Today's Reading:

Zechariah 8
Zechariah 9
Zechariah 10
Zechariah 11
Zechariah 12
Zechariah 13
Zechariah 14

We have finished the book of Zechariah. The prophet had just heard from God in yesterday’s reading how the people’s fathers had hard hearts, so God would stop listening to their prayers. Now God said He was jealous, refusing to share His people, and would move back into Jerusalem. The city would have new names: “Faithful City” and “Holy Mountain.” God will pull them back from across the nations even when they think it is impossible. They will live to be old in age, not dying from war. The economy would be good. Where Israel and Judah were once cursed by God, now they will be blessed. The questions about what to do with the fasts turn them into feasts. Speak truth and peace, not lies. (Chapters 7- 8). Not only will Jewish people come home, but the Gentiles will seek the Lord. There will be 10 to 1, Gentiles to Jews, because their faithfulness will bring hope to others.

The night visions were complete. Now judgment would come to the nations in the north, just like Isaiah 13-23 and Jeremiah 46-51. God’s same voice spoke again, telling them to heed the warning. Former outsiders would be living in Jerusalem. No longer would they be rival nations; they would get to be called the “remnant.” The Philistine land would be absorbed like the Jebusites once had been. Judah’s king will come on a donkey, humble. This points to Palm Sunday. The real king will not come roaring in like Alexander the Great. God does not want Judah to become the next Tyre. He wants peace and a triumphal entry for restoration purposes. Because of His blood, they are free. He brings hope.

Judah (S) is the bow and Ephraim (N) is the arrow. They come together as one nation. Little Zion will rise against Greece and God is the archer. Zion will not have to work harder because God is fighting for them. They will drink and roar with wine at the feast. The temple bowls and altars get splashed with sacrifice. This is not a “go get drunk.” It is a joyful feast in God’s house. He saves His sheep like jewels in a crown.

The Lord Almighty, not false gods, is the One who sends the rain. Put your trust in Him, not idols or empty talk. The people wandered like sheep because they had no true shepherd. God was angry at the leaders, and He will punish the shepherds and care for the flock Himself. From Judah He will raise new strength and leadership. Zechariah 10:4 names four pictures: the cornerstone (the foundation stone that lines up the whole building), the tent peg (the stake that holds the tent in place), the battle bow (the weapon for the fight), and every ruler together. These are not four separate heroes. From Him comes support, the stability, the fight, and the leadership, all as one. Judah will not stay a helpless flock. God will make them strong. He also promises to restore all of Israel, south and north, Judah and Joseph. They were scattered, yet He will call them back so they remember Him. Egypt and Assyria were their main oppressors. The same God who made a way through the Exodus will clear a path again to bring them home.

Chapter 11 opened with judgment on Lebanon, Bashan, and Jordan. God told Zechariah to “shepherd the flock doomed to slaughter.” Neighbor against neighbor, king against people, and He would not rescue them. Zechariah acted the part of a good shepherd. He took two staffs: Favor (Beauty or Grace), which was God’s protection over the flock, and Union (Bonds), which was holding Israel and Judah together.

He dismissed three shepherds in one month, like three types of leaders: prophets, priests, and kings. They were wiped out. Because the people hated the good shepherd, he quit too, saying, “If you want to die, die. If you want to eat each other, go ahead.” God snapped the Favor stick. He lifted the shield that kept their enemies from wiping them out. Then God broke the second stick, Union. If they would not stay under the good shepherd, then the bond between the north and south would not hold. Woe to the bad shepherd. His arm (strength) and right eye (sight) would be ruined. If they reject the Good Shepherd, then they would not get freedom, and God would bring judgment. 

After the rejection in chapter 11, God defended Jerusalem and turned the hearts of the people to the One. Here “Israel” means the people as a whole, not just the northern tribes (it takes us back to the earlier times in the Old Testament where His people were one group). God is the Creator of the world, so He can do as He pleases and sees fit.

The nations come against Jerusalem to drain the cup and consume the city. On that day God makes Jerusalem a cup the nations cannot swallow and a heavy rock, too heavy to lift without getting crushed. The nations gather to wipe out Jerusalem and Judah. They fight to swallow the city. God lets them come, then makes the city itself the thing that knocks them down.

Then He pours out a spirit of grace and pleading (Zechariah 12:10). They look on the One they pierced, the same One who just defended them, the One they rejected and wounded. The grief is not a polite “I’m sorry.” It is the heartbreak of “we killed the One we should have loved the most.” They mourn for Him, not for themselves. They mourn separately, household by household, so the grief was personal. It starts at the top, from palace to temple to every home. God shows them that their Savior is the One they pierced.

Next, a fountain is opened for cleansing. Idols and false prophets are cut off from the land. This is not a call to kill people. It is a call to get rid of false prophets and lying religion, because it is deadly. False prophets had dressed the part, even with hair that would make them look like Elijah, and they would deny being prophets to save themselves. Pagan cuttings showed up too. If you strike the shepherd by taking out the true leader, then the sheep scatter. A third of the remnant goes through the fire to be purified, burning off the old junk. Survival is only by mercy.

In chapter 14, the nations take the city. The Lord stands on the Mount of Olives. The land is remade, and holiness comes to ordinary life. God allowed the siege. Many look at this as a picture of the Lord’s coming. A plague strikes those who fought Jerusalem, even the animals. Then there was yearly worship. Those who would not go up for the Feast of Booths would have a curse and get no rain. The nations are called to keep that feast and honor the King.

Today's Discussion question:

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