Zechariah 9
January 30
Reading: Zechariah 9
1 The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus is its resting place. For the LORD has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel,
2 and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself a rampart
and heaped up silver like dust,
and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
and strike down her power on the sea,
and she shall be devoured by fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod,
and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away its blood from its mouth,
and its abominations from between its teeth;
it too shall be a remnant for our God;
it shall be like a clan in Judah,
and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
so that none shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again march over them,
for now I see with my own eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior's sword.
14 Then the LORD will appear over them,
and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
the Lord GOD will sound the trumpet
and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15 The LORD of hosts will protect them,
and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,
and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
and be full like a bowl,
drenched like the corners of the altar.
16 On that day the LORD their God will save them,
as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
they shall shine on his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the young women.
The first of the final two prophetic oracles of Zechariah is in chapters 9-11. An oracle is a message from God that places a burden on the prophet. He must speak it. He can think of nothing else until he does. So heavy is this burden that the prophet might not shut up about it. People need to hear what God says. As is often the case, this oracle is presented in poetic discourse.
In Isaiah 9:1-2 we read a great Messianic prophesy.
But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,
on them has light shone.
This is a description of the spiritual conquest of the Messiah beginning in the region of Galilee, in the north, and moving south to illuminate the nation with Messianic light.
Now, in Zechariah 9:1-10, we have a similar picture portrayed. A Messianic conqueror will come south bringing justice on God’s enemies in Tyre and Sidon, through Ashkelon, to Gaza. In verse 9 this Messianic deliverer arrives in Jerusalem. Who is it? Quoting this very verse from Zechariah, Matthew 21:5 tells us that it is Jesus. He is the righteous conquering King who comes from the north to His people. He arrives in Jerusalem in humility and gentleness.
In Zechariah 9:11-17 it seems that this Messianic conqueror is speaking as the Lord Himself. Of course, He is. He is the one who sets prisoners free, who restores, who defends, who saves His flock, who makes them His precious jewels. He brings eternal blessing.