Zechariah: Burden against Israel's enemies
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Zealous God for Israel!
Zealous God for Israel!
God loves Israel, loves his people and is zealous for them (Zec8:2); that has been evident in what we have previously looked at. Though the major work of the prophet was completed, the temple was rebuilt, the work of the prophet not completed yet. Today we start to look at that.
Maybe should start with the zealous part
2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor I am zealous for her.’
The Lord through the prophet still had much to say regarding the future of Israel, the enemies of Israel and a glimpse of the Messiah.
Some words of judgment, some words of hope
Now there is lot’s of differences, contrasts between chapters 1-8 and then the rest of the book. Many believe that this was done long after the others when the temple was rebuilt, or some even suggest a different writer. I think the former not the latter.
(Transition) So, here we go for today judgment and hope. We will spend more time on the hope than the judgment but we need to look at it, for it is the burden set before us this morning.
The burden, judgment against Israel’s enemies
The burden, judgment against Israel’s enemies
When you think about Israel’s enemies, who do you think of? We don’t have to think much on this for our passage tells us.
Judgment, burden against Syria (Zec9:1-4)
1 The burden of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord), 2 And Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
FYI (Don’t need to say unless asked) Hadrach Hadrach (Hebrew: חַדְרָךְ) is a Biblical name, denoting a place, a king or a deity revered on the boundaries of Damascus. It is only mentioned once in the bible: Zechariah 9:1. It is generally thought to have been North of Lebanon.
Who is this judgment against? Notice the cities, these are key cities of Syria.
Damascus, Hamath, Tyre and Sidon. They were all just north of Israel and were well off, but well known enemies of Israel
3 For Tyre built herself a fortress And piled up silver like dust, And gold like the mire of the streets. 4 Behold, the Lord will dispossess her And cast her wealth into the sea; And she will be consumed with fire.
What is the the Lord going to do with Syria’s riches (v.4)?
Cast the wealth into the sea, and consume the city with fire
Judgment, burden against Philistia (Zec9:5-8)
5 Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; Also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon will not be inhabited. 6 And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will remove their blood from their mouth And their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God, And be like a clan in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite. 8 But I will camp around My house because of an army, Because of him who passes by and returns; And no oppressor will pass over them anymore, For now I have seen with My eyes.
In looking at (vv.5-8) can you see the description of the judgment?
The city’s of Gaza, Ekron, Ashkelon will be afraid, will write in pain. their expectation of self-reliance will be confounded, and the king will perish.
The pride of the Philistines will be cut off, and others will come in and occupy the land.
Now, look again (focus on v.7-8) do you see a hope?
There is going to be a remnant of God, God is going to protect them.
It is believed that it is Alexander the Great that fulfilled this judgment when he came through and destroyed, but did not touch Jerusalem. This is according to the historical writings of Josephus.
(Transition) - Now we get to spend the rest of this morning on hope, some words of hope regarding Israel’s future
Words of hope
Words of hope
Now comes some words of hope, words of prophesy about Israel’s future. There is too some words of judgment, but our focus will be on the hope, the messianic hope!
The king is coming (Zec9:9-10)
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 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 dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.
What do you see, what do you notice, anything significant you see in this passage (vv.9-10)?
Can you see salvation? Can you see Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem? Can you see the prince of peace riding in?
You can see the promise of the king, the character of the king and that leads us to the nature of his kingdom (v.10)
It is peaceful, it is universal, it is more than just a Jewish kingdom.
You can see this fulfilled in Jesus
1 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.
3 “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your King is coming to you, Gentle, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,
7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.
You can see the authority given (Mt28:18); and all things put all things in subjection under His feet (Eph1:22); and that He is our peace (Eph2:14-17)
Fulfillment scriptures referenced in this section (Mt21:1-7, 28:18; Eph1:22, 2:14-17)
God’s salvation (Zec9:11-17)
11 As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, 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 restore double to you. 13 For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
What is the hope, the promise (v.11-12)?
14 Then the Lord will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord God will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. 15 The Lord of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.
The Lord promises more (vv.14-15) what more does He promise?
He will appear, He will announce He will defend, He will devour the enemies.
16 And the Lord 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 comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
This entire passage has been looked at several ways:
Fulfilled in Israel overcoming Greece in time of Alexander
Others look that it is fulfilled in the spiritual victory we have in Christ.
Below is not on the outline but you may want to note it down in your notes
16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. 17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Personally while I believe there is a partial fulfillment in the days of Alexander, the complete fulfillment is found in Christ!
God’s restoration (Zec10:1-12)
1 Ask rain from the Lord at the time of the spring rain— The Lord who makes the storm clouds; And He will give them showers of rain, vegetation in the field to each man. 2 For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see lying visions And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep, They are afflicted, because there is no shepherd.
Seek the Lord not the world (diviners) (vv.1-2)
3 “My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the male goats; For the Lord of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, And will make them like His majestic horse in battle. 4 “From them will come the cornerstone, From them the tent peg, From them the bow of battle, From them every ruler, all of them together.
5 “They will be as mighty men, Treading down the enemy in the mire of the streets in battle; And they will fight, for the Lord will be with them; And the riders on horses will be put to shame.
God is going to remove the shepherds and replace them with leaders who will lead in victory (vv.3-5)
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph, And I will bring them back, Because I have had compassion on them; And they will be as though I had not rejected them, For I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. 7 “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 the Lord.
What is the hope, the promise given (vv.6-7)
I will strength, I will save, I will bring back, I will answer.
And the response from Israel will be rejoicing in the Lord.
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.
God called them, God redeemed them, God grows them
9 “When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back. 10 “I will bring them back 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.
God called, gathered, redeemed, grows them, now look at (v.9) what does God do?
God scatters 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 strengthen them in the Lord, And in His name they will walk,” declares the Lord.
God now does what, and why (v.12)?
Strengthens them so they will walk in His name!
God’s words of judgment (Zec11:1-17)
In our remaining time this morning I was to survey chapter 11 briefly
1 Open your doors, O Lebanon, That a fire may feed on your cedars. 2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, Because the glorious trees have been destroyed; Wail, O oaks of Bashan, For the impenetrable forest has come down.
3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, For their glory is ruined; There is a sound of the young lions’ roar, For the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
I mentioned that the shepherds would be taken out of the way, and new ones placed (vv.1-3)
4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 “Those who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for I have become rich!’ And their own shepherds have no pity on them.
6 “For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will cause the men to fall, each into another’s power and into the power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will not deliver them from their power.”
Zechariah is told to feed the flock (vv.4-6)
Even when there is judgment coming
7 So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me.
9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.
11 So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Zechariah does as instructed, even in face of opposition (Zec11:7-14)
15 The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 “For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd Who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm And on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered And his right eye will be blind.”
There will be a raising up of a worthless shepherd (Zec11:15-17)
Some believe all of this fulfillment happens in (A.D. 70) after the people (Jews) reject the Messiah, the Good Shepherd.
This is a difficult section of scripture in the bible, some things are clear, while others are not. We have the results of the passage in Christ Jesus, our Messiah, we can can say the fulfillment that we know
9 “Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion! Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem! Your king is coming! a good king who makes all things right, a humble king riding a donkey, a mere colt of a donkey.
SO may we shout and cheer knowing our Jesus has saved us, redeemed us!
(pray) (Exit)