The King Who Comes Lowly

The last chapters of the book of Zechariah are more eschatological in nature. They speak of things soon to happen and telescopically of things in the last days.

Zechariah 9 speaks of kings of the future; a future king who is God’s instrument of judgment, and the messianic King, humble and righteous, who brings peace to the world.

Verses 1-8 speak of the future king, God’s agent of judgment to the nations neighboring the land of Israel in the north and to the south.

1. Sovereignty Beyond Borders, vs. 1-3.

Verse 1 - the Hebrew word translated as “burden” in the NASB emphasizes the prophet’s constraint or compulsion in needing to give this message to others. A burden can contain both judgment and blessing.

The direction that this burden takes is later in history the direction of the conquering Alexander the Great, who subdues these region in 533-532 B.C.

This burden begins at Hadrach, the name of the region between Aleppo in the north and Damascus, the capital of Aram (Syria) in the south. Damascus here is the focal point of the message of judgment.

The “eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel” are recognizing the actions of the LORD in these events.

verse 2 - Hamath, another city north of Damascus, will not escape, nor will Tyre and Sidon of Lebanon, west of Damascus on the Mediterranean coastline.

Tyre and Sidon are called very wise;

Verse 3 — Tyre built herself a fortress. Part of Tyre was on the coastland and part on a nearby island where they built a fortress. The cities had become very wealthy as described by the word pictures of the silver and the gold. The cities felt secure and safe from others. Nebuchadnezzar had laid siege against Tyre for thirteen years without success. But it would be the LORD who would dispossess her through His agent, Alexander the Great.

2. Promises and Reversals, vs. 4-7.

verse 4 — The description given by Zechariah is a statement that “the LORD will dispossess [Tyre]” by casting her wealth into the sea and consuming her with fire.

Another prophet prophesied against Tyre, Ezekiel 26:12

Ezekiel 26:12 NASB95

“Also they will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise, break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timbers and your debris into the water.

Alexander the Great came against Tyre to find that the king and the nobles had moved from the land to the island, believing that they could not be conquered. Alexander took the city on the shore, using its materials to build a causeway out to the island fortress city with a wall 150 feet high. What could not go down into the water would go up into flames. He then conquered the city and level it in just a few months, against strong opposition, in 332 BC.

Verse 5 — Alexander then moved south along the coastlands, bringing fear into the hearts of the Philistine cities. Only four Philistine cities are mentioned; by this time Gath, the fifth city, had already lapsed into decline.

Interesting that Ashdod is prophesied to experience a mixed population from the time of the exile onwards. Intermarriage will cause a great assimilation in Ashdod. This may be evidenced by the Persians borrowing the name Ashdod for a division of the fifth satrapy.

Verse 6 -7 — The Lord enters into the conversation, using the first person pronoun as He announces that He will cut off the pride of the Philistines, very likely dealing with their military machine, previously the bane of David and Saul’s existence. Now it would cease. Along with this the LORD would take the blood from their mouths and detestable things from between their teeth, likely referring to the practices with idolatrous connections which God had forbidden, Lev. 17:14

Leviticus 17:14 NASB95

“For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life. Therefore I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You are not to eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.’

But God has a broader purpose than just to reveal His geographic or military objectives. God reveals that someday He will have Philistines as members of the family of God. A remnant will be for God. They will come to know the true God. They will be absorbed among the faithful in Judah, a separate clan who are distinct, like the Jebusites. An example is Araunah the Jebusite

2 Samuel 24:18–24 NASB95

So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be held back from the people.” Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. “Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.” However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

3. Peaceful Power in Humility, vs. 8-10.

Verse 8 — The Lord Himself will camp around His House (the temple, i.e. Jerusalem and His people). He will Himself protect it because of an army, the army of Alexander the Great. History proves this in that Alexander did not come up to Jerusalem and capture or destroy it, but rather offered his protection as he passed by it on his way to the east.

Then the LORD promises no oppressor will pass over them (His people) anymore. This transitions from the near future to a more distant future; Alexander foreshadows God’s protection in the later days, the end of days.

God will use human agents to both judge the world and to protect His people.

Zechariah now foretells of a future king who is God’s agent of salvation

Verse 9 - Rejoice (twirl) and shout (loudly, like a battle cry). The use of the term “daughter” emphasizes prophetically God’s fatherhood of His people. Zion and Jerusalem are used as a synecdoche, these used to represent the nation of Israel.

What follows from these commands is a direct prediction of the Messiah:

He is readily identified by His righteousness, and bringing deliverance to His people,

He is coming as the LORD’s appointed Messiah as well as the Savior bringing salvation to His people,

In contrast to Alexander the Great, this king is humble, or gentle. In Matthew we have the very words of the Lord, Matthew 11:28-30

Matthew 11:28–30 NASB95

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

He identifies with the poor of the land by coming to them in humility, riding on the foal of a donkey (not a warhorse).

The donkey has been historically associated with peace, particularly in contrast to the horse, which often symbolized war. In biblical times, especially from the era of King Solomon, the donkey became a symbol of peace. This symbolism is notably exemplified in Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where he rode on a donkey to signify his role as the Prince of Peace rather than a military leader. The choice of a donkey over a war-horse was seen as a deliberate act to convey a message of peace and fulfilled this prophecy from Zechariah, which described a king coming to Jerusalem on a donkey, heralding peace to the nations. This symbolic use of the donkey emphasizes the contrast between earthly empires built on violence and the peaceful nature of the kingdom that Jesus represented.

Verse 10 — speaks of a future event yet to happen, a telescoped prophecy which refers to the events around the establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom.

When He returns, the Lord promises to destroy the implements of war. Israel will rely on His protection alone. The mentioning of Ephraim and Judah here is a reminder that God’s plan involves both the restoration and the reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms, split apart since 931 BC.

He will speak peace to the nations. He offers a real peace that lasts because He will establish His just rule over the whole earth. His righteous decrees and laws will be our delight as He inaugurates and maintains a just and lasting peace throughout the earth.

What a day that will be when our Messiah Jesus is Lord of the whole earth!