ZECHARIAH 9:9-17

-{Zechariah 9}

Have you ever ordered something online, and you have it pictured in your mind what it will look like, where it will go, what you can do with it? And then, when the package finally arrives, you open it up and it is nothing like what you were expecting. The color doesn’t look like it did on your computer screen. The size is much bigger or smaller than you imagined. The functions aren’t functioning like you wanted it to. I mean the description of it was right there for you to read and understand, and yet it still did not meet your expectations.

That’s kind of what happened with Jesus and the Jews. The Old Testament gives a description of Jesus—you can see Him all throughout the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. It says who He will be and what He will do. And yet, the Jews still had a different expectation, and then when Jesus came and did what He did, they were like—WHAT KIND OF MESSIAH IS THIS? Well...it’s written right there.

We’re reading a passage that clearly speaks of Jesus some 500+ years before He was born. It seems to clearly state what kind of King He will be. And yet, we know from the gospels that the Jews were expecting something completely different. But, we praise God that Jesus is the Messiah He is, because without Him there would be no hope. So, let’s read the prophecy and rejoice in Jesus tonight...

Zechariah 9:9–17 LSB

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Lowly and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His reign will 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 your covenant, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will return double to you. 13 For I will bend Judah as My bow; I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will rouse up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a mighty man’s sword. 14 Then Yahweh will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet And will go in the storm winds of the south. 15 Yahweh of hosts will defend them. And they will consume and trample on the stones of a sling; And they will drink and roar as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial bowl, Drenched like the corners of the altar. 16 And Yahweh their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. 17 For what goodness and what beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the choice men flourish, and new wine the virgins.

Now, I will have to grant the Jews a few things. First, we have the privilege of hindsight, and we can ( in many ways) put some of the puzzle pieces together—they didn’t have that. But then we also have to grant that the prophecies can be very mysterious. Even with the hindsight we have we read that passage and we’re like: WHAT?

We know it’s about Jesus, but it’s using Old Testament Jewish imagery that might confuse us New Testament Gentiles. On top of that, prophecies often looked through a telescope into history that took in the whole big picture, rather than just one snippet of one event. So, one prophecy might entail many different things and events over an expanded period of time.

For example, in this passage, it pictures Jesus at His first coming, but then also the aftereffects that will be completely fulfilled at His second coming. Often, in Old Testament prophecies, we might ask if it’s talking about His first or second coming, the answer might be yes—it’s hitting on aspects of both.

I liken prophetic passages to tennis matches, where you see the audience turning their head from one side of the court to the other as the ball moves from one player to another. For us, reading this passages, it’s like the meaning has to do with the first coming, then second coming, then first coming, then second coming, and back and forth. It’s just like the Kingdom of God has an already but not yet aspect. There’s things already fulfilled, and things not yet fulfilled, and it’s all sometimes jumbled up in one message.

The theme or main idea of the passage (entailing both comings) is that God provided a king who would bring peace to His people both now and forever. This was a message of encouragement for a people who were recovering from exile, facing opposition, and facing the fact that things weren’t going to be like they were before. So, God says He will be sending a King with some great promises for His covenant people. And what does He say about this King? First, that He is:

1) The King of peace (vv. 9-10)

V. 9 of the passage gives us the character of the King and v. 10 gives us the work of the king. V. 9 tells God’s covenant people to look up and behold—the King is coming. At first that might conjure up in our minds a stately king in armor riding a great white steed, coming to conquer and vanquish the enemies.

But that’s not the picture given. Now, He is righteous...meaning that this King is perfect in bringing about justice, and He is the epitome of moral integrity according to God’s standards. So, His rule would be based on truth and righteousness in contrast to the unrighteous rule of earthly kings.

And it says that He brings salvation or deliverance with Him. The Jews would have heard or read those words and assume it meant deliverance from enemies. And in a sense He would, but they pictured the King swooping in and making their earthly enemies scatter.

But then it says that this King would be lowly or gentle or humble. He isn’t loud and brash. He wouldn’t arrive with pomp and military might. He would be a servant. He would come mounted on a donkey—not on a horse which was a great weapon of war. They didn’t have tanks and helicopters and stuff—the horse was a powerful military machine. But the King would come on a donkey—a beast of burden.

All of this (and leading into v. 10) is a picture of One who would come to bring peace, not make war. It’s different than expected. In the previous verses of the chapter, God talks about judgment against the pagan neighbors of Israel who had harassed them for many years. That’s war. But the King comes to bring peace.

And Matthew and John both quote this passage with regard to Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The humble Jesus, the Servant, came to bring peace—not conquer the Romans or any other Gentile nation. At least not with war—but He would defeat the Gentile by bringing them into the fold of God’s people.

In v. 10 it talks about cutting off the chariot and horses and bows of war—weapons of war. This King would bring about a time when those things would no longer be needed because there would be perpetual peace. And this would happen not just for Israel, but for the entire world as this King established His reign from sea to sea to the ends of the earth.

So, here is the confluence between the first and second comings—the balancing of that which already is but also not yet. Jesus’ first coming brought peace for humanity with God where their sins would no longer separate them. This promise was not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentile. And as the gospel spread through the whole world, people from every tribe, tongue and nation entered into the Kingdom of God so He would reign in the hearts of His covenant people all over the globe. That is the already.

And yet the vast majority of the world is still at war with God and at war with one another. But there will come a time when all hostility and violence will cease and all of humanity in this King’s kingdom will be at peace. But that is the not yet—that is the second coming.

But until that time, the people who belong to the King must walk by faith in what is to come, and not by the sight of what their current circumstances look like. I may not experience peace right now, but the King of peace brought peace between me and God and is bringing peace to my heart because of the future peace that I know I will enjoy with Him in the future—I either die or He returns. But until then, I trust Him, leading to the next section with describes for us:

2) The King of Protection (vv. 11-15)

Through this King God will keep His people—not necessarily from every hardship, but in the ultimate sense that He will be my King and I will be part of His kingdom and no one can do anything about it. In v. 11 He talks about the fact that through the covenant that has been ratified by blood the prisoner will be set free from the waterless pit.

Covenants were ratified by a sacrifice—spilt blood. The Mosaic covenant was ratified by animal sacrifices. However, there would be a better covenant, and eternal covenant, that the King would ratify by His own blood. If you remember in the various gospel accounts of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said His blood was the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.

And through that blood, for those who believe, they are set free from their bondage. It is described here as a waterless pit—a waterless cistern. Think of what Joseph was thrown into by his brothers or what Jeremiah was thrown into by the king. It’s a picture of an arid prison. The King sets people free from the pit of their sin, and when He returns He will set people free from the curse of a fallen world.

So, in v. 12 God gives the invitation and command to return to their stronghold—their place of refuge—God Himself, and they come through the King, because that is where the hope of the world lies. And when you find that hope in Him, it says God will return double. It’s a picture of restoration—God will bring back all that was lost because of a cursed creation. God will bring back grace and joy and prosperity that far outweighs all the previous periods of hardship or exile or barrenness.

But v. 13 tells us what the King will do to get to that point. The King of peace may be humble, but He is still a warrior. He will battle against His enemies, and use His own people to do it. Judah is a bow and Ephraim (the northern kingdom) is the arrow. God’s covenant people will be a sword in God’s hands. And now that we are His covenant people, God uses us to make war against His enemies and to claim territory for His Kingdom.

But we don’t go to battle alone, because according to v. 14 God appears over His people—He shoots out lightening like arrows, He blows the trumpet of war. God goes to battle with His people, and fights by their side as His redemption plan unfolds.

And while the enemies of God will try to destroy this covenant army, v. 15 says that the God of armies will defend His people. He will trample the weapons of the enemies, and God’s people will enjoy a time of victory and feasting. And then there is a final picture given of Him being:

3) The King of Provision (vv. 16-17)

vv. 16-17 look forward to the end. The King is pictured as a Shepherd tending and protecting His flock. Why? Because the King looks at His covenant people like they were shining jewels in His royal crown. And the King will provide for His people goodness and beauty.

It talks about grain and new wine—pictures of prosperity. The King will not just help His people survive, but He will help them to thrive. King Jesus doesn’t just help His people get by, but He helps them to flourish—receiving the fullness of what God originally intended with creation. That’s the not yet. But in the already, His kingdom grows as He joins His people in fighting for new spiritual territory.

The King of peace is a warrior who is fighting to bring that peace. And if we belong to Him, that peace will be ours one day. But until it comes fully, we join Him in fighting for it as we conquer new spiritual territories in His name. Let’s pray for the strength and stamina to fight for that peace. That wasn’t the king the Jews were expecting, but thank God that is the King that we got...