Sunday School Zechariah 9:9-17

The Lowly King

Wednesday 4/01/2020

A Call to Return to the Lord

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,

The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.

Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?

But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

Zechariah (Jehovah remembered)

Zechariah’s prophecy is along the time line of the minor prophet Haggai about 520 B.C.

They both encouraged the Jews in their rebuilding process after their return to Jerusalem and where instrumental in encouraging them in the rebuilding of the Temple.

King Cyrus of Persia has conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild and now King Darius is in power of Persia after Cyrus and in his second year of reign Zechariah receives the word of the Lord to prophecy to the Jews.

Our lesson begins with chapter 9 however if we look at the beginning of chapter 1 we will see God’s word against the Jews reflecting on the non-repented nature of us in America today.

Zechariah reminds the Jews in chapter 1 verse 4 that the former fathers of the Jews did not adhere to the voice of the prophets before the Babylonian captivity.

And that now they should heed to the mistakes of their forefathers and now follow the statutes of Jehovah for their well being.

Just a brief outline of the book of Zechariah

1. The book is given to the minor prophet Zechariah

2. It is divided into 5 sections

a. Outline

• A call to repentance ()

• Eight night visions and Joshua’s crowning ()

• Four prophetic messages ()

• Two apocalyptic oracles () ()

In our lesson today we have two themes to study in chapter 9.

Verses 9:9-13 foretells of the coming King of Zion (Jesus Christ)

Verses 9:14-17 The Lord will save and defend His people.

Verse 1

1. God speaks to the inhabitants of Jerusalem as the daughters of Zion and brings in a season of rejoicing. And commands them to shout…..a shout is for celebration and victory.

Why should I rejoice because our King is coming to us. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the mist of thee.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

2. Next Zechariah gives us three attributes of the King: he is just, he has salvation and and he is lowly or humble.

Proof of his humbleness is that he is not riding on a powerful steed or thorough breed stallion but a little donkey. Read for reference.

Let us look at

The Lord's Chosen Servant

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.

He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.

3. Notice verse 9 deals with the advent of Christ his first coming as redeemer of mankind but verse 10 shifts forward to Christ’s second coming when he brings peace to the earth.

a. God will cut off the chariots from Ephraim (the Northern 10 tribes) and horses from Jerusalem (the Southern two tribes or 1 ½

b. God shall cut off the bow and arrow and establish peace to the Gentiles and establish his authority world wide.

c. chariots and horses and bow and arrow were the main war instruments.

Every U. S. president has tried rather unsuccessfully to negotiate peace in the middle east but peace will not come until Christ’s second coming.

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.

He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

c. But through Jesus first coming he has given the born again believer an inner peace that the world does not have.

Rom_5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Gal_5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Php_4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Heb_12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Verses 11-12 the coming Messiah will also keep his covenant with his people and will release them to spiritual freedom.

Note God parallels them to prisoners being released from bondage because they could relate because of the 70 year Babylonian captivity.

The phrase pit where in is no water symbolizes the lack of water in the cisterns in many of the prison dungeons of that time.

It is true that Jesus came to free us from the bondage of sin and death by dying on the cross and his ressurection on the third day.

Jesus spoke of his calling in the synagogue

And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

Verse 13

c. For I have bent Judah, My bow, fitted the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece: This was partially fulfilled in the days of the Maccabees, when God raised up Jews to fight against the successors of Alexander’s Empire. Nevertheless, it seems that the ultimate fulfillment of this promise is yet to come.

god gives replenishment and joy to his people fortold.

The Lord Had Pity

Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.

1 David Guzik, Zechariah, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), .