ZECHARIAH 10:1-12

{Zechariah 10}

In the past several decades there have been news reports of people who attacked famous pieces of art thinking that it would bring some sort of attention to whatever their political causes were. Pieces like Rembrandt’s Night Watch or Michelangelo’s Pieta were slashed. Many people thought that they were ruined. But the experts didn’t give up on them or destroy them. Instead, they spent months painstakingly restoring them to their original glory, often making them stronger.

In a similar way, God hasn’t just given up on His people no matter how broken or messed up or sinful they become. Instead, through His work of grace, God restores His people, and we know that He will eventually restore all of His creation. But God gives some specific promises to His covenant people through the prophecy of Zechariah. Let’s read what God says through the prophet:

Zechariah 10:1–12 LSB

1 Ask rain from Yahweh at the time of the late rain— Yahweh who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, the plant in the field to each man. 2 For the teraphim speak wickedness, And the diviners behold false visions And speak worthless dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people journey like sheep; They are afflicted because there is no shepherd. 3 “My anger burns against the shepherds, And I will visit punishment upon the male goats; For Yahweh of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His splendid horse in battle. 4 “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every good taskmaster, all of them together. 5 “And they will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will battle, for Yahweh will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame. 6 “I will make the house of Judah mighty, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will cause them to return, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am Yahweh their God, and I will answer them. 7 “And Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad; Their heart will rejoice in Yahweh. 8 “I will whistle for them to gather them together, For I have redeemed them; And they will be as numerous as they were before. 9 “And I will sow them among the peoples, And they will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and turn back. 10 “Then I will cause them to return from the land of Egypt And gather them from Assyria; And I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon Until no room can be found for them. 11 “And they will pass through the sea of distress, And He will strike the waves in the sea, So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up; And the pride of Assyria will be brought down, And the scepter of Egypt will depart. 12 “And I will make them mighty in Yahweh, And in His name they will walk,” declares Yahweh.

-God is speaking to a remnant people still recovering from their exile. Things are not very glorious for God’s people, in fact they look bleak. But He promises them that He is not through with them yet, and that He will fulfill promises. God will faithfully restore His people to empower them for His glory. What do we see in this passage?

1) God Call’s His People to Seek Him

In v. 1 God reminds the people that since He alone is the sovereign provider, they are to seek Him for whatever they need for their well-being and success. He tells them to come to Him in prayer and ask for the late rain. Being an agricultural society, rain was essential to have successful crops. But they weren’t to look for their help anywhere else but to God alone.

It says that it is Yahweh who makes the storm clouds. God alone has the power and authority over all of creation, including the weather. Now, when things were not necessarily happening how and when the people thought things should go, people were tempted to seek relief elsewhere. I believe the storm clouds are meant to be a direct reference to the way that Israel had sought the false god Baal in the past. Baal was the storm god and often depicted as riding on the clouds as if he were in charge. But God is saying here that Baal isn’t the one in charge—Yahweh God is.

So, when you see references to God or Christ riding the clouds or coming on the clouds, it is a direct contradiction to anything or anyone else claiming authority or superiority. God hears the prayers of His people, and if they would just approach Him for what they need, He will give according to His power and wisdom. And because He is the One who provides:

2) God Warns Against Corrupt Leaders

In vv. 2-3a He warns against leaders of the people who would guide the people to seek their help elsewhere. He says that the teraphim speak wickedness. Teraphim refers to the household items or cultic images that people would have in their homes believing that these would bring them good luck somehow.

It makes me think of Japanese culture. Many homes have set up shrines with idols that represent dead ancestors whose spirits need to be appeased so that they bring good luck and blessing to the house and family. God says that’s wickedness.

God says that the diviners see false visions and speak worthless dreams. Diviners claimed to receive messages from the spirit realm. You can think of modern day fortune tellers or psychics. They were specifically banned in Deuteronomy, but the people didn’t really listen. Whatever these diviners reported was deceptive because it either came from their own imagination, or worse, it came from the demonic.

But the problem was that the leaders of the people were guiding the people to do these things, so the people were like sheep with no shepherd to guide them in the right, safe path. And so God says His anger burns against those shepherds and He will visit punishment on them. Think of all the false teachers out there who lead people away from Christ, away from Scripture, and give the people these false visions and worthless dreams. They will be punished. However:

3) God Promises a Righteous Leader

In vv. 3b-5 God says that He will not allow His people continue in such a way. There is much imagery in this passage of the people being a flock of sheep, and God says that He is the Shepherd who will take care of them. He says in v. 3 that He will visit His flock. God Himself will come to His people.

It says that God will transform the people from being a fearful remnant into an instrument of war. He says He will make them like His splendid horse in battle. They will be brave and strong and courageous. How? According to v. 4 God will raise someone up from among the people of Judah upon whose back everything hinges. There will be One who will bring strength and help and provision to God’s covenant people.

In v. 3 it is God Himself, in v. 4 it is One from the tribe of Judah. This is the Jewish Messiah. This obviously points to the God-man, Jesus Christ. He is the Shepherd-King who will transform God’s covenant people from weak to strong, from fearful to bold, from oppressed to conquerors. Instead of the corrupt leaders of v. 2, there will be a righteous leader over God’s people.

V. 4 uses several pictures that describe who this Shepherd-King is. He is the cornerstone. In ancient architecture, the cornerstone was the most important stone of the foundation. It was placed in the corner against which everything else would be aligned. It then provided stability and strength for all the rest of building.

This means that the ultimate foundation for God’s covenant people is Jesus. Everything hinges on Him and is held together by Him. When Paul talks about the church being built, he says:

Ephesians 2:20 LSB

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,

It also says that He is the tent peg. The Jews lived in tents for the 40 year wandering in the wilderness. They were quite familiar with the concept of there being a need for something to secure that tent in all sorts of weather. It is a picture of stability, security, and reliability. It is Jesus who establishes and secures the people of God so that they are not moved.

It says that He is that bow of battle. Jesus is God’s instrument of warfare against His enemies. It symbolizes strength and victory against those who oppose God. All of God’s adversaries and the adversaries of His covenant people will be vanquished, and the powers of darkness will be overturned.

At the end of v. 4 it speaks of rulers or taskmasters—possibly picturing that all legitimate and righteous authority, leadership, and governance ultimately derives from Christ...God’s divinely appointed ruler. And according to v. 5 it is through Him that God’s covenant people will find the victory. They will be raised like mighty men for battle. They will tread down God’s enemies. God will be with them in the battle through Jesus, and they will put God’s enemies to shame.

While in a spiritual sense that is all true in the here and now, it will not be until the end at Christ’s return that it will be true in the ultimate, eternal sense. But until that day, we can live in light of the fact that we are promised the victory. Sure, it might seem like we are losing many battles, but in Christ we ultimately win the whole war. But then God makes an interesting promise to the Jews:

4) God Regathers and Restores His People

Here is why we ought to seek Him exclusively, because only God can do what He promises here. In vv. 6-12 God talks about bringing Israel back together again and restoring them as a people. It talks about how He will make Judah mighty and He will save the house of Joseph. Joseph or Ephraim are ways of talking about the Northern Kingdom of Israel as they were the prominent tribe.

After the division between Northern and Southern Kingdom, Assyria took the Northern Kingdom (of 10 tribes) into exile and spread them throughout their empire. While not completely wiped out, they never truly received back their identity.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was made up of two tribes—Judah and Benjamin. They were taken into exile by the Babylonians, but they retained their identity. They were restored to their land. Yes, there were some from the other tribes that eventually made their way to Judea, but Israel was never really ever a united kingdom again.

But there is going to come a time, as it says in v. 6, as if God had never rejected Him—a picture of restoration because God did reject them for a time. V. 7 talks about a time of rejoicing. And then in v. 8 it talks about God whistling them back together again. It’s not like whistling a dog, but more like a Shepherd whistling for His sheep and they gather back together again like a flock.

While some see this restoration as a picture of the millenium, I think it is speaking of Christ’s second coming to establish His eternal Kingdom. If I understand Romans correctly, I think there will be a time near the end where ethnic Jews will finally recognize their Messiah and come to faith in Him. And they need to believe in Jesus because that is the new and everlasting covenant. No one, not even Jews or Israelites, can come to God now outside of Jesus.

The Old Covenant is dead and gone, and there only remains the New Covenant. And only those in Christ are part of His Kingdom—either having looked forward toward His life, death, and resurrection for those in the Old Covenant, or looking back at His life, death, and resurrection in the New Covenant.

But in the end, Christ will restore His people into One eternal Kingdom—Judah, Ephraim, Gentiles, Old Covenant saints, New Covenant saints, all living under the rulership of Jesus Christ. It talks about in v. 9 how the people will be sown throughout the world before they are regathered. Think of how God’s covenant people are now found throughout the world carrying the amazing gospel of Jesus Christ so that more can come.

In v. 11 it talks about how He will pass through the sea of distress (not THEY like my translation). Jesus passed through the sea of distress. But because He did all oppressors will be brought low. That means that those who formerly oppressed the people of God will no longer have a hold, and they will be judged. And the miracle of God in Christ is that even a remnant out of the people who once oppressed God’s people will actually become a part of God’s covenant people.

Only God can restore in such a way. He will restore the unity of His covenant people. He will restore His creation to its intended glory. V. 12 says that God’s people will be made mighty.

So, if God can restore a people in such a way, there is the great promise that anything we lose in this life will be restored to us as well. It might not be in the here and now, but God will restore. And so we live by faith. And we pray that this promise of restoration will be an encouragement as we traverse this fallen world...