.
Joshua, being high priest, is a
type of Christ, but seen here as
representing Israel. Therefore
he is clothed with filthy
garments as taking the
responsibility for Israel's
sins. Satan, the accuser (as his
name means, is no doubt
resisting by means of the
accusations he can bring because
of Israel' s sins. How
overwhelming this guilt would
naturally be!
But the words of the Lord to
Satan are wonderful: "The Lord
rebuke you. Satan! The Lord who
has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you.
Is this not a brand plucked from
the fire?" No matter how great
the guilt and shame of the
nation of Israel, nothing is too
hard for the Lord. He is able to
righteously and fully remove the
guilt and stigma of sin. The
basis of this has already been
laid at the cross of Calvary,
and today all who trust in the
blessed Christ of God are
cleansed from their sins by
virtue of His great sacrifice.
Israel has refused Him for
centuries, but when the remnant
of Israel eventually receive
Him, they will indeed be "a
brand plucked out of the fire,"
and the iniquity of her land
will be removed in one day (v.
9). This chapter then looks
forward prophetically to that
day.
The Lord then speaks to those
who stood by, ordering them to
remove the filthy garments from
Joshua. This speaks of the
purging away of sins, which is
one wonderful result of the
value of the sacrifice of
Christ. All that is filthy is
removed, but this is not enough
for God. He speaks to Joshua,
telling him He has caused his
iniquity to pass from him and He
will clothe him with festival
robes. This is typical of God
imputing righteousness to the
believer: it is the truth of
justification, which has the
thought of God judicially
declaring the person righteous
in total contrast to guilt. Not
only has God wiped out our
tremendous debt, but
has freely given us a credit of
righteousness such as delights
His own heart. The robe of
righteousness is Christ
Himself-Christ our righteousness
(1 Cor. 1: 30). Israel too, in a
coming day, will be beautifully
clothed "in Christ." This will
be marvelous pure grace, a
wonderful answer to Israel's
prayer of Psalm 90: 17, "Let the
beauty of the Lord our God be
upon us."
A turban for Joshua's head is
specifically mentioned. When
Christ is received, the attitude
of our minds is totally changed.
So will it be for the nation
Israel: their thinking will be
wonderfully corrected when once
they receive their true Messiah
(Isa. 53: 4-5). God will have
given them their beautiful
turban. "And the Angel of the
Lord stood by." Typically it is
the Lord Jesus Himself taking a
vital interest in the change of
His people Israel.
GOVERNMENT FOLLOWING GRACE (vv.
6-7)
Following this work of pure
grace, the Angel of the Lord
admonishes Joshua. There was no
"if" regarding the work of God
in grace toward him, but now an
"if" is introduced regarding
Joshua's judging (or
administering) the affairs of
God's house and keeping His
courts, as well as having a
place of dignity among those who
stood by. All this depended on
Joshua keeping God's charge.
Similarly today, though one is
saved entirely by the grace of
God, yet that one must prove
trustworthy in keeping the Word
of God if he or she is to be
entrusted with any place of
honor in connection with
maintaining the proper testimony
of the house of God, the
Assembly. Those who stand by may
be all those who have any
interest in connection with
God's house.
THE BRANCH AND THE STONE (vv.
8-10)
Verses 8 to 10 give a prophetic
application to what has gone
before. Joshua and his fellows
who sit before him (the family
of the priests) are told to
listen, because they are "a
wondrous sign," that is, they
are symbolic as foretelling the
future blessing of Israel when
the Messiah is revealed in power
and glory. God declares, "I am
bringing forth My Servant, the
Branch." This is literally, "the
Sprout," referring to the Lord
Jesus as a miraculous sprout
from the dead stalk of the
nation Israel. He is in fact the
one source of all their future
blessing. Jeremiah 23: 5 shows
that "the Branch" is King (as in
Matthew). He is Servant as
in Mark 3: 8, He is the
Man as in Luke 6: 12 and He
is Jehovah as
in John (Isa. 4: 2).
Verse 9 introduces another type
of Christ as the foundation of
their blessing, the Stone laid
before Joshua. Isaiah 28: 16
refers to this: "Behold, I lay
in Zion a stone for a
foundation, a tried stone, a
precious cornerstone, a sure
foundation." On this stone are
seven eyes. This reminds us of
Revelation 5: 6 where we see
"seven eyes, which are the seven
spirits of God sent out into all
the earth." It speaks of the
sevenfold (or complete)
discerning power of the Spirit
of God seen in the blessed
person of the Lord Jesus (as the
Lamb in Revelation and the Stone
in Zechariah). On the other
hand, God's engraving "the
graving thereof" speaks of
Christ being the very expression
(or imprint) of the substance of
God (Heb. 1: 3). God has borne
witness to this in no uncertain
terms when His voice came from
the excellent glory, "This is My
beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased" (2 Peter 1: 17).
Engraved in His very person is
the precious truth that "in Him
dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead bodily" (Col. 2: 9).
This verse therefore is a lovely
witness to the truth of the
Trinity being manifested in the
blessed person of Christ.
This is the solid foundation on
which "the Lord of hosts" can
affirm that He will "remove the
iniquity of that land in one day
(v. 9). Who else can do this but
the eternal God (Father, Son and
Holy Spirit) manifested in the
person of the Lord Jesus? The
basis of the removal of guilt
has long ago been laid when He
laid down His life at Calvary.
Though Israel has refused to
accept Him as Savior, when God
turns that nation's heart back
to Himself through great
tribulation, the iniquity of the
land will be removed in one day,
the day Christ will appear in
majesty on the Mount of Olives,
when the hearts of the people
will be melted before Him in
genuine repentance (Zech. 12:
10-14).
"In that day," which involves
the ensuing day of the "age to
come," the Millennium, "everyone
will invite his neighbor under
his vine and under his fig tree
(v. 10). The vine is symbolic of
Judah planted in the vineyard of
Israel (Isa. 5: 7) but desolated
because of disobedience (v. 5).
The fig tree is a type of Judah
restored after the captivity, a
fig tree planted in the vineyard
(Luke 13: 6), but which the Lord
found (when He came) was not
bearing fruit. Judah's failure
and ruin have been complete, but
the grace of the Lord Jesus will
restore her wonderfully in that
day to come. Her peace and
prosperity is pictured
beautifully in the quiet,
refreshing scenes of social
grace and fellowship, every
individual being blessed under
the vine and under the fig tree.
Then all will have learned the
wonder of the grace of God in
overruling the sad failure of
the nation both in her earliest
state before the captivity and
in her later state after being
brought back from captivity.
Because they realize deeply that
theirs has been a history of
failure over and over again,
they will so value the grace of
God that they will be glad to
share their blessing with
others.
ZECHARIAH 4
The Fifth Vision - The Lampstand
(vv. 1-14)
The next vision requires
Zechariah's being awakened by
the angel who spoke with him.
Our natural inclination would
not discern the truth of a
vision like this: we are
naturally insensible regarding
these things and require an
awakening by divine power. The
essence of the vision is
expressed in verse 6: "Not by
might, nor by power, but by My
Spirit, says the Lord of hosts,"
and 1 Corinthians 2: 14 reminds
us, "The natural man does not
receive the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness
to him; nor can he know them,
because they are spiritually
discerned." We too need an
awakening by a power outside of
ourselves if we are to
understand the things freely
given us by God. It must be by
divine revelation.
The angel asks what Zechariah
sees, for he wants his fullest
attention. Zechariah says, "I
have looked." The vision was of
a gold lampstand, reminding us
of the lampstand in the
tabernacle (Ex. 25: 31), with a
bowl on the top and seven oil
lamps which were fed by seven
pipes evidently from the bowl.
Also, two olive trees were
beside it, one on the right and
one on the left side. The oil
came from those trees.
The lampstand speaks of Christ
in whom all the golden glory of
God is manifested. It is He who
is the Sustainer of all true
testimony for God, of which the
light speaks. In the tabernacle
the lamps were to be lit so
"that they give light in front
of it" (the lampstand). The
light was not simply to light up
the room, but
for the display of the lampstand
itself, just as the light
of God is focused upon the Lord
Jesus, the Sustainer of God's
testimony.
The interpretation of the two
olive trees is found at the end
of the chapter, so we will wait
until then to consider this.
Zechariah's interest is stirred
by this vision (v. 4), though he
has to admit to the angel his
ignorance of what it means (v.
5). This brings forth the
angel's message from God, that
is of the most vital
consequence, not only for
Israel, but for mankind in every
sphere and in every age. It is
the Word of the Lord addressed
to Zerubbabel, for he represents
the might and power of
government. He is told, "Not by
might nor by power, but by My
Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."
We have recently seen the
startling collapse of
authoritarian rule in various
Communist countries. The
irritation of the people against
such rule must eventually break
out in rebellion. How good to
know that the great authority
and power of the Lord Jesus is
perfectly balanced by the grace
of His Priesthood! The world's
kings know nothing of this.
Zerubbabel means "melted by
Babylon" which pictures the
lowly grace of the Lord Jesus in
identifying Himself with Israel
in feeling the deep sorrow of
her humiliation in captivity to
Babylon's tyranny. He who
rightly feels the humiliation of
Israel's shame is the One who
can deliver her from the bondage
of Gentile oppression.
Therefore, the question, "Who
are you, O great mountain?" (v.
7), draws our attention to the
Gentile powers, beginning with
Babylon, that have been so great
an obstacle to Israel's
blessing. But before Zerubbabel,
this mountain would be reduced
to a plain - no obstacle
whatever. Certainly Zerubbabel
is a picture of the Lord Jesus
in this case.
More than this, "He shall bring
forth the capstone, with shouts
of Grace, grace, to it." The
capstone or topstone of the
building (the temple) signifies
its completion. Just as Christ
is the foundation of the
building, so also is He the full
completion of it. Grace too will
be predominantly seen, in
contrast to "might" and "power."
Grace will draw forth shouts of
rejoicing on the part of the
people. This will be especially
true in the day of Israel's
restoration, but today believers
are privileged to know in
advance the reality of the grace
of God. This grace is seen in
the Lord Jesus as the foundation
of the spiritual building, the
Church of God, and as "Completer
of faith," the One who brings to
a perfect culmination all the
counsels of God concerning the
Church.
The word of the Lord has further
instruction for Zechariah
concerning this fifth vision.
"The hands of Zerubbabel have
laid the foundation of this
temple; His hands also shall
finish it. Then you will know
that the Lord of hosts has sent
Me to you" (v. 9). Though
considerable time had elapsed
between the laying of the
foundation of the temple and the
time of this prophecy, the
temple was far from finished.
Yet God decreed plainly that
Zerubbabel would finish it. When
the finishing took place, it
would be the clearest
demonstration that it was
"Jehovah of hosts" who had "sent
Me to you." Who is this who was
sent? The language is intended
to emphasize the typical
character of this prophecy as
looking forward to the future
temple in Jerusalem, which
Israel knows will be built by
the Messiah in His own time. The
One therefore whom Jehovah of
hosts has sent is the Messiah of
Israel, the Lord Jesus. It
will be He who gives
instructions for both the laying
of the foundation of the temple
and the completed edifice. In
this present day, this is a
picture of the spiritual house,
the Church, of whom the Lord
Jesus is Himself the foundation,
the corner-stone and the
topstone. He is the Builder and
is personally involved in the
erection of the entire building.
At the arrival of the glorious
age to come, it will be fully
manifest to Israel that it is
indeed the Lord of hosts, the
God of Israel, who has sent the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
No doubts will remain in the
minds of the people, though when
He came first in lowly grace,
they rejected Him as the Son of
God sent by the Father.
Meanwhile, while the marvelous
glory of the Millennium is held
in abeyance, and we see only
great weakness instead of power,
much failure instead of victory,
the Lord asks a question of
deepest importance, "Who has
despised the day of small
things?" While waiting for the
coming day of glory, we ought to
rejoice in every small occasion
of true spiritual blessing which
God graciously gives to
encourage genuine faith. In the
present day God is seeking to
impress on us the truth of the
words of the Lord Jesus, "He who
is faithful in that which is
least is faithful also in much"
(Luke 16: 10). If He does not
give us great blessing in our
testimony as to the truth of the
gospel or to the truth of the
Assembly, it may be because we
have lacked faithfulness in
maintaining the blessing He has given!
At any rate, faith does not
despise small things, and can
patiently wait for the great
things that are promised.
"These seven rejoice to see the
plumb line in the hand of
Zerubbabel." Zerubbabel pictures
Christ as the Builder whose
building is perfectly square
vertically as well as
horizontally. The seven eyes
refer back to Zechariah 3: 9,
the eyes in one stone (Christ),
which are the eyes of the Lord
that range throughout the whole
earth. This compares with
Revelation 5: 6, "the seven
Spirits of God sent out into all
the earth," that is, the
seven-fold power of the Spirit
of God who takes great delight
in drawing attention to Christ
as the great Builder of His
house. These eyes of perfect
discernment are cognizant also
of all that transpires
throughout the whole earth. In
doing so, they find nothing that
can remotely compare with the
dignity of the person of Christ.
Zechariah's interest is
specially awakened by the two
olive trees, one on either side
of the lampstand (v. 11), and he
questions the angel as to this.
But before receiving an answer,
he questions further as to the
two olive branches beside the
two golden pipes which empty the
golden oil from themselves.
These had not been mentioned in
verses 2 and 3, but evidently
the branches from the trees
connected with two golden pipes
brought the oil to the seven
lamps. As well as the lampstand
and the pipes being of gold, the
oil is said to be golden oil.
This emphasizes the deity of the
Spirit of God, just as the glory
of Christ's deity is emphasized
in the golden lampstand.
The angel answers that the trees
with their branches are "the two
anointed ones who stand beside
the Lord of the whole earth" (v.
14). The significance of this is
easily understood when we
remember that both priests and
kings were commonly anointed
with oil in Israel, and if we
consider Zechariah 6: 13, that
Christ will be priest on His
throne. In the Old Testament
history this could never take
place, for priests could come
only from the line of Aaron, and
kings could not come from that
line. But Christ will be both
High Priest and King.
The olive trees therefore
symbolize the priesthood and
royalty of the Lord Jesus. These
two precious facts provide oil
for the golden lamp of
testimony, that is, the power of
the Spirit of God is seen in its
wonderful characteristics in
connection with the Lord Jesus
as being God's chosen King and
in His being God's High Priest.
Also, as we have seen, the
golden lampstand emphasizes the
deity of this same blessed
Person as the Sustainer of all
testimony for God.
ZECHARIAH 5
The Sixth Vision - A Flying
Scroll (vv. 1-4)
The five previous visions have
beautifully emphasized the grace
of God in His restoring great
blessing to Israel after years
of sorrow and desolation. The
two visions (the sixth and
seventh) in this chapter are of
a different character. Not all
"who are of Israel" will have
part in Israel's future blessing
(Rom. 9: 6). Some will persist
in their sin, as Isaiah 26: 10
shows, "Let grace be shown to
the wicked, yet he will not
learn righteousness; in the land
of uprightness he will deal
unjustly, and will not behold
the majesty of the Lord."
Therefore God will deal with
this stubborn perversity in
righteous judgment, not in
forgiving grace. Sin must be
purged from the kingdom of the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Zechariah looks up to see a
large flying scroll, twenty by
ten cubits. It was unrolled for
him to discern the measurements,
which are the same as the porch
of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:
3) and of the outer sanctuary of
the tabernacle. Writing is seen
on both sides, just as was true
of the law on the tables of
stone (Ex. 32: 15) and later in
connection with the scroll of
God's judgments in Revelation 5:
1. The scroll shows that God
keeps accurate accounts, and
just as the law condemns every
infraction against it and
pronounces a curse against all
who disobey it (Deut. 22:
15-26), so this scroll is
designated as the curse that
goes forth over the face of the
whole land. The whole land of
Israel had been contaminated by
the disobedience of the people,
and those who remained in their
sinful state of rebellion would
suffer the solemn judgment of
this curse. The flying of the
scroll indicates that when
judgment comes it will come
swiftly.
Only two classes of guilty
people are mentioned here, those
who steal and those who swear
(v. 3). Verse 4 further
designates the swearers as those
who swear falsely by God's name.
Both would be judged by the
curse, the one according to the
one side of the scroll, the
other according to the other
side. This signifies that the
one side of the scroll involves
sin against mankind (stealing)
and the other side sin against
God (false swearing). In this
case it answers to the summing
up of the ten commandments in
Luke 10: 17, "You shall love the
Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with
all your strength, and with all
your mind, and your neighbor as
yourself." Whatever sin we
commit against others has the
element of stealing in it, and
any sin we commit against God
will always have some element of
falsehood in it. Those who have
not judged these roots of evil
in their own hearts (those who
are not saved) will not escape
the curse of the judgment of
God, but will be cut off.
It is the Lord of hosts who will
bring forth the curse (v. 4).
The thief may now enter other
people's houses, but the curse
will enter his own house, not
coming just for a brief visit,
but remaining to destroy it to
its very foundation. The
destruction of its timber and
stones is symbolical of the
destruction of all the personal
interests and possessions of the
deluded unbeliever in Israel.
This does not speak of the
judgment of the lake of fire,
but of the Lord, during the
tribulation, purging out of His
kingdom all things that offend.
Therefore this judgment is
carried out on earth. Long after
that, these same unbelievers
will have to stand before the
Great White Throne and be judged
according to their works (Rev.
20: 11-13).
THE SEVENTH VISION: THE EPHAH
AND THE WOMAN (vv. 5-11)
The angel now draws Zechariah's
attention to another vision,
asking what he sees that "goes
forth" (v. 5). The ephah was a
standard of measurement, and the
vessel of that size took the
same name. It stands for the
principle of trade and commerce,
which should be honest (Ezek.
45: 10), but in Israel was
commonly perverted by greed
(Amos 8: 5) as we know it is
everywhere today. Are things to
remain this way? No! God had
decreed that the ephah will go
forth because "this is their
resemblance throughout the
earth." All the land of Israel
has been affected adversely by
this perversion of the ephah,
for the perversion was seen
inside the ephah (v. 7). He saw
a woman sitting. Women who
maintain their scriptural role
often are more godly and devoted
than are the men, but a woman
out of her role can corrupt
herself more than the men do, as
Jezebel the wife of Ahab
illustrates (2 Kings 21: 25).
Jezebel is used in the New
Testament as the symbol of the
wickedness of the false church
(Rev. 2: 20), and similarly the
false church, Babylon the Great,
is pictured as a woman in
Revelation 17: 4-5.
The woman here speaks of Israel
given up to lust for gain
through trade and commerce. She
is personified as "Wickedness"
and thrust down in the midst of
the ephah, with a lead lid
weighing a talent (well over 100
pounds or 45 kg.) put over the
opening of the ephah. This
illustrates what riches commonly
accomplish. They become a
terrible weight by which the
victim is trapped without hope
of extrication. Sin must be
punished! This vision shows that
the root principle of sin will
be banished, but those who
choose it will also suffer
banishment from God.
Having seen in this vision a
woman called Wickedness thrown
into an ephah and a weighted lid
put on its mouth, Zechariah then
sees two women coming (v. 9),
having wings like a stork, with
the wind in their wings. These
indicate civil authority and
spiritual authority reduced to
an evil state, in contrast to
Zerubbabel (the civil authority)
and Joshua (the spiritual
authority) ordained by God for
Israel's blessing. By these
corrupted authorities apostate
Israel (the woman in the ephah)
is carried rapidly away from
Jerusalem ("the foundation of
peace"). The wings of a stork
(an unclean fowl of the air)
signify satanic power that
energizes these authorities.
Where do they carry the ephah?
When Zechariah asks this
question the angel who spoke
with him answered, "To build a
house for it in the land of
Shinar" (v. 11). This calls to
mind the plain in the land of
Shinar where the tower of Babel
was built (Gen. 11: 2-4). Hence,
the carrying of the ephah is the
very essence of apostasy (a
deliberate turning from the
truth of God), indicating that
the ungodly in Israel will
revert to the same evil designs
and intentions that gave birth
to the building of the tower of
Babel. The ephah will be
established there on its own
base, a contrast to God's
foundation which is in the holy
mountains (Ps. 87: 1). How
closely related is the lust for
base gain (the ephah holding the
corrupt woman) to the abhorrent
principle of apostasy!
Apostasy can build a house to
honor the lust of its greed, and
give it high religious dignity,
just as is seen in the false
church Babylon the Great, in the
New Testament (Rev. 18: 10-16).
But its foundation is not God's
foundation, and total
destruction is in store for it,
just as "great Babylon" will
suffer destruction from the hand
of God in a coming day (Rev.
18).
This chapter therefore shows
that those in Israel who prefer
their own sin will be judged;
and the root principle of sin,
seen in the rebellion of
apostasy, will be relegated to
the place where judgment will
completely destroy it.
ZECHARIAH 6
The Eighth Vision - Four
Chariots (vv. 1-8)
The last of Zechariah's visions
is of four chariots coming forth
between the two mountains (JND).
Note that the definite article
"the" is used here, and inasmuch
as the city of Jerusalem has
been the main subject of
Zechariah's prophecy, it is
evident that the two mountains
are Mount Zion and Mount Olivet,
between which lay the valley of
Jehoshaphat. They are said to be
bronze (or copper) mountains,
emphasizing the holiness of God
in government. It is manifestly
God who is sending them forth
with some definite purpose in
view.
Red horses were drawing the
first chariot, black horses the
second, white horses the third,
and dappled and strong horses
the fourth. These four horses
represent some answer from God
to the four kingdoms that wasted
Israel. Yet in this case it it
not direct judgment, but rather
the sovereign government of God.
The angel answered Zechariah's
question by telling him that
these horses "are four spirits
of heaven who go out from their
station before the Lord of all
the earth" (v. 5). They are
therefore energizing
principles working behind
the scenes with effective power.
The order of presentation of the
colors of the horses is
different than in Revelation 6,
for the significance is
different. Red stands for the
power of attraction, just as
Babylon, the kingdom of
Nebuchadnezzar, drew the
attention of all the earth
because of its magnificence
(Dan. 4: 10-22). So the red
horses indicate that the power
of God is superior to that of
Nebuchadnezzar.
Verse 6 passes by the red when
considering the sphere of
operation and begins with the
black, because the Babylonian
kingdom had already given place
to the kingdom of the Medes and
Persians, so Babylon was no
longer a threat to Israel. The
Medes and Persians were
gradually on the way out too,
and the black horses seem to
indicate the darkness of that
kingdom's eventual extinction.
The black horses were going to
the north country since the
Medes and Persians had extended
their kingdom greatly in that
direction, so as to awaken the
anger of Alexander and the
Greeks (Dan. 8: 4-7).
"The white are going after
them." White speaks of victory.
Alexander the Great, in
defeating the Medes and Persians
and in many other engagements,
was spectacular in his decisive
victories. But true victory is
in the hands of the Lord Jesus,
and the Grecian empire too would
be easily overcome by the
sublime victory of the Lord of
glory. Alexander's kingdom
embraced the same northern areas
as did that of the Medes and
Persians, but the Lord's white
horses would overcome him.
The horses of the fourth chariot
are seen as divided in verses 6
and 7, the dappled horses going
toward the south country and the
strong going to walk back and
forth through the earth. This
indicates God's action toward
the Roman empire, first in its
original condition, and secondly
in its future condition when
revived during the tribulation
period. Rome's conquests first
took them southward, but when
that empire is revived, it will
seek to extend its power as
widely as possible through the
earth. God knows how to meet
these things. The dappled horses
speak of judgment tempered with
mercy, possibly indicating that
God's judgment of the original
Roman Empire was not so
devastating as it will be
against the revived Roman
Empire, when "the strong horses"
will overcome the boasted
strength of the beast and his
armies. Indeed, the overruling
power of God will control and
direct the power of Rome even
while it is opposed to Him
THE CROWNING OF THE HIGH PRIEST
(vv. 9-11).
The eight visions being ended,
the word of the Lord comes to
Zechariah with a message of
great importance. Now that all
opposing authority has been put
down, as the four chariots
indicate, we are to see
authority approved by God in its
proper place. This is plainly
symbolic of the future crowning
of the Lord Jesus as priest upon
His throne.
Zechariah is told to take an
offering from three exiles who
had arrived from Babylon and
were received into the house of
Josiah the son of Zephaniah (v.
10). This is a picture of the
remnant of Israel in the time of
the end being recovered after
long years of exile which began
with the captivity of Babylon.
Josiah's name means "he will be
sustained by Jehovah," and
Zephaniah means "treasured by
Jehovah." The exiles are
welcomed into such
circumstances, indicating that
God valued them and would
sustain them. They willingly
come with an offering, which
speaks of their voluntary
appreciation of the Messiah of
Israel.
In such a house Zechariah is to
make (with the offering) crowns
of both gold and silver, an
elaborate crown. He was to put
this crown on the head of
Joshua, the high priest, not on
Zerubbabel, the governor. This
was most unusual! Joshua was of
the line of Aaron, of the tribe
of Levi. Priests came from this
line, but never kings. Israel's
king came from the tribe of
Judah. But this occasion
symbolizes the fact that Christ
will be both Priest and King. He
is King, being of the tribe of
Judah, and Priest, not of the
Aaronic line, but of the order
of Melchizedek (Heb. 6: 20).
THE MESSAGE TO JOSHUA (vv.
12-15)
Zechariah is now instructed (v.
12) to tell Joshua the meaning
of this symbolic act, so Joshua
will not think he was actually
to be king. The message came
directly from the Lord of hosts,
"Behold the Man whose name is
the Branch." It is interesting
that over 500 years later,
Pilate the governor used these
first three words, "Behold the
Man" in presenting the Lord
Jesus before the Jews (John 19:
5). He probably did not know
anything about Zechariah's
prophecy, but God put these
words into his mouth, to face
the Jews with a prophecy they
knew referred to the Messiah.
Sad to say, it only incensed
them instead of convicting them.
We saw in Zechariah 3: 8 that
the Branch is literally "the
Sprout," the One who came from
the stalk of Jesse, as David
did, who specially typifies
Christ as King of Israel. He
would grow up from His own
place. Having a place of lowly
rejection to begin with, He
would by the power of God grow
up or emerge into a place of
highest honor and dignity. In
this verse the emphasis is on
the fact that He is truly "The
Man." Elsewhere the emphasis is
on His royalty (Jer. 23: 5), on
His being Servant (Zech. 3: 8),
and on His being "Jehovah" (Isa.
4: 2). All of these are
essential in God's Messiah, but
in our chapter both His royalty
and His priesthood are
considered, and both of these
require that He should be a true
Man.
The fact is emphasized the
second time (v. 13) that He
shall build the temple, for
man's natural pride would like
to think himself capable of
doing this. David's thoughts
along this line had to be
corrected (2 Sam. 7: 11), and
Peter's similar thoughts were
strongly reproved by God's voice
from heaven (Luke 9: 33-35).
Orthodox Jews today know this
scripture and are looking for
their Messiah to come and build
the temple. While many Jews are
stirred up to desire the Dome of
the Rock removed, wanting to
replace it by a Jewish temple,
yet they fear to do this. Still,
by the middle of the seven year
"tribulation" period following
the Rapture, there will be a
temple, erected by humans, in
such a location that it will be
called "the temple of God" (2
Thess. 2: 4).
The Branch, the Lord Jesus, will
build yet another temple of the
Lord at Jerusalem that will
endure through the Millennium.
All previous temples will have
been done away, including the
one which stands during the
tribulation period. Today,
however, before the time of the
Lord's building of Israel's
temple, He is engaged in the
building of a spiritual house,
the Church of God, adding to
that building every convert to
Himself as a living stone, and
the building is growing "into a
holy temple in the Lord" (Eph.
2: 21). Thus, believers are
"being built together for a
dwelling place of God in the
Spirit" (Eph. 2: 22). God
dwelling there is the most
important feature of the temple.
He loves to dwell with His own,
whether in the Church today, or
with Israel in the millennial
age.
Returning to verse 13, "He shall
bear the glory." The glory and
honor of being entrusted with
the authority of ruling Israel
and the whole world will be
perfectly safe when borne on the
shoulder of this faithful Son of
Man. He alone of all men will be
able to bear this glory. Even
David was not able to bear it:
he failed badly, as did Solomon
and the kings that followed. "He
shall sit and rule on His
throne." This looks forward to
the millennial age. Already He
is seated with the Father on the
Father's throne (Rev. 3: 21),
but will take His own throne
when coming as the Son of Man in
power and glory to subdue all
creation under His feet.
More than this, "He shall be a
priest on His throne." No king
of Israel could be a priest, for
kings were of the tribe of Judah
while priests were from Levi.
Yet before Israel's existence,
there was a man who was both
king and priest of the Most High
God (Gen. 14: 18). This man,
Melchizedek, was typical of
Christ, who would combine both
offices in His own person (Heb.
7: 1-3). While His kingship
establishes His authority, His
priesthood adds the wonderful
feature of tender grace and
sympathy (Heb. 4: 14-16). "The
counsel of peace shall be
between them both." While kings
and priests of Israel often
could not agree, yet in the
royalty and priesthood of Christ
there is beautiful concord:
authority and grace are
perfectly balanced in Him, both
being fully maintained according
to the counsel of God.
The crown would then remain as a
memorial in the temple of the
Lord to the three men mentioned
in verse 10, and as a memorial
to the grace or kindness of the
son of Zephaniah in having
welcomed the three exiles from
Babylon. The returning exiles,
as we have seen, are typical of
the remnant of Israel returning
in the last days, and the crowns
indicate their giving to the
Lord Jesus the place of supreme
authority as both King and High
Priest of His people. The
memorial of their faith will
remain, just as will the
memorial of the great grace by
which they are received back to
the land.
Other Israelites would come from
"far off" to help build the
temple, recognizing the true
Messiah in His directing that
building process. Peter refers
to those "far off" (Acts 2: 39)
as the dispersed Israelites, to
whom later he writes his first
epistle as guided by God (1
Peter 1: 1). On the other hand,
Paul writes to Gentiles as
having been "far off," yet
brought near by the blood of
Christ (Eph. 2: 13), who are
made members of the body of
Christ along with Jewish
believers of this present
dispensation of grace.
Whether Zechariah 6: 15 includes
Gentiles is a question perhaps
not easily settled, but Isaiah
60: 10 prophesies that "the sons
of foreigners shall build up
your walls," the walls of the
city, not the temple, and that
Gentiles will be most
cooperative with Israel in that
coming day of glory.
The coming of those from far off
to help build the temple was an
additional confirmation that
"the Lord of hosts has sent Me
to you." We may take this as the
words of the angel speaking with
Zechariah, but it seems to apply
in its fullness to the sending
of the Messiah in that future
day.
This would come to pass if
Israel would diligently obey the
voice of the Lord their God. But
sending of the Messiah will not
take place till Israel is
brought back from their
rebellious wanderings and into
subjection to the Word of God.
For centuries the nation of
Israel has been disobedient,
rebellious and scattered as
though not a nation at all,
stubbornly persisting in their
rejection of Christ. When
finally they receive Him, then
we are told, "Your people shall
be volunteers in the day of your
power" (Ps. 110: 3).
ZECHARIAH 7
A Question Answered Negatively
(vv. 1-7)
The visions and prophecies of
the first six chapters are
connected with the eighth month
of the second year of the reign
of Darius (Zech. 1: 1). It is
two years later when the
question of Zechariah 7: 3
arises. In this chapter the Lord
answers the question negatively,
and gives the positive answer in
Zechariah 8.
The question is asked by men
sent to the house of the Lord
from Bethel (JND). They had been
sent to pray and to ask the
priests and prophets in
Jerusalem, "Should I weep in the
fifth month and fast as I have
done for so many years?" The
fast of the fifth month was in
memory of the destruction of the
first temple. Now the temple was
being rebuilt (it was finished
within two years after this:
Ezra 6: 15), was it necessary to
continue this fast?
Bethel was one of the two
centers where Jeroboam set up
his idolatrous worship (1 Kings
12: 28-29) when he separated the
ten tribes from Judah and
Benjamin. The Assyrian took the
ten tribes into captivity before
the temple was destroyed (2
Kings 17: 6), yet here we find
men of Bethel who were mourning
the destruction of Jerusalem's
temple. It is good to see this
evidence of their being drawn
back to Judah and the center of
worship that God had established
in Israel. God's temple now
meant enough to them that they
were mourning over its
destruction, and were glad to
see it being rebuilt.
The Lord answered this question
through Zechariah. The answer
was addressed not only to those
who asked the question, but to
all the people of the land, and
to the priests particularly, who
were commonly the
representatives of the people.
Yet the question is only
partially answered in this
chapter: the positive side of
the answer awaits Zechariah 8.
The answer begins (v. 5) in the
form of another question, "When
you fasted and mourned in the
fifth and seventh months, during
those seventy years, did you
really fast for Me - for Me?"
The Lord adds a fast in the
seventh month, which was another
fast in memory of the murder of
Gedaliah by Ishmael (Jer. 41:
1-2). The Lord makes it a
serious question as to whether
these fasts were out of concern
for His glory or whether Israel
had selfish motives. On the
other hand also, when instead of
fasting they ate and drank, were
they not doing this entirely for
themselves and not eating and
drinking to the glory of God?
Whether or not the fasts had
begun with proper motives, they
did not continue that way. They
had degenerated into mere formal
and selfish observations, just
as later on we read of "the
Jews' Passover" (John 2: 13) and
"the Jews' feast of Tabernacles"
(John 7: 2), though these had
been called "the feasts of
the Lord" when instituted
in Leviticus 23: 4.
In verse 7 the Lord reminds
Israel that He had spoken by the
prophets in this same way to the
nation before the captivity took
place "when Jerusalem and the
cities around it were inhabited
and prosperous." Isaiah's
prophecy is most pointed in this
matter (Isa. 58: 3-7). He wrote
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham,
Ahaz and Hezekiah, previous to
Judah's captivity. They had
before ignored God's messages
and suffered for it. Let them
take a warning that they may
rightly respond now!
A FURTHER MESSAGE FROM GOD (vv.
8-14)
The message from verses 4-7 has
been one of serious reproof. The
Lord gives another message
beginning with verse 8, this
time adding exhortation as to
the proper attitude to accompany
fasting, while showing that this
attitude had been lacking in
Israel. As a result the people
were scattered among the
nations.
If their fast was honestly for
God, then they would show it in
their attitude toward others.
They would execute true
judgment, being fairminded in
their dealings, which would
require showing mercy and
compassion. They are told not to
oppress the widow. Unscrupulous
people will take cruel advantage
of a widow's lack of knowledge
as to business matters. The
fatherless, the strangers and
the poor also are in a position
that leaves them vulnerable to
such people. Yet this is
negative: the New Testament goes
much further than this, as for
example Galatians 6: 10,
"Therefore, as we have
opportunity, let us do good to
all." We surely ought not merely
to refrain from doing evil, but
should positively do good.
Israel had refused to listen to
God's prophets, but closed their
ears against the truth of God's
Word (v. 11). They had
deliberately made their hearts
as hard as a rock, so the law of
God would make no impression,
nor His Word sent by His Spirit
through the prophets. For this
reason the great wrath of God
burned against them (v. 12).
Just as God cried loudly to
Israel but they would not
listen, so when at last they cry
out in distress when suffering
the results of their rebellion,
so God said He would not listen
(v. 13). Rather, in His
righteous government, He
scattered them from their land
among many nations where they
were strangers (v. 14). Since
they did not want God, He put
them in the company of those who
did not know God, that they
might learn by experience the
bitterness of being away from
the kindness and care of their
faithful Creator. Their land was
left desolate as an awesome
governmental judgment from God,
with not even travelers passing
through it. This was true during
the 70 years of captivity and
has since been repeated when
Israel rejected the Lord Jesus
when He came in grace. Now,
after many centuries, God is
showing mercy in many returning
to the land with the nation of
Israel firmly established.
The negative side of the answer
of God thus emphasizes that
Israel had not learned to take
to heart the significance of
their fasting. Therefore they
are not told to cease their
fasting, for despite the little
apparent revival God had given
them, they had not learned the
self-judgment God was seeking to
teach them.
ZECHARIAH 8
The Positive Answer (vv. 1-17)
In this chapter the Lord gives a
wonderfully positive answer to
the question of Zechariah 7: 2.
The positive answer is found
only in His own great and
effective work to which the eyes
of Israel are to be directed.
Yet the answer looks forward,
far beyond any small measure of
revival in Israel, to the time
when God restores the nation
permanently in the age of
millennial glory.
Another direct word from the
Lord of hosts comes to
Zechariah, not regarding
Israel's guilt, but to affirm
His own great jealousy for
Zion's welfare. Zion (meaning
sunny) is Jerusalem's name given
in view of Christ's coming to
her as "the Sun of
Righteousness" (Mal. 4: 2) in a
future day. The Lord adds, "I am
zealous for Zion with great
zeal" (v. 2). How rightly He
hates the evil that has caused
His people to fall and to be
estranged from Him! When He
judges His anger will burn and
He will accomplish His ends.
His promise is irrevocable in
spite of Israel's failure. "I
will return to Zion and dwell in
the midst of Jerusalem" (v. 3).
The fulfillment of this has been
delayed for many centuries, and
Israel's failure has been the
cause of the delay. In fact, God
did return in person when Christ
came into the world, but Israel
coldly rejected Him, causing
further delay to His dwelling in
their midst. Only when their
attitude toward the Lord Jesus
is sovereignly changed to one of
faith and submission will they
be blessed with the joy of His
presence in their midst. Then
"Jerusalem shall be called the
City of Truth, the Mountain of
the Lord of hosts, the Holy
Mountain." What a contrast
indeed to what Revelation 11: 8
has to say of Jerusalem: "the
great city which spiritually is
called Sodom and Egypt." The
change will be absolutely the
Lord's doing. He will change
their corruption (their Sodom
character) into truth, and their
independence of God (their
Egyptian character) into
holiness. Wonderful work of
divine grace and power!
The permanence of the blessing
of the Millennium is seen in
verse 4, which tells us, "Old
men and old women shall again
sit in the streets of Jerusalem,
each one with his staff in his
hand because of great age." At
the time of writing, only the
young and virile had been able
to survive the rigors of
captivity and wars, and only the
comparatively young had returned
from the captivity. But during
the Millennium many people will
live through the entire thousand
years, so their age will be
great, yet they will not die.
The streets will be filled with
children playing, not filled
with civil rights marches and
protests and crime. Today the
streets are the most dangerous
areas for children to play, but
whatever modes of transportation
will then be used, they will
pose no threat even to children.
The pleasant circumstances of
prosperity and contentment will
be such a contrast to the
world's present day confusion.
When the time comes for this to
take place, it will seem too
difficult in the eyes of the
godly remnant of Israel (v. 6).
Will it also be too difficult in
God's eyes? It will involve
tremendous changes that even we
today may find it hard to
imagine. What will happen to the
results of the industrial
revolution? What of all the
amazing inventions that have
flooded the world's markets?
There is no question that all
the world's weapons of war will
be done away, but what of its
advanced methods of rapid
transportation, cars, trucks,
planes, space ships, etc.?
Distribution of food will be
necessary, and garbage disposal.
Homes will be built, crops
planted, clothing manufactured,
and many other things will
require the work of people's
hands. But where will the line
be drawn? At least there will
not be the complications of
present day society. The
simplicity of living is
emphasized wherever the
Millennium is spoken of in
Scripture. Accidental death will
apparently never take place, nor
the death of an infant (Isa. 65:
18-25). Whatever changes God
sees fit to introduce, He will
accomplish His promise perfectly
in spite of any objections
unbelief may advance.
For the fourth time in this
chapter the words are repeated,
"Thus says the Lord of hosts"
(v. 7). He is emphasizing the
absolute truth of what He says.
Though the returned remnant of
Israel was very small, God was
still "the Lord of hosts," the
Commander of multitudes. Though
Israel was scattered far from
their land, and are still
scattered, He will save them
just as simply as He saved the
remnant from the captivity of
the Medes and Persians. He will
bring them back eventually to
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem,
where He will own them as His
own people (v. 8). In Hosea 1: 9
God speaks of disowning Israel,
calling them "not My people"
because of their rebellion
against Him. But in the future,
they will have pleasure in
obeying Him.
Again, for the fifth time in
this chapter (v. 9) Israel is
told, "Thus says the Lord of
hosts." In this case He asks for
a fitting response from the
nation, though He later affirms
again the certainty of His own
work, interspersing this with
appeals to them to act
consistently in view of God's
faithfulness. "Let your hands be
strong." They were not to wait
for the coming day of glory to
act for God, but "You who have
been hearing in these days these
words by the mouth of the
prophets" were called upon to be
strong now. The prophets had
prophesied when the foundation
of the restored temple was laid.
God had spoken by the prophets.
The people were therefore
responsible to listen and apply
themselves to obey. This was
more important than being
occupied with questions as to
whether or not they should fast
at certain times. The temple
signified God's dwelling among
them. This wonderful fact should
have had deep effect on the
heart of every Israelite.
"For before these days, while
the land was lying desolate for
seventy years, there were no
wages for man nor hire for
beast; there was no peace from
the enemy for whoever went out
or came in; for I set all men,
everyone, against his neighbor"
(v. 10). This was the hand of
God in discipline, not merely
unfortunate circumstances. He
had changed Israel's
circumstances before from
favorable to miserable. His
power is just as effective to
change them back again. This
power not only changed
circumstances, but also
influenced the attitude of
people, setting them against one
another. By the same power God
could change people's attitudes
as well as their outward
circumstances. In other words,
they sorely need God!
"But now I will not treat the
remnant of this people as in the
former days, says the Lord of
hosts" (v. 11). The little
reviving God had given in
restoring the small fraction of
the people after the captivity
partially fulfilled this
promise, but the revival did not
last. So it was only a small
pledge of the later complete
fulfillment, which will take
place in the millennial kingdom
of the Lord Jesus.
God will then make the seed they
sow to prosper and cause their
vines to produce fruit (v. 12).
The ground will bring forth
abundance. The heavens will give
dew, not wild rainstorms, but
gentle moisture necessary for
growth, given at night with no
inconvenience for mankind. God
will cause the remnant of Israel
to possess all these blessings
in His own time.
As to the people themselves,
whether Judah or Israel, they
then will no longer be a curse
among the Gentiles, as they have
been for centuries (v. 13).
Gentiles have generally despised
the Jewish people, yet their
identity as Jews has been
maintained throughout the years
in spite of their being
scattered away from their land.
In every country where they have
been dispersed they have been
considered a curse. But God will
save them and they will become a
blessing, recognized as such by
the nations. This will be
another miraculous result of
God's work of grace in their
hearts. He tells them, "Do not
fear, let your hands be strong."
Their situation at the time
caused them to fear the
opposition of the nations, but
since God Himself will
eventually change this
opposition into approval, why
not now be strong to do the will
of God?
Again with the expression, "Thus
says the Lord of hosts" (v. 14),
the faithfulness of God in
carrying out His Word is pressed
on Israel. When His righteous
punishment had been executed in
the past because their fathers
had provoked Him to anger, He
had not repented of His
expressed warnings, but carried
out His Word. He meant what He
said. Similarly, His thoughts of
doing well to Israel have been
expressed in this very chapter
and in the great field of
prophecy (v. 15). In this case
His Word will not fail either.
Will they not trust Him as fully
for the second as for the first?
Well might they be told then not
to fear, but to let their hands
be strong. They may depend
utterly on the faithfulness of
God to uphold them.
With the basis of God's
faithfulness, how becoming and
right it is that He should
expect a true response, as is
seen in verses 16 and 17.
Notice, however, that no selfish
motive on God's part is involved
in what He requires. Rather, His
concern is for the welfare of
others. He insists that they
speak the truth to neighbors:
one should not deceive another.
Also, those who held the office
of judges in the gates are
expected to execute the judgment
of truth that has the element of
peace instead of resentment, as
was often the reaction to court
judgments in those days, just as
in our days. God is deeply
concerned as to how we consider
one another.
Verse 17 goes deeper than verse
16. Verse 16 refers to actions
and verse 17 to thoughts.
Imagining evil even in one's
heart toward one's neighbor is
forbidden, as is loving a false
oath. God knows our motives, and
we must judge them as in the
sight of God, for He hates all
evil, whether evil actions or
evil thoughts.
THE FASTS TURNED INTO FEASTS
(vv. 18-23)
Verses 18 and 19 connect with
the question of Zechariah 7: 3
and with the negative answer in
Zechariah 7: 5-6. Here we have
the positive answer in a way far
higher than the questioners had
ever imagined. For the seventh
time in the chapter the message
is prefaced with the words,
"Thus says the Lord of hosts."
The men from Bethel had asked
only about observing the fast of
the fifth month. In the negative
answer God had added the fast of
the seventh month (Zech. 7: 5).
Now two more fasts are added to
these, those of the fourth and
tenth months. The fast of the
fourth month was in memory of
Nebuchadnezzar's taking the city
Jerusalem (2 Kings 25: 3-4).
That of the tenth month
commemorated the beginning of
the siege of Jerusalem in the
ninth year of Zedekiah (1 Kings
25: 1).
Rather than telling the men of
Bethel to no longer observe
these fasts, the Lord tells them
that all of these fasts will be
turned into cheerful feasts of
joy and gladness for the house
of Judah. This refers to the
future because Judah has not
taken to heart the serious
significance of the fasts in
humbling themselves in
self-judgment and faith in the
Son of God. Yet God's answer in
grace far transcends all that
anyone could imagine, and He
will wonderfully carry out His
Word. Because of the certainty
of this, they are told to love
truth and peace. God has spoken
the truth; therefore love it. If
one's thoughts conflict with
this, he does not really love
peace: if he loves peace, he
will not entertain thoughts of
conflict with God.
In verse 9 for the eighth time
we are told, "Thus says the Lord
of hosts." In this case the Lord
promises that the blessing will
not be confined to the house of
Judah. The inhabitants of many
cities will come to share in the
joy that Judah is given. These
are the cities of Israel. Their
refreshing desire for fellowship
then will lead those of one city
to go to another, so that
together they might go up to
supplicate the Lord at
Jerusalem. The unity of Israel
will be far more than formal,
but will issue from willing
hearts.
In verse 22 the blessing is seen
to be wider still. Many peoples
and strong nations will also
come to seek the Lord and
present their supplication
before Him at Jerusalem.
Gentiles will recognize His
glory as being identified with
the people of Israel whom they
had long despised. How marvelous
this work of grace will be! What
a change from present day
intrigue, distrust, hatred and
violence even within Israel and
in all the nations toward her!
Again, for the ninth time in the
chapter it is emphasized, "Thus
says the Lord of hosts." When
those days arrive, as many as
ten Gentiles will be attracted
to one Jew, not to terrorize
him, but to seek his favor, for,
they will say, "we have heard
that God is with you" (v. 23).
In fact, the name of the city
will be "The Lord is there"
(Ezek. 38: 35).
ZECHARIAH 9
Syria, Tyre and Philistia to
Fall Under Judgment (vv. 1-8)
Beginning with this chapter the
book of Zechariah has a
distinctly different character.
No dates are mentioned as in the
first section of the book
(chapters 1 to 8), and no more
visions are found. Zechariah 9:
1 gives the emphasis of all the
remaining chapters, "the burden
of the Word of the Lord." The
word burden has the thought of a
weight heavy to bear, for God is
bringing His displeasure to bear
on mankind, and He intends
people to feel it.
The land of Hadrach is mentioned
first, though it is the only
occurrence of this name in
Scripture. Hadrach was a city
near Damascus, the capital of
Syria. The land of Hadrach was
to come under God's displeasure,
but Damascus was the place on
which it was to rest. The best
translation of the last part of
verse 1 is found in JND's
version: "For Jehovah hath an
eye upon men, and upon all the
tribes of Israel." "The eyes of
the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and
the good (Prov. 15: 3). When
judgment must fall, those eyes
will be "like a flame of fire"
(Rev. 1: 14). They scrutinize
and discern everything as it is.
This judgment against Damascus
and the land adjoining it was
carried out in measure not too
long after the prophecy, when
Alexander the Great invaded and
conquered the land, but there is
a longer range, yet future
fulfillment. Syria, at the time
of the end, will have an active
part in the invasion by the King
of the North into Israel, and
will suffer God's judgment for
this. The King of the North is
also called "the King of
Assyria" (Dan. 11: 40; Isa. 8:
7-8). The Assyrian empire
included Syria, Iraq and other
surrounding nations. Hamath also
(v. 2), a district bordering on
Damascus, will suffer a like
judgment. It was "at Riblah in
the land of Hamath" that a large
number of officials of Judah
were executed by Nebuzaradan,
captain of Nebuchadnezzar's
guard, when he took them captive
from Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:
18-21). This cold blooded murder
would be still in the memory of
the people, and surely also in
God's memory. "Tyre and Sidon,
though they are very wise," will
not escape the judgment of God.
These cities were in Phoenicia
(present day Lebanon) south of
Hamath. Tyre was famous for
having built a stronghold that
the nations were unable to
conquer, not even Nebuchadnezzar
who had besieged it for many
years. This verse refers to what
is called the new Tyre, built on
an island and highly fortified,
having a surrounding wall 150
feet or 46 meters high.
God observed Tyre, not only as
building a secure stronghold,
but making herself wealthy. In
Joshua 19: 29 she is called "the
fortified city of Tyre," and in
Isaiah 23 both Tyre and Sidon
are seen as centers of trade and
commerce (specially verse 8).
"Behold, the Lord will cast her
out; He will destroy her power
in the sea, and she will be
devoured by fire" (v. 4). This
devastating judgment was later
carried out on Tyre by Alexander
the Great. His armies besieged
the city for seven months before
finally taking it and massacring
ten thousand inhabitants.
However secure or wealthy people
make themselves, God will break
it down to nothing. There is no
true security and no true wealth
except in a genuine, dependent
faith in the living God. Though
these cities have in measure
been built up again today, the
future judgments of the
tribulation will completely
fulfill the prophecy of their
destruction.
Somewhat further south, the land
of the Philistines is next
considered. Four of its chief
cities are mentioned (Gath being
omitted). "Ashkelon shall see it
and fear; Gaza also shall be
very sorrowful: and Ekron, for
He dried up her expectation. The
king shall perish from Gaza, and
Ashkelon shall not be inhabited"
(v. 5). "A mixed race shall
settle in Ashdod, and I will cut
off the pride of the
Philistines" (v. 6). There have
been partial fulfillments of
these judgments too, but the
complete fulfillment will be at
the time of the end. The evils
that descend on these cities
will serve to cut off Philistine
pride. When God does this, He
also says He will take away the
blood from his mouth
(v. 7). The word his intimates
that the Philistines are looked
at as one person. It is the
blood of his idolatrous
sacrifices that is taken from
his mouth. No longer will his
mouth speak falsely.
"Abominations" is another word
for idols, and the Philistines
will be no longer ingesting the
evil teachings of idolatry. So
there is good accomplished by
God's judgments. There will be a
remnant of the Philistines who
will be "for our God" and will
be leaders in Judah, "and Ekron
as a Jebusite." At least some of
the Jebusites (previous
inhabitants of Jerusalem) were
incorporated into Israel (2 Sam.
24: 18-25). "Araunah the
Jebusite" was one who wanted to
give his property to David so
that David could use it in
sacrifice to God.
God would also camp about His
house because of the army (v.
8). His house is the literal
temple in Jerusalem, which He
would protect by His sovereign
power when the oppressing army
invades the land. This was
partially fulfilled when
Alexander the Great came to
Jerusalem, intending to destroy
it. But, instead of fortifying
the city to fight against him,
the Jews (according to Josephus)
prayed earnestly to God, then
the high priest led a procession
of robed priests out of the city
to meet Alexander. He was so
impressed by this action that he
not only spared the city, but
showed the Jews many favours.
This most interesting history is
found in "The Antiquities of the
Jews," Book XI, the latter part
of Zechariah 8.
However, this verse has never
been completely fulfilled, for
it is added, "no oppressor shall
pass through them any more." The
army of the King of the North at
the time of the end shall
"overwhelm them and pass
through" (Dan. 11: 40). Only
when this last oppressor has
been judged will the prophecy
receive its final fulfillment.
Meanwhile, the Lord knows how to
encamp around the site of the
temple and to preserve His own
interests among His people.
"For," He says, "now I have seen
with my eyes" (v. 8). The same
eyes of which verse 1 speaks
have taken full cognizance of
all that concerns Israel,
including the opposition of its
oppressors, and Israel may rest
in the knowledge that the Lord
sees all. This is a precious
rest too for every believer
today.
ISRAEL'S MESSIAH ANNOUNCED (vv.
9-17)
Verse 9 is unique in its beauty,
standing alone in contrast to
all that has gone before and
that which follows. It announces
the first coming of the Lord
Jesus, being presented to Israel
in lowly humility and grace.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of
Zion! Shout, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, your King is
coming to you; He is just and
having salvation, lowly and
riding on a donkey, a colt, the
foal of a donkey." The daughter
speaks of the godly remnant of
Israel who have purified
themselves from the general
corruption of the land, being
purified by faith in the Messiah
of Israel. Zion being mentioned
reminds us that the true
blessing of this remnant awaits
the sunshine of the glory of the
Millennium, for Zion means sunny. Zion
is also called the
daughter of Jerusalem, for
the two names are necessary to
give adequate testimony to the
character of the city. Jerusalem
means the
foundation of peace, for
peace must have a righteous
foundation.
"Behold your King is coming."
Though this was announced by
Zechariah many years before the
actual coming of the Lord Jesus
into the world, yet Israel was
not ready to receive Him when He
came. He fulfilled the prophecy
to the letter: "He is just." His
character on earth was beyond
the slightest question. Even His
enemies bore witness, "Teacher,
we know that You are true (Matt.
22: 16). Far more than this,
thank God, He gave himself in
sacrifice for our sins to
accomplish eternal salvation for
mankind, though this was not
understood at the time of His
death.
Though justice is to be expected
of a king, it is added that He
is "lowly," which is not a what
people would expect in a king -
a character indeed that was not
appreciated by Israel when the
blessed Lord Jesus was
manifested on earth. Therefore
they despised Him in spite of
their own scriptures foretelling
that this would be true of their
Messiah. He would come to
Jerusalem riding a colt of a
donkey. There is no record of
any king of Israel riding a
donkey, for the donkey is the
symbol of lowliness. Normally a
king would ride a horse, the
symbol of strength and conquest,
as will be true of the Lord
Jesus when He comes forth in
majestic power as "King of kings
and Lord of lords" (Rev. 19:
11-16) in a future day. But when
He was presented to Israel
riding a donkey (Luke 19:
25-40), He was not recognized by
His own people in spite of this
striking prophecy, and was
openly resisted by the Pharisees
(v. 39).
Another significant fact here is
that it was the colt of a
donkey. He rode a young animal,
unbroken, as Luke 19: 30 proves.
In spite of never having been
ridden before, it was fully
submissive to the Lord Jesus.
Israel ought to have learned
from this, that they too should
submit to the authority of the
lowly Son of Man.
Verse 9 goes far beyond verse 8.
There has now been an
intervening length of time
approaching 2000 years, for the
dominion of the King of kings
has not yet been established
"from sea to sea." God will cut
off the chariot from Ephraim and
the horse from Jerusalem.
Ephraim headed the ten tribes as
separated from Judah and
Benjamin, and of course
Jerusalem was the center of
Judah's worship. Jehu, king over
the ten tribes, was a fit man to
display the power of the chariot
in ruthless warfare (2 Kings 9:
20). In Jerusalem Solomon had
40,000 stalls of horses and
12,000 horsemen. He also had
chariots, but his horses,
specially those brought from
Egypt, are emphasized (2 Chr. 1:
16). The battle bow shall be cut
off. How wonderful will be the
day when armaments are no more!
"He shall speak peace to the
nations." This is the King of
verse 9. When His voice speaks,
it will be as He spoke to the
raging sea, "Peace, be still"
(Mark 4: 39), and immediately
there was a great calm. His
dominion will be "from sea to
sea and from the River to the
ends of the earth." Though He
speaks peace to the Gentile
nations, yet His dominion in the
following words is seen to be
specially over Israel. "From sea
to sea" speaks of the
Mediterranean to the Persian
Gulf, and the river is the
Euphrates, bordering the
northeast. To the ends of the
earth would intimate what God
said to Abraham, as far as the
Nile, the river of Egypt (Gen.
15: 18). This defines the extent
of Israel's borders in the age
to come, the Millennium.
It may be that verse 11 is
addressed to the daughter of
Zion (v. 9), unless God is
addressing the King. "Because of
the blood of your covenant"
refers to the new covenant
confirmed to Israel by the blood
of Christ shed on Calvary.
Jeremiah 31: 31-34 is a prophecy
of that covenant, and in Matthew
26: 27-28 the Lord Jesus affirms
the truth of "the blood of the
new covenant" as connected with
His own imminent death. That
covenant made with Israel will
become effective for them only
when they recognize Christ as
their Messiah, so this prophecy
of Zechariah refers to that day
when "you prisoners of hope"
(the many Jews who have been in
Gentile bondage) will be sent
forth out of the pit wherein is
no water. After years of such
bondage, deprived of the
refreshing water of the Word of
God, what a relief this will be
to the distressed remnant of
Israel!
The prisoners of hope are
therefore urged to return again
to the stronghold (v. 12). They
are not to think of themselves
as prisoners hopeless in their
captivity, but having reason for
hope because of the promise of
God. But that promise is vitally
connected with "the stronghold,"
the promised Messiah of Israel.
They need Him! In fact a further
promise is given them: "Even
today I declare that I will
restore double to you." This
reminds us of Job, who, after he
had passed through his dreadful
affliction, was given double the
wealth he had previously (Job
42: 10). God's thoughts toward
us are always of grace, though
He may allow trials that
sometimes seem unbearable. For
believers the end will be
marvelously wonderful. Verse 13
speaks of Judah and Ephraim both
being weapons in God's hand, so
this looks on to the time of the
end when the tribes are united
again, and Greece, though it had
not yet risen, will be fully
defeated after all of its
oppression of Israel, as will
all other Gentile oppressors.
"Then the Lord will be seen over
them" (v. 14). He will visibly
take His place as Commander of
His armies, and His arrow will
go forth like lightning.
Judgment will be swift and
decisive. The Lord God blowing
the trumpet speaks of His
declared testimony against evil
that will be heard by all the
world. His marching with
whirlwinds from the south is
interesting, for the south
generally speaks of favorable
circumstances, but out of such
circumstances there can be
sudden, unexpected trouble for
men. When the south wind blew
softly, the sailors in Acts 27:
13 supposed they had gained
their purpose, but they soon
encountered a violent storm.
Thus, when people say, "Peace
and safety," then sudden
destruction will come upon them
(1 Thess. 5: 3), just as
"whirlwinds from the south."
Verse 14 said, "the Lord will be
seen over them." Now verse 15
adds, "The Lord of hosts will
defend them," that is, His
people Israel. This is a
figurative devouring of enemies
on the part of Israel, and a
trampling down of any opposition
of the enemy. The drinking too
is a picture of their shedding
the blood of their enemies and
making a noise of exultation,
similar to the noise of one who
has been drinking. Being filled
like bowls speaks of their being
fully satisfied with the results
of the solemn judgment of God
against their enemies. "Like the
corners of the altar" reminds us
of the blood of the sin offering
on the four horns of the altar
of burnt offering (Lev. 4: 25).
This speaks of a relationship
with God being established on
the basis of the sacrifice and
bloodshedding of Christ. The
destruction of enemies is not
only for Israel's relief, but to
make Israel realize more fully
the value of Christ's sacrifice
on their account. We too should
realize something of this. Since
God must severely punish the
ungodly for their persistent
rebellion against His authority,
and we ourselves are to witness
the dreadful judgment of God
carried out in perfect
righteousness at the Great White
Throne (Rev. 20: 11-15), we
shall be all the more impressed
by, and thankful for, the one
great sacrifice of the Lord
Jesus by which we too are
delivered from such judgment.
"The Lord their God will save
them" (v. 16). He is seen over
them (v. 14), He defends them
(v. 15) and He saves them (v.
16). This will be a complete and
permanent salvation, not like
one of the many deliverances of
Israel in their past history
when they soon reverted back to
a state of disobedience and
self-will. They will then be a
nation born of God, true to
their character "as the flock of
His people." The flock speaks of
their character of complete
dependence upon their Shepherd,
as well as the unity of their
being gathered, rather than as
individual sheep. How little
Israel has known of that unity
in all their past history! And
sad to say, we, the Church of
God, have lacked proper
apprehension of the more vital,
beautiful unity established in
the Church, so that we have
failed in practicing it as we
ought. This is not just a unity
of twelve tribes, but a unity of
countless numbers of individuals
from every nation under heaven
redeemed by the precious blood
of Christ.
Another symbol is added. Israel
is said to be "like the jewels
of a crown, lifted like a banner
over His land." The crown will
belong to the Lord Jesus, but
the born-again children of
Israel will be like jewels in
that crown, glittering with the
reflection of the pure light of
God in His land, prepared by Him
for their blessing and for His
glory.
Verse 17 lifts our eyes above
this great blessing for Israel,
to contemplate the Blesser
Himself! "For how great is His
goodness and how great is His
beauty!" His character of
goodness is wonderful, but it
draws fuller attention to the
great beauty of His own person.
The beauty is in Him, not in
Israel, though Israel will
reflect that beauty as jewels
reflect the light. This is
confirmed by Psalm 90: 17, "Let
the beauty of the Lord our God
be upon us." It is His beauty
that David desired to behold in
the house of the Lord (Ps. 27:
4). But in having our eyes
directed to the Lord's goodness
and beauty, we will in some
measure reflect this in our own
character.
When Israel recognizes the
goodness and beauty of the
Messiah, giving Him His place of
rightful prominence, the
prosperity of the nation will
follow. The young men will
flourish through abundance of
grain, the maidens through new
wine. Young men, previously
conscripted for military
service, not able to have their
own homes, will prosper as never
before. The young women too,
often left without hope of
eventual marriage because of
mortality among men who were
called to war, will be supplied
with the new wine, which speaks
of a new-found joy in a change
of their entire situation.
Everywhere today the strongest
dissatisfaction with
circumstances is seen among
young men and women who rise up
in protest against the
government, many also suing
their employers because of this
discontent. When these find
genuine satisfaction, then
children and old people too will
have no cause for complaint.
Only in the knowledge of the
Lord Jesus will this
satisfaction be found.
ZECHARIAH 10
Blessing Assured in God's Time
(vv. 1-12)
Following the prophecy of the
certainty of God's future
blessing for Israel, based on
the perfect goodness and beauty
of the Messiah, how good it is
to see Israel encouraged to
pray. They are to do so,
however, as recognizing God's
own time. Faith does this, for
it depends on the certainty of
the Word of God. This blessing
for Israel is to be "at the time
of the latter rain." The early
rain was in October and
November, and the latter rain in
March and April. Spiritually,
there has been an early rain for
Israel when the Lord Jesus came
in lowly grace to suffer and die
on Calvary. But Israel was not
even grateful for this and took
no advantage of it. Since then
she has been passing through the
winter of cold unbelief toward
her Messiah, and the intensity
of that winter will culminate in
the great tribulation. But the
springtime, "the time of the
singing of birds," will follow
this long distress, and the
godly in Israel will be awakened
to pray earnestly for the latter
rain. It will come whether they
all pray for it or not, but God
desires His people to be in tune
with His thoughts of grace.
The thunderstorms of heavy rain
will make the earth bring forth
richly for Israel. This will no
doubt be literal for the sake of
the land, but its spiritual
significance is more precious
still, in the nation being
refreshed and blessed in true
spiritual prosperity.
Verse 2 shows that Israel had
special reason to appeal to God
in prayer, for they had been
deluded by idols (or teraphim)
by which idolaters sought
supernatural help, and by
diviners- those in contact with
evil spirits, claiming
supernatural powers. They had
comforted in vain, making people
feel comfortable when they were
headed for greater trouble. The
result was the people were
wandering like sheep without a
shepherd, and found themselves
in trouble. There was really no
shepherd at all, though there
were those who took that outward
place. Against these, the anger
of the Lord was kindled (v. 3),
for they were false shepherds,
responsible to care for the
people, but oppressing them
instead. Also, he speaks of
punishing the "he-goats."
Because goats are more able to
lead than are sheep, sheep often
will follow a goat. Goats are
typical of unbelievers (Matt.
25: 31-46), and it has often
happened that believers will
follow an unbeliever who has an
impressive title and ability to
speak, but leads them in the
wrong direction.
The Lord of hosts will visit His
flock, to take His rightful
place as Shepherd over the house
of Judah and will make His flock
"as His royal horse in the
battle." A royal horse is far
different than a sheep. But when
the time of judgment comes, the
sheep will be given by God the
dignity and courage of a
warhorse to go boldly into the
battle against the evils that
had formerly oppressed them.
"From Him comes the
cornerstone." From the true
Shepherd of Israel the
cornerstone will be manifested.
This is a prophecy concerning
the Lord Himself. He is the
cornerstone of God's edifice.
Isaiah 28: 16 speaks of Him as
"a precious cornerstone," and 1
Peter 2: 6 confirms this One as
being the Lord Jesus. He is also
spoken of as the foundation,
that upon which the entire
building stands. The cornerstone
is the reference point for the
whole building: all receives its
character from Him. It speaks of
that which is stable, providing
lasting blessing for Israel in
contrast to the instability of
their condition described in
verse 2.
From Him "the nail" or peg also
will come. This is another
designation of the Messiah. He
is as "a peg in a secure place"
(Isa. 22: 23). "The nail" (KJV)
is a hanger for clothes or other
articles. He will bear up all
the glory that no one else can
bear, a weight of glory far
beyond mere human strength.
Also, "the battle bow" comes
from God, this being another
symbol of the Lord Jesus. He
will accomplish victories just
as the bow releases the arrows
to effectively defeat the power
of the enemy. His arrows will
always find their mark. These
features of His character are
vitally connected to the
establishing of blessing for
Israel in the Millennium.
The last thing added here
includes others beside the
Messiah: "From Him every ruler
together." He will appoint those
whom He chooses to exercise
administrative authority over
revived Israel. The word together involves
the unity of such rulers in
subjection to the Lord. He will
make them "as mighty men" (v.
5), giving them power to "tread
down their enemies in the mire
of the streets," in contrast to
their often having been trodden
down themselves in the past.
This looks on to the end of the
tribulation, following the time
when the Lord Jesus suddenly
appears on the Mount of Olives
and Israel is broken down in
true repentance and faith to
receive their once-rejected
Messiah. Then "Judah also shall
fight at Jerusalem" (Zech. 14:
14) under the leadership of the
Lord Jesus, "because the Lord is
with them." The joy of the
Lord's presence with them will
give them unusual courage and
strength, so their enemies,
though riding on imposing war
horses, will be put to shame.
"I will strengthen the house of
Judah" (v. 6). Though Judah will
be weakened to the point of
despairing of recovery, the
strength of the Lord will change
this completely. The house of
Joseph also is mentioned here.
The Lord will save them. In
verses 6-12 we have the one
direct reference to the ten
tribes in Zechariah. They are
first spoken of as Joseph, then
as Ephraim who was the son of
Joseph and took the place of
representing the ten tribes who
are sometimes called Ephraim,
sometimes Joseph and often
Israel.
Though Zechariah deals most
extensively with Jerusalem and
Judah, yet he uses this one
occasion to tell us that the ten
tribes also will yet share in
the great blessing of the
millennial kingdom of the Lord
Jesus. He will save them and
bring them again from their
state of obscurity back to the
land. Judah is reminded that,
though they have despised the
other tribes because of their
defection during the reign of
Rehoboam, God will have mercy on
these tribes and they shall be
as though God had not cast them
off. Wonderful is the grace of
God that can reverse the painful
inflictions of His governmental
judgments when those judgments
have accomplished their purpose.
He can do this because He is
"the Lord their God," and will
hear them. They have been "lost"
or "hidden" for centuries. But
He knows where they are, and
will bring them figuratively
from their graves.
"Those of Ephraim shall be like
a mighty man" (v. 7), just as is
said of Judah in verse 5. This
is a wonderful change that will
bring such rejoicing as through
wine. The difference is that
wine will cheer a person only
for a short time, but the joy of
Ephraim will be lasting and
full. Their children also will
be interested observers, and
will be glad, for this will be a
dramatic change from a life that
held no prospect of prosperity
and blessing. They will rejoice,
not only in their circumstances,
but "in the Lord." The knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Himself will
make all the difference.
"I will whistle for them and
gather them" (v. 8). The word
for whistle refers
to a shrill-noted pipe used by
shepherds to gather the sheep.
Israel will thus respond to the
authoritative call of the Lord
Jesus in that day and will
return to Him. He adds, "for I
will redeem them." This is
prophetic language. Though the
nation has been terribly
decimated and depleted in
numbers, they will again be as
numerous as in their brightest
days.
"When I scatter them among the
peoples, they will remember Me
in far countries, and they with
their children will live and
come back" (v. 9). God was in
perfect control of Israel's
scattering and prophesied of it
long before. The length of their
scattering has been far greater
than might have been imagined,
and some have argued that it has
been too long for Israel even to
be recognized if they are
regathered. But God's sovereign
work is seen wonderfully in
this. Jews have retained their
national identity, though for
centuries scattered among other
nations. As to the ten tribes,
God is just as able to bring
them back as He is to bring
those of Judah back to the land,
as He has been doing in recent
years. Wonderful is the grace of
God, and His power is no less
wonderful.
Verse 10 indicates that some
have been dispersed in the land
of Egypt, others throughout the
Assyrian empire which embraced a
large part of the Middle East.
Egypt is to the south and
Assyria to the north, contrary
directions, so the ten tribes
have been scattered in different
areas, just as Judah was. God
will bring them "into the land
of Gilead and Lebanon." Judah
did not inhabit those areas as
did the other tribes. Gilead is
east of Jerusalem and Lebanon
north. Israel will take
possession of what was theirs
centuries ago. But even this
will not provide room for them,
a statement that brings to mind
Isaiah 49: 20, "The children you
will have after you have lost
the others, will say again in
your ears, 'The place is too
small for me; give me a place
where I may dwell.'"
The answer to this protest as to
the size of Israel's land in the
past is found in one of God's
earliest prophecies. He told
Abram, "To your descendants I
have given this land, from the
river of Egypt to the great
river, the River Euphrates"
(Gen. 15: 16). These borders
embrace a size much larger than
Israel has ever yet possessed,
but God has promised it to the
nation.
"He shall pass through the sea
with affliction, and strike the
waves of the sea" (v. 11). The
sea is a symbol of the Gentile
nations (Rev. 17: 15). The Lord
Jesus will pass through all of
these in His devastating
judgment. The deeps of the river
too, the sources of refreshment
for those nations, will be dried
up, leaving them desolated.
Assyria and Egypt are specially
mentioned as being brought low.
The ten tribes will be
strengthened in the Lord to
"walk up and down in His name"
(v. 12), no longer restrained by
enemies, but in the freedom of
having their own land, in
willing submission to the Lord's
authority.
ZECHARIAH 11
Judgment Because the True
Shepherd of Israel is Rejected
and a False Shepherd Accepted
(vv. 1-6)
This chapter is all prophetic,
dealing chiefly with the
suffering of Israel because of
their rejection of Christ, which
eventually results in their
tragic acceptance of the
antichrist, who will be judged
in God's time.
"Open your doors, O Lebanon,
that fire may devour your
cedars" (v. 1). Lebanon has been
a constant victim of invasion
from the north and has for years
suffered through various foreign
nations maintaining a standing
army within its borders. But
Lebanon has not yet seen the
worst. Unwilling though it may
be, it will have to open its
doors to allow the northern
army, the King of the North and
his satellites, to pass through
to attack Israel at the time
when Israel has set up "the
abomination of desolation" in
the holy place. This will be at
the middle of Daniel's 70th week
(Dan. 9: 27), the beginning of
the 3 1/2 years of "great
tribulation." While Israel is
the object of attack, yet
Lebanon will have great trouble
too. The fire devouring her
cedars may be literal, but its
figurative significance is more
serious, for the cedars speak of
men of high dignity. The fir
tree (v. 2) implies the
prosperous, the oaks of Bashan,
the strong. All of this will be
brought low, including "the
forest of the vintage." The mass
of common people (the forest)
will no longer provide a
"vintage" or valuable proceeds
for the strong and mighty.
The attack of the King of the
North proceeds rapidly
southward. Not only are the high
and mighty in Lebanon brought
low, but the King of the North,
"like a whirlwind" (Dan. 11: 40)
comes against Israel and her
"worthless shepherd," the
antichrist. The shepherds (of
verse 3) who howl are primarily
Israel's leaders, because "their
glory" is spoiled. This appears
to refer to the temple, which
God would protect if Israel had
been faithful to Him, but at
that time the nation will be
dreadfully defiled by idolatry.
Therefore, He allows the temple
to fall into the hands of the
enemy. The King of the North and
his armies (being evidently
Moslem) will take pleasure in
desecrating it, as is prophesied
in Psalm 79: 1.
The roaring of the young lions
is in contrast to the howling of
the shepherds, while both are
occasioned by the same attack.
The lions are the fighters, and
it appears that "the pride of
Jordan" is Israel's boast in
military strength. This will
quickly be reduced to nothing.
Verse 4 goes back to consider
the Word of the Lord previously
spoken to the shepherds: "Feed
the flock of slaughter." The
Lord was concerned for His
people who were virtually
destined for slaughter, as it is
said also concerning Christians
today, "For your sake we are
killed all day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the
slaughter" (Rom. 8: 36). This is
quoted from Psalm 44: 22, which
applies directly to Israel.
God's thoughts toward them were
not those of slaughter, but of
concern that they should be fed.
But their possessors (or
captors) considered it proper to
kill them, thinking that Israel
deserved such ill treatment.
Therefore, they considered
themselves not guilty in making
Israel suffer. They were
increasing their wealth by
exploiting Israel and thanking
the Lord that He had guided them
to do this! Such is the
perversity of men's hearts.
Further, "their shepherds do not
pity them" (v. 5). These are the
authorities in Israel,
responsible to care for the
sheep, but they were scornful
men, greedy of gain, just as
will be the case at the time of
the end (Isaiah 28: 14-18).
Sadly, the people will willingly
accept such rulers, and must
suffer the consequences.
The Lord says He will no longer
pity the inhabitants of the
land. Judgment would solemnly
fall, with men being delivered
up to their neighboring enemies
and into the hand of the King of
the North, as we have already
seen in this chapter. They would
desolate the land without any
intervention by God: He would
not deliver Israel. Later the
Lord Himself will come to
deliver them from the King of
the North, but this will be only
when He has accomplished His
full work with His own people by
means of the sufferings of the
tribulation.
THE TRUE SHEPHERD (vv. 7-14)
"So I fed the flock of
slaughter" (v. 7). Zechariah is
looked at as picturing the Lord
Jesus. Though judgment was
impending for Israel, this true
Shepherd would spare no effort
in seeking their restoration,
and would feed them as long as
they would receive His
ministrations. His history on
earth during His first coming
shows this beautifully. He
continued to diligently seek
Israel's blessing until they
rejected and crucified Him. The
leaders determined His
crucifixion, and the crowd
followed them. Those who were
true ("the poor of the flock")
were glad to receive the
spiritual food He gave them, but
this was a very small minority.
The two shepherd's staves that
Zechariah takes are called
Beauty and Bands. The first
speaks of Israel's relationship
to God, which is beautiful when
there is willing submission to
Him. It will be fully true when
Israel is restored to the Lord
for millennial blessing, as
Psalm 90: 17 indicates, "Let the
beauty of the Lord our God be
upon us." God had proposed such
beauty for Israel on the basis
of their obedience under law
(Deut. 7: 12-15). "Bands"
symbolizes the unity of Israel
in relationship to one another.
If their relationship to God had
been right, then their
relationship to one another also
would have remained stable.
Verse 8 shows that the true
Shepherd cares so perfectly for
His sheep that He says, "Three
shepherds also I cut off in one
month." These are evil men,
taking the place of shepherds,
but spoiling the flock. He says,
"my soul was vexed (or grieved)
with them, and their soul also
loathed me" (JND). There have
been many speculations as to who
these three are, for there is no
record in Israel's history of
such a thing. Therefore it must
be prophetic. I know of no other
case of three prominent enemies
of the Lord Jesus being cut off
in so short a time, other than
the beast, the false prophet and
the King of the North. The Roman
beast and the false prophet (the
antichrist) will be taken
together at Armageddon by the
Lord Jesus appearing on the
white horse (Rev. 19: 11-20),
and they are cast alive into the
Lake of Fire.
Immediately after this, the Lord
appears in Jerusalem when the
city is surrounded by the armies
of the King of the North. The
Jews will break down in deep
repentance when they look on Him
whom they had pierced (Zech. 12:
9-14). He will then go forth at
the head of Israel's armies to
fight against the besieging army
(Zech. 14: 3, 14). The King of
the North will haughtily "rise
against the Prince of princes;
but he shall be broken without
human means" (Dan. 8: 25). This
man will evidently share the
same fate as the beast and the
false prophet in being cast into
the Lake of Fire (Isa. 30:
31-33). The King of the North
and the Assyrian are the same
person. All three of these will
consider themselves to be
shepherds of the people,
concerned for the prosperity of
their own respective nations,
but all will be cut off in the
space of a literal month. I do
not speak dogmatically as to
this verse applying to them, but
I do not know of another three
who fit the description. These
three will cause Israel her
greatest trouble at the time of
the end.
Verse 9 shows that, in spite of
the Lord's true care for Israel,
they had rebelled against Him,
for it is because of their
rebellion that He said, "I will
not feed you." He leaves them
for the time being to suffer the
results of their folly: He will
not intervene to prevent the
death and cutting off of those
who were suffering these
results. "Let it die." "Let it
be cut off." More than this, He
says, "Let the rest eat every
one the flesh of another." This
literally has taken place in
some of Israel's ordeals when
besieged (2 Kings 6: 26-29) and
no doubt will take place in the
tribulation. Spiritually
speaking, the bitter animosity
between neighbors results in
people biting and devouring one
another. Such things result from
ignoring God.
Zechariah then took the first
staff, Beauty, and
cut it in pieces (v. 10). This
symbolizes that the relationship
between Israel and God had been
broken. The covenant of law was
conditional upon Israel's
obedience. When Israel rebelled,
God was perfectly right in
breaking that covenant, for
Israel had first broken it. That
beautiful relationship was
therefore totally broken off.
"All the peoples" (or tribes) of
the nation of Israel were
included in this cleavage
between themselves and the Lord.
However, there were some in the
nation, "the poor of the flock"
(v. 11) - the godly remnant -
who waited upon God, having
attentive hearts to recognize
His dealings. They discerned
that the word of the Lord was
operative in God giving up
Israel to the painful
consequences of their guilt. But
most were callous and
undiscerning, giving God no
credit for being in control of
things by the authority of His
Word.
The language of verses 10 and 11
is veiled, for we know from
Matthew 27: 3-10 that this
prophecy was fulfilled in the
sad history of Judas betraying
the Lord Jesus for thirty pieces
of silver, then in remorse
returning to the chief priests
with the money and throwing it
down in the temple. With this
money they bought the potter's
field for a place to bury
strangers.
Why is the Lord represented in
Zechariah as asking, "If ye
think good, give me my price?"
Is it not because He was
presented to Israel, giving them
the choice as to what to do to
Him? He did not fight against
being delivered up. They decided
it was worth thirty pieces of
silver, the price of a slave
being gored to death by an ox
(Ex. 21: 32), to have Him
murdered. Then in verse 13 God's
sovereign word speaks, "Throw it
to the potter." While the chief
priests are seen in Matthew as
making the decision, it was
really God who sovereignly
worked in them to bring them to
this decision. How good to know
that God is in perfect control!
As to the thirty pieces of
silver, Zechariah says, "I took
the thirty pieces of silver and
threw them into the house of the
Lord for the potter." While it
was Judas who actually threw the
money down in the house of the
Lord, the matter is spoken of in
this way to show the humble
acceptance of the Lord Jesus in
His being rejected, and also to
emphasize the enormity of
Israel's guilt in the blood
money being displayed in the
temple, the place so holy to
Israel! The potter is one who
has power over the clay to make
one vessel to honor, another to
dishonor (Rom. 9: 21), a
reminder of God's sovereign
working with "the poor of the
flock" or with people like
Judas, the chief priests or
Pilate, who, in spite of their
stubborn determination to do
their own will, were only tools
in the hand of a sovereign God
The Messiah being rejected, it
follows that the second staff, Bands must
be cut in pieces (v. 14),
signifying the breaking of the
unity of Judah and Israel. Since
their relationship to God has
been severed by the cutting of Beauty, their
relationship to one another will
quickly suffer similarly. They
will be left in a state of
discord and misery. This ends
the subject of the true Messiah
and His rejection by His people,
with the ensuing consequences.
THE WORTHLESS SHEPHERD (vv.
15-17)
We have seen Zechariah
impersonating the true Shepherd;
now in verse 15 the Lord
instructs him to impersonate the
foolish shepherd, the
antichrist, taking the equipment
of this man in order to feel the
seriousness of a state of
rebellion against the Lord.
In Acts 3: 26 Peter's words to
Israel are reported, "To you
first, God, having raised up His
servant Jesus, sent Him to bless
you." But Israel refused Him and
rejected the blessing He had to
bring. Now God says, "I will
raise up a shepherd in the land
who will not care for those who
are cut off, nor seek the young,
nor heal those that are broken,
nor feed those that stand
still." This is the negative
side: this shepherd will bring
no blessing whatever. God will
raise him up because Israel has
refused the faithful Shepherd,
so that Israel may learn by
experience the folly of such a
choice. The Lord Jesus has come
in His Father's name and was not
received: the antichrist will
come in his own name and will be
received by Israel (John 5: 43).
This will take place only after
the rapture of the Church to
heaven. While his coming will be
according to the working of
Satan (2 Thess. 2: 9), yet God
is sovereignly above this, and
tells Israel that He will raise
up that deceiver.
The antichrist not only has a
negative side to his evil
character in bringing no
blessing to Israel, but has a
positively wicked side seen in
his eating the flesh of the fat
sheep and tearing off their
hoofs. The fat sheep are those
who prosper, and the antichrist
will devour their prosperity and
will render them unfit for any
proper walk before God. He will
be a master of hypocrisy,
pretending to be a devoted Jew
concerned for the welfare of his
people (Ps. 55: 12-14), yet all
the time defrauding them. Then
we are told in the same chapter,
Psalm 55: 21, "The words of his
mouth were smoother than butter,
but war was in his heart: his
words were softer than oil, yet
they were drawn swords." He will
use the godly remnant of Israel
to help him gain a place of
authority, as is seen in Psalm
55: 12-14, keeping company with
them as one of them, taking
sweet counsel together with them
and going to the house of God
together. Like Judas, he will
deceive the godly into thinking
he is one of them. Then when he
has risen to a place of
prominence among them, he will
cruelly turn against them and
persecute those who had
befriended him (Ps. 55: 20).
Though pretending to be a
shepherd, he will be a mere
hireling (John 10: 12).
"Woe to the worthless shepherd
who leaves the flock" (v. 17).
This man is called by many
names. Being worthless, he is
only fit for being cast out. His
boastful prominence will be
short-lived; then the solemn woe
of God will fall in devastating
judgment and he will be cast
alive into the Lake of Fire
(Rev. 19: 20).
We are told this worthless
shepherd leaves the flock. When
he has become great in Israel,
uniting his forces with the
Roman beast (Rev. 13), he will
set up an image to the beast in
the temple area of Jerusalem.
This image is called "the
abomination of desolation"
(Matt. 24: 15). He will call
upon Israel to give allegiance
to the beast. The whole western
world will fall under the
beast's deception, being
persuaded that no one will be
able to wage war against the
beast successfully. But this
will not intimidate the King of
the North, whom, because of
Israel's protection of idolatry
(Dan. 9: 27), God will send to
invade the land. He will come
against the antichrist "as a
whirlwind," and this worthless
shepherd will "leave the flock."
At the time when the people of
Israel face the greatest trouble
of their history, this proud
leader, held in such honor, will
desert the sheep and leave them
to the tender mercies of the
wolf! What a contrast to the
true Shepherd who will return to
Israel shortly after, when they
are in danger of being totally
annihilated. He will comfort His
sheep and lead them forth to
pour out His judgment on the
King of the North and his armies
(Zech. 12: 10; Zech. 14: 3, 14).
The sword will be upon
antichrist's arm, to dry it up
(not cut it off). The arm speaks
of the power to accomplish
results. The sword, typically
the Word of God, has power to
render all the power of the
creature useless. The antichrist
will still have two arms to be
cast into hell fire (Mark 9:
43). His right eye will be
blinded. The left eye speaks of
reasoning power by which we
receive light, but the right eye
is more important, speaking of
the principle of faith in the
living God. Because this man
puts God out of his thoughts, he
blinds himself to the truth of
God by his perverted mind. When
one willfully blinds himself,
God will judicially blind him.
But he will still have two eyes
to be cast into hell fire (Mark
9: 47).
ZECHARIAH 12
The Deliverance of Judah and
Jerusalem (vv. 1-9)
In this chapter Judah is
mentioned five times, Jerusalem
ten times. All in this chapter
(as well as chapters 13 and 14)
is prophetic of the future,
except for the reference in
Zechariah 13: 7 to the smiting
of God's Shepherd, the death of
Christ, which is plainly
connected with the entire
prophecy.
This is "the burden of the word
of the Lord for Israel," for the
whole nation will be involved,
though Judah is seen to be the
center of the nation: her
eventual blessing will mean the
blessing of all Israel. The Lord
introduces Himself as the One
who "stretches out the heavens,
lays the foundation of the
earth, and forms the spirit of
man within him." These verbs,
"stretches out," "lays" and
"forms" have a continuing force.
We are dealing with a God who
has not only brought everything
into being, but who continues
His work of maintaining creation
according to His own sovereign
will. There are some who think
that after God's initial work of
creation, He retired from the
scene and allowed everything to
evolve by itself, but this is
totally false! His power is
engaged continually in upholding
the heavens and the earth, and
also in forming man's spirit
within him. We know that our
thoughts, feelings and attitudes
change as we grow older. This is
because God continues to deal
with us all our lives through.
Israel, in their state of
indifference to God's claims,
needed to be reminded of God's
continuing dealings with them.
"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a
cup of bewilderment unto all the
peoples round about, and also
against Judah shall it be in the
siege against Jerusalem" (v.
2-JND) This word bewilderment has
in it the thought of causing
people to reel or stagger like a
drunken person. When either
enemies or friends meddle with
Jerusalem, God will make them
act as if they drank a potion
that reduces them to a state of
inability to act sensibly. The
siege against Jerusalem and
Judah is the attack of the King
of the North and his various
satellite armies during the time
of the Great Tribulation.
"And it shall happen in
that day that I will make
Jerusalem a very heavy stone for
all peoples; all who would heave
it away will surely be cut in
pieces, though all the nations
of the earth are gathered
against it" (v. 3). The
expression "in that day"
corresponds to the many
references to "the day of the
Lord" in Scripture. This day
begins when the Lord Himself
intervenes in active judgment
because of man's evil having
risen to the height of publicly
challenging God's authority by
the erection of the image to the
beast in the temple area of
Jerusalem (Rev. 13: 14-17). All
those nations who think they can
handle Jerusalem, whether from a
viewpoint of hostility or of
apparent desire to help them,
will suffer far worse
consequences than they had
imagined. This will be true, not
only for the King of the North
and his allies, who come with
the object of annihilating
Israel, but also for the beast
and his Western European armies,
who come to defend Israel
against the King of the North.
This reminds us of God's words
to Laban, "Be careful that you
speak to Jacob neither good nor
bad" (Gen. 31: 24). God was
dealing with Jacob: Laban must
not excuse Jacob or defend him
in wrong doing, nor must he
accuse or condemn him. Nations
too must learn that others must
be left to God to deal with,
rather than take it on
themselves to interfere one way
or the other.
In verse 4 the Lord's smiting
the horse and rider with
astonishment and madness refers
to the King of the North and his
allies gathered against Judah.
God opens His eyes upon Judah,
that is, He takes an active role
in watching over them for good.
Therefore He confuses their
enemies and the horses on which
they depend. The horses may
stand for the policies and
principles of warfare on which
their enemies depend to carry
them to victory, but these will
be rendered useless and confused
by the intervening power of God,
and those who trust in them will
become as ineffective as an
insane man. Also every horse of
the peoples will be blinded,
left with no discernment of
things as they actually are.
At that time the governors or
leaders of the surrounding area
of Judah will recognize the
value of Jerusalem being the
center of their nation, and will
appreciate the faith of the
inhabitants of the city in
weathering such storms. Their
faith becomes a strength for the
leaders of Judah "in the Lord of
hosts, their God." Nehemiah 11:
2 provides a comment worth
considering here: "And the
people blessed all the men that
willingly offered themselves to
dwell at Jerusalem." The
strength of Jerusalem will be a
strength to all of Judah, "in
the Lord of hosts, their God."
Verse 7 also is most
interesting: 'The Lord also will
save the tents of Judah first in
order that the glory of the
house of David and the glory of
the inhabitants of Jerusalem may
not be magnified above Judah."
The expression, 'the tents of
Judah' emphasizes their weak
position, exposed outside the
city walls to the fury of the
enemy, for the whole length of
the land will have been flooded
with blood, figuratively "unto
the horse bridles" (Rev. 14:
20), and two thirds of the
inhabitants will "be cut off and
die" during the tribulation
(Zech. 13: 8). The tender mercy
of the Lord will be shown to the
weak first, in His rescuing
Judah from the enemy who will
then concentrate on besieging
Jerusalem (Ps. 59: 4-8). The
Lord waits before delivering
Jerusalem, however, for it is
necessary to accomplish a
complete work in those in the
city, so they will be humbled
rather than magnify themselves
over Judah.
JUDAH LOOKS ON HIM WHOM THEY
PIERCED (vv. 10-14)
After reading of the tents of
Judah being saved first, now we
are told of the defense of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. This
last part of Zechariah 12
beautifully displays the grace
and power of the Lord Jesus in
dealing with His own people who
have for centuries rejected Him,
a reminder of the way Joseph
dealt with his brethren when
their circumstances virtually
forced them into his presence
(Gen. 42 to 45). But what is
seen in verse 8 actually follows
what is declared in verses
10-14, for verse 8 indicates the
new-found strength and courage
which will animate the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. The
following verses show the reason
for this. He who is feeble among
the people will be as David,
having found strength such as
David displayed in defeating
Goliath.
"And the house of David will be
as God, as the angel of the Lord
before them." The change will be
so tremendous that the decisions
and capability of the house of
David will be like the
sovereign, active power of God.
This will be because "the Prince
of the house of David," the Lord
Jesus, will take His place of
supreme authority, and the
people will learn in experience,
"I can do all things through Him
who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:
13). Also it is said they will
be "as the angel of the Lord
before them." In the Old
Testament the angel of the Lord
often intervened in awesome
power on behalf of Israel. This
angel is the Lord Jesus Himself,
though at that time He had not
been manifested in flesh as He
is now and as He will present
Himself to Israel at the end of
their Great Tribulation. In many
victories of the Old Testament
He went before them, though
invisibly, but He will do so
visibly in
that day of which verse 8
speaks. The power of the house
of David, therefore, will be as
that of the angel of the Lord.
Wonderful experience indeed! But
such power is given to believers
today in a true spiritual way to
enable a living, moral triumph
over every spiritual enemy. May
we have grace to use it rightly!
That day is God's appointed time
to destroy all those nations
that come against Jerusalem (v.
9). These attacking armies will
be headed by the King of the
North, the Assyrian. They will
first conquer Jerusalem and then
continue southward to bring
Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia into
subjection (Dan. 11: 42-43), but
will return in great fury when
hearing news out of the east and
the north. Eastern nations will
be aroused to come also to
Jerusalem, while the beast and
his western armies will arrive
at Armageddon which is north of
Jerusalem, where the King of the
North has returned to besiege
the city with the intention of
utterly destroying the Jews
(Dan. 11: 44-45).
Before the Lord goes against
those armies, however, He has
serious work to do with His own
people, the Jews. He will stand
upon the Mount of Olives (Zech.
14: 4) from where He had
ascended after His resurrection
(Acts 1: 9-12). What a sight for
Israel at a time when they find
themselves in the deepest
despair they have ever known!
The Lord will work marvelously
in their hearts, pouring upon
the house of David and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the
spirit of grace and of
supplications at this marvelous
time when "they shall look upon
Me whom they have pierced." It
is Jehovah who is speaking, for
the Lord Jesus is Jehovah, God
over all, blessed forever (Rom.
9: 5). The sight of this blessed
Messiah of Israel whom they had
crucified will produce the most
profound, repentant mourning in
the hearts of these once
rebellious people. From the
depths of their hearts will come
those expressions of Isaiah 53,
"Surely He has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows; yet we
esteemed Him stricken, smitten
by God, and afflicted. But He
was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised
for our iniquities: the
chastisement for our peace was
upon Him, and by His stripes we
are healed" (vv. 4-5).
Their sorrow will be that of one
mourning for his only son, for
they will realize that God has
in matchless grace given His
only Son to the awful
sorrow of suffering for their
sins. As the only (or unique)
Son He is equal with God, for He
is the eternal Son, therefore
God Himself! He is indeed the
firstborn also as to the truth
of His Manhood - not firstborn
in point of time, but having the
rights of the firstborn because
of who He is (Col. 1: 15-16).
The firstborn was always given
the place of dignity in Israel,
though sometimes God intervened
by giving the rights of the
firstborn to one who was born
later, as in the case of Jacob
over Esau and of Ephraim over
Manasseh (Gen. 25: 23; Gen. 48:
14-19). Thus Adam must give up
his place of firstborn to the
Lord Jesus.
The great mourning in Jerusalem
is likened to the mourning of
Hadadrimmon in the valley of
Megiddon (v. 11). Hadadrimmon
means "sound of the
pomegranate." The pomegranate
(full of seeds) is often
connected with the fruitful
blessing of the Millennium, and
the mourning of the Jews will be
as the sound of promised
blessing in store for them, for
true repentance is the sure sign
of blessing to come. The
mourning in the plain of Megiddo
may refer to Israel's mourning
for Josiah at his death in the
valley of Megiddo (2 Chr. 35:
22- 25). So Judah will be
similarly affected in thinking
of the death of the Lord of
glory for their sakes.
This description of the
repentance of Judah and
Jerusalem is the prophetic
fulfillment of the truth of the
great day of atonement of which
Leviticus 23: 26-32 speaks. On
that day every year, the
children of Israel were
commanded, "You shall afflict
their souls and offer an
offering made by fire to the
Lord." If one did not afflict
his soul or if he did any work
on that day, he was cut off in
death. This looked forward,
therefore, to the day of
Christ's manifestation to
Israel, when the sight of the
One whom they had pierced will
draw forth their profound
repentance. They will "cease
from their own works" in
appreciation of His
own great work of atonement
at Calvary. If one refused this,
he would have a hard heart
indeed and would righteously be
cut off in judgment.
The mourning for Christ will be
so intensely deep and personal
that every family will mourn
alone, and even husbands and
wives will mourn apart from each
other before God. When an
orthodox Jew is converted to
Christ, he is often utterly
broken down at the thought that
it was his own nation Israel
that had despised and rejected
the Messiah. This same sorrow
will burden all the Jewish
people at this future day of
national repentance.
The family of the house of David
is first specifically mentioned.
David was the
king who sinned grievously
against God. The family of the
house of Nathan is added. He was the
prophet who exposed and
reproved David (2 Sam. 12: 7).
His family too will mourn in
repentance. Then the family of
the house of Levi indicates
that the
priests also will be
included in this repentance. It
was their work to restore one
who had sinned, but they are
reduced to the same need of
restoration. Finally, the family
of the house of Shimei. Shimei
was the
subject who cursed David (2
Sam. 16: 5-8). Thus, the whole
range of the population of Judah
and Benjamin is represented, as
is seen too in the expression,
"all the families that remain"
after the land has been terribly
diminished during the Great
Tribulation. How marvelous will
be the sight of this formerly
rebellious nation bowed in
genuine repentance at the feet
of the Lord Jesus! We, the
Church, will observe this from
the height of the glory of God.
If there is joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one
sinner who repents, how great
will be the joy at the sight of
the tremendous multitude turning
to the blessed Lord of glory in
repentance and faith! This will
be a truly national repentance,
but wonderfully individual at
the same time.
ZECHARIAH 13
Results in Great Blessing (vv.
1-4)
Zechariah 13 is directly
connected with what went before
in Zechariah 12. Judah's
repentance will find a wonderful
restoring answer on the part of
God. The fountain opened for the
house of David in that day (v.1)
will be the same fountain that
was opened at Calvary, but never
before acknowledged by the Jews.
Only when they realize their
sinfulness and uncleanness will
they truly appreciate God's
means of cleansing it away.
As to judicial cleansing from
sins in the eyes of God, it is
"the blood of Jesus Christ, His
Son" that "cleanses from all
sin" (1 John 1: 7). Judah then
will realize the value of that
blood shed at Calvary and find
peace by virtue of this. But the
fountain is not a fountain of
blood, but of water. This
implies, not judicial cleansing,
but moral cleansing. The water
of the Word of God (cf. Eph. 5:
25-26) will have wonderful
effect in cleansing away the
very attitude of
disobedience on the part of the
Jews. They will be cleansed
before God from their guilt, and
will be cleansed in
character by their
reception of the Word of God
which has wonderful power to
purge away their unclean habits.
The Hebrew word opened has
a continuing force, that is, the
Word of God will continue to
have precious effect in their
lives from that time onward.
There also will be a cleansing
of the promised land (v. 2). The
Lord of hosts will sovereignly
work to completely purge even
the names of idols out of the
land: their very memory will
perish. The false prophets,
energized by unclean spirits,
will no longer have any place.
In fact, prophecy will not be
required at all, and anyone who
attempts to pass as a prophet
will be manifestly false. When
one does this, the person's
closest relatives are instructed
to declare him false and be the
first to pierce him through in
solemn judgment. This
illustrates the fact that not
every individual who enters the
millennium of blessing on earth
will be born again, but the
judgment of rebellious acts will
be swift and decisive. Compare
Isaiah 65: 20 which teaches that
if one dies at 100 years of age,
he will be still virtually a
child in age, and will die only
under a curse because of his own
sin.
Isaiah 65: 20 reminds us of
Deuteronomy 13: 6-10 which
speaks of anyone (either
brother, son, daughter, wife or
friend) enticing others to serve
other gods. That person was to
be killed. Thus, in the
Millennium, if anyone
prophesies, it will not be God
who has sent him; therefore, the
underlying motive will be to
turn people to false gods.
When the millennial kingdom is
introduced, false prophets will
be ashamed of their visions,
knowing full well they are
guilty of deception, and they
will no longer wear a hairy
mantle to deceive people into
believing them (v. 4). Elijah
and John the Baptist wore such
garments, but this was in accord
with the stern self-judgment
that characterized them, and of
their genuine mourning over the
condition of the people to whom
they prophesied. Prophecy was
generally given because of a
poor state among the people, but
prophecy and mourning will be
out of place when the Lord Jesus
introduces the thousand years of
peace.
NOT A PROPHET, BUT THE TRUE
SERVANT (vv. 5-9)
"And He shall say" (v. 5). This
refers to a specific Man in
contrast to the prophets of
verse 4. The Lord Jesus will not
be a prophet in that day: "He shall
say, I am no prophet." Then He
adds, "I am a tiller of the
ground; for man acquired me [as
a bondman] from my youth" (JND).
The Hebrew word for tiller
of the ground or farmer comes
from a root meaning "to serve"
(Strong's Concordance). From His
youth the Lord Jesus was devoted
to the service of mankind. While
He was on earth He was a prophet
(Luke 7: 16), but even then His servant
character was more
prominent than His prophecy.
However, there will be no need
for prophecy after He comes to
reign, yet He will remain a
Servant forever (Ex. 21: 5-6 and
Luke 12: 37). How good to see
that service is much nearer to
the heart of God than is
prophecy! May we too be found
always in a spirit of willing
service. We are not to neglect
prophecy in such an evil day as
ours, but prophecy may still be
given in a spirit of lowly
service.
"And one shall say unto Him,
What are those wounds in thy
hands?" (v. 6-JND). If He is
simply a servant, why such
wounds? The questioner is
evidently one who has no
knowledge of the crucifixion of
this blessed Servant of God who
had so graciously served man in
his deepest need. The question
could not come from Judah, for
Judah was guilty of Christ's
crucifixion, and Zechariah 12:
10-14 shows Judah in deep
repentance before this question
is asked. So it seems likely
that the question comes from
among the ten tribes who will
return to the land about this
time.
There are those who deny that
this passage has reference to
the Lord Jesus, but the internal
evidence is transparently clear
that it can refer to no one
else. The answer, "those with
which I was wounded in the house
of my friends," reminds us that
it was His closest friends, the
tribe of Judah, that had so
grievously wounded the Lord
Jesus.
Verses 7 to 9 embrace the entire
time from the rejection and
crucifixion of Christ until the
introduction of His millennial
kingdom. This type of prophecy
is often found in Scripture,
that is, the emphasis on
important facts and their
connection, though they are
separated by a long period of
time. The intervening history is
left out in order to focus upon
the significance of the
prominent facts. "Awake, O
sword, against My Shepherd, and
against the Man who is My
companion, says the Lord of
hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and
the sheep will be scattered;
then I will turn My hand against
the little ones." It is God who
speaks, but He used the sword of
ungodly men in the carrying out
of His words. Israel was
virtually His sword, awakened in
bitter animosity toward the Man
who is God's companion, His
equal. In fact, because of His
claim to be the Son of God,
Israel was determined to kill
Him. Only Christ has such a
relationship as this, for He is
God. But not only did Israel
strike Him: God's sword of
judgment pierced His soul when
alone He bore the agony of God's
forsaking on account of the
guilt of our sins.
The sheep would be scattered. At
the very time of the Lord's
crucifixion the disciples were
scattered (Matt. 26: 31-32; John
16: 32), none being able to
stand with Him in that terrible
hour. More than this, following
that most awesome death of all
deaths, the people of the land
of Israel were scattered in
every direction among other
nations, and this has continued
all through the dispensation of
grace toward the Gentiles.
"Then I will turn My hand
against the little ones." The
expression the
little ones infers those
who appear to be little-"the
poor of the flock" (Zech. 11:
11), the despised remnant of
godly Israelites. Even these
will suffer for a long time,
though we know that God will
preserve them by His grace
through all the suffering and
eventually manifest His goodness
toward them in the coming day of
millennial glory.
Verse 8 goes on to the end of
the age, passing over our
current dispensation of grace,
for this prophecy considers
God's dealings with Israel. The
end of the age for them will
involve the Great Tribulation
and the introduction of the
blessing of the kingdom of the
Lord Jesus. In the land of
Israel two thirds of the
population will be cut off in
death, while one third will be
left to enter the thousand years
of peace (v. 8). The estimated
population of Israel in 1992 was
4,770,000. This means that well
over three million will be cut
off in death in that land in 3.5
years! How staggering will such
a decimation be! A great sifting
of Israel has continued in
Gentile countries for centuries,
such as the holocaust of six
million of them under Hitler at
the time of World War II. But
this slaughter of Zechariah 13:
8 will take place in
the land. We read in
Ezekiel 20: 34-38 of the Lord's
dealings with Israel (evidently
the ten tribes) also at the time
of the end, bringing them out
from among the nations and
pleading with them in the
wilderness, causing them to pass
under the rod and purging out
the rebels from among them.
Though they will be brought out
from the countries in which they
were living, these rebels will
not enter the land of Israel,
for the ungodly will be sifted
out before they reach the land.
Therefore, Zechariah 13: 8 must
refer to the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin who will be sifted in
the land. Revelation 14: 20
refers to this time of
tremendous bloodshed, speaking
of "the space of 1600 furlongs,"
which is the length of the
current land of Israel,
approximately 200 miles or 320
kilometers.
The remaining "third part" are
evidently "the little ones" of
verse 7. Their faith will be
tried by the fire of great
tribulation. The hand of God
will be on them in severe
chastening as a father chastens
his child. This is to refine the
silver, for the fire does this:
it separates the dross from the
true silver or from the gold,
that the pure metal may shine in
all its radiance and give
delight to the great Refiner.
Malachi 3: 2-4 connects this
occasion with the coming of the
Lord, as He Himself sits as a
refiner and purifier of silver.
Well may it be asked, "Who may
abide the day of His coming?"
This reminds us of the words of
1 Peter 4: 17 concerning God's
dealings at present: "For the
time has come for judgment to
begin at the house of God; and
if it begins with us first, what
will be the end be of those who
do not obey the gospel of God?"
The same fire that will refine
and purify believers will burn
up unbelievers, for there is
nothing of pure silver in them.
Those who are refined, however,
will honestly call upon the name
of the Lord. He will hear them
and respond with the cheering
word, "This is My people." This
is in contrast to God having
before disowned Israel for
centuries because of their
rebellion, calling them "not My
people" (Hosea 1: 9). Then
Israel will wholeheartedly say,
"The Lord is my God." Though
they have before rejected the
Lord Jesus, they will then say
just as did Thomas when he saw
the wounded hands and side of
the Lord Jesus, "My Lord and my
God" (John 20: 26-28).
ZECHARIAH 14
Nations Punished, Then Restored
(vv. 1-15)
This chapter goes back to
consider the The Great
Tribulation from another
viewpoint. "Behold, the day of
the Lord is coming (v.1). The
day of the Lord stands in
contrast to "man's day" (1 Cor.
4: 3 - JND). "Man's day" is the
present time when God is
allowing man to express his own
opinions and to some extent have
his own way. This day will
culminate in man's bold
challenge to God's authority by
placing "the abomination of
desolation" in the temple area
of Jerusalem (Matt. 24: 15)-an
image in honor of the Roman
Beast - the leader of the
revived Roman Empire (Rev. 13:
14-15). Thus man's proud
defiance of God will rise to its
most lawless height. Then the
day of the Lord will burst
upon the world in all its
awe-inspiring solemnity. God
will openly intervene in the
affairs of mankind, first for
judgment, then for blessing. In that
day the spoil taken by the
enemies will be divided in the
midst of the city. The spoil
will not be taken out first, but
the enemies will be so
complacent in having totally
subdued the city that they will
take all the time they want in
dividing the spoils among
themselves in the city.
God will gather all the nations
to battle against Jerusalem (v.
2). Following the setting up of
the "the abomination of
desolation" at the middle of the
seven years, the Lord will send
the King of the North, also
named "the Assyrian" (together
with a large alliance of
nations) against Jerusalem, as
"the rod of His anger" (Isa. 10:
5-6). Daniel 11: 40-41 speaks of
this, saying that the King of
the North "shall come against
him (the antichrist) like a
whirlwind," and will "overwhelm
them and pass through."
The Lord Jesus, in speaking of
this time, urges the Jews to
flee out of Jerusalem when they
see the idol set up there (Matt.
24: 15-18). Some will no doubt
do so, but others will be left.
The city will be taken, the
houses plundered and the women
ravished. The Jews will suffer
dreadfully, for it will be "the
time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer.
30: 7). We have seen (Zech. 13:
8) there will be great
bloodshed. Also half of the city
will be taken into captivity,
the other half allowed to
remain. Some years ago a news
report told of a French agency
discovering in Syria complete
plans for a sudden thrust into
Israel, which involved removing
half of the population of Israel
into Arab lands and replacing
these with Arab residents. As
yet Syria has been restrained by
God from doing any such thing.
They have found Israel too
strong and militant. It may be
that in the six day war they
hoped to do this, but God gave
Israel a decisive victory. But
when God sends the King of the
North against His people Israel,
He will take away all the
strength of Israel, so they will
be totally defeated. Jerusalem
will be left in a greatly
weakened condition as the King
of the North continues his
advance southward, taking
control of the land of Egypt and
its treasures, and of the
Libyans and Ethiopians (Dan. 11:
40-43).
After the King of the North
subdues Egypt, Libya and
Ethiopia, he will hear troubling
news out of the east and the
north that will cause him to
rush back to Jerusalem (Dan. 11:
44-45). Therefore the time in
between verses 2 and 3 of
Zechariah 14 covers most of the
3 1/2 years of the Great
Tribulation. At the end of the
tribulation the Lord Himself
will go forth to fight against
those nations that have
desolated Israel (v. 3). Though
God has sent the King of the
North, the Assyrian, to punish
Israel, yet the Assyrian did not
in his heart mean to do the will
of God, but wanted "to destroy,
and cut off not a few nations"
(Isa. 10: 7). Therefore the Lord
Himself will fight against the
Assyrian and his confederate
nations.
This great battle will take
place, not at Armageddon, but at
Jerusalem, for the Lord's feet
will stand upon the Mount of
Olives at Jerusalem (v. 4). This
will fulfill what an angel told
the disciples after they had
seen the Lord Jesus taken up to
heaven (Acts 1: 9-11). Just as
He ascended from the Mount of
Olives at Bethany (Luke 24:
50-51), so He will come to
Israel at the same place.
At this time His coming will be
with powerful signs, for the
Mount of Olives will be split in
two, leaving a great valley
between the two sections. A
great earthquake could cause
this, whether the one spoken of
in Revelation 16: 10, is
difficult to decide. At any
rate, three occasions of great
significance to Israel are
attended by great earthquakes,
the death of the Lord Jesus
(Matt. 27: 50-51), His
resurrection (Matt. 28: 1-6),
and the future great occasion of
His returning to Israel. All of
these events are intended, not
only to shake the earth, but to
shake people to their depths.
The citizens will be terrified
and will flee as they fled from
an earthquake in the days of
King Uzziah. That particular
earthquake does not appear to be
mentioned anywhere else except
in Amos 1: 1. In panic people
will do anything without
considering what is wise. Where
do they think they can go to
avoid an earthquake? They think
only of getting away from the
place where it first shook them.
Why not appeal to the One who
created the earth and holds it
under His control? How much
better it is to calmly face our
troubles in communion with God
than to try to run away from
them. God's intention in shaking
us is to drive us into His own
sheltering presence. Jerusalem's
inhabitants evidently will take
advantage of the newly-made
valley to escape.
"And Jehovah my God shall come,
and all the holy ones with Thee"
(JND). This connects with verses
3 and 4: it is not in
chronological order, but rather
indicates the events spoken of
are connected with the Lord's
coming. How clearly this verse
teaches that Jesus is Jehovah!
He comes "with His holy ones."
This does not necessarily refer
to human believers, as does
Revelation 19: 14 where the
armies in heaven follow the Lord
Jesus in His great conquest at
Armageddon. More likely, these
"holy ones" are angels as seen
in 2 Thessalonians 1: 7-8, "when
the Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven with His mighty angels."
"It shall come to pass in that
day that there will be no light;
the lights will diminish" (v.
6). Joel 3: 15 speaks of this
literal phenomenon, "The sun and
moon will grow dark, and the
stars will diminish their
brightness." See also Mark 13:
24-25. This reminds us of the
conversion of Saul of Tarsus.
When he met the Lord Jesus on
the road to Damascus he was
immediately a changed man, but
was blinded, not seeing the
light for three days. Israel's
conversion will be similar. To
begin with, the light will be
obscured because of their years
of being away from God: they
will feel the darkness of their
natural, unbelieving state
before everything is cleared
before their wondering eyes. It
will be "a day known to the
Lord" (v. 7), for He knows how
to translate a sinful people
from the darkness to the light
through exercise of soul
regarding both the darkness and
the light. "At evening time it
shall happen that it will be
light." When the light normally
fades, the power of God
intervenes to bring Israel the
light that has eluded them for
centuries. How often it also
happens that in the eventide of
one's life, the light of God
breaks into the soul! This is
marvelous mercy.
After the light comes there will
be no lack of refreshment for
the nation. Jerusalem being the
center of God's dealings on
earth, God will cause water to
spring up in that city, forming
two rivers, one going east to
the Dead Sea, the other west to
the Mediterranean. Ezekiel 47:
1-8 speaks of the waters issuing
from under the threshold of the
temple and going eastward,
causing the Dead Sea to be
transformed from salt water to
fresh. Ezekiel mentions only the
river flowing east, though
Zechariah speaks of a westward
river also. This phenomenon
signifies the fact that
Jerusalem will be God's earthly
center from which blessing flows
to the whole earth. Far higher
than this is the truth taught in
Revelation 22: 1, that a river
of the water of life will flow
out from the throne of God and
of the Lamb in the midst of the
heavenly city, with unceasing
spiritual refreshment.
"And the Lord shall be King over
all the earth," not over Israel
only, but over all nations.
Again, God's king is the Lord
Jesus (cf. Ps. 2: 6-8), and
Scripture calls Him "Jehovah."
Significantly it is added, "In
that day it shall be, The Lord
is one and His name one." Israel
then will realize as never
before, the truth the Lord Jesus
declared to them, "I and My
Father are one" (John 10: 30).
Having rejected Christ, they
blindly accuse Christians of
having two gods (or three, if
they have heard of the Trinity),
but they will consider it
wonderful when their eyes are
opened to recognize that in
Christ "dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:
9). They will recognize the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as
being revealed in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. His name
also will be one. The unity of
His name has been declared
before, as in Isaiah 9: 6, "His name will
be called Wonderful, Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace." These are not
considered names, but one name.
Thus there is unity in the
persons of the Godhead and there
is unity in His name.
At this time all the land will
be changed into a plain from
Geba to Rimmon (v. 10). Geba was
in northern Benjamin (Joshua 21:
17) and Rimmon in southern Judah
(Joshua 15: 32). Evidently the
earthquake will greatly change
the contour of Judah and
Benjamin, leaving much more
fertile land. "Jerusalem shall
be raised up and inhabited in
her place." Jerusalem will be
the one high spot in the land of
Judah, just as it will be given
the place of prominent dignity
among the nations. Then we are
told the boundaries of the
restored city. Benjamin's gate,
the first (or former) gate, the
corner gate, the tower of
Hananeel and the king's
winepress apparently encompass
the whole inhabited city from
east to west and from north to
south. Such a description proves
that Zechariah is speaking of
the literal earthly Jerusalem,
not the "new Jerusalem" of
Revelation 21: 10-27.
What a relief for that city when
its inhabitants are not
periodically driven out, when
there is no longer any fear of
destruction and carnage, but all
will have the assurance of
safety and stability (v. 11).
Thank God, permanent blessing
depends on the permanency of the
value of the work of Christ on
Calvary, which Israel had so
long refused, but will recognize
and appreciate then.
Verses 12-15 go back (as
prophecy often does) to consider
other matters that precede the
blessing of Jerusalem. The Lord
will inflict a fearful plague
upon those nations that have
fought against Jerusalem, that
is, the King of the North and
his allies. "Their flesh shall
dissolve while they stand on
their feet, their eyes shall
dissolve in their sockets, and
their tongues shall dissolve in
their mouths" (v. 12). When the
atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima, it was reported that
people suffered results similar
to these, their flesh withering
and their eyeballs draining out
of their sockets while they
stood on their feet.
But in this case we should not
hastily conclude that nuclear
warfare will be the means of the
affliction, for the Jews in
Jerusalem would not likely drop
a nuclear bomb in the vicinity
of their city. Also, Joel 3: 16
tells us, "The
Lord also will roar from
Zion, and utter His voice from
Jerusalem." He will go forth at
the head of Israel's armies.
Then verse 14 says, "Judah also
will fight at Jerusalem." Would
they be able to fight at all if
nuclear bombs had been dropped
nearby?
Another element also appears in
this victory over Israel's
enemies. The Lord will cause
panic to overtake the attackers,
so they will fight among
themselves, not realizing what
they are doing. This being true,
together with the Lord going
forth and Judah fighting and the
plague inflicted on the enemy,
it is plain that nuclear warfare
is not involved. Still, it will
be an awesome culmination of the
time of trouble such as the
world has never seen before (vv.
12-14)
The inhabitants of Judah, having
been broken down in true
repentance before the Lord, and
born again, will fight with an
energy divinely given.
Christians today have no such
commission to fight physically.
They are to bear the oppression
of evil men rather than to fight
against them (1 Peter 3: 19-13).
We have a heavenly inheritance
(1 Peter 1: 3-4). But Judah will
be fighting for their own earthly inheritance,
and at that time this will be
perfectly right. The warfare of Christians is
not carnal (of the flesh), but
spiritual (2 Cor. 10: 4-5).
The huge armies invading Israel
will bring with them so many
supplies that Israel will be
made wealthy by the abundance of
gold, silver and clothing they
take as spoil. God not only
enables His people to gain the
victory, but enriches them also.
It is a lesson for us. When we
give the Lord Jesus His true
place, as Israel will then, He
gives us strength to defeat the
power of the enemy and will use
the occasion to enrich us as
well, not materially, but
spiritually. The exercise of
terrible distress throughout the
experience of the Great
Tribulation will issue not only
in victory over the enemy, but
in abundance of lasting
blessing.
Israel's victory at the end
reminds us of the grace and
power of God on behalf of King
Jehoshaphat when a great
multitude came against him from
Moab, Ammon, Syria and Mount
Seir. "Jehoshaphat feared, and
set himself to seek the Lord and
proclaimed a fast throughout all
Judah" (2 Chr. 20: 2-3). With
confidence in God they went to
battle. Instead of stirring up
bitter enmity in the soldiers'
hearts, Jehoshaphat appointed
singers to praise the beauty of
holiness, saying, "Praise the
Lord, for His mercy endures
forever" (vv. 21-22). Then God
spread confusion in the ranks of
the enemy and they fought
against one another until they
were all killed, with Israel not
having to fight at all. The
spoil was so great that it took
Israel three days to gather it
(vv. 23-25).
Verse 15 tells us that the same
plague of verse 12 will affect
the horses, mules, camels,
donkeys and any other animals of
the enemy. This reminds us of
God's instructions to Saul in 1
Samuel 15: 3, that not only was
Amalek to be destroyed, but all
their animals also. Since man's
sin has badly affected all
animate creation, that creation
suffers with him (Rom. 8: 20).
On this smaller scale, the
animals that people have
identified with their own
rebellion against God will
suffer the same judgment as the
rebels.
THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION (vv.
16-21)
How Israel will marvel at the
amazing change, in so short a
time, that has transformed the
struggling, suffering city of
Jerusalem into the metropolis of
the whole world! More than that,
those remaining of the nations,
formerly her enemies, will
voluntarily come up to Jerusalem
each year to keep the Feast of
Tabernacles (v. 16) and to
worship the King, the Lord of
hosts (the Lord Jesus). How
welcome will be the contrast of
calm, settled peace to the
former constant turmoil and
unrest of the Jewish people! Of
course it will be
representatives of those nations
who come.
The Feast of Tabernacles is
singled out because it is the
last of "the feasts of Jehovah"
listed in Leviticus 23 and
signifies the full
accomplishment of God's counsels
concerning Israel. It looks
forward to the day of millennial
blessing which Israel will then
have entered upon (Lev. 23:
33-43). That feast of seven days
was a time of great rejoicing
after the harvest had been
gathered in. Israelites were to
make booths of branches of trees
and live in them during that
week. This teaches us that
Israel will have wonderful
safety as well as pleasant
weather during the Millennium.
There will be no thieves to
break in nor cold and storms to
assail them, nor danger from
animals, nor apparently any
infestation of insects.
This will not however be the
perfect state, as eternity will
be. People will still have
sinful natures, but the Lord
Jesus will be in authority,
ruling in righteousness. If any
nation decides not to recognize
Jerusalem as God's center, not
sending representatives to the
city to give honor to the King,
the Lord of hosts, then God will
withhold rain from that country.
Since Egypt does not depend on
rain but is watered by
irrigation from the Nile River,
then if she sends no
representatives to Jerusalem,
she will be afflicted by a
plague. What plague is not
mentioned, but Egypt has in the
past learned that God knows how
to inflict the kind of plagues
that greatly distress the nation
(Ex. 7: 19 to Ex. 12: 30).
During the one thousand years of
peace while the Lord Jesus is
reigning, the generally
favorable circumstances in the
world will be interrupted only
by some individuals refusing to
give honor to Him. The many who
have not been born again will
still retain an attitude of
resentment against authority,
even though that authority is
kind and considerate. They will
be ready to rise up in rebellion
as soon as Satan is loosed from
his prison and goes out to
deceive the nations (Rev. 20:
7-9).
The last two verses dwell on the
marvel of the change in
Jerusalem. Even the bells on the
horses will be engraved with the
inscription, "Holiness to the
Lord." Israel will be "a holy
nation." Holiness will mark, not
only their persons, but what
they possess. There will be no
separation between secular and spiritual life:
all will be for God, just as
Christian lives should be today.
Even pots would be "like the
bowls before the altar," that
is, daily eating utensils would
be used as dedicated to the
Lord.
The last sentence in Zechariah
is an arresting one, "In that
day there shall no longer be a
Canaanite in the house of the
Lord of hosts." There is more
instruction in this than merely
the banishing of a literal
Canaanite. The name means "a
merchant," and the house of the
Lord in Israel has been plagued
by a spirit of merchandising
throughout its history, so that
the Lord Jesus spoke with good
reason, "Do not make My Father's
house a house of merchandise"
(John 2: 16). At last that house
will be fully purified from the
defilement of those who take
advantage of Jewish religion to
further their interests of
greed. If the Lord's honor will
be first in all the
relationships of the people,
including business, their
business will not then infringe
on the Lord's rights in His
house. May we also in our day,
hold God's house, the Church of
the living God, in due respect,
giving the Lord Jesus the
supreme honor of which He is
worthy.
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