Zechariah 13
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Intro
Intro
Moving closer to the end and seeing more end time prophecy about the Lord return, his victory and also judgement upon the nations.
When you look at , we know that there is only 9 verses in the whole chapter, so it is indeed one of the shortest chapters thus far in our study, but it is not short on content by any means. So we will work our way through these nine verses, and Lord willing we will finish this Sunday night study on the last Sunday night before Bible School.
So lets begin and look at verse 1
1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
The phrase “On that day” is an important one. It is connected very closely to the events of chapter 12 that we looked at last week, namely verse 3..
Bu that day refers to the day of God’s judgment. But that is not all, it is a day of restoration as well for some. Namely the true followers of the Lord.
There will be a great cleansing taking place, from the order of the Lord himself. and it will affect all, royalty and commoner alike, all will receive the blessing of the Lord’s cleansing.
Zechariah says the Lord has told him a fountain will be opened… Well friends it has long been opened, no doubt about that… but first it appears to Israel, and they have been ignorant of that fountain so close to them. They have missed who Jesus is...
Like Hagar in the wilderness remained ignorant of the refreshment near her and her boy, until God opened their eyes in
19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
be clear is it not the fountain that needs to be opened, but their eyes to see and know the true refreshment that awaited them. the same is true of those around us, we need to be aware of the true refreshment that awaited each of us,
Why has the true fountain come? To forgive sin, to heal the broken hearted and return man into a covenant relationship with God.
- Zechariah says it is come for sin and to cleanse unrighteousness.
Zechariah says it is come for sin and to cleanse unrighteousness.
This speaks of a symbolic tone, pointing to their need of cleaning and purification … which is only possible through the atoning death and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The Jewish ceremonies could not save them, but faith in the Messiah, the Savior could....The blood of Jesus cleanseth them from all sin.
Now verse 2
2 “And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.
Again the reference to “that day” declares the Lord. God says I will cut of the names of the idols in the land. to cut off speaks to removing them completely from the memory, not name or remembrance of them will be known.
13 and I will cut off your carved images
and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands;
and
13 “Thus says the Lord God:
“I will destroy the idols
and put an end to the images in Memphis;
there shall no longer be a prince from the land of Egypt;
so I will put fear in the land of Egypt.
Eze
Also to remove the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness, that is speaking to false prophets, speaking of those who worked with the bad kings and others who told the people what they wanted to hear and helped lead the nation astray and away from God.
The spirit of uncleanness is the spirit that dwelt in those false prophets. They followed the voice of the evil one and caused many to fall, just like the bad king Ahab of Israel.
Now verse 3
3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
Pretty harsh verse, but the penalty of sin is great my friends, it a terrible thing to lead people astray.
commands the death penalty for those who engage in idolatry and false prophecy, In this restored time, loyalty to God, trumps and is more important to family.
and again in , those claiming to speak for God falsely also merited the death penalty.
So because of God’s great work in our lives, our love for him will bring us to a ultimately loyalty where it’s God and God alone, this loyalty will override human emotions, even causing a father or mother or both together to strike down a child who speaks falsely for the Lord.
QQ ..... Pretty harsh, what do you think about that personally...
Now lets move on… verses 4-5
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive,
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’
Because of these stern measures, because the punishment could be so great these false prophets will stop wearing the clothes of a prophet, like a hairy coat. Do you remember John the Baptist came wearing a camel hair jacket, a heavy belt and was eating locust… plant not bugs.
These who have done wrong in the past do not want to be identified as such…They will secretly seek to deceive to escape judgment, claiming to be farmers, but it is all lies.
These who have done wrong in the past do not want to be identified as such...
He once claimed to speak for God but now he is in hiding… not wanting any one to discover what he once did in hopes of escaping the consequences.
Note here, these had once been professional prophets, speaking all sorts of claims and as such the king rewarded them and kept them close, makes me think of professional politicians today.
Amos distanced himself from them when people claimed he was like these others, only prophesying for bread. Remember what Amos said in
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
He was an ordinary man that God sought to use....
Moving on, verse 6
6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
This phrase does not refer to the Messiah as some might think… false prophets often cut themselves as part of their false rituals , it was a way to show ones devotion to God.
This has happened in the Christian world as well. Think about monks and others in times past who punished themselves for sin or evil thoughts, whipping their backs, tying barbed chains or wire around body parts to inflict pain, had they thought they were atoning for sin…doing the right thing.
In the house of friends, might refer to pagan temples or other places where these false believers
They would say the scars represent an attack they suffered from the hands of others because they were being persecuted for their faith.
Now moving on… verses 7-9
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, declares the Lord,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”
Here Zechariah turns from the false prophets who were wounded in the house of their friends or pagan temples, and He (Zechariah) turns to the true prophet who will be wounded by those who should have been his friends…namely Israel.
He compresses the events o his first and second advent into this brief section. It speaks of Christ crucifixion in verse 7 and the Jewish remnant at this second coming verses 8-9
My Shepherd refers to Jesus. the true Good Shepherd, against the man who stands next to me speaks to Jesus as the one who is at the right hand side of the Father.
It affirms the deity and person of Jesus, two verses of Scripture
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
;
30 I and the Father are one.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 14
Strike the shepherd… the disciples fled from Jesus at his arrest, so scared. Their failing away is not apostasy, they are scared bu they will return as Jesus did pray for them in
9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
It was a fulfillment of Scripture…
Now this phrase “ I will turn my hand against the little ones.” at the end of verse 7 may speak to the suffering the Jewish believers encountered in the days after his resurrection. They did suffer persecution in the days after Jesus returned to the Father, but He, the Father was with them.
Remember Jesus prayer he has just prayed, he was for them, them all no matter what...
verse 8
8 In the whole land, declares the Lord,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
The 1/3 left alive refers to the salvation of a remnant of Israel in the days to come, even after the destruction of the temple, the persecution they would face in all the days afterwards, but God has promised to save them, this covenant to Abraham is still remembered.
These people would look upon Christ in repentance at his appearing, this includes the 144,000. John MacArthur says these will be the sheep of the sheep -goat judgment in , after Christ’s return to live in and dwell in his kingdom.
and finally verse 9
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”
These who are saved in the end will be refined as with fire and made whole and holy in his presence, he will forgive their sin, and restore them as he has promised. The covenant is alive and well. He will be their God and they will be his people.
12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.
7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
2 “And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.
“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
8 In the whole land, declares the Lord,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
9 And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”