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Read Zechariah 14:12-20
Zechariah 14:16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. IN Revelation there are many images that parallel or even repeat the images of plagues against Egypt recorded in Exodus. End-time prophecies always include such difficult pictures of disease, affliction and suffering affecting great numbers of people as in Zechariah 14:12-15. Judgment appears before Christ’s glorious, redemptive power. God’s purpose is to use his Spirit-inspired Word to reveal his holiness and our need to repent and be saved. The Holy Spirit is sure to continually teach the deadly cost of sin. It is good to be taught and awakened to the world’s dangers. Even amid the grace of the New Testament salvation, we have such warnings as James 4:4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. We rejoice, then, at the Spirit’s ongoing lessons of God’s salvation. Even as Zechariah prophesies suffering for Jerusalem and describes war within God’s people, he then prophesies redemption as the epistles assure us: Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved. Yes, how high is God’s grace when we know the depth of our sins. Always thank God for the way of salvation through faith. Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” Even as we are born enemies of God, dead to him, he will save us as he has decreed. We close the prophecy with a vision of salvation coming to nations who are now Israel’s enemies. The redeemed come to the Feast of the Tabernacles to worship God. This feast is symbolic and mindful of God’s presence to dwell with his us. He is placing himself among us. He has done so amid our sin form the Garden to the cross, to the Spirit come now. He will come in victory to judge sin and save the righteous. In victory he will be our God to dwell forever with his faithful church. Why does God so severely judge? He is holy. Sin is severe opposition to him, and he must surely remove it. Why does God so graciously save? He is hoy. He exhibits a deep, unsurpassable love to glorify his name forever. Jesus has come to be the way to the Father. Be empowered with the Spirit’s wisdom. Listen to the Son. Live to worship the holy God. Matthew 6:9-13 This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’” Read Zechariah 14
Zechariah 14:3-4, 7-9 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south….7 It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime – a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light. 8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. 9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name. THIS final chapter follows the common pattern of God’s final victory over sin. It begins with two very difficult verses of God’s judgment on Jerusalem. But then God graciously directs us to his salvation. This is sin’s severity and salvation’s beauty. Indeed, what wondrous images we have of God’s triumph for our souls. First is the powerful image of Jesus standing on Olivet to declare his kingship. This is likely the place from where he ascended. This is Jesus proclaiming, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Revelation 22:13) Water, from first to last, is God’s image and source of life. Water covers the earth in the first creation. Living Water runs through the new creation. John records Jesus declared this would be so: John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Salvation is the flowing water to the nations. Third is God’s eternal light coming out of the darkness to cover his city. Light was the revelation of God’s presence in the new earth: Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. How surely and plainly the gospel’s life message moves throughout the earth. The truth of God comes through the law, the prophets, the gospels and the epistles. Prophet to prophet, testament to testament, apostle (messenger) to apostle the Holy Spirit moves life to the human mind. How is it possible the gospel can be so distorted or ignored? Are you thirsty, perhaps feeling your faith is dry? Drink of God to fill your soul. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. Might there be something that darkens your view of God? Then be assured: The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalms 27:1) Zechariah 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. 9 This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
DO you recall we’ve mentioned how prophets can quickly move from one time in history to another? Such is Zechariah’s change here. In a phrase, he moves from Jesus’ Second Coming to his first. We know, too, the Bible has many forms of language. To understand its literal meaning requires we know the type of language the Holy Spirit employs through the many writers. These verses contain poetic images describing the Father’s authority in the Son’s crucifixion. For example, “Awake, O sword.” directly addresses an object. The sword represents any deadly weapon. The sovereign LORD will direct the death of his true Shepherd, the Messiah. He is “the man who is close to me!” This is the Father’s unity of essence with His Shepherd. They are one. The Father affirms the Son’s identity and affirms he will strike the Shepherd. No one else will. This is the Father’s work for your good. What occurs when the Shepherd is struck? His sheep scatter: Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ The little ones are Jesus’ followers. Verse 8 then foretells the persecution of the Jews, who become Christians. God always preserves a remnant – here it is one-third – of faithful people in the land. This can refer in general to raising up his church from the Jews, and it can also point to Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 AD. Many Christians in the city survived the onslaught because they heeded Jesus’ words: Mark 13:19-21 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now — and never to be equaled again. 20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. God protects and blesses the elect. From Genesis to Revelation God assures he will be the God of those who know and obey him. Jesus’ church will arise out of this persecution. God’s eternal Kingdom on earth will come from the final persecution. Paul wrote of this in Romans 11:26-27 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” This is God’s constant promise throughout Scripture. He has begun his salvation over the earth throughout the ages. Hosea 2:23 I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’” October 6
The Second Coming Read Zechariah 12:10-13:9 Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. THIS is the worship of Christ as he returns. Israel’s grief comes from knowing they have opposed God’s Son, the Messiah, to crucify and kill him. Those who repent are saved at Jesus’ Second Coming. Zechariah 13:1 describes the spiritual cleansing, a baptism of repentance into new life for all. “On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” The houses of David and Levi – the leaders and the priests – plus the houses of all clans will repent. They will receive God’s Holy Spirit to graciously empower all God’s chosen people to believe. Zechariah 13:2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more.” At long last will come the fulfillment of the greatest commandment: Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.” How marvelous will be the new creation with only the LORD God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – as the God all his people worship. Gone will be the detracting, deadly idols, our soul’s competition for God’s love and our obedience. False prophecy, too, will end. God’s people will destroy the liars: Zechariah 13:3 “And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was born, will say to him, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him.” This is God’s law from Deuteronomy. God’s Word is eternal. What he said 4,000 years ago is still true now and forever. There is no time in heaven – only “That Day” when all the Law is obeyed, all the prophets’ words will be exalted and all the Messiah’s authority be honored. On that day, all sinners will know God’s justice as it is fully accomplished on earth. Sin is no more. God’s grace to allow sin to rule is finished. His judgment is fulfilled. God’s chosen people will not be led into temptation and evil. False prophets will hide self-inflicted wounds associated with idol-worship. They will turn aside from evil. Zephaniah 2:11 The Lord will be awesome to them when he destroys all the gods of the land. The nations on every shore will worship him, everyone in its own land. Read Zechariah 12:1-9
Zechariah 12:1 This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: WHAT does the LORD declare? As we began to study Zechariah, we learned we can include this prophet among the endtimes prophecies found in Daniel, Isaiah and Revelation. “That Day” is written 15 times in chapters 12-14. This phrase we understand as all prophets direct reference to the day of God’s final judgment on the earth. We’ll first see how verses 1-9 declare God’s physical victory over the world. As we work toward Zechariah’s conclusion, we will view God declaring his eternal kingdom victory. Verse 1 is a wonderful beginning toward the end. The prophet assures we can believe God’s day will come as he has promised. The LORD covers his creation, forms the world’s foundations and then creates mankind with a spirit to know him. In response to his sovereign authority, Satan’s evil will rise against the LORD as nations lay siege to Jerusalem. This siege is a tool, though, in God’s plan to defeat the nations. “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling.” This is God’s cup of wrath to judge Satan’s armies promised also in Revelation 14:9-10 “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.” “That day” written five times in verses 3-9 refers to the future Battle of Armageddon. The nations’ armies will gather against Jerusalem. Revelation 16:16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. Indeed, God will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. (verse 3) Then in verses 4-9 victory is announced first for Judah and then for Jerusalem as the enemy is confused. Many times the prophets’ words throughout the Bible speak of chaos among threatening armies. Think of Gideon’s victory over Midian is from God-caused mayhem. Also, 1 and 2 Kings record powerful ways God’s consuming power stretches over the land to defeat Israel’s and Judah’s enemies. The LORD’s watchful eye is ever-present. “The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.” (verse 5) Judah’s leaders will be as a firepot in a woodpile. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. His people will be strong because they know the LORD is their God. The physical victory is assured: Verse 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. On “That Day” so ordained by God is victory for the ages. How very much we need to know we have victory in Jesus Christ! There is no defeat in the Christian’s life, in Jesus’ church. Let’s live in the joy of the LORD’s victory. Read Zechariah 11
Zechariah 11:14-17 Then I broke my second staff called Union, breaking the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will eat the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs. 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered, his right eye totally blinded!” GOD’s staff of Favor is broken. His gracious care over Israel has departed. Now Zechariah broke the second staff called Union. Although Judah and Israel had been politically separated for centuries, and Israel was no longer a nation, this language points to the end of the covenant nation Israel. This will occur when they reject the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Israel has not been a nation under God’s care since Jesus’ crucifixion. He certainly is still the God of faithful Jews, who have and will become followers of Jesus. But Israel since then is not a nation under God’s covenant. With the rejection of the Good Shepherd, worthless shepherds lead Israel. The loss of “arm” and “right eye” indicates the loss of power and insight necessary for leadership. We read in the gospels of horrible, despotic leaders such as the Herods, Pilate and others. Before then, other leaders of aggressive empires did awful things against God’s law and his temple in Jerusalem. Too, the Jewish authorities were self-centered and ignorant of God’s true law. Their “tools” of leadership are self-centered gain and power, oppressing people’s minds and hearts. Verses 15-17 can also point to an end-time Antichrist – any leader who opposes Christ. We have plenty of those. Jesus, too, prophesied this: John 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. Instead of defending the flock, the foolish shepherd will destroy it: Revelation 13:7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. But God (two wonderful words, aren’t they?) has written a victorious story. Out of his world will come his people, his church, his redeemed to live in Union and Favor with the Good Shepherd forever. Praise God that one day the true Shepherd will remove all evil. Revelation 19:19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Read Zechariah 11
Zechariah 11:12-13 I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter” - the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter. ZECHARIAH is God’s appointed shepherd to Israel. How do they receive his leadership? To us it may seem a good amount, but the “handsome price” is a term meant to ridicule the 30 pieces of silver. In God’s law this was the value of a slave who had been gored: Exodus 21:32 If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay 30 shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull must be stoned. Following a sad legacy of sin, Israel discarded their shepherd. They saw him light of an injured worker and rejected again God’s prophet. In response, God instructed Zechariah to throw the coins to the potter. The potter was considered among the lowest of the laboring classes. Zechariah then threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter. This foretells the Good Shepherd’s rejection. Thirty silver pieces was the price of the Good Shepherd’s life: Matthew 26:14 Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas Iscariot – went to the chief priests 15 and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Then Judas in agonizing remorse the next day threw the money into the temple and left … So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty silver coins, the price set on him by the people of Israel, and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.” (Matthew 27:5-10) Each aspect of Scripture points in one way or another to Jesus. Jeremiah, the prophet before and during the early years of the exile, then Zechariah, the prophet after the exile, speak pointedly of the Shepherd’s worth. The imagery of a shepherd, despised and rejected, is in Isaiah. We cannot possibly understand the boundless grief sin causes on God’s heart. Imagine, if you can, how it would be to know your beloved children would reject God even as you lovingly taught his truth. What wonder to see this glimpse of God’s eternal, deep, high, wide and long love. He prevails through this continual rebellion. We can surely know he is our Good Shepherd to trust unto eternity. Follow him. Honor his Staff of Salvation with generous hands and willing hearts. Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Read Zechariah 11
ZECHARIAH has been called to shepherd Israel. Here is his response. Zechariah 11:7-9 So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, particularly the oppressed of the flock. Then I took two staffs and called one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of the three shepherds. The flock detested me, and I grew weary of them 9 and said, “I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die, and the perishing perish. Let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” How tragic it is when we desire people follow Christ; yet they continually deny him, rejecting our hope and love for them. The staff of “Favor” represents God’s grace to reveal salvation. The word is to remind us that God’s salvation is of his will, by his grace. Favor is all-encompassing in physical, emotional and spiritual rest. The Union staff represents the unity of Israel. By his grace God saves and protects his own to unite us under one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6) We praise God, Christ’s cross is the Staff of Favor and Union for his church. Sadly, many in Israel are the flock marked for slaughter because they reject God’s shepherd. It is uncertain what the three shepherds represent. Perhaps they could be three ungodly leaders Zechariah removed from authority in Jerusalem and Judah. Zechariah 11:10-11 Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. 11 It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord. Does it seem to be against God’s character to revoke his covenant – to remove his promise to Israel that he would protect them from other nations? After all, “Promise Keeper” is one way we define God’s character. Yes, he is Promise Keeper. In truth, removing his protection over Israel is keeping his promises to them. Some of God’s covenants required Israel to respond in particular ways. He had repeatedly promised Israel his protection if they obeyed his commandments. He also promised his judgment if they did not obey. From this time forward, other nations and tyrants in succession claimed Jerusalem and Judah as their own. Jerusalem was once again destroyed in 70 AD. God promises. God is true to his Word. Psalms 23:3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. |
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January 2025
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