Zechariah 12
Notes
Transcript
The Oracle of the Word of the Lord
The Oracle of the Word of the Lord
The way chapter twelve starts kicks off a final section of our book. The last section which started in chapter nine began the same way with an Oracle. An oracle is a weird word, the word means a burden, or a load to carry. God has given Zechariah a burden, God’s word concerning Israel. He has to do something with it, deliver this load to the people. A burden has likewise been given to us, and it is similar. That we make disciples teaching them of all the things Christ taught. In our Bible studies we’ve looked at a range of things from history and seen direct parallels that are obvious and some that aren’t quite so obvious, or possibly imagined as related by me… but even when it’s not explicitely stated we do need to keep in mind that all scripture points to Christ. Hopefully we’ll to that a little more clearly and explicitely this evening but keep it in mind and feel free to jump in and point out things you see as we go as well.
The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him:
We get not only the oracle statement but some statements about why God has the authority to have a Word concerning Israel. Does this remind you of anything?
“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.
“ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
Some authority is tossed around here, but not un-meritted He is God. Now we ended Chapter 11 with a bit of a downer note but here we get a promise of salvation.
“Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.
Jerusalem will be attacked and even the rest of Judah seems to get caught up in whatever that attack is even though it doesn’t seem to be directed at them. But the attackers will hurt themselves in the attempt. The all nations gathered against them certainly seems very apocalyptic and I’m sure back in the founding of modern Israel many Jews there were thinking this must be what Zechariah was speaking of. Except it wasn’t against Jerusalem as the focus so I don’t think it applied directly.
On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’
Now we’ve moved from a bigger picture to a zoomed in view, much more personal. And God will not blindly and wildly, indescriminately strike with madness the people but the enemies only. It will force them to acknowledge the protection of God.
Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’
This praise is noteworthy since not a lot of good has been said so far about judah notice also how they say ‘their’ not ‘our’ God they still don’t quite get it but are certainly on the way to turning back to the Lord.
“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.
Here we go - this is our end times phrase from the minor prophets. “On that day” is the language that usually clues us into the far future. Judah is pictured as fire - something that usually reminds us of judgment but here is a picture of how something quickly spreads and consumes.
“And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah.
There is a harmony and unity that The Lord will usher in at the end.
On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Now we have these similies. The weakest will be like David - Who was David what did he represent? Greatest King of Israel
The house of David is always and obviously the kingly line of David. What does it mean to be like God? Remember that Zechariah isn’t saying they will be God - this isn’t, or doesn’t seem to me to be, the moment he points to Christ. They who are strong will be alligned with God. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” and Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” but also it says like the angel of the lord going before them.
Who is the angel of the Lord?
And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
I’d say many many times this angel of the Lord is a prefigured or pre-incarnate Christ.
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.
We change to first person.
And see this pictured in the new testament quoting from the old but put together here.
But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:
“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
