Zachariah

Zechariah Chapter 12

• Zechariah12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.

Here is a reminder of just part of the greatness of God and how we are dependent upon His mercy for any good that comes from the earth. God laid the foundation of the earth and formed the spirit that is in man.

This is our spirit that makes the difference of whether we live or die. This is not to be confused with the Holy Spirit which also comes from God and is given to mankind but with requirements. To receive the Holy Spirit one must already have his own natural spirit given when we are conceived in the womb. The Holy Spirit only comes when one is saved from sin and believes in Jesus Christ as our savior from the consequence of sin. He becomes the Lord to all who believe. This is the promise given to all who receive this wonderful gift from God.

• Zechariah 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.

This is being fulfilled to this day. Jerusalem is blamed for the cause of all the Middle East trouble. All nations will come against Israel in the last days in which only the Lord Himself will be able to save her. The hatred against them is building up even among some in the United States. Every time the United States makes some kind of ruling or pressure against Israel, a disaster happens in the U.S. Hurricane Katrina followed the Gaza deportation. That is just one incident. We will not ever get away with trying to divide the land of Israel.

• Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
• 4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

It is puzzling to some why in the days of cars and modern technology as to why horses are used for battle. First of all, the bible has to be written so that all in all generations will understand.  If God inspired writers to mention airplanes for example, people in previous centuries would not know what they were talking about. 

Some say and this is speculation but it makes sense, that because of nuclear weapons, warnings of stars falling from the sky, meteorites and such, electricity and modern technology may have been wiped out and they have to resort to the use of horses and more primitive methods of war. 

Nevertheless no nation can fight against God no matter what mode of transportation or what weapon they use. In the Psalms we find:

• Psalm 76:6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.

Ezekiel 38 and 39 describes the battle of Armageddon in which all the armies of many nations gather together against Israel and what happens to those that gather against them. Whether or not what is described here is that battle or another, the message is clear: I beg our country not to be part of any army that gathers against Israel and encourage all your children, neighbors and whoever not to join any army that fights them.

In Zechariah 14:

• Zechariah14:12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

The verse above sounds like what would happen to a human body as a result of a nuclear blast. We now have nations that are capable of nuclear warfare but we see here that the ones that come against Jerusalem are the ones harmed by this if that is what that verse describes. 

• Zechariah12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
• 6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

Even though Israel is back in her land now since the year 1948, it is only a partial fulfillment. Israel will gain back all the land God originally promised to her. It was only removed because of sin. When Israel repents of sin and turns to God entirely, nothing shall stop her from receiving all that God promised to Abraham.

No power or armies in all the earth shall be able to stop it. When God is for someone, no one can come against them. It is futile to try. God will give them good rulers although at first they might have some that betray them and make ungodly treaties with surrounding nations. 

Once they return and recognize their Messiah, God will give them good governors. Many books in the bible predict the final restoration of Israel and the destruction of her enemies. Obadiah being one, Ezekiel, Joel, Revelation, Isaiah, and many more. I would hope that the leaders in American would just read the bible and take heed so that we are not part of this or we as a nation will receive the judgment of God.

• Zechariah 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

The kingdom will be restored under Christ similar to the kingdom in the days of David.

Ezekiel 37 seems to indicate that the literal King David will be raised from the dead and literally rule under Jesus Christ. Than again since Jesus became a man born of a woman from the seed of David, Jesus Himself may be who is referred to here. We know that all believers are raised from the dead and rule with Christ, not just David but it is interesting to know what the bible says about these things:

• Ezekiel 37:21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
• 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
• 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
• 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
• 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
• 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
• 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
• 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

We see from all these passages that no nation will get away with any persecution against Israel. It's just not going to happen. They may think they win temporarily but all will be judged in the end.  He that lives by the sword shall die by the sword. The only thing that cancels that out is genuine repentance and allowing Jesus Christ into one's life. Oh how our nation needs the love of Christ and the fear of God and His word back. It is the only thing that will save us.

• Zechariah 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
• 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

This should cause the United Nations, the United States and all the world that seek to devour Israel or make judgments against Israel to fear and tremble. To fight against Israel will one day be fighting against God. We must walk in the fear of God and trust Him to work out the things that are wrong in Israel. We must not ever fight against them or we will face the judgment of God.

• Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

We find one reference to the piercing of Jesus here:

• John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.

Jesus Christ is God that came in the flesh to be born of a virgin. Jesus is God the Son. When we see Jesus it is the same as seeing God for He is the Son of God thereby being God.

Verse 10 shows us the redemption of Israel. They will finally recognize the one whom their ancestors pierced is the very prophet, messiah, christ that Moses and the prophets foretold was to come. Just like the brothers of Joseph didn't recognize Joseph when they saw him the first time, they recognized him when they saw him the second time when he was revealed to them.

In Revelation is a description of the 2nd coming of Jesus.

• Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

The Jews didn't recognize Jesus the first time He came but they will recognize Him the second time because their eyes will be opened and they will see the Jesus is the Christ whom God sent to save them from their sins and from all the enemies around them.

The first coming of Jesus was to die for sins and make a way of salvation in which a soul can be saved from the wrath of God and that soul be granted eternal life in which was lost when the fall of man occured in the garden of Eden. Jesus reversed the curse by becoming a curse for us.

At His first coming the Jews were looking for an earthly Messiah to save them not from sin but from Roman oppression. They didn't see themselves as sinners in need of salvation. That is what we all are though before we come to Jesus Christ for cleansing from sin; we are sinners in need of salvation.

• Zechariah 12:11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
• 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
• 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
• 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

In order to be saved from sin, one has to recognize that they are sinners in need of a savior. When we mourn for our sins, it is the first step to being saved from sin and entering into the kingdom of God. This is repentance. The moment we believe, we are saved from sin. The Holy Spirit draws us and comes to us. We become born again by God's spirit. We then can be baptized in the Holy Spirit so that we can be equipped as vessels God can use to save others.

• Ezekiel 39:29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.

At the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, there will be indeed a deliverance from enemies on the earth but first will come a cleansing from sin. God's spirit shall be poured out over all Israel.

This whole chapter tells of God's plan for Israel to finally wake up and see that the stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Unfortunately the tribulation and the battle of Armageddon comes before this time. Blessed be the Lord for the redemption that is to follow. 

Zechariah Index

-DC