Sunday and Monday studies are (usually, but not this week) posted together on Mondays

Day 265 – Reading Zechariah 9 – 14.

Read the Scriptures first. Look for HOPE!  

In the two “oracles” (prophetic sections) in the last five chapters, Zechariah deals with the future. (Look for the phrase “in that day.”  He speaks of 1) the downfall of the nation, 2) the salvation of Israel, and 3) the Messiah, as king. 

In chapters 9-11, Zechariah deals with #1 and #3, and ends with the rejection of Christ as their Messiah at His first coming.  In chapters 12-14, he covers the #2 and #3 aspects of the future, and ends with the millennial kingdom of Messiah Christ.

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Zechariah 9.

First, here is a judgment on the nations surrounding Israel.  They cover Greece (Alexander the Great), who conquered  Assyria, Medo-Persia, Tyre and Sidon, and Philistia. God promised to protect Jerusalem from him. 

Next, Zechariah covers the two comings of Christ compressed together.  Old Testament prophets didn’t see the time between the to comings of Christ as the church age.  It was a mystery to them. (See Ephesians 3:1-9 and Colossians 1:27)

Verse 9 speaks of the well-known event of Jesus coming into Jerusalem a week before Passover.  “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Verse 10 speaks of Christ’s rule in the Millennium.  “…He shall speak peace to the nations; His rule shall be from sea to sea…”.

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Zechariah 10.

Judah and Israel is restored by the LORD.  They will become like a war-horse instead of sheep. And from Israel shall come “the Cornerstone.” (Jesus)  See Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:6-8.

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Zechariah 11.

The flock of Israel seems doomed to Slaughter.  The sheep reject their True Shepherd, the Messiah at His first coming. And the people are judged for it, like trees in a sweeping fire.  God uses Zechariah, acting as a shepherd, giving up on his disobedient sheep (breaking his staffs and walking away from them without even getting his paycheck).

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Zechariah 12,

Zechariah now encourages the people with a description of restoration and blessing.  God will defend them from their enemies and strengthen them to fight as well.  The LORD will give salvation to the “tents of Judah first. He will protect Jerusalem, and the house of David shall be like the angel of the Lord. 

“I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirt of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on Me, on Him who they have pierced, they shall MOURN, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over Him, as one weeps over a firstborn.”

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Zechariah 13.

“And on that day, there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the in habitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”

How was this to happen?  The True Shepherd will be killed as an atonement for the sheep. “Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”  Only 2/3 of Jews will believe, and those, God says, “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.’

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Zechariah 14.

“Behold, a day is coming for the LORD.  

“On that day, the LORD will go out and fight for Israel.  His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives… and it shall be split in two, and You shall flee to the mountains…. And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day, the LORD will be one and His Name One.

“Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to WORSHIP the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

“And there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts … on that day.”

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Wow, such promises and pictures, and warnings. So hard to understand. Zechariah spoke as the LORD told him, but even he did not understand the prophesies. Today, we see Jesus, as Messiah and Savior. But we also see Jews – for the most part – not identifying Him as their Lord. But praise God for the promise in chapter 12, that when He returns, they will LOOK on Him and mourn. They will finally believe.

Oh, God of heaven, thank You for Your so great SALVATION!

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