Blessing and Obedience

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

2 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
    he does all that he pleases.

4 Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.
11 You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
    He is their help and their shield.

12 The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;
    he will bless the house of Israel;
    he will bless the house of Aaron;
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD,
    both the small and the great.

14 May the LORD give you increase,
    you and your children!
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
    who made heaven and earth!

16 The heavens are the LORD's heavens,
    but the earth he has given to the children of man.
17 The dead do not praise the LORD,
    nor do any who go down into silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD
    from this time forth and forevermore.
Praise the LORD! – Psalm 115:1-18 ESV 

The anonymous author of this psalm opens with a prayer requesting Yahweh to glorify His own name for His own sake. While this petition sounds selfless and focused on God's glory alone, the request has an ulterior motive. The psalmist is asking Yahweh to reveal His unfailing love and faithfulness for His chosen people by performing an act of divine intervention. Some unforeseen situation has taken place that requires a literal act of God, and the psalmist unashamedly begs Yahweh to do the impossible. 

Whatever their dilemma, the psalmist was willing to let Yahweh get all the glory for delivering His people. They needed help, not credit. In a blatant attempt to appeal to Yahweh’s pride, the psalmist poses a hypothetical scenario in the form of a question.

Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?” – Psalm 115:2 ESV

He suggests that any inaction on God's part will come across as impotence to their pagan neighbors. These idol worshipers will view Israel’s God as powerless in the face of their superior deity. If Yahweh doesn’t do something spectacular and sooner rather than later, their enemies will end up mocking Him and glorifying their own gods. 

The psalmist knew that Yahweh was a jealous God who refused to share His glory with anyone or anything else. The prophet Isaiah had recorded Yahweh’s unequivocal perspective on the matter. 

“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols.” – Isaiah 42:8 NLT

When He gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, Yahweh clarified His views on idol worship. 

“You must not have any other god but me.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” – Deuteronomy 5:7-9 NLT

Almost as if he is trying to prove his allegiance to Yahweh, the psalmist provides his personal opinion on the idiocy of idolatry.

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold,
    shaped by human hands.
They have mouths but cannot speak,
    and eyes but cannot see.
They have ears but cannot hear,
    and noses but cannot smell.
They have hands but cannot feel,
    and feet but cannot walk,
    and throats but cannot make a sound.
And those who make idols are just like them,
    as are all who trust in them. – Psalm 115:4-8 NLT

Unlike Yahweh, who is all-powerful and not of this earth, these lifeless manmade statues are mute, blind, and completely impotent. They are the figment of a man's imagination and the work of his hands, and Yahweh ridiculed the pagan nations that placed their hope in these harmless and helpless symbols of hope. 

“Their ways are futile and foolish.
    They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
They decorate it with gold and silver
    and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
    so it won’t fall over.
Their gods are like
    helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
    and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
    for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.” – Jeremiah 10:3-5 NLT  

Yet, the psalmist knew that his own people were guilty of trusting in the false gods of their enemies. Apostasy and idolatry had been an ongoing problem within the nation of Israel from the very beginning. That is why he addresses the Israelites directly and challenges them to place their hope in the one true God: Yahweh.

O Israel, trust the LORD!
    He is your helper and your shield.
O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD!
    He is your helper and your shield.
All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD!
    He is your helper and your shield. – Psalm 115:9-11 NLT

He knew Yahweh would not act if His covenant people remained stubbornly disobedient and unfaithful. So, he calls on the people and the priests to repent and return to Yahweh. If they wanted to see the LORD’s salvation, they would need to treat Him with the dignity and honor He deserved. 

Long before the people of Israel set foot in the land of Canaan, Yahweh had warned them to remain faithful to the covenant commitment they had made with Him. Moses left nothing to the imagination when he declared the non-negotiable conditions of the covenant. 

“The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands. And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.” – Deuteronomy 26:18-19 NLT

That is the point the psalmist had in mind when he wrote: “The LORD remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, both great and lowly” (Psalm 115:12-13 NLT). Obedience brings blessing. If the Israelites wanted to see God act, they would need to obey. If they wanted to experience the blessings of God, they would need to treat Him with honor and respect. 

While this psalm opens up by addressing Yahweh directly, its message is aimed at the disobedient and disengenuous people of God. The entire discussion about idols was for their benefit and intended to remind them of the futility of placing their hope in anything or anyone other than Yahweh, “the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 115:15 NLT). 

It seems likely that the psalmist had Deuteronomy 28 in mind when he penned the words of his song.

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed.” – Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NLT

They had experienced Yahweh's blessings over the years. But now they faced an uncertain future because they had been unfaithful to their covenant commitments. But it was not too late. They could change their ways. They could reverse course. All that was required was repentance, a rejection of their false gods, and a return to their commitment to worship Yahweh alone. And to drive home his point, the psalmist gives them the choice between death and sold-out devotion to their God.

The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD,
    for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
But we can praise the LORD
    both now and forever!

Praise the Lord! – Psalm 115:17-18 NLT

Continued disobedience would bring God's judgment and, ultimately, death. But repentance would result in redemption and a restoration of God's covenant blessings. The choice was theirs. 

Father, we love to see You perform powerful acts of deliverance. We like reading the stories that record Your miraculous interventions on behalf of Your people. But we tend to forget that You desire faithfulness from those who bear Your name and benefit from Your goodness. We love the idea of unmerited favor and undeserved grace, but tend to take your favor for granted and cheapen your grace by treating it with contempt. Like the psalmist, we want to see You intervene on our behalf, but we fail to recognize that You still require obedience and sold-out worship from Your people. You remain a jealous God who will not tolerate unfaithfulness or spiritual infidelity. Show me how to live with expectation of Your power while maintaining a passion for Your glory. It seems odd to expect deliverance from the God we so often treat with disinterest. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Pervasive and Powerful Presence of God

1 When Israel went out from Egypt,
    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
    Israel his dominion.

3 The sea looked and fled;
    Jordan turned back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs.

5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee?
    O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
    O hills, like lambs?

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns the rock into a pool of water,
    the flint into a spring of water. – Psalm 114:1-8 ESV

This psalm commemorates two significant events in the history of the nation of Israel. Both entail miraculous interventions by Yahweh that symbolize His power and provision for His chosen people. The first goes all the way back to their final days in Egypt, when God delivered them from 400 years of captivity and helped them escape from their Egyptian overlords by providing a way of escape across the Red Sea.

When the Israelites escaped from Egypt—
    when the family of Jacob left that foreign land—
the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
    and Israel became his kingdom.

The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! – Psalm 114:1-3 NLT

In these verses, the psalmist summarizes God’s miraculous deliverance and its stunning outcome. The Book of Exodus provides additional details that would have been familiar to every Israelite. 

Then Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into dry land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on each side!

When all the Israelites had reached the other side, the Lord said to Moses, “Raise your hand over the sea again. Then the waters will rush back and cover the Egyptians and their chariots and charioteers.” So as the sun began to rise, Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the water rushed back into its usual place. The Egyptians tried to escape, but the Lord swept them into the sea. Then the waters returned and covered all the chariots and charioteers—the entire army of Pharaoh. Of all the Egyptians who had chased the Israelites into the sea, not a single one survived. – Exodus 14:21-22, 26-28 NLT

The story of Yahweh’s parting of the Red Sea and His defeat of the Egyptian army had been passed down for generations. It was a well-known and oft-told tale that provided the Israelites with comfort and confidence. The same God who had delivered their ancestors was with them and remained just as powerful and prepared to rescue them in their time of need. 

In fact, the psalmist highlights that Yahweh’s deliverance had established Israel as His chosen possession.

…the land of Judah became God’s sanctuary,
    and Israel became his kingdom. – Psalm 114:2 NLT

Yahweh’s plan had been to return His people to the land He had given them as their inheritance. Centuries earlier, Yahweh warned Abraham that his descendants would end up as slaves in a foreign land, but that He would deliver them.

“You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. (As for you, you will die in peace and be buried at a ripe old age.) After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.” – Genesis 15:13-16 NLT 

Yahweh later reiterated that promise to Abraham. 

“This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:7-8 NLT

In delivering Abraham's descendants from their captivity in Egypt, Yahweh fulfilled His promise. He led them from Egypt all the way to Canaan, and along the way, He established Himself as their God and King. At Mount Sinai, He gave them His Law and the plans for the Tabernacle. He intended to live among them, dwelling in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle. His Law was designed to set them apart as His holy people, providing them with a code of conduct that set them apart from all the other nations. But because He knew they would fail to live up to His holy standards, Yahweh provided them with the sacrificial system to provide atonement and forgiveness for their sins. 

When the people of Israel left Mount Sinai and began the final phase of their journey to Canaan, Yahweh warned them:

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.” – Exodus 19:4-6 NLT

Yahweh expected His chosen people to live differently from all the other nations. He had set them apart for a reason. The Tabernacle was to be His earthly throneroom, where He would rule as King in their midst. His Law was perfect and holy, providing His people with a non-negotiable code of conduct based on divine righteousness, not man-made laws. 

But there is a second miracle Yahweh performed for His people. After their 40-year journey across the wilderness, the Israelites faced another body of water that served as a barrier to their future. They would have to cross the Jordan River to enter the promised land, and, as before, God stepped in.

The water of the Jordan River turned away. – Psalm 114:3 NLT

The Book of Joshua fills in the details of this miraculous event.

So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. – Joshua 3:14-17 NLT

The Ark of the Covenant served as Yahweh's literal throne in the Tabernacle. Its lid was known as the Mercy Seat, above which the Shekinah glory of God dwelt. As the priests stood in the middle of the riverbed carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the presence of God held back the waters of the Jordan and allowed the people to walk across on dry ground. 

In a few short verses, the psalmist summarizes Yahweh’s unforgettable demonstrations of His power and provision for His people. 

The mountains skipped like rams,
    the hills like lambs!
What’s wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way?
    What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
Why, mountains, did you skip like rams?
    Why, hills, like lambs? – Psalm 114:4-6 NLT

The mountains is probably a reference to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh appeared in smoke, fire, thunder, and lightning. 

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. – Exodus 19:16-18 NLT

The mountain shook because of Yahweh's presence. The waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River had parted at the presence of Israel's God. Creation was subject to the will of the Almighty. His divine presence made the mountains shake and the waters part. To drive home his point, the psalmist adds one last proof of Yahweh's power. 

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob.
He turned the rock into a pool of water;
    yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock. – Psalm 114:7-8 NLT

During their days in the wilderness, the Israelites made a habit of complaining about the difficulty of their journey. At one point, they ran out of water and voiced their displeasure to Moses, who took the matter up with Yahweh. In response, God provided a solution.

“Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. 6 I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.” – Exodus 17:5-6 NLT

But the text goes on to reveal that thirst was not the Israelites’ real problem; it was their lack of faith. 

Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” – Exodus 17:7 NLT

In their minds, the lack of water proved that Yahweh was not present. He must have abandoned them along the way. But Yahweh was there, and He proved it by providing water from a rock. That is why the psalmist ends his song by stating, “Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the God of Jacob” (Psalm 114:7 NLT). 

At the presence of Yahweh, mountains shake, the seas part, and water flows from a rock. The earth trembles at His presence, but why don’t we? What prevents us from sensing His nearness and responding in awe at His holiness? Why do we find it so difficult to believe that God is in our midst? The psalmist recounts the physical evidence of God's power and provision in the lives of the Israelites. He uses the lyrics of his song to remind others of Yahweh’s all-pervasive presence. In our times of greatest need, Yahweh is there. Whether we face uncrossable seas, vast tracts of wilderness, a lack of resources, or unconquerable enemies, Yahweh is with us and for us. His presence remains even when the conditions of life point to His seeming absence. And, like the earth itself, we need to learn how to tremble at the presence of the LORD. He is great and greatly to be praised. 

Father, You are always with me, whether I can sense it or not. My circumstances are a lousy barometer of Your presence because they deceive me into believing You are not there or You simply do not care. But difficulties are not evidence of Your absence, they are opportunities to experience Your presence. The Red-Sea moments of life are designed to reveal the unseen presence of the One who can part seas, shake mountains, and provide life-giving water from a lifeless rock. Nothing is too difficult for You. So forgive me for doubting Your presence. Far too often, I have followed the lead of the Israelites and said, “Is the Lord here with us or not?” But I want to live in faithful expectatoin of your presence and in constant awe of Your power. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Give Thanks

1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
    whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the LORD,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end.
28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
    a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD. – Psalm 107:1-43 ESV

This psalm contains four word pictures that illustrate God’s grace, mercy, and deliverance. The psalmist uses these visual metaphors to paint the dire nature of Israel's fate. The first describes a person on a journey who has lost his way (Psalms 107:4-10). The second features a person locked away in a prison (Psalms 107:11-16). The third person suffers from a debilitating illness (Psalms 107:17-22). The final image is of a sailor lost in a storm (Psalms 107:23-32).

In each case, their problem has been caused by rebellion against God. As a result, they find themselves in a predicament with no way of escape. This causes them to pray for God to spare them. In each scenario, the result is that God hears and provides a way of escape or deliverance. Their response? Praise to God for His lovingkindness and mercy.

Each of these scenarios would have struck a chord with the author's Hebrew audience. They would have recognized the not-so-subtle similarities between the four scenarios and the history of their own people. This psalm appears to be addressing the nation of Judah after their 70-year captivity in Babylon and their subsequent return to the land of Canaan. Centuries earlier, when Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, he offered a prayer of petition on behalf of the people of Israel. 

“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name—then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.” – 1 Kings 8:46-51 NLT  

Solomon seemed to know that his people would be unfaithful and suffer the judgment of God. But he wanted God’s reassurance that He would show them mercy and grace in their time of suffering. This psalm emphasizes the lovingkindness of God expressed toward them even though they had rebelled against Him. 

In four little stories, the psalmist reminds his readers of just how bad things were when they were in captivity. They were lost and had no way to get home. They had been prisoners in a foreign land, with no way of escape. They were as good as dead, in need of healing and suffering because of their own sinfulness. They were like sailors lost in a violent storm and at the mercy of the sea. Yet in each case, God responded in mercy and grace. He delivered them. He led them. He satisfied them. He filled them. He saved them. He brought them out. He broke their bonds apart. He shattered the gates of bronze. He healed them. He guided them.

God delivers the needy, but we must reach the point where we recognize that need. As long as we stubbornly cling to our pride and independence, refusing to admit our problem and cry out to Him, we will remain in our predicament. But as soon as we humble ourselves and pray for His deliverance, He hears and delivers.

When they decrease in number and become impoverished
    through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,
the LORD pours contempt on their princes,
    causing them to wander in trackless wastelands.
But he rescues the poor from trouble
    and increases their families like flocks of sheep. – Psalms 107:39-41 NLT

So what's in this for us? "Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord" (Psalms 107:43 NLT). We will learn from the lives of the Israelites. They rebelled and suffered the consequences. They refused to obey the Lord. They rejected His leadership in their lives and reaped the results. But as soon as they realized the folly of their ways and recognized their need for God, humbly crying out to Him for His help, He responded. God loves to respond. He loves to deliver. He loves to redeem. He loves to save. He loves to show Himself strong on behalf of His children. But we must cry out before God will reach down. We must recognize our need for Him if we desire to be delivered by Him. We must come to an end of ourselves and our stubborn desire to solve all our own problems. God is in the restoration business.

And when He restores, we must be quick to respond with thanksgiving and praise.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
Has the LORD redeemed you? Then speak out!
    Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.
For he has gathered the exiles from many lands,
    from east and west,
    from north and south. – Psalm 107:1-3 NLT

When He delivers, give Him the credit He deserves. Every time He reaches down and rescues, speak up and shout out. Declare His goodness and greatness. Praise Him for His faithfulness and love. Recall the many examples of His deliverance and rejoice that He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  

Those who are wise will take all this to heart;
    they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD. – Psalm 107:43 NLT

Father, what a great reminder. You want to restore me. You desire to bless me. But I must reach an end of myself. I must humble myself before You and cry out. I must admit my need for Your help and my own inability to save myself. Forgive me for the many times I stubbornly remain in the middle of my problem just because I refuse to admit that I can't fix it. All the while You patiently wait for me to admit my neediness and helplessness and call out to You for help. When I reach the end of me, I discover the beginning of Your grace and mercy all over again. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Primer on Praise

1 Praise the LORD!
Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the LORD,
    or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
    who do righteousness at all times!

4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people;
    help me when you save them,
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones,
    that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
    that I may glory with your inheritance.

6 Both we and our fathers have sinned;
    we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
    did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
    but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
    that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry,
    and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he saved them from the hand of the foe
    and redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And the waters covered their adversaries;
    not one of them was left.
12 Then they believed his words;
    they sang his praise.

13 But they soon forgot his works;
    they did not wait for his counsel.
14 But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
    and put God to the test in the desert;
15 he gave them what they asked,
    but sent a wasting disease among them.

16 When men in the camp were jealous of Moses
    and Aaron, the holy one of the LORD,
17 the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
    and covered the company of Abiram.
18 Fire also broke out in their company;
    the flame burned up the wicked.

19 They made a calf in Horeb
    and worshiped a metal image.
20 They exchanged the glory of God
    for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God, their Savior,
    who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,
    and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore he said he would destroy them—
    had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
    to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24 Then they despised the pleasant land,
    having no faith in his promise.
25 They murmured in their tents,
    and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
    scattering them among the lands.

28 Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,
    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;
29 they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
    and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
    and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was counted to him as righteousness
    from generation to generation forever.

32 They angered him at the waters of Meribah,
    and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they made his spirit bitter,
    and he spoke rashly with his lips.

34 They did not destroy the peoples,
    as the LORD commanded them,
35 but they mixed with the nations
    and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
    which became a snare to them.
37 They sacrificed their sons
    and their daughters to the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
    the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
    and the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they became unclean by their acts,
    and played the whore in their deeds.

40 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,
    and he abhorred his heritage;
41 he gave them into the hand of the nations,
    so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
    and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 Many times he delivered them,
    but they were rebellious in their purposes
    and were brought low through their iniquity.

44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
    when he heard their cry.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant,
    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be pitied
    by all those who held them captive.

47 Save us, O LORD our God,
    and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
    and glory in your praise.

48 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
    Praise the LORD!  – Psalm 106:1-48 ESV

They say hindsight is 20/20. This euphemistic idiom expresses the insight one receives after coming out on the other side of a difficult circumstance. Looking back at a situation, it seems obvious what should have been done, but it was not apparent in the moment. The author of the 106th Psalm appears to have hindsight bias as he chronicles events from the history of the nation of Israel. 

This psalm provides a sweeping overview of Israel's less-than-flattering relationship with Yahweh. It painstakingly outlines their track record of apostasy and disobedience while reminding them of God's patient display of love, grace, and mercy. 

The psalmist declares his own culpability and responsibility for their strained relationship with Yahweh.  

Like our ancestors, we have sinned.
    We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
Our ancestors in Egypt
    were not impressed by the LORD’s miraculous deeds. – Psalm 106:6-7 NLT

This psalm appears to have been written late in Israel's history, long after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians and Judah's subsequent fall to the Babylonians. So, the author is writing retrospectively, looking back on centuries of disobedience and rebellion against God that culminated in the defeat and captivity of His chosen people. 

The books of 1st and 2nd Chronicles recap the history of Israel and are aimed at an audience that had just returned from 70 years in captivity in Babylon. This remant of former captives might have had reason to question the goodness of God and His faithfulness to them. After all, He had allowed Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian troops to destroy Jerusalem, desecrate the Temple, and deport them into a seven-decade-long period of slavery and oppression. Why had Yahwen allowed that to happen? How could a good and loving God allow His children to suffer for so long?

Considering the context, this Psalm takes on a whole new light. In it, the psalmist is calling on the people of Israel to praise Yahweh.

Praise the LORD!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!
    His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the LORD?
    Who can ever praise him enough? – Psalm 106:1-2 NLT

He encourages them to give Yahwen thanks for His goodness and lovingkindness. He challenges them to remember all that God has done for them. Just in case their memory is spotty and they have difficulty recalling what God has done on their behalf, he tells them. In not-so-subtle fashion, he outlines the not-so-pretty history of the people of Israel and their interactions with God.

He begins his epic recounting of their sin-filled saga all the way back to Egypt. From the very beginning, they had questioned God and rebelled against His plans for them. Even after He miraculously released them from captivity in Egypt, they rebelled against His leadership when they found themselves at the Red Sea with no way across and the enemy bearing down on them. They questioned His lovingkindness and doubted His power. Yet, He still provided a way of escape. During their days in the wilderness, they repeatedly complained against His leadership, ability to provide, and the integrity of His plan for their lives. The Psalmist reminds his readers, "In the wilderness, their desires ran wild, testing God’s patience in that dry land" (Psalms 106:14 NLT).

Driven by their physical desires, and not just for food, the people continually rebelled against God. The list goes on and on, and their track record was not a good one. They forgot God, worshiped idols, and complained continually. They even rejected the idea of the promised land, demanding that Moses allow them to return to Egypt. They seemingly forgot the fact of their 400 years of captivity and suffering, or decided that they would rather be slaves in Egypt than servants of the one true God in the land of promise.

The psalmist reminds them how God repeatedly punished them for their rebellion. He sent nations against them, using these foreign invaders to subjugate and oppress them. Then, God would miraculously deliver them, only to see them fall back into the same sin and rebellion. This cycle of sin, suffering, and salvation is the story of the period of the Judges.

Again and again he rescued them,
    but they chose to rebel against him,
    and they were finally destroyed by their sin.

Even so, he pitied them in their distress
    and listened to their cries. – Psalm 106:43-44 NLT

Even so. Nevertheless. Yet. Still.

Various translations render verse 44 differently, yet it provides the key to understanding this entire psalm. Despite all they had done to alienate God and rebel against Him, He responded in love, kindness, mercy, and grace. He looked down. He heard their cry. He remembered His covenant with them. He relented. Even when they found themselves in captivity in Babylon, God caused their captors to show them mercy, to the point that they allowed the people of God to return to their own land.

God cared for His rebellious people even though they had rejected Him. That is why He is worthy of their praise. He had saved them and gathered them from among the nations. So, their response should be to glorify His name and bless Him for who He is and all that He has done. The psalmist strongly encourages them to thank God for His undeserved grace and mercy. This message should have resonated with the people of Israel because He had been good to them. He had graciously orchestrated their return to the land and allowed them to rebuild their destroyed capital and desecrated Temple. Yahweh had kept His promise and restored their broken relationship with Him. 

But what about us? Do we fully understand all that God has done for us through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son? Do we comprehend the magnitude of our own sin and rebellion, our alienation from God due to our inherited and inherent sin natures? We, too, were separated from God by a gulf that was too wide for us to cross. We were condemned by sin and were worthy of God's righteous and just punishment. We were dead in our sinfulness and yet, nevertheless, even so, still – God sent His Son.

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:6-8 NASB

We couldn't save ourselves, so God did it for us by sending His Son to die in our place. He showed us mercy when we deserved wrath. He extended grace that was unwarranted and undeserved. Now we stand before Him as forgiven, righteous, redeemed, restored, and with full access to His throne as His children. So why wouldn't we praise Him? Why wouldn't we constantly thank Him for all that He has done? Why would we waste a single second complaining about our lot in life? Why would we even think about whining when He has saved us from captivity to sin and the penalty of eternal death?

And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
Praise the Lord! – Psalms 106:48 NASB

Father, I have so much to praise You for, but I need nothing more than the fact that You have saved me in spite of me. You took me when I was at my worst and provided a way of salvation I couldn't have come up with on my own. I was dead and You made me alive. I was captive to a life of sin and You set me free. I was condemned to death and You pardoned me. You paid the price for my sin that I could never have afforded to pay. I stand before You restored, redeemed, and fully forgiven by You. So You are more than worthy of my praise! Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The LORD of All the Earth

1 The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
    let the many coastlands be glad!
2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
    righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
    and burns up his adversaries all around.
4 His lightnings light up the world;
    the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
    before the LORD of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
    and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,
    who make their boast in worthless idols;
    worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and is glad,
    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,
    because of your judgments, O LORD.
9 For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
    you are exalted far above all gods.

10 O you who love the LORD, hate evil!
    He preserves the lives of his saints;
    he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous,
    and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
    and give thanks to his holy name! – Psalm 97:1-12 ESV

While this psalm is not the first to promote God's universal kingship and sovereignty, it appears to be predicting a future reign when Yahweh comes to rule on earth. The psalmist opens by placing his emphasis on the earth, not heaven.

The LORD reigns.
Let the earth be happy.
Let the many coastlands rejoice. – Psalm 97:1 NLT

The location of the LORD’s realm has shifted from heaven to earth, where His righteous rule will radically alter the political, social, and spiritual landscape. The LORD’s appearance will be dramatic and life-altering for all those who are alive when this epic event takes place.

Dark clouds surround him;
equity and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him;
on every side it burns up his enemies.
His lightning bolts light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of the whole earth. – Psalm 97:2-5 NLT

The psalmist uses figurative language to describe the LORD’s arrival on earth and paints a foreboding picture of divine judgment against all wickedness and unrighteousness. The imagery of dark clouds, fire, and lightning is meant to convey God’s power and holiness. It is the same language used by Moses to describe God's presence on Mount Sinai.

On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the LORD had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. The LORD came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. – Exodus 19:16-20 NLT

Moses emphasized the LORD's arrival on Mount Sinai by stating that He descended on it in the form of fire. The LORD “came down on the top of Mount Sinai,” and His arrival was epic and frightening. Moses describes the impact of God's dramatic entrance on the people of Israel.

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” – Exodus 20:18-19 NLT

The psalmist seems to have had this event in mind when he penned the words of his song. He envisioned another display of divine glory and judgment as the LORD makes a second unforgettable entrance into the realm of men. His arrival will be impossible to miss and prove, once and for all, that He is the one true God.

The sky declares his justice,
and all the nations see his splendor.
All who worship idols are ashamed,
those who boast about worthless idols.
All the gods bow down before him. – Psalm 97:6-7 NLT

With the LORD’s dramatic appearance, all doubt in His existence and sovereignty will disappear. His arrival will be visible and so impactful that any further belief in false gods will be impossible to maintain. Their feasibility will fade in the light of His glory.

The apostle John was given a glimpse of this future event and he recorded what he saw in the Book of Revelation.

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords. – Revelation 19:11-16 NLT

But the prophets had predicted this event long before John penned his words. God had given them an insight into His future plans to send His Son to rule and reign on earth as the King of kings and Lord of all lords.

“On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them! For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” – Zechariah 12:8-10 NLT

In that day the Lord will punish the gods in the heavens
    and the proud rulers of the nations on earth.
They will be rounded up and put in prison.
    They will be shut up in prison
    and will finally be punished.
Then the glory of the moon will wane,
    and the brightness of the sun will fade,
for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion.
    He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem,
    in the sight of all the leaders of his people. – Isaiah 24:21-23 NLT

As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. – Daniel 7:13-14 NLT

In the opening chapter of Revelation, John relays a message he received from Christ.

He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
    And everyone will see him—
    even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
    will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen!

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” – Revelation 1:6-8 NLT

The psalmist depicts an as-yet-future day when God will manifest His glory on earth again. But on this occasion, it will be the Son of God who makes a dramatic entrance into the world of men. Unlike His first advent, Jesus’ second coming will be marked by power and sovereignty. He will come to rule and reign over all the earth, and He will mete out judgment upon all those who stand opposed to His Kingdom and are unwilling to recognize Him as their Lord and Savior. But the people of God will rejoice when they see the arrival of their King and the inauguration of His earthly Kingdom.

Zion hears and rejoices,
the towns of Judah are happy,
because of your judgments, O LORD.
For you, O Lord, are the Most High over the whole earth;
you are elevated high above all gods. – Psalm 97"8-9 NLT

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will return one day and establish an earthly Kingdom over which He will reign for a thousand years. At the end of that time, another epic event will take place that will dramatically alter the universe by renewing God's creation and reestablishing His relationship with mankind once and for all. The apostle John describes this remarkable reality in the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” – Revelation 21:3-4 NLT

No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever. – Revelation 22:3-5 NLT

The psalmist had no way of knowing the details concerning these future events, but he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and foreshadowed their coming. And he closed his psalm with a call to worship God for His faithfulness, sovereignty, and holiness.

You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He protects the lives of his faithful followers;
he delivers them from the power of the wicked.
The godly bask in the light;
the morally upright experience joy.
You godly ones, rejoice in the LORD.
Give thanks to his holy name. – Psalm 97:10-12 NLT

The LORD reigns, whether we recognize it or not. He is sovereign over all, whether we believe it or not. And one day, He will demonstrate the reality of His power and the scope of His sovereign rule when He sends His Son to right all wrongs and prepare the way for His presence to dwell among men for eternity.

Father, these truths are diffiicult to understand and even harded to believe. The world in which we live appears to be out of control and at odds with the idea of Your sovereignty. The majority of earth's population stands opposed to Your very existence and refuse to acknowledge Your right to rule their lives. Even as believers, we wrestle with doubts and question whether You are in control.. But this psalm reminds us that You reign at all times and You have a plan to renew and remake this world according to Your terms and in keeping with Your promise to make all things new. Help me keep my eyes on the prize and not get distracted by the cares and concerns of this world. Your Son is coming again and He will finish what He started. Amen 

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our Gracious God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
    you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.
2     Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
    and come to save us!

3 Restore us, O God;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

4 O LORD God of hosts,
    how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears
    and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,
    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
    let your face shine, that we may be saved!

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt;
    you drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;
    it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to the sea
    and its shoots to the River.
12 Why then have you broken down its walls,
    so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 The boar from the forest ravages it,
    and all that move in the field feed on it.

14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
    Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15     the stock that your right hand planted,
    and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16 They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down;
    may they perish at the rebuke of your face!
17 But let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
    the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
    give us life, and we will call upon your name!

19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts!
    Let your face shine, that we may be saved! – Psalm 80:1-19 ESV

Like the psalm that precedes it, this is a national psalm of lament, but it is difficult to determine the exact context surrounding its message. Some scholars believe Asaph is addressing the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. But if Asaph was a resident of the southern kingdom of Judah, his prayer in verse 3 would appear to place the timing of this psalm after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.

Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
stir up your might
    and come to save us! – Psalm 80:3 ESV

Asaph seems to indicate that something has happened to the people of Judah, the residents of the southern kingdom. In verses 5 and 6, he describes the extent of their suffering, which he attributes to God's divine punishment.

You have fed us with sorrow
    and made us drink tears by the bucketful.
You have made us the scorn of neighboring nations.
    Our enemies treat us as a joke. – Psalm 80:5-6 NLT

Asaph’s reference to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh is intended as a not-so-subtle reminder that the nation of Israel used to be a unified whole. There had been a time under the reigns of David and Solomon when the 12 tribes of Israel were unified and dominated the political landscape of Canaan. Ephraim was the primary tribe in the north, the Benjamites lived in the south, and the tribe of Manasseh was located east of the Jordan River in the Transjordan. So it makes more sense to see this psalm lamenting Israel’s abysmal condition after the northern and southern kingdoms had fallen to the Assyrians and Babylonians.

It is interesting to note that Asaph opens his psalm with a reference to Joseph, the son of Jacob, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers. Under God’s sovereign hand, this young man ended up in Egypt and rose to the second-highest position in the land. His miraculous and meteoric rise to prominence was God-ordained and for the sole purpose of providing a place of refuge for his family when a famine struck the land of Canaan.

Asaph opens his psalm by addressing Yahweh as the “Shepherd of Israel” (Psalm 80:1 ESV), who leads Joseph like a flock. Joseph’s two sons, born to him in Egypt, were adopted by his father Jacob, and their descendants became heirs of the land of promise. Ephraim and Manasseh, two of the tribes mentioned in verse 2, were the descendants of Joseph’s two sons and, at one time, enjoyed a place within the unified nation of Israel alongside the tribe of Benjamin.

But sin had disrupted Israel’s peace and prosperity. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, behaved like a fool by fostering idolatry and apostasy in the kingdom. His actions resulted in God splitting the kingdom in half. From that point, the downward spiritual spiral continued in the north, south, and east, as all the tribes exhibited a penchant for unfaithfulness and a stubborn refusal to repent and return to Yahweh.

So, Asaph calls on God to step in and fix the problem.

Show us your mighty power.
    Come to rescue us! – Psalm 80:3 NLT

Asaph attributes their fate to God’s displeasure with them, but he never acknowledges their complicity and guilt. At no point does Asaph attempt to confess the sins of his fellow Israelites. Instead, he questions why God remains so angry and unwilling to answer their prayers for deliverance.

Asaph attempts to remind God of His past acts of kindness by chronicling how He had delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt and established them in the land of Canaan.

You brought us from Egypt like a grapevine;
    you drove away the pagan nations and transplanted us into your land.
You cleared the ground for us,
    and we took root and filled the land.
Our shade covered the mountains;
    our branches covered the mighty cedars.
We spread our branches west to the Mediterranean Sea;
    our shoots spread east to the Euphrates River. – Psalm 80:8-11 NLT

Those were the good old days, when the Israelites enjoyed the blessings of God. They had been fruitful and filled the land of Canaan. Under the leadership of David and Solomon, their numbers grew and their kingdom spread, making them a force to be reckoned with in the region. But all that had changed. The conditions in Israel were markedly different when Asaph penned this psalm because sin had brought the judgment of God.

Yet, Asaph never mentions their sin. He fails to acknowledge their complicity in their own demise, choosing instead to blame God.

But now, why have you broken down our walls
    so that all who pass by may steal our fruit?
The wild boar from the forest devours it,
    and the wild animals feed on it. – Psalm 80:12-13 NLT

While God had brought judgment upon the people of Israel, it had been as a result of their rebellion against Him. Asaph obsesses over the consequences they suffered and demands remediation, but he refuses to confess their guilt. He begs God to intervene and appears to try to shame God into action.

Take care of this grapevine
    that you yourself have planted,
    this son you have raised for yourself. – Psalm 80:14-15 NLT

Asaph freely admits that God had chosen Israel to be His treasured possession, but he couldn't understand why they were suffering so greatly. It made no sense. As the nation that bore His name, the Israelites should have been prospering and enjoying all the benefits of their privileged position. But, according to Asaph, they were like a vineyard that had been “chopped up and burned by” (Psalm 80:16 NLT) by their enemies.

So, Asaph asks God to reverse the trend and restore His people to greatness.

May you give support to the one you have chosen,
to the one whom you raised up for yourself. – Psalm 80:17 NET

In response to God’s miraculous deliverance, Asaph promises the renewed allegiance of the people of Israel.

Then we will never abandon you again.
    Revive us so we can call on your name once more. – Psalm  80:17 NLT

By referring to God’s name, Asaph appeals to God’s reputation. He knows that Yahweh holds His name in high regard and will not allow it to be tarnished by those privileged to bear it. He had warned the Israelites that their behavior reflected on His character.

“You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” – Exodus 34:14 NLT

He would not allow them to drag His name through the mud by their repeated acts of apostasy and idolatry, and that is the reason for their current state of deprivation and despair. All 12 tribes were guilty of worshiping other gods and had angered Yahweh with their refusal to heed His warnings and repent of their sins. But Asaph longs to see God redeem and restore them.

Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
    Make your face shine down upon us.
    Only then will we be saved. – Psalm 80:19 NLT

He was right. God was the only solution to their problem. Their cities lay in ruins, and their economy was devastated. They had no king or army and no hope of improving their fortunes unless God stepped in. Asaph’s reliance upon God was commendable, but he failed to recognize the corporate need for repentance. The prophets made it clear that redemption and restoration were available but required repentance.

Seek the Lord while you can find him.
    Call on him now while he is near.
Let the wicked change their ways
    and banish the very thought of doing wrong.
Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them.
    Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously. – Isaiah 55:6-7 NLT

God would later inspire Jeremiah to deliver the following message to the Israelites living in exile in Babylon. He wanted them to know that their captivity had an expiration date, but to enjoy His deliverance, they must exhibit repentant hearts.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” – Jeremiah 29:11-14 NLT

Asaph was right to call on God, but neglected to call the people to repentance. God had promised to hear their prayers and restore their fortunes, but He required that they look for him “wholeheartedly.” God demanded their sold-out devotion to Him alone, instead of their usual brand of half-hearted, going-through-the-motions, on-again-off-again worship.

Yet, despite their failure to repent and return to Him in wholehearted devotion, God eventually released them from their exile in Babylon and restored them to the land of Canaan. Their covenant-keeping God graciously ended their captivity and arranged for a remnant to return to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. Yahweh proved to be faithful even when His people refused to keep their end of the covenant agreement. And, according to the Book of Ezekiel, God is far from done with His chosen people. The day is coming when He will perform a miracle of transformation that will ensure their unwavering devotion to Him.

“For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

“And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior.” – Ezekiel 36:24-29 NLT

Father, You truly are amazing. Your love never fails. You always keep Your word. Your grace is always undeserved. Your mercy never runs out. Your patience is inexhaustible. And Your plan for Your people is unstoppable. Despite us, You continually pour out Your blessings through Jesus Christ. You have made a way where there was no way. You do the impossible and accomplish the improbable. And we don’t deserve it. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God Doesn't Need to Earn Our Worship

A Psalm of Asaph.

1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
    they have defiled your holy temple;
    they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
    to the birds of the heavens for food,
    the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
    all around Jerusalem,
    and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
    mocked and derided by those around us.

5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?
    Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations
    that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
    that do not call upon your name!
7 For they have devoured Jacob
    and laid waste his habitation.

8 Do not remember against us our former iniquities;
    let your compassion come speedily to meet us,
    for we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
    for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and atone for our sins,
    for your name's sake!
10 Why should the nations say,
    “Where is their God?”
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
    be known among the nations before our eyes!

11 Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;
    according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!
12 Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors
    the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!
13 But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will give thanks to you forever;
    from generation to generation we will recount your praise. – Psalm 79:1-13 ESV

The context for this psalm of lament appears to be the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC. Asaph describes the devastating impact of the years-long Babylonian siege, the subsequent breach of the city's walls, and the brutally violent destruction. This psalm reflects the imagery and impassioned petition found in Psalm 74, as the author questions God’s failure to protect His people from their enemies.

O Lord, how long will you be angry with us? Forever?
    How long will your jealousy burn like fire? – Psalm 79:5 NLT

Asaph serves as a spokesman for the rest of the covenant community that is reeling from the unprecedented breach of Jerusalem’s defenses and the unfathomable destruction of human life and property. Asaph addresses Yahweh as if He is ignorant of the details surrounding Judah’s fall and the city's decimation.

O God, pagan nations have conquered your land,
    your special possession.
They have defiled your holy Temple
    and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. – Psalm 79:1 NLT

But God is not surprised and caught off guard by this news because He is the one who ordained it to happen. For years, Yahweh had warned His chosen people that their days were numbered unless they repented of their spiritual adultery and apostasy and returned to Him in humble contrition.

“You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.” – Jeremiah 25:7-11 NLT

God had spoken through His prophets, declaring His dissatisfaction with His people’s blatant rejection of their covenant relationship with Him.

“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
    the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
    that can hold no water at all!” – Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

The southern kingdom of Judah had witnessed the fall and destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel nearly 150 years earlier. But they had learned nothing from their northern neighbor’s demise.

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
    Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
    surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the Lord,
    or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
    because of all your sins.

“Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem!
    Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land:
‘Run for your lives!
    Flee to the fortified cities!’
Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem:
    ‘Flee now! Do not delay!’
For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you
    from the north.” – Jeremiah 4:3-8 NLT

So, Yahweh wasn’t surprised by Asaph’s vivid description of Judah’s epic fall. Not only was Yahweh aware, but He had ordained every aspect of their demise, including the desecration and demolition of the Temple that bore His name. Asaph and the remnant of Jews who remained in Judah couldn’t understand how God had failed to protect them. They were shocked as they surveyed the carnage left by the Babylonian invaders. Everywhere they looked, they saw the bodies of murdered neighbors and friends. Their homes had been destroyed, and the city had been plundered. Those who had not been taken captive were either dead or little more than the walking dead, who were tasked with the unpleasant responsibility of restoring order to the chaos.

They have left the bodies of your servants
    as food for the birds of heaven.
The flesh of your godly ones
    has become food for the wild animals.
Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem;
    no one is left to bury the dead. – Psalm 79:2-3 NLT

Asaph put words to the people’s confusion and consternation, begging God to step in and do something.

Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you—
    on kingdoms that do not call upon your name. – Psalm 79:6 NLT

But there is no admission of guilt or semblance of a confession on Asaph's part. In fact, Asaph appears to pass the buck, blaming their predicament on a previous generation of unfaithful Israelites.

Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors!
    Let your compassion quickly meet our needs,
    for we are on the brink of despair. – Psalm 79:8 NLT

In a sense, Asaph is informing God that their judgment was undeserved. They had done nothing to merit such unjust treatment from Him. The closest he gets to an admission of guilt is when he states, “Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name” (Psalm 79:9 NLT). But he provides no specifics regarding what sins they may have committed. His plea is generic in nature and focuses more on God’s responsibility to forgive and protect the holiness of His name.

Asaph is under the impression that God is somehow obligated to step in and rescue his unjustly maligned and mistreated people, but he never offers up any semblance of an apology for their past actions.

Show us your vengeance against the nations,
    for they have spilled the blood of your servants. – Psalm 79:10 NLT

At the dedication of the Temple hundreds of years earlier, God made a promise to Solomon and the people of Israel, committing to forgive and restore them, but it came with a caveat.

“…if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT

And God added an addendum to His promise, stating what would happen if they failed to humble themselves, seek His face, and repent.

“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’” – 2 Chronicles 7:19-21 NLT

That fateful day came because the people of God failed to uphold their end of the covenant agreement. Asaph even alludes to the mocking questions that people were asking about the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. He states that their pagan neighbors ridiculed their faith in Yahweh by asking, “Where is their God?” (Psalm 79:10 NLT). But God was there all along. He had not abandoned them; He was simply punishing them for their refusal to worship Him alone. Their spiritual infidelity and blatant apostasy had finally caught up with them, and now they were suffering the consequences.

And, amazingly, Asaph has the gall to make a conditional promise to Yahweh.

O LORD, pay back our neighbors seven times
    for the scorn they have hurled at you.
Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
    will thank you forever and ever,
    praising your greatness from generation to generation. – Psalm 79:12-13 NLT

Don’t miss the word “then.” Asaph is demanding that God pay back the Babylonians for their actions. That is the non-negotiable clause in his proposed contract with the Almighty. Essentially, he says, “If you will rescue us, we will worship you.” But as Asaph has made clear in his other psalms, God had already proven His faithfulness over the years. He didn’t need to earn their worship, and He didn’t need to do anything to deserve their praise, honor, and thanksgiving.

Asaph should have called his fellow Israelites to humble themselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from their wicked ways. Confession and contrition would have gone a long way toward seeing God’s compassion and deliverance. If they would do those things, God had promised to hear from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land.

Father, I love to call of Your power in times of need. But sometimes I tend to overlook my own sin and fail to acknowledge the role I played in my own predicaments. I don't want to be like Asaph, bringing all my burdens to You but refusing to acknowledge my sins against You. Your faithfulness is not in question. Your justice is not up for debate. Your goodness has been proven time and time again. But, like Asaph, I sometimes find myself making unjustified bargains with You. I offer my worship and adoration in exchange for Your rescue the difficulties of life. But You don't have to prove Yourself to me. You don't need to earn my adoration. Your are a great God and greatly to be praised – no matter what is happening in and around my life. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The LORD Our God Reigns

12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.” – Zechariah 14:12-15 ESV

Verse 3 states, “The LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle” (Zechariah 14:3 ESV). Verse 12 picks up the description of this battle, providing graphic but difficult-to-understand details of the assault on Jerusalem and its outcome. This will be a literal battle between men and the heavenly forces led by the returned Messiah. It will involve weapons of conventional warfare but will also include supernatural displays of the Messiah’s power in the form of devastating plagues that melt the skin from men’s bones and cause their eyes and tongues to disintegrate. Some have conjectured that this is a description of the use of chemical or nuclear weapons, but the text attributes it to “the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples” (Zechariah 14:12 ESV).

This future battle will involve both human and heavenly forces, making it more than a contest between men. This epic conflict will pit the armies of this world, led by the Antichrist, against the forces of God Almighty under the leadership of His Son the Messiah. The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision of this future event, providing ample evidence that it will be a battle between the forces of good and evil. In his vision, Ezekiel records the words of God addressing a confederation of armies aligned against Jerusalem and His chosen people.

“After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them.You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.” – Ezekiel 38:8-9 ESV

The people of Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Cush, and Put form an alliance and muster their armies under the leadership of Gog, the prince who rules over the nations. As so many others have attempted to do over the centuries, this coalition of nations will attempt to destroy the people of God and their holy city of Jerusalem.

“You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.

“Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,’to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations.” – Ezekiel 38:9-11 ESV

At this point in history, the Israelites will be living in peace and prosperity, having been gathered from the far corners of the world by the LORD. But Yahweh will sovereignly ordain this final assault by the enemies of Israel, ordering them to advance so that He might display His glory and vindicate His holiness through their destruction.

“On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army.You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.” – Ezekiel 38:14-16 ESV

Using contemporary terminology that would resonate with people living in an ancient culture, Yahweh describes a conventional war featuring antiquated weaponry and soldiers fighting on horseback. But the weapons Yahweh brings to bear are anything but traditional or conventional.

“On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord God. Every man's sword will be against his brother.With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur.” – Ezekiel 38:19-22 ESV

Yahweh provided Zechariah with further details of the divine and extraordinary battle plan He will use to defeat the enemy forces.

“And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.…This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camps.” – Zechariah 14:12, 15 ESV

The outcome of this conflict will never be in question. The enemy forces will stand no chance against the Messiah and the Heavenly Host. But the apostle John provides further insight into the timing and devastating nature of this conflict, describing it as taking place at the end of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. After Messiah’s 1,000-year-long reign comes to an end, Satan will be released from hell where he will be confined duration of Christ’s earthly reign. God will allow him to wage one final rebellion.

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. – Revelation 20:7-10 ESV

Satan will be defeated. The armies of this world will prove powerless against the God Almighty. The vain human attempt to thwart the will of God and supplant His right to rule over His creation will come to an abrupt and final end. God states that, because of this overwhelming victory, everyone will acknowledge Him as LORD.

“I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” – Ezekiel 38:23 ESV

As if to emphasize the certainty of the battle’s outcome, chapter 39 of Ezekiel contains a replay of God’s rousing victory over His enemies.

“I will strike your bow from your left hand, and will make your arrows drop out of your right hand. You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall in the open field, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the Lord.” – Ezekiel 39:3-6 ESV

Centuries after Ezekiel penned these words, the apostle John wrote something eerily similar.

“Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.” – Revelation 19:17-19 ESV

From the days of Judah’s fall to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and Jerusalem’s conquest by the Romans in 70 A.D., the people of God have endured wave after wave of conflict and subjugation at the hands of their enemies. Even today, Israel remains surrounded by those who seek their extermination. But God has plans for His people. He has made promises concerning their future that He is bound and determined to fulfill because He is the covenant-keeping God. The enemies remain and their Satan-inspired obsession with Israel’s destruction is little more than wishful thinking. They will never accomplish their objective. Satan will never prevent God from fulfilling His covenant promises and restoring His covenant people to their rightful place at His side in His eternal Kingdom.

The psalmist provides a rather sarcastic take on nations’ futile efforts to upend the plans of Yahweh. They are wasting their time. Their dream of throwing off the yoke of God’s rule will never come to pass. Satan’s quest to dethrone God Almighty and take His place was never going to happen. It is

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The Lord scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury.
For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne
    in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” – Psalm 2:1-6 ESV

The day is coming when all mankind will learn that God alone is King and His Kingdom is unconquerable and everlasting. This irrefutable truth should leave Zechariah, the people of Judah, and the people of God of all ages shouting, “Praise the LORD! For the LORD our God, the Almighty, reigns” (Revelation 19:6 NLT) – yesterday, today, and forever.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Trust Me

1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.

9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.

10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security. – Zechariah 14:1-11 ESV

The events described in this closing chapter of Zechariah’s book must have thrilled and shocked the prophet as he heard them for the first time. He had no reference point for considering their timing or their staggering implications. As he stood among the other returned exiled and took in the sights of Jerusalem, it would have been difficult for him to imagine what he was hearing. The city was still in ruins, the Temple was only partially completed, and there were no walls to protect anyone who dared to reside in the former capital of Judah.

The reminders of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Babylonians were everywhere. Zechariah could see the broken-down walls and the burned remnants of civic buildings, palaces, and private homes. Charred timbers protruded from the rubble like discarded matches. Plants and vines grew among the debris and the darkened windows of the abandoned buildings stared by like the lifeless eyes of a corpse. The entire city had been transformed into a dystopian landscape that bore little resemblance to the once-majestic city of David and the place where the wise and wealthy King Solomon reigned.

Zechariah has had to wrestle with God’s pronouncement of yet another siege of Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:2). But he has also heard that “the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah” and “destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:7 ESV). Yahweh has promised to “pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace” (Zechariah 12:10 ESV) and “to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1 ESV). But the prophet must have found himself drowning in the flood of divine revelation as he tried to take it all in. His mind would have reeled with questions and concerns about the LORD’s timing and intentions for these events. What would prompt the Almighty to allow another siege of the city Zechariah was desperately trying to rebuild? Why would the LORD permit the enemies of Judah to gain the upper hand and seek their destruction again? Hadn’t He just promised to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness?

Christians living on this side of the cross are intimately familiar with the stories of Jesus’ birth, life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection. They can read these prophecies and recognize the thinly veiled references to Jesus. Hidden within the poetic and apocalyptic language are signs and symbols that portray the first and second advents of Jesus as the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world.

But Zechariah knew nothing of these things. He was ignorant of Jesus the son of Mary being born in a lowly stable in the backwater town of Bethlehem. He had no concept of God taking on human form and living and ministering among the people of Israel for three years. He had no way of knowing about Jesus’ rejection by the Jewish people and His crucifixion at the hands of the Romans. While Yahweh had given hints about some of these things, Zechariah was incapable of connecting the dots because he lived on the wrong side of the cross. Like all the other Old Testament prophets, he was simply a conduit through which Yahweh disseminated the news of His sovereign and providential plan of salvation for the world.

That is why this closing chapter must have left Zechariah reeling and confused. He couldn’t understand all he was hearing and recording. He knew Yahweh was speaking of future events but had no way of knowing when or how they would happen. So, the news of Jerusalem’s fall and plunder would not have been good news to Zechariah.

“Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.” – Zechariah 14:1-2 NLT

Even as he inscribed these words onto parchment, Zechariah must have wanted to scream, “But why?!” Was more devastation really necessary? Did the people of Judah deserve to endure more suffering and subjugation at the hands of their enemies?

Zechariah would have been thrilled to hear that “the Lord will go out to fight against those nations” (Zechariah 14:3 NLT), but the mention of plundering, looting, raping, and enslavement would have made his stomach turn and his skin crawl.

As a prophet of Yahweh, Zechariah was privileged to hear directly from the LORD but was not endowed with the capacity to see into the future or discern the meaning of the words he recorded. Proof of his faithfulness as a prophet came in the form of his obedience to listen and repeat what he had been told. He was commanded to express God’s words, not explain them. He had been commissioned to communicate, not elucidate.

The fact that this book exists proves that Zechariah did as he was told. He wrote down what he heard whether he understood it or not. He faithfully recorded Yahweh’s words, even though he couldn’t fully grasp their significance or timing. But in doing so, Zechariah and the people of Judah received a reminder of their God’s power, providence, sovereignty, and everlasting love for them. Their very existence as a people had been Yahweh’s doing. He had orchestrated their return to Judah from exile. He had ordained the repopulating of Jerusalem, the construction of the Temple, and the rebuilding of the walls. But had far more in store for them than they could understand or appreciate. His plans for them reached far into the future and beyond their wildest imaginations.

Yahweh had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, providing the people of Judah with an assurance of His love and His promise to restore them.

“In that day,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” – Isaiah 31:1 NLT

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.
    You will again be happy
    and dance merrily with your tambourines.
Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria
    and eat from your own gardens there.
The day will come when watchmen will shout
    from the hill country of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem
    to worship the Lord our God.’” – Jeremiah 31:3-6 NLT

This promise didn’t come with a timeline. Yahweh didn’t articulate a date or guarantee that Jeremiah’s audience would live to see the fulfillment of these events. But they were expected to believe and hope. Yahweh wanted them to trust His words and rest in the assurance of His sovereignty and power to preserve, protect, and provide for them – now and into the future.

In this closing chapter of Zechariah, Yahweh describes a scene of epic proportions, featuring the advent of the LORD and His arrival on the Mount of Olives. This second coming of the Messiah would be nothing like His first arrival when He came in the form of an innocent, helpless baby. This time, Messiah will come to earth as a conquering King. This passage brings to mind the words of Luke recorded in the Book of Acts. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, He had a last conversation with His disciples. They were still dealing with the surprising nature of His resurrection and its implications. As they stood with Jesus on the Mount of Olives, one of them asked, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?” (Acts 1:6 NLT). This unnamed disciple (most likely Peter), wanted to know if the resurrection was the sign they had been waiting for. Was it time for Jesus to establish His earthly kingdom and overthrow the Romans?

But Jesus simply responded, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know” (Acts 1:7 NLT). Jesus had already told His disciples, “No one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows” (Matthew 24:36 NLT). Much to the disciple’s surprise, Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t going to bring an end to Roman rule, it was going to inaugurate the Church Age. Just before He ascended into heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NLT).

Having issued this commission to His followers, Jesus “was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him” (Acts 1:9 NLT). And as the disciples strained to catch one last glimpse of their LORD and Savior, the angels told them, “Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” (Acts 1:11 NLT).

Zechariah recorded the event describing what the angels had in mind.

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. – Zechariah 14:4 NLT

The Book of Revelation provides a more detailed description of Jesus’ return to the Mount of Olives.

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords. – Revelation 19:11-16 NLT

John describes the armies of heaven accompanying Jesus to earth. Zechariah records that “the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him” (Zechariah 14:5 NLT). In his vision, John describes an epic battle that will take place as Jesus and His heavenly host take on the Antichrist and his followers.

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. – Revelation 19:19-21 NLT

But Zechariah only records the effects of Jesus’ victory.

And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD—his name alone will be worshiped. – Zechariah 14:9 NLT

Compressed within verses 6-9 is an expansive overview of the end times. It includes the establishment of Jesus’ earthly Kingdom where He will rule and reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years. But it also foreshadows the arrival of the New Jerusalem and the beginning of the eternal state.

On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light. On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem. – Zechariah 14:6-8 NLT

The apostle John provides a more detailed explanation of what Zechariah describes.

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. – Revelation 21:22-27 NLT

Yahweh has a plan that is comprehensive in nature and is unfolding right on schedule. Neither Zechariah nor John fully understood the scope of God’s plan but both were expected to believe in it and rest on the certainty of it.

“Remember this and stand firm,
    recall it to mind, you transgressors,
   remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
    and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
    and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
    the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
    I have purposed, and I will do it.” – Isaiah 46:8-11 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Water for Purification and Revitalization

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.’” – Zechariah 13:1-9 ESV

Chapter 13 is a continuation of the previous chapter, expanding further on the events associated with the future state of Israel and the world. With the Messiah’s unexpected return and His victory over their enemies, the people of God respond with penitence and remorse over their previous rejection of Him. But what follows is another unexpected response from the one “whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10 ESV). Rather than judgment, the Messiah offers them cleansing from their sins.

“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.” – Zechariah 13:1 ESV

This water of purification will flow from the Temple itself, a scene witnessed by the prophet Ezekiel and recorded in the book that bears his name.

In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. – Ezekiel 47:1-2 NLT

In his book, the prophet Ezekiel described how the Israelites had rejected God and turned to other sources of self-satisfaction and sustenance. Rather than worship Him alone, they violated His commandment (Exodus 20:3-5) and committed spiritual adultery.

“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me — the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” – Jeremiah 2:13 NLT

God had offered to be the sole source of their spiritual and physical needs. He had promised to bless them greatly if they would only remain faithful to Him. But they had chosen to give their affections to false gods who proved to be incapable of providing life and purification from sin.

“What did your ancestors find wrong with me
    that led them to stray so far from me?
They worshiped worthless idols,
    only to become worthless themselves.” – Jeremiah 2:5 NLT

“Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
    even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
    for worthless idols!” – Jeremiah 2:11 NLT

Their apostasy left them impure and in need of cleansing. Water for purification was a central part of the sacrificial system provided by God. Even the priests had to be cleansed before they could minister in God’s house on behalf of the people.

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take the Levites from among the people of Israel and cleanse them. Thus you shall do to them to cleanse them: sprinkle the water of purification upon them.” – Numbers 8:5-7 ESV

The water of purification was a strange concoction ordained by God and detailed in the Book of Numbers. The Israelites were to take a red heifer without defect and burn it on the altar along with cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet yarn. The ashes were to be gathered and kept in a clean place for later use in a ceremony of purification.

“For the unclean they shall take some ashes of the burnt sin offering, and fresh water shall be added in a vessel. Then a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there and on whoever touched the bone, or the slain or the dead or the grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle it on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day. Thus on the seventh day he shall cleanse him, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and at evening he shall be clean.” – Numbers 19:17-19 ESV

The uncleanness referred to in these verses had to do with anyone who came into contact with a dead body.

“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.” – Numbers 19:11-13 ESV

The water of purification was used to cleanse the contaminated and unclean individual, allowing them to be restored to fellowship with God and their faith community.

In the Zechariah passage, Yahweh speaks of a future day when He will not only cleanse His people with living water but He will also purge the land of idolatry and false prophets. He will remove the distractions that led to their rebellion and rejection of His Son. Even those who attempt to present themselves as prophets of God will be exposed as frauds and suffer the consequences. In that future day, there will be no need for prophets because God’s word will have been fulfilled completely. The Messiah will have returned and established His Millennial Kingdom. In this 1000-year-long period in which Christ will rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem, righteousness and justice will be the law of the land. The Son of David, Jesus Himself, will reign over the world and serve in the roles of King, Prophet, and Priest. Anyone else who claims to speak on God's behalf will be deemed a liar and dealt with appropriately.

In the closing verses of this chapter, Yahweh focuses His attention on someone He refers to as “my shepherd…the man who stands next to me” (Zechariah 13:7 ESV). There are some who believe this to be a reference to Jesus the Messiah, but the context seems to make this conclusion untenable. Yahweh goes on to give the command, “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones” (Zechariah 13:7 ESV). This verse seems to tie back to chapter 11 where Yahweh delivered an unflattering assessment of the worthless shepherd.

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.” – Zechariah 11:15-16 NLT

This false and unreliable shepherd would suffer serious repercussions for His failure to feed and care for God’s flock.

“What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd
    who abandons the flock!
The sword will cut his arm
    and pierce his right eye.
His arm will become useless,
    and his right eye completely blind.” – Zechariah 11:17 NLT

In the Zechariah 13 passage, Yahweh’s description of this individual as “My shepherd” would seem to indicate a partnership between the two of them.  He describes this shepherd as being by His side, inferring a sense of intimacy. But God often referred to His relationship with godless leaders with the same kind of language. God repeatedly referred to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, as “my servant” (Jeremiah 27:6; 43:10). He also said of Cyrus, the king of Persia, “He is my shepherd” (Isaiah 44:38 NLT). So, the use of this intimate language does not necessarily suggest that this individual has a close relationship with Yahweh or functions as a willing or obedient servant. Both Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus were simply unwilling instruments whom God used to accomplish His will.

God even considered the religious and civil leaders of Israel as His shepherds, even though they proved to be rebellious and unfaithful.

“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.” – Ezekiel 34:7-10 NLT

God allowed these men to serve according to His divine purposes. He placed them in positions of authority and gave them responsibility for caring for His chosen people, but they abused their power. The same thing will happen in the end times when God allows the Antichrist to ascend to power over the entire world. This “shepherd” will rule over all humanity, including the Jewish people living during that day. He will win them over by making a treaty with them and allowing them to rebuild the Temple, but then He will turn against them and mercilessly persecute them, even putting many to death. This seems to be the shepherd Yahweh has in mind in the Zechariah passage.

God describes the immense suffering of His people at the hands of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation.

“In the whole land, declares the Lord,
    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
    and one third shall be left alive.
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.” – Zechariah 13:8-9 ESV

During this future period of intense persecution, many Jews and Christians will be martyred for their faith. In his vision of the end times, the apostle John was allowed to see this host of martyred saints standing before the altar of the Almighty in heaven.

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” – Revelation 6:9-10 NLT

The Antichrist will be given “power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them” and authority over every tribe, people, language and nation” (Revelation 13:7 NLT).

But God will have the last word. This “shepherd” who turns on the flock of God will pay dearly for his actions. Jesus Christ will return to earth again and deal a death blow to the Antichrist and Satan, casting them into hell along with all those who refuse to honor God and His chosen Servant.

But there’s a New Testament passage that reveals a hidden aspect to the words of God found in Zechariah 13. In his gospel account, Matthew records the following statement that Jesus addressed to His disciples just prior to His death. 

“Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say,

‘God will strike the Shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” – Matthew 26:31-32 NLT

Here, Jesus uses the very same passage found in Zechariah to describe His own death as God’s Shepherd. But He will die for a completely different reason. His suffering will result in life and redemption. His sacrifice will produce atonement and forgiveness for sins. Jesus, the Good Shepherd will be struck down but only to rise again and make possible eternal life to all those who place their faith in Him. As Jesus told the woman at the well, His death would provide life and access to living water.

“…those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” – John 4:14 NLT

When the Good Shepherd returns to rescue God’s sheep and restore them His fold, He will usher in the eternal state where God’s people will live with Him in the New Jerusalem. Featured prominently in this coming Kingdom is the river of the water of life.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. – Revelation 22:1-3 NLT

The Zechariah passage ends with the statement, “I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God’” (Zechariah 13:9 ESV), and Revelation 21:3 states, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

God’s grand plan of redemption will be complete and all His promises fulfilled.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God’s Impeccable Plan for His Impertinent People

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves.” – Zechariah 12:10-14 ESV

On that day, the great day of God’s redemption, His covenant people who originally rejected Jesus at His first coming will recognize Him as their Messiah and Savior. In these closing verses of chapter 12, the Messiah Himself speaks words of comfort to those who formerly refused His offer of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. He promises to shower them with “a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10 ESV). 

Instead of meting out wrath and judgment for their treatment of Him, the Messiah will graciously provide them with victory over their enemies and forgiveness for their sins. But their recognition of Jesus as their Messiah will produce in them a spirit of remorse and regret over their past treatment of Him. The prophet Isaiah wrote of this day when the Israelites’ conviction over their corporate culpability will produce a spirit of confession in them.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:5-6 ESV

At the sight of their merciful Messiah, the people of Israel will feel the full weight of their guilt and the unbelievable joy that comes with knowing that He has mercifully refused to give them what they deserve: Judgment and condemnation. Instead, the one they crucified will choose to shower them with grace, an amazing gift they did not deserve. Not long after Jesus death, resurrection, and ascension, the apostle Peter preached a sermon to a gathering of Jews in Jerusalem. At the cost of offending his audience, Peter accused them of their complicity in Jesus’ death while providing proof of His claims to be the Messiah.

“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.” – Acts 2:22-24 NLT

“God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.” – Acts 2:32-33 NLT

“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” – Acts 2:36 NLT

When Jesus returns a second time and conquers the rebellious nations of the world, His own people, the Jews, will finally see Him for who He really is. This sudden recognition of His identity will produce in them an odd blend of sorrow mixed with joy.

Peter’s sermon to the Jews in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost produced a similar reaction. His words “pierced their hearts” and they responded, “Brothers, what should we do?” (Acts 2:37 NLT). Peter’s reply was simple and succinct.

“Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” – Acts 2:38-40 NLT

Mourning is featured prominently in the Isaiah passage because it conveys the idea of repentance for past actions. The text contains five uses of the words “mourn” or “mourning,” emphasizing the impact the recognition of their guilt has had on them.

Centuries earlier, when Solomon dedicated the newly constructed Temple, God responded to his prayer with the following promise:

“…if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV

The Zechariah passage foreshadows the coming day when God’s people will do just that. They will see the Messiah with their own eyes and understand for the first time the gravity of their rejection of Him. But their sorrow will produce prayers of repentance and pleas for mercy, and Jesus, their Messiah, will forgive and restore them. In his vision of the end times, the apostle John was given a glimpse of this future day.

All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven.
    And everyone will see him—
    even those who pierced him.
And all the nations of the world
    will mourn for him.
Yes! Amen! – Revelation 1:5-7 NLT

This future speech delivered by the recently returned Messiah speaks of Jesus’ past death in very specific terms. He describes Himself as “him whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10 ESV). Written centuries before Jesus’ first coming, this passage contains powerful evidence of the Scripture’s divine authorship. The apostle John chronicled Jesus’ death in graphic detail, providing a reference to the piercing of His side by a spear.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. (This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.) These things happened in fulfillment of the Scriptures that say, “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and “They will look on the one they pierced.” – John 19:32;37 NLT

But long before John witnessed the death of Jesus, the psalmist wrote a stunningly accurate depiction of the crucifixion as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
    fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
Like lions they open their jaws against me,
    roaring and tearing into their prey.
My life is poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
    melting within me.
My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
    My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
    You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
    an evil gang closes in on me.
    They have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones.
    My enemies stare at me and gloat.
They divide my garments among themselves
    and throw dice for my clothing. – Psalm 22:12-18 NLT

God’s plan for the redemption of Israel and the renovation of His world has been in place for a long time. Over the centuries, he has revealed aspects of that plan to His prophets, disclosing the nature of Israel’s rebellion and His ultimate solution for restoring them to their covenant relationship with Him. God is faithful. His plan is perfect. His timing is impeccable. And His Son’s future return when He will make all things right is right on schedule.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

On that Day…

1 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.

7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” – Zechariah 12:1-9 ESV

Zechariah receives yet another oracle from Yahweh, providing further insights into the future day of Israel’s redemption and restoration. Yahweh introduces Himself as the Creator God “who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit” (Zechariah 12:1 NLT). This reference to His creation of the universe is meant to remind Zechariah and the people of Judah that His power to re-create them is beyond measure. But His description of their future transformation is couched in very negative terms. It begins with the description of another siege against the city of Jerusalem. While few in Zechariah’s audience had been alive when the first siege of Jerusalem occurred, they would have heard the graphic stories of its devastating impact.

During the Babylonian invasion of Judah, there were actually two sieges, ten years apart. The first was in 597 B.C. and resulted in the city’s capture and the deportation of around 10,000 of its occupants. Ten years later, Nebuchadnezzar ordered a second siege because of the continued rebellion of its puppet king. The city endured great deprivation during the siege, and the Temple of Solomon was burned to the ground. Long before it happened, Yahweh provided Jeremiah the prophet with a graphic depiction of Jerusalem’s fall.

“I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there. I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.’

“As these men watch you, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought. Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies here in Topheth, the garbage dump, until there is no more room for them. This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the Lord. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth. Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah’s kings, will become like Topheth—all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.’” – Jeremiah 19:8-13 NLT

So, Yahweh’s mention of another siege would have stunned Zechariah and his fellow Judahites. They were still trying to rebuild the Temple and the thought of the city falling yet again would have been unfathomable. Yet, Yahweh softens the blow of this bad news with an important disclosure.

“I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.” – Zechariah 12:2-3 NLT

While the news of another siege was shocking, Yahweh described a completely different outcome that was meant to provide encouragement to His beleaguered people. Six different times, Yahweh uses the phrase, “On that day” to let them know that this event lies in the distant future. It will feature a battle of epic proportions that will mirror the fall of Jerusalem but without the deaths and destruction. On that day, Jerusalem will be like a rock that cannot be moved. Its walls will not fall. Its enemies will be deprived of victory. In fact, the nations that come against Jerusalem will end up drinking the cup of God’s wrath. This will be a radical departure from the days when God poured out His wrath on the people of Israel.

“Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem!
    You have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury.
You have drunk the cup of terror,
    tipping out its last drops.
Not one of your children is left alive
    to take your hand and guide you.
These two calamities have fallen on you:
    desolation and destruction, famine and war.
And who is left to sympathize with you?
    Who is left to comfort you?
For your children have fainted and lie in the streets,
    helpless as antelopes caught in a net.
The Lord has poured out his fury;
    God has rebuked them.” – Isaiah 51:17-20 NLT

In that same passage, Yahweh goes on to predict the same future day that Zechariah is hearing about.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord,
    your God and Defender, says:
“See, I have taken the terrible cup from your hands.
    You will drink no more of my fury.
Instead, I will hand that cup to your tormentors,
    those who said, ‘We will trample you into the dust
    and walk on your backs.’” – Jeremiah 51:22-23 NLT

On that day, the attackers will discover that Yahweh the God of Israel is too powerful to overcome. He will fight on Israel’s behalf and miraculously thwart their armies and negate the impact of their weapons. They will be powerless before Yahweh Sabaoth, the LORD of Hosts. The future residents of Jerusalem and the citizens of Judah will respond to this miraculous event with wonder, recognizing Yahweh’s hand in it all. They will express their amazement with words that acknowledge Yahweh’s deliverance.

“The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.” – Zechariah 12:5 ESV

The resilience of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the remarkable nature of their defiant stance against their enemies will light a fire in the rest of the nation. They will respond with God-empowered zeal that turns them into an unstoppable force.

“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a flame that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure.” – Zechariah 12:6 NLT

Yahweh announces that victory over the enemies of Israel will first take place outside the walls of Jerusalem. As the city remains under siege, the clans of Judah will rout the combined forces of their adversaries and completely destroy them. The city will be saved because the enemy is eradicated. This order of events is important because it lets the people of Judah know that the city itself is not the focus of Yahweh’s love and attention. Yahweh makes it clear that He will “give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David will not have greater honor than the rest of Judah” (Zechariah 12:7 ESV). Yahweh’s love extends to all His people, not just those who live in Jerusalem or those who belong to David’s line. In fact, Yahweh describes a day when all will stand as equals before Him.

“On that day the LORD will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the LORD who goes before them!” – Zechariah 12:8 NLT

They will all “be like God” because they will be embued with His power and fight in His name, just as King David had done. They will share the same attribute that David had: A heart for God that expressed itself in faithful obedience (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). What is being described here is the fulfillment of the promise that Yahweh made to Ezekiel.

“I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” –  Ezekiel 36:26-27 NLT

With this oracle, Yahweh announces that the future of Israel will feature continued opposition and warfare. The rebuilding and repopulation of Jerusalem would not eliminate all threats of future difficulty. Reconstructing the city’s walls would not eliminate the threat of future enemy attacks. Completing the Temple would not innoculate the people from further rebellion and apostasy. This was not about a city, a building, or even a nation. It was about Yahweh and His chosen people. In 70 A.D., the city would fall again and the Temple that Zechariah helped to build would be destroyed. To this date, there is no Temple in Jerusalem. But the day will come when Yahweh orchestrates its reconstruction one last time. The prophet Daniel was given a vision of this end times event.

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.” – Daniel 9:24-25 NLT

After the Rapture of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), the seven-year-long period known as the Tribulation will begin. The first half of this future era features the rise of a charismatic leader who will rule over a global empire. He will negotiate a peace treaty with the people of Israel, giving them permission to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. But midway through the seven years of the Tribulation, He will turn on them, ordering an end to all sacrifices and demanding that they worship him alone. He will also desecrate the Temple by erecting an idol of himself in the Holy of Holies. This will usher in the last half of the seven years, commonly referred to as the Great Tribulation. Jerusalem and the Jews will come under constant opposition from the Antichrist and his forces. Tens of thousands will suffer martyrdom at his hands.

But Zechariah is told of a day when God will “destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:9 NLT). Antichrist and his global empire will fall to the King of kings and LORD of lords, an event described by John in the Book of Revelation.

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” – Revelation 19:12-16 NLT

John goes on to describe the outcome of this epic conflict.

I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. – Revelation 19:19-21 NLT

On that day, Yahweh will fulfill the promises He has made by sending His Son to complete the mission He began with His incarnation. The King will return to right all wrongs, put an end to sin and death, restore righteousness, and establish His earthly Kingdom. It will be a day reserved for praise, joy, and celebration.

“Praise the Lord!
    Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.
His judgments are true and just.
    He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
    He has avenged the murder of his servants.” – Revelation 19:1-2 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Long-Awaited Shepherd

7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.

17 “Woe to my worthless shepherd,
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
    and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
    his right eye utterly blinded!” – Zechariah 11:7-14 ESV

This passage is particularly difficult to understand because it appears that Zechariah begins to speak in the first person as if he were acting out the prophecy in real life. Yet there is no indication that he was given such a directive from the LORD. It makes more sense to see the first-person narrative as the words of God Himself, speaking on behalf of His Son, the Messiah. Yahweh sent the Messiah to serve as His undershepherd, acting on His orders and in His place. During His earthly ministry, Jesus proclaimed His allegiance to and reliance upon His Heavenly Father.

“I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing.” – John 5:19-20 NLT

He declared His unity with Yahweh when He boldly claimed, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30 BSB). He later explained His earthly ministry as a byproduct of His intimate relationship with His Father.

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves.” – John 14:10-11 BSB

Jesus, operating on behalf of His Father, “became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders” (Zechariah 11:7 ESV). The psalmist joyfully proclaimed Israel’s status as Yahweh’s precious possession, describing them as the sheep of His pasture.

Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. – Psalm 100:3 ESV

Jesus came to shepherd His Father’s sheep, a responsibility He understood and fully embraced.

…the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.” – John 10:2-4 NLT

Yahweh (the gatekeeper) had opened the way for His Son to come to earth in human form. In His incarnation, Jesus became the shepherd of the sheep, calling the people of Israel to return to the fold of their Father. As the shepherd of Yahweh’s flock, Jesus took His role seriously, knowing that His job would require His own death to protect and preserve all those who belonged to His Heavenly Father.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” – John 10:14-15 NLT

In this same discourse, Jesus boldly condemns the other shepherd-leaders of Israel, declaring them to be nothing more than thieves and robbers (John 10:1) whose sole purpose “is to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 NLT). This thinly veiled reference to the priests, kings, and false prophets of Israel paints these pseudo-shepherds in a negative light, portraying them as hired hands who care nothing for the sheep under their care (John 10:13).

Jesus reserved some of His harshest criticism for Israel's spiritual leaders. On one occasion, He got into a heated debate with “the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees” (John 8:3 NLT). These self-righteous religious leaders took exception with Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and declared themselves to be the true children of Yahweh. But Jesus responded in starkly offensive terms.

“If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!” – John 8:42-45 NLT

Jesus’ strained relationship with the religious and political leaders of His day provides a backdrop to the statements found in Zechariah 11. The shepherd of the flock was “doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders” (Zechariah 11:7 ESV). Luke records that the time came when the religious leaders of Israel ran out of patience with Jesus and determined to take Him out.

“The leading priests and teachers of religious law were plotting how to kill Jesus…” – Luke 22:2 NLT

The Zechariah passage describes Yahweh’s shepherd as bearing two staffs. One is called nōʿam, a Hebrew word that translates as “beauty” or “favor.” The other staff is called ḥēḇel, another Hebrew word that is often translated as “bonds” and is closely associated with “sorrows” and “travails.” The shepherd’s staff was his most prized possession, the tool of His trade that allowed Him to carry out His duties faithfully.

The prophet Isaiah predicted the coming Messiah would be “despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief” (Isaiah 53:3 NLT). Jesus shared with His disciples the unwelcome news of His fate, telling them, “the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation” (Luke 17:22 NLT). Yet, the apostle Peter declared the remarkable contrast that Jesus was “rejected by men but chosen and precious in God’s sight” (1 Peter 2:4 BSB).

In performing His roles as the Good Shepherd, Jesus wielded the favor of His Heavenly Father but He bore the burden of His rejection by those He came to save. Carrying the “tools of His trade,” the Shepherd carried out His earthly ministry and, while doing so, exposed the worthlessness of “the three shepherds” (Zechariah 11:8 ESV). While some scholars have speculated that this is a reference to the three roles of prophet, priest, and king, a more likely explanation can be found in Jesus’ relationship with the Sadducees, Scribes, and Pharisees. Throughout His 3-year-long ministry, Jesus had repeated run-ins with these men.

The Sadducees were a wealthy, elite group of priests who served in the temple. They were committed to the Torah but rejected other scriptures and the belief in resurrection, life after death, and prophecy. They were politically involved with the Roman leaders and focused on rituals associated with the Temple. The Sadducees disappeared around 70 A.D. after the destruction of the Second Temple.

The Scribes were considered experts in Jewish law who provided interpretation and illumination of the hundreds of codified requirements the people of Israel lived under. They also copied scrolls for use in synagogues. They were well-versed in the law and the prophets, but their lives didn't match what they said. They were often in conflict with Jesus, who claimed authority over the law.

The Pharisees were a conservative group of middle-class people who taught in synagogues. They believed in the resurrection of the dead and an afterlife and taught that individuals would receive appropriate rewards and punishments. They were known for their strict adherence to behavior prescriptions based on their interpretation of the Torah.

The Shepherd claims to have “destroyed the three shepherds” (Zechariah 11:8 ESV). The Hebrew word is kāḥaḏ and it carries the idea of cutting off or hiding. With Jesus’ coming, these three religious sects lost most of their power and authority over the people. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the religious leaders convened a special meeting to discuss His rising popularity and their waning influence.

Then the leading priests and Pharisees called the high council together. “What are we going to do?” they asked each other. “This man certainly performs many miraculous signs. If we allow him to go on like this, soon everyone will believe in him. Then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation.”– John 11:47-48 NLT

Jesus’s ministry of miracles and teaching “obscured” the previous role these men had played. The people became less enamored with and dependent upon the religious leaders and found Jesus to be more inspiring and authoritative.

…the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law. – Matthew 7:28-29 NLT

But despite their amazement with Jesus’ teaching, the sheep refused to follow Him. This led the Shepherd to declare, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!” (Zechariah 11:9 NLT). Verse 10 indicates that the staff called “Favor” also symbolized Yahweh’s favor with the people as expressed in the covenant He had made with them. The Shepherd broke the staff in two, symbolizing the annulment of God’s covenant with mankind. In the covenant He made with Abraham, God had promised to bless the nations through him.

“I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:2-23 ESV

The plan had been to use Abraham’s descendants to fulfill that promise, but they had failed to remain faithful. Yet, God had always determined to send His Son as the true Israel. He would be the faithful, sinless Son who kept all His Father’s commands and carried out His will perfectly. It would be through Jesus the Messiah that the promises to Abraham would be fulfilled.

In a profound example of prophetic accuracy, verses 12-13 predict the betrayal of Jesus at the hands of Judas.

“If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter.” – Zechariah 11:12-13 ESV

The gospels record the fulfillment of this prophecy with shocking detail.

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus. – Matthew 26:14-16 NLT

When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders. “I have sinned,” he declared, “for I have betrayed an innocent man.” – Matthew 27:3-4 NLT

Then Judas threw the silver coins down in the Temple and went out and hanged himself.

The leading priests picked up the coins. “It wouldn’t be right to put this money in the Temple treasury,” they said, “since it was payment for murder.” After some discussion they finally decided to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners. – Matthew 27:5-7 NLT

In verse 14, the tertiary meaning of the second staff is revealed. It symbolizes the bond between Israel and Judah. From this point forward, the tribes will no longer enjoy a brotherhood or unity that binds them together. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the nation of Israel was destined to become a disunified and disconnected nation, enduring centuries of isolation and subjugation at the hands of their enemies.

This prophecy ends on a negative note, as God predicts the coming of a “foolish shepherd” who will persecute the people of Israel. This future world leader is none other than the Antichrist who will come to power during the Great Tribulation. This false Messiah will win over the people of God by allowing them to rebuild the Temple and restore the sacrificial system. But he will ultimately turn against them and martyr them for their faith in Yahweh.

But verse 17 predicts the fate of this foolish shepherd.

“Woe to my worthless shepherd,
    who deserts the flock!
May the sword strike his arm
    and his right eye!
Let his arm be wholly withered,
    his right eye utterly blinded!” – Zechariah 11:17 ESV

God will prevail. His Son, the Great Shepherd, will return and destroy the Antichrist. The flock of Israel will be saved and the covenant promises will be fulfilled.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Band News and Good News

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
    that the fire may devour your cedars!
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
    for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
    for the thick forest has been felled!
3 The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
    for their glory is ruined!
The sound of the roar of the lions,
    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined!

4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, 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 this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” – Zechariah 11:1-6 ESV

In these verses, Yahweh seems to be warning His people that they are doomed to repeat the sins of their forefathers. Despite their recent return to the land and their ongoing efforts to rebuild the Temple, they will continue to display the same proclivity for apostasy and idolatry. Yahweh wants to bless them and fully intends to restore their fortunes but He knows that their long-term future is bleak because of their hearts are far from Him. 

All of the future hope He has outlined for them will come with the arrival of the Messiah at the end of the age. Until then, Israel's prospects will include continued apostasy, no king, constant oppression from outside forces, and a longing for a return to their former days of glory. Under Zechariah’s leadership, the people of Judah would complete the construction of the new Temple, but its presence would do little to transform their hearts or alter their behavior.

The Temple was finished in 516 B.C. and then refurbished and expanded by Herod the Great about 18 B.C. This “second” Temple was still standing when Jesus began His earthly ministry. But the Romans destroyed that beautiful structure nearly 90 years later. Jesus predicted this devastating event when discussing the beauty of Herod’s renovated Temple with His disciples.

As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, “Teacher, look at these magnificent buildings! Look at the impressive stones in the walls.”

Jesus replied, “Yes, look at these great buildings. But they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” – Mark 13:1-2 NLT

The disciples were obviously disturbed by what Jesus said but He had far more to say about the matter that would leave them disheartened and confused. First, He warned them not to be fooled by the appearance of false Messiahs, offering deliverance from the wars, famines, and earthquakes that would come. But His premonitions concerning their own fate must have hit the hardest.

“You will be handed over to the local councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. For the Good News must first be preached to all nations.” – Mark 13:9-10 NLT

The future would be difficult and feature a disintegration of the social fabric.

“A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” – Mark 13:12-13 NLT

Jesus’ next words must have left His disciples staggering in disbelief. He described a period of great tribulation and turmoil – like nothing the world has ever seen.

“For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.” – Mark 13:19-20 NLT

However, the disciples failed to understand that many of these things would not occur until long after they were gone. After His ascension, they would suffer persecution, being arrested, tried, beaten, and even martyred for their proclamation of the Good News. But they would not live to see the full extent of the prophecy He outlined.

Jesus was speaking of His second coming, the future day when He would return to complete God’s plan for the redemption of Israel and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth.

“Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.” – Mark 13:26-27 NLT

But what does all this have to do with Zechariah 10:1-4? Everything. In these verses, the prophet delivers Yahweh’s message concerning the destruction of the Temple. Zechariah must have found these words difficult to write down because He was still trying to finish the construction of the Temple. It would have been highly demotivating and demoralizing to hear that their work would be in vain. He had no idea that 576 years would pass before the Romans destroyed the Temple.

While Yahweh used poetic language to describe the future fate of the Temple, His message would have been clear to Zechariah. Verse one describes the Temple in a rather strange way but one that Zechariah and the people of Judah would have understood.

Open your doors, O Lebanon,
    that the fire may devour your cedars! – Zechariah 11:1 ESV

When Solomon prepared to build the original Temple, he procured wood for its construction from the forests of Lebanon. He sent a message to the King of Tyre requesting all the lumber necessary to complete his plans for God’s house.

“Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. And my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” – 1 Kings 5:6 ESV

The text goes on to reveal that Hiram honored Solomon’s request and provided all the timber necessary for the Temple project.

So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired. – 1 Kings 5:10 ESV

Wood featured prominently in the design of the Temple.

So Solomon built the house and finished it. He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. – 1 Kings 6:14-18 ESV

Because of the sheer quantity of lumber from Lebanon used in the Temple’s construction, According to the Talmud, God’s house was affectionately nicknamed, “Lebanon.” When Solomon finished his palace, he called it “the House of the Forest of Lebanon” (1 Kings 7:2 ESV).

So, verse 1 contains a thinly veiled reference to the destruction of the Temple. But Yahweh describes other “glorious trees” like cypress and oak that will also face destruction.

Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
    for the glorious trees are ruined!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
    for the thick forest has been felled! – Zechariah 11:2 ESV

Some scholars believe these are references to the people of Israel but, given the context, it makes more sense to see this as a further description of the Temple’s ultimate destruction. All the wood used to frame and decorate the Temple would be burned in the fire started by the Roman soldiers. For the second time, the glorious House of God was destroyed by the enemies of Israel. As a result of this devastation, the priests (shepherds) wail as they witness the destruction of their place of the LORD’s house and their place of employment.

The sound of the wail of the shepherds,
    for their glory is ruined! – Zechariah 11:3 ESV

But it would seem that these verses foreshadow something far greater than the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. In the rest of the chapter, Yahweh expands the scope of His prophecy, describing a much greater devastation than that which took place in the 1st Century A.D. Once again, He provides a stark vision of the future that must have disturbed Zechariah but came without explanation or interpretation. Like Jesus’ disciples, the prophet had no way of knowing when these things might occur. But Yahweh gives a command that provides a vital clue to understanding what He is talking about.

“Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter.” – Zechariah 11:4 ESV

This can be taken as a reference to Zechariah but it also has future implications. In chapter 10, Yahweh described the arrival of a new shepherd who would care for His forsaken flock.

“…the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived
    to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
    like a proud warhorse in battle.” – Zechariah 10:3 ESV

That shepherd would be the Good Shepherd, Jesus, who came to lay down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). God intended to send His Son as the ultimate Shepherd who would lovingly care for His neglected and mistreated flock.

“So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another. And I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them.” – Ezekiel 34:23-24 NLT

Matthew records that when Jesus came He saw the people of Israel with the eyes of a shepherd.

He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. – Matthew 9:36 BSB

But John records, “He came to his own people, and even they rejected him” (John 1:11 NLT). Jesus came to be the Great Shepherd, but the sheep of Israel refused to hear His voice. In fact, according to the apostle Peter, they played a significant role in His death.

“This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!” – Acts3:13-15 NLT

In some sense, verses 4-6 of Zechariah 11 refer to God’s prophet. He was the “shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter” (Zechariah 11:4 ESV). But, in this, he served as a type of foreshadowing of the greater shepherd to come. The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as “the great Shepherd of the sheep” (Hebrews 13:20 NLT). Jesus came to serve as the one true Shepherd, but His own flock refused to listen to His voice or accept His offer of care and compassion. But one day, Jesus will return again to gather up the scattered flock of God and restore them to His Father’s fold.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.” – John 10:14-16 NLT

But long before that event takes place, there will be a period of prolonged suffering and separation for the unfaithful flock of God. That is what God describes for His prophet Zechariah.

“For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the Lord. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” – Zechariah 11:6 ESV

For Zechariah, those events lay in the distant future and he would not live to see them. But God was revealing the details of Israel’s destiny and assuring His prophet that there was a complete and fully reliable plan in place for their future well-being.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Sheep In Need of a Shepherd

1 Ask rain from the Lord
    in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
    and he will give them showers of rain,
    to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For the household gods utter nonsense,
    and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
    and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.

3 “My anger is hot against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come the cornerstone,
    from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
    from him every ruler—all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them,
    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
    and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
    for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
    their hearts shall rejoice in the Lord.

8 “I will whistle for them and gather them in,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and they shall be as many as they were before.
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far countries they shall remember me,
    and with their children they shall live and return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
    and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
    till there is no room for them.
11 He shall pass through the sea of troubles
    and strike down the waves of the sea,
    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 I will make them strong in the Lord,
    and they shall walk in his name,”
declares the Lord. – Zechariah 10:1-12 ESV

Chapter 9 prophesied the coming of the King who would reunite Israel and Judah under His rule and re-establish the Jewish people as Yahweh’s treasured possession. This prophecy was partially fulfilled during the kingship of Judas Maccabeus, a Jewish priest who led a rebellion against  Antiochus IV,  king of the Seleucid Empire. In 164 B.C., Judas Macabeus and his ragtag army of insurrectionists regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple. Despite his successful retaking of Jerusalem, Judas Macabeus ruled for just three years and was succeeded by his son Jonathan. Their dynasty was short-lived and remained under Seleucid control the entire time. While peace was made with the Seleucids, the Jews never enjoyed the prominence and power described in chapter 9. That is reserved for the time of the Messiah’s coming when He will return and set up His earthly Kingdom.

Chapter 10 picks up the prophecy by focusing on the people of Israel and their relationship with Yahweh in the coming Kingdom of His Son. Because Christ’s Kingdom will be an earthly one, life will go on as usual. Crops will need to be planted and cared for. Rain will be necessary for proper plant growth. So, the future people of Israel will do as they have always done and ask Yahweh to send rain at the proper time so their crops will thrive. This verse also served as a much-needed reminder to Zechariah and his fellow Judahites that God was sovereign over all things, including the storm clouds. He was the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17) who “sends rain on the just and the unjust alike” (Matthew 5:35 NLT). And the same God who provides rain in season can shower His covenant people with spiritual blessings beyond their wildest imaginations. All of this is in keeping with the promise from God that Moses delivered to the people of Israel in the wilderness.

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:

“Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed.” – Deuteronomy 28:1-6 NLT

Verse 2 brings the focus back to the remnant of God’s people living in the land of Judah during the time of Zechariah. God alludes to the fact that, despite His gracious provision of their return to Judah, they remained idolatrous. During their lengthy stay in Babylonian captivity, they had compromised their convictions and embraced the false gods of their captors. Many who returned to Judah with Zerubbabel likely brought their household idols along. Not only that, they returned with a predilection for the occult, including sorcery, magic, and fortune-telling. But Yahweh leaves little doubt about His opinion on the matter.

“Household gods give worthless advice,
    fortune-tellers predict only lies,
and interpreters of dreams pronounce
    falsehoods that give no comfort.” – Zechariah 10:2 NLT

The prophet Habakkuk recorded a similar assessment from God concerning the futility of idolatry.

“What good is an idol carved by man,
    or a cast image that deceives you?
How foolish to trust in your own creation—
    a god that can’t even talk!
What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols,
    ‘Wake up and save us!’
To speechless stone images you say,
    ‘Rise up and teach us!’
    Can an idol tell you what to do?
They may be overlaid with gold and silver,
    but they are lifeless inside.” – Habakkuk 2:18-19 NLT

It was idolatry and spiritual infidelity that had led to Judah’s fall in the first place. Their destruction at the hands of the Babylonians had been due to their unfaithfulness to Yahweh. False prophets had dared to provide them with false hope. Impious priests had turned a blind eye to their spiritual adultery. Self-centered kings had sold their souls to false gods and made alliances with pagan nations in an attempt to protect and prolong their reigns. As a result, the people had become like shepherdless sheep.

“So my people are wandering like lost sheep;
    they are attacked because they have no shepherd.” – Zechariah 10:2 NLT

Idols are an unreliable source of guidance because they are non-existent. They are the figments of men’s imaginations. Those who attempt to lead based on input from a lifeless idol will be unreliable shepherds. Their leadership will be damaging and detrimental to the flock that Yahweh has placed under their care, and He had strong words for these sheep-destroying shepherds.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.” – Ezekiel 34:2-6 NLT

“My people have been lost sheep.
    Their shepherds have led them astray
    and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
    and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.” – Jeremiah 50:6 NLT

“Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.” – Jeremiah 23:2-3 NLT

But in that same passage in Jeremiah 23, God goes on to promise to rectify the problem created by these uncaring and disobedient shepherds.

“For the time is coming,”
    says the Lord,
“when I will raise up a righteous descendant
    from King David’s line.
He will be a King who rules with wisdom.
    He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
And this will be his name:
    ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’
In that day Judah will be saved,
    and Israel will live in safety.” – Jeremiah 23:5-6 NLT

This prophecy ties back into chapter 9. Despite the lack of godly leadership and the ongoing problem of shepherdless sheep, Yahweh has plans to step in and resolve the issue.

“My anger burns against your shepherds,
    and I will punish these leaders.
For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived
    to look after Judah, his flock.
He will make them strong and glorious,
    like a proud warhorse in battle.” – Zechariah 10:3 NLT

God would send His Son to serve as the consummate Shepherd who would willingly lay down His life for the sheep of God’s fold.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.” – John 10:11-14 NLT

But there is a time when God will send the Good Shepherd again. He will return to earth to seek out and restore the lost sheep of Israel.

“I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day. I will bring them back home to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord.” – Ezekiel 34:11-15 NLT

And God makes it clear that this regathering of His lost sheep will be the work of the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20-21).

“I will set over them one shepherd, my servant David. He will feed them and be a shepherd to them. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!” – Ezekiel 34:23-24 NLT

Under the leadership of this future Son of David, the people of Israel will prosper as never before. The lost sheep will be restored and transformed into mighty warriors. Their relationship with Yahweh will be restored and it will be as if they never strayed at all. The Great Shepherd will call His sheep and they will respond (John 10:27). Their days of apostasy and spiritual infidelity will be over because Yahweh will remove their propensity for unfaithfulness by transforming their disposition through the power of His Spirit.

”I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:23-27 NLT

Yahweh wanted Zechariah to know that Israel’s best days were ahead of them. Despite the circumstances surrounding them, they could rest assured that His plans for them were “plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

How Great Is His Goodness

14 Then the LORD will appear over them,
    and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
the LORD God will sound the trumpet
    and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15 The LORD of hosts will protect them,
    and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,
and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
    and be full like a bowl,
    drenched like the corners of the altar.

16 On that day the LORD their God will save them,
    as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
    they shall shine on his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
    Grain shall make the young men flourish,
    and new wine the young women. – Zechariah 9:14-17 ESV

In verses 12-13, Yahweh invites all His people who remain dispersed around the world to return to the land of promise. The remnant who had left Babylon and made the long journey to Judah with Zerubbabel were just a fraction of the Israelites still scattered in distant lands. This divine invitation was extended to any and all Jews to come to their ancestral homeland.

“Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
    today I declare that I will restore to you double.
For I have bent Judah as my bow;
    I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
    against your sons, O Greece,
    and wield you like a warrior's sword.” – Zechariah 9:12-132 ESV

When the Assyrians invaded the northern kingdom of Israel in 732 B.C., many Israelites fled to neighboring countries seeking safety. When Israel feel in 720 B.C., many of these refugees chose to remain in their adopted homelands rather than return to Israel. When the capital city of Samaria fell, many Israelites were taken as captives to Assyria, never to return to Israel. The same thing happened to the southern kingdom of Judah nearly 120 years later when the Babylonians invaded their land and destroyed the capital city of Jerusalem. When the first wave of Babylonian soldiers arrived in Judah, many of its citizens fled for their lives. Those who remained were forced to witness the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Tens of thousands of them were forced to make the long march to Babylon as captives. Almost 70 years after their arrival in the land, a small portion of them returned to Judah to rebuild the Temple and the city and its walls. 

While Yahweh’s message is addressed to Zechariah and intended for his fellow Judahites, this section of verses speaks of a future generation of Israelites who will return to the land long after Zechariah and his contemporaries are gone. He describes a future day when Judah and Israel (Ephraim) will be reunited under Yahweh’s sovereign leadership. The LORD will lead them in battle against their enemies. 

“The LORD will appear above his people;
    his arrows will fly like lightning!
The Sovereign Lord will sound the ram’s horn
    and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.” – Zechariah 9:14 NLT

The LORD’s sudden appearance will usher in an epic battle between the reunified Israelite kingdom and their enemies. Verse 13 describes Israel’s future enemy as Greece, but this is more likely a reference to the Gentile nations as a whole. This prophecy was partially fulfilled in the second century B.C.  when the Jews rose up against their Greek/Syrian oppressors. The Greeks had conquered much of the known world under the leadership of Alexander the Great but with his death in 323 B.C., his vast empire was divided between four of his top commanders. Eventually, Judah came under the heavy-handed rule of the Seleucids, founded by Seleucus, one of Alexander’s generals. In 175 B.C., Antiochus IV assumed leadership of the Seleucid Empire and began to persecute the Jews, outlawing many of their religious practices and demanding the worship of the Greek god, Zeus. In an attempt to humiliate the Jews and their God, Antiochus ordered the sacrifice of a pig in the Temple. This desecration of the house of God led to the Maccabean Revolt.

In one of his many visions, the prophet Daniel was given a glimpse into the future where he saw these horrible events unfolding.

“After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.” – Daniel 9:26-27 NLT

But what Daniel saw was only partially fulfilled with the Macabbean Revolt. Jesus alluded to this fact when He delivered His Olivette Discourse near the end of His life.

“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.” – Matthew 24:15-22 NLT

Jesus spoke these words long after the Macabbean Revolt, indicating that Daniel’s message was not yet fulfilled. There would be another desecration of the Temple sometime in the distant future. In Revelation 13, the apostle John describes the vision he received of the end times events associated with Jesus’ second coming. In his vision he saw the false prophet set up an idol of the Antichrist and demand that all people bow down and worship it.

He ordered the people to make a great statue of the first beast, who was fatally wounded and then came back to life. He was then permitted to give life to this statue so that it could speak. Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. – Revelation 13:14-15 NLT

These strange-sounding, supernatural events will occur near the end of the Great Tribulation. The Antichrist will rule over all the earth, empowered by Satan himself. The false prophet will serve as Antichrist's right-hand man, performing great signs and miracles, and ordering the worship of Antichrist instead of the one true God. But at the end of this period, the LORD will appear. John was also provided with a vision of that epic moment.

Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords. – Revelation 19:11-16 NLT

John was allowed to see the second coming of Jesus Christ as He returned to earth to deliver judgment upon the Antichrist and all his followers. In his vision, John saw “the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army” (Revelation 19:19 NLT). In an earlier vision, John saw Satan, the Antichrist, and his false prophet use demonic forces to instigate a glogal insurrection against God.

And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the LORD on that great judgment day of God the Almighty. – Revelation 16:13-14 NLT

Revelation 19 describes how these coalition forces fared against the LORD.

Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies. – Revelation 19:19-21 NLT

This would appear to be the same event Yahweh describes in His message to Zechariah.

“On that day the LORD their God will rescue his people,
    just as a shepherd rescues his sheep.
They will sparkle in his land
    like jewels in a crown.
How wonderful and beautiful they will be!
    The young men will thrive on abundant grain,
    and the young women will flourish on new wine.” – Zechariah 9:16-17 NLT

The great battle described in Revelation 19 will be followed by the millennial reign of Christ – a thousand years during which He will rule over all the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem. His Kingdom will be worldwide and marked by righteousness, peace, and truth. John was given a vision of this marvelous scene as well.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. – Revelation 20:4 NLT

All those martyred during the Great Tribulation will be resurrected and allowed to rule alongside Christ in His earthly Kingdom. Believing Jews and Gentiles will live side-by-side in the city of Jerusalem benefiting from the righteous rule of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

But the ultimate fulfillment of God’s message to Zechariah takes place when God makes all things new. Christ’s reign earthly Kingdom will last a thousand years and then be followed by God’s recreation of the heavens and earth.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. – Revelation 21:1-2 NLT

God will come to dwell on earth in the New Jerusalem, reigning alongside His Son.

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” – Revelation 21:3-4 NLT

In this earthly paradise, the new Eden, God will come to live among His people, including both Jews and Gentiles. It will be a time of great rejoicing because all the walls of separation will have been removed. Evil and sin will have been eradicated and the ungodly will have been removed.

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. – Revelation 21:22-27 NLT

It’s no wonder that Yahweh ends His message with the rather bold self-assessment, “how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!” (Zechariah 9:17 ESV).

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

God of the Impossible

1 The oracle of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach
    and Damascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
    and on all the tribes of Israel,
2 and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
    Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
3 Tyre has built herself a rampart
    and heaped up silver like dust,
    and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
4 But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
    and strike down her power on the sea,
    and she shall be devoured by fire.

5 Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
    Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
    Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
    Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
6 a mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod,
    and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
7 I will take away its blood from its mouth,
    and its abominations from between its teeth;
it too shall be a remnant for our God;
    it shall be like a clan in Judah,
    and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
8 Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
    so that none shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again march over them,
    for now I see with my own eyes. – Zechariah 9:1-8 ESV 

Yahweh now delivers an oracle to Zechariah. The Hebrew word translated as “oracle” is maśśā', which means “to lift up” or “to bear up.” Figuratively, it could refer to a pronouncement or prophecy that had a “burden” or “weight” associated with it. In this case, Yahweh is predicting the coming destruction of Israel’s many enemies. At the same time, He is announcing the coming of Israel’s long-awaited King and Messiah. The first eight verses paint a bleak and inescapable future for the nations that have stood opposed to Israel’s well-being for centuries. Zechariah is informed that each of these pagan nations will suffer the consequences for their treatment of God’s chosen people.

Yahweh lists a variety of cities surrounding Jerusalem, from Damascus in the north to Ashkelon in the south. He begins His list in the north in the region known as Hadrach, but He focuses His oracle on the city of Damascus. From there, Yahweh moves south, listing the names of additional doomed cities as He makes His way to Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza. This north-to-south route is significant because it mirrors the path the Assyrians and Babylonians took when they conquered Israel and Judah. Earlier prophets had predicted the coming destruction of the northern and southern kingdoms by these two nations, a fate ordained by God for His people’s continued rebellion against Him.

“But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north.
From the east he will call on my name.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.” – Isaiah 41:25 NLT

“Yes,” the Lord said, “for terror from the north will boil out on the people of this land. Listen! I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken!

“They will set their thrones
at the gates of the city.
They will attack its walls
and all the other towns of Judah.
I will pronounce judgment
on my people for all their evil—
for deserting me and burning incense to other gods.
Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!” – Jeremiah 1:14-16 NLT

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army. First he will destroy your mainland villages. Then he will attack you by building a siege wall, constructing a ramp, and raising a roof of shields against you.He will pound your walls with battering rams and demolish your towers with sledgehammers. The hooves of his horses will choke the city with dust, and the noise of the charioteers and chariot wheels will shake your walls as they storm through your broken gates. His horsemen will trample through every street in the city. They will butcher your people, and your strong pillars will topple.” – Ezekiel 7:7-11 NLT

Yahweh is announcing His intention to take the same path of destruction to mete out judgment upon the enemies of His people. He will begin in the north with Damascus and work His way down the coast to the land of the Philistines.

This prophecy was partially fulfilled in 333 B.C. when Alexander the Great passed through the region on his way to Egypt. He focused his attention on the coastal cities, destroying all ports used by the Achaemenid Empire but leaving the Jews relatively undisturbed. Alexander’s march to the south left many of these same cities destroyed but they would eventually rise from the ashes and continue their mistreatment of the people of Israel. What Yahweh has in store for them will be far more destructive and permanent than anything they suffered at the hands of the Greeks.

The English Standard Version translates verse 1 as “the LORD has an eye on mankind and on all the tribes of Israel.” While it is obvious that the all-knowing, all-seeing Yahweh is always watching over the affairs of men, most translators render this verse differently.

…the eyes of humanity, including all the tribes of Israel, are on the LORD. – NLT

…the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD. – BSB

…for the eyes of mankind, especially of all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD. – NASB

This human-based perspective is important because it indicates that all will know and understand that this future judgment is the work of Yahweh. Everyone will comprehend the divine nature of the destruction. This won’t be the work of some world super-power, it will be the hand of Adonai, the LORD of Hosts.

…the Lord will strip away Tyre’s possessions
and hurl its fortifications into the sea,
and it will be burned to the ground.– Zechariah 9:4 NLT 

The city of Ashkelon will see Tyre fall
and will be filled with fear.
Gaza will shake with terror,
as will Ekron, for their hopes will be dashed.
Gaza’s king will be killed,
and Ashkelon will be deserted.– Zechariah 9:4 NLT

These powerful, wealthy, and influential cities will suffer fear, humiliation, and elimination at the hands of Israel’s God. Their wealth will do them no good. Their armies will be impotent and unable to defend them. The once-great Philistine empire that had plagued the people of Israel for centuries would fall, never to rise again. The oracle even predicts the conversion of any Philistines who manage to make it out alive.

Then the surviving Philistines will worship our God
    and become like a clan in Judah.
The Philistines of Ekron will join my people,
    as the ancient Jebusites once did. – Zechariah 9:7 NLT

The content of this oracle must have been difficult for Zechariah to get his head around. It was good news but it all sounded so far-fetched and impossible. It didn’t get any more believable when God claimed, “I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am watching closely to ensure that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land” (Zechariah 9:8 NLT).

God was telling Zechariah incredible news regarding Israel's future. Not only will Israel be restored, Jerusalem rebuilt, and the Temple completed, but the people of Israel will prosper, filling the land, and serving Him faithfully. Things were going to be radically different. Instead of punishing His people as He had done in the past, God was going to bless them abundantly and restore them to favor. This news had to be difficult for Zechariah to comprehend as he looked around at a partially completed foundation on the Temple, the broken-down walls, and the demoralized remnant who struggled to fulfill the task God had given them due to the scope of the project and the presence of opposition. Yet, Yahweh had assured Zechariah that He was the God of the impossible.

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies." – Zechariah 8:6 NLT

It's as if God said, "I know this doesn't look so good right now, but don't judge Me based on what you see." Yahweh wanted Zechariah to focus on His promises, not the pressing problems that seemed to never go away. 

Yahweh knew that Zechariah and the beleaguered people of Judah were struggling to keep the faith. They were growing weary and questioning whether all their hard work would be worth it. So, God pointed them to the future. He predicted a brighter tomorrow that was beyond their powers of comprehension. But He had proven Himself faithful in the past and could be trusted to fulfill His plans for the future.

Yet, God’s people have always struggled with doubt and the inability to take God at His word. Even today, those who claim to believe in an all-powerful, promise-keeping God, find themselves wondering where He is and what He is doing. They take a look at their current circumstances and make sweeping judgments regarding everything from God's faithfulness and presence to His love and power. When things don't go well, God’s people automatically assume that He is either angry or oblivious to their needs. He is upset and punishing them. He is out of touch and ignorant of them. Their prayers don't get answered, so they conclude He does not hear or does not care.

In time, their view of life begins to influence their view of God. In a sense, Yahweh tells Zechariah, "I know this all seems impossible to you right now. After all, there's just a handful of you and the job is far from complete. BUT THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU!"

The point of it all was that God could do the impossible. He knew what was going on and was well aware of the situation taking place in Jerusalem. He had a full grasp of the facts regarding the status of the Temple, the presence of opposition, the size of the workforce, and the condition of their hearts. Which explains the depth and detail of His message to Zechariah.

He told Zechariah, "Be strong and finish the task!" (Zechariah 8:9 NLT) and “Don't be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple" (Zechariah 8:13 NLT). It wasn't about their strength and ability to get things done, it was about their faith and trust in a God who could do ANYTHING. They just needed to do what He had called them to do and leave the rest up to Him. God had returned them to the promised land, provided a royal edict to secure their work, and secured the funds to pay for the entire restoration project. He had done His part but they had failed to complete theirs. It was far too easy for them to look at their relative lack of success and the overwhelming size of the task and become disillusioned.

The same thing can be true of us. We get overwhelmed by circumstances and begin to feel we are in over our heads. We start to wonder if God is with us at all. But whenever we think it's all up to us, we miss the point. Nothing is impossible for God. There is nothing He can't handle. There is nothing we face that is outside of His sovereign control and divine will. Like Zechariah and the people of Judah, we must constantly remind ourselves that nothing is impossible for God. That's the message we need to hear. There is nothing that He can't do. There is not a single circumstance that is out of His ability or power to handle. And not only that, but nothing is impossible for God. That's the message of the Bible. It is all about God, not us. It is about His power, His will, His promises, His faithfulness, His salvation, His Kingdom, and His ability to finish what He has begun and restore what is broken. Nothing is impossible for Him.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Present Faith in Future Promises

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” – Zechariah 8:18-23 NLT

Chapter 7 began with a question about fasting. Now, Yahweh points to a future day when it will no longer be necessary to fast. Leviticus 16 records Yahweh’s command concerning fasting. ʿ

“And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.” – Leviticus 16:29 ESV

The Hebrew word translated as “afflict” is ānâ and it carries the idea of humbling oneself, to be afflicted, or bowed down. It was commonly associated with fasting because fasting was intended as a sign of repentance and mourning over sins. The Book of Isaiah records Yahweh’s displeasure with the false fasting of the people of Israel.

“Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble(ānâ) himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?” – Isaiah 58:5 ESV

He accused His people of going through the motions of fasting without the requisite heart change that was required. The people couldn’t understand why their outward displays of self-denial were getting them nowhere with Yahweh.

“Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?” – Isaiah 58:3 ESV

But Yahweh explained His disinterest and unwillingness to take their fasts seriously.

“Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
    and oppress all your workers.
Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
    will not make your voice to be heard on high.” – Isaiah 58:3-4 ESV

Fasting was intended to display a repentant heart and a willingness to alter one’s behavior. It was an act of self-denial and public humiliation that demonstrated a recognition of one’s sin and a need for atonement.

But in this chapter, Yahweh describes a future in which fasting will be replaced by “seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts” (Zechariah 8:19 ESV). The fasts associated with the fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the exile of God’s people will no longer be necessary. Yahweh is pointing to a day when joy will replace mourning and celebrations commemorating His goodness will eliminate all memories of past sins and divine judgment.

The Temple, once completed, would fully restore the sacrificial system, not eliminate it. The need for atonement would continue to require the blood of bulls, goats, sheep, and rams. The immediate future of the people of Judah would require a fully functioning priesthood, a completed Temple, and the sacrifice of countless animals to serve as sin substitutes for the guilty. The Day of Atonement would still require fasting on the part of the people before they could be cleansed from sin. 

The author of Hebrews explains the necessity of the sacrificial system but also identifies its shortcomings.

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:1-4 ESV

So, when Yahweh speaks of “seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts,” He is talking about a future day when full and permanent atonement will be attained for His people. This message from Yahweh includes His promise of the future restoration and spiritual transformation of His chosen people. It coincides with the message He delivered through the prophet Ezekiel.

“Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign Lord: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign Lord, then the nations will know that I am the Lord. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.” – Ezekiel 36:22-27 NLT

All of these promises will take place when Christ returns to set up His earthly Kingdom. Daniel was given a vision of the end times, including the period known as the Great Tribulation. During those days, God will bring judgment upon the earth and His people, both Jews and Christians, will suffer persecution at the hands of the Antichrist. But God will only allow this wicked world ruler to carry out his genocidal pogrom for three and a half years.

“He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.

“But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power will be taken away and completely destroyed. Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.” – Daniel 7:25-27 NLT

This future kingdom will include believing Jews and Gentiles who will reign alongside Christ for 1,000 years.

“The manifestation of the kingdom will be attended by such a fulness of salvation that Judah will forget to commemorate the former mournful events and will only have occasion to rejoice in the benefits of grace bestowed by God.” –  Merrill F.  Unger, Zechariah

Yahweh wants Zechariah to know that the rebuilding of the Temple was just the beginning of His plans for the people of Judah. There is far more in store for His chosen people than they realize. They will accomplish their mission and complete the construction of God’s house. They will also rebuild the walls and hang the gates. The city will be repopulated and the nation will once again enjoy the blessings of Yahweh. But their greatest days lie in the distant future when God will redeem them fully and restore them to a right relationship with Himself that will last for eternity. The apostle Paul described this future day as a mystery. 

I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
    and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
And this is my covenant with them,
    that I will take away their sins.” – Romans 11:25-27 NLT

As Zechariah listens to these amazing pronouncements from Yahweh, he can't help but consider the less-than-ideal circumstances surrounding him and the far-from-perfect spiritual state of his fellow Judahites. But God is promising Him a future free from godlessness and sin. Not only that, the formerly destroyed city of Jerusalem will become a light shining on a hill attracting people from all over the world. Countless individuals from distant nations will declare their intention to visit the glorious city of Jerusalem.

“Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.” – Zechariah 8:21 ESV

Three other prophets recorded this same scene, further certifying its validity and future certainty.

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
    will be the highest of all—
    the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
    and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
    and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
    his word will go out from Jerusalem. - Isaiah 2:2-3 NLT

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
    will be the highest of all—
    the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
    and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
    and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
    his word will go out from Jerusalem. – Micah 4:1-2 NLT

Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel.
    You will again be happy
    and dance merrily with your tambourines.
Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria
    and eat from your own gardens there.
The day will come when watchmen will shout
    from the hill country of Ephraim,
‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem
    to worship the Lord our God.’” – Jeremiah 31:3-6 NLT

Yahweh reiterates His future intentions for His chosen people to Zechariah, stating, “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you’” (Zechariah 8:23 ESV). These promises concerning Judah’s future were meant to encourage Zechariah and motivate the people to carry out their work with enthusiasm and faith. They served a good and gracious God who loved them and had great plans for them.

But Yahweh didn’t want His people to live with their eyes focused on the future. They weren’t to live with their eye set on the preferred future God had in store for them. His promises of future redemption and restoration would take place long after they were gone so, in the meantime, they were to “love truth and peace” (Zechariah 8:19 ESV). In other words, they were to love what God loved. They were to live in keeping with His will, treating one another with love, dignity, respect, and honor. With all His future promises in mind, they were to dedicate themselves to living in a way that honored Him in the here and now.

“Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate…” – Zechariah 8:16-17 ESV

The apostle Peter gave the same admonition to the believers who received his second epistle.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. – 2 Peter 1:3-8 NLT

The people of Judah were to live with the end in mind, but they were never to lose sight of Yahweh’s call to live godly lives. God’s future faithfulness was meant to inspire present obedience in His covenant people. No matter how difficult the days ahead might be, they could rest in the promise of Yahweh’s unwavering love and long-term commitment to their well-being.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Going Through the Motions

1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. 2 Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the LORD, 3 saying to the priests of the house of the LORD of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me: 5 “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? 6 And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? 7 Were not these the words that the LORD proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?’”

8 And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” – Zechariah 7:1-14 ESV

Two years after the night visions ended, Zechariah received another message from Yahweh. The construction of the Temple had begun again, and progress was being made, but it seemed that the people were still lagging in their spiritual devotion to God. Two years earlier, God had informed Zechariah of His anger against the people of Judah for the centuries of disobedience and unfaithfulness toward Him.

“I, the LORD, was very angry with your ancestors. Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.’ Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’

“Where are your ancestors now? They and the prophets are long dead. But everything I said through my servants the prophets happened to your ancestors, just as I said. As a result, they repented and said, ‘We have received what we deserved from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. He has done what he said he would do.’” – Zechariah 1:2-6 NLT

Yet, despite God’s repeated outpourings of grace and mercy, the people remained less than enthusiastic about their commitments to Him. Many simply went through the motions, carrying out their devotions to God out of a sense of duty rather than delight. This had been a common problem among the Israelites for generations; something God had pointed out through the prophet Isaiah.

“These people say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
And their worship of me
    is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

Sadly, not much had changed. While Zechariah was overseeing the work on the Temple, a contingent of Jews from the nearby town of Bethel arrived in Jerusalem seeking spiritual advice from “the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets” (Zechariah 7:3 NLT). These men, led by Sharezer and Regem-melech, were looking for an answer to a question regarding fasting.

“Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” – Zechariah 7:3 NLT

The identities of Sharezer and Regem-melech are unclear, but their names are of Babylonian origin, which suggests that they were Jews who had been born during the Babylonian exile. Their names suggest that their families held a certain affinity for Darius the King and enjoyed a degree of comfort during their exile in Babylon. Sharezer means “protect the king” and Regem-melech means “king’s friend.” But now they were living in Bethel and had come to Jerusalem seeking godly counsel about a certain religious rite they had practiced. It seems that they were seeking permission to end this ritual.

But God had only decreed one day of fasting for the people of Israel, as outlined in the Book of Leviticus.

“On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the LORD’s presence from all your sins. It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.” – Leviticus 16:29-31 NLT

During their 70 years in exile, the people of Judah had taken it upon themselves to institute four additional fasts that God had not required. Yahweh mentions them in a subsequent message to Zechariah.

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.” – Zechariah 8:19 ESV

These fasts were intended to be annual reminders to the people of Judah of the events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem. But now that the exiles had returned, Jerusalem was being rebuilt, and the Temple was under construction, these men from Bethel wanted to know if these fasts were still necessary. It was a legitimate question but exposed the hypocrisy of those who posed it.

“What may have appeared to be an innocent question about the propriety of fasting was instead a question fraught with hypocrisy, as YHWH’s response puts beyond any doubt. It therefore appears that the query to Zechariah by the Bethelites may not have been so much a matter of piety as it was of posturing. May it not be that the delegation was trying more to impress the prophet than to gain instruction from him?” – Eugene H. Merrill,  An Exegetical Commentary: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

Yahweh did not allow Zechariah to be fooled by their carefully crafted question. Instead, He exposed the true spirit behind their request.

“During these seventy years of exile, when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it really for me that you were fasting?” – Zechariah 7:5 NLT

Had their sorrow emanated from the loss of their relationship with Yahweh or was it merely a display of self-centered pity over their adverse conditions in Babylon? According to God, the four annual fasts were void of remorse or repentance. They had become little more than religious rituals and posturing displays of self-righteousness.

God had warned the prophet Ezekiel about the duplicitous nature of the people of Judah. The very people to whom Ezekiel was commissioned to deliver God’s message of pending judgment would display a hypocritical and half-hearted response to his calls for repentance and reform.

“Son of man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the prophet tell us what the Lord is saying!’ So my people come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money. You are very entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what you say, but they don’t act on it!” – Ezekiel 33:30-32 NLT

As far as God was concerned, nothing had changed. Even after their release from captivity in Babylon and return to the land of Judah, the people remained just as insincere and deceptive.

“…even now in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to please yourselves? Isn’t this the same message the Lord proclaimed through the prophets in years past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people, and the Negev and the foothills of Judah were well populated?’” – Zechariah 7:6-7 NLT

Their nearly 70 years in captivity had done little to reform their hearts. And while God had been gracious to extend mercy and allow them to return to the land of promise, they were still reticent to keep their covenant commitments to Him.

So, God gave Zechariah a message to deliver to Sharezer, Regem-melech, and the rest of the people of Judah. While they had come asking questions about fasting, God delivered a reminder about His oft-repeated expectations of righteous behavior.

“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Judge fairly, and show mercy and kindness to one another. Do not oppress widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor. And do not scheme against each other.” – Zechariah 7:9-10 NLT

This was not new information. God had been sending His prophets with the same message for hundreds of years.

No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8 NLT

“This is what the LORD says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!” – Jeremiah 22:3 NLT

Those who are honest and fair,
    who refuse to profit by fraud,
    who stay far away from bribes,
who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,
    who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong—
these are the ones who will dwell on high.
    The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.
Food will be supplied to them,
    and they will have water in abundance. – Isaiah 33:15-16 NLT

Yet, God points out that His people had refused to hear and heed the words of His prophets.

“Your ancestors refused to listen to this message. They stubbornly turned away and put their fingers in their ears to keep from hearing. They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the instructions or the messages that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was so angry with them.” – Zechariah 7:11-12 NLT

As a result, He “scattered them among the distant nations, where they lived as strangers. Their land became so desolate that no one even traveled through it. They turned their pleasant land into a desert” (Zechariah 7:14 NLT).

None of this was late-breaking news to Sharezer, Regem-melech, and their companions. They were well aware of Judah’s sordid past and the 70 years their ancestors spent in exile. But God wanted this message to sink in. What He had done once before, He could do again. His expectations for righteous behavior had not diminished in any way. He still demanded that His people judge fairly, show mercy, and extend kindness to one another. They were to care for the downtrodden and disenfranchised among them. They were to do what was right in the eyes of God.

This wasn't about fasting and feasting or sacrifices and sacred rites. It was about obedience and faithfulness. God demanded heart change, not rule-keeping. He expected behavior that flowed from a belief in His goodness and greatness. He wanted His people to love as they had been loved. Anything less was unacceptable – even their sacrifices, offerings, celebrations, and worship.

“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
    of bulls and lambs and goats.
When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.
I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
    They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
    Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
    for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
Wash yourselves and be clean!
    Get your sins out of my sight.
    Give up your evil ways.
Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows.” – Isaiah 1:11-17 NLT

Going through the motions would never satisfy the expectations of God. Half-hearted obedience could never please the One who ldemanded whole-hearted commitment to His will.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Coming King and Priest

9 And the word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.

15 “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.” – Zechariah 6:9-15 ESV

With the eight visions completed, Zechariah received an oracle from the LORD instructing him to perform a symbolic coronation. Much of what Zechariah was shown in the visions had to do with Israel’s distant future, including the judgment of her enemies (Zechariah 6:1-8). Chapter 3 revealed the purification of Joshua the high priest, symbolizing the renewal of the priestly ministry. 

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: If you follow my ways and carefully serve me, then you will be given authority over my Temple and its courtyards. I will let you walk among these others standing here.” – Zechariah 3:7 NLT

God was foreshadowing a future day when the priesthood of Israel would play a significant role in the spiritual restoration of the nation.

“I will remove the sins of this land in a single day. And on that day, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, each of you will invite your neighbor to sit with you peacefully under your own grapevine and fig tree.” – Zechariah 3:10 NLT

In chapter 4, Yahweh emphasized the role of Zerubbabel, the civil administrator of the nation of Judah. In a sense, he served as the de facto king of Judah, overseeing the physical well-being of the people as they struggled to restore Jerusalem and rebuild their lives in the promised land. Zechariah was given a vision of the golden lampstand and the two olive trees. When Zechariah inquired about the trees, he was told, “They represent the two anointed ones who stand in the court of the LORD of all the earth” (Zechariah 4:14 NLT). This rather cryptic response emphasizes the two offices of priest and king and their unified nature in the future kingdom.

With the visions completed, Yahweh provides Zechariah with a rather strange assignment.

“Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring gifts of silver and gold from the Jews exiled in Babylon. As soon as they arrive, meet them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah.” – Zechariah 6:10 NLT

These three men had recently arrived from Babylon bearing expensive gifts that were likely intended to finance the construction of the Temple. But Zechariah is ordered to take the men and their tribute to the home of Josiah the high priest. A lot is going on in this passage that bears a closer look. While no details are given as to the identities of these three men, their names are significant. Heldai means “The Enduring One.” Tobijah can be translated as “The LORD is good” and Jedaiah means “God cares.” Each of their names points to a distinguishing characteristic of Yahweh.

Secondly, they had recently arrived from Bethlehem bearing gifts. This brings to mind the story of the “wise men from the east” found in the Gospel of Matthew.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” – Matthew 2:1-2 ESV

The Greek word translated as “wise men” is magi which the Babylonians and Persians used to describe their astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, soothsayers, magicians, and sorcerers. It is doubtful that Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah practiced the occult arts, but their recent arrival from Babylon bearing gifts foreshadows the future coming of the wise men. They too would bring expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

The magi, having seen a sign in the sky that seemed to portend an important event, conducted a search of the ancient religious texts and found the words written by the prophet Micah.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel,
    whose origins are in the distant past,
    will come from you on my behalf.
The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies
    until the woman in labor gives birth.
Then at last his fellow countrymen
    will return from exile to their own land.
And he will stand to lead his flock with the Lord’s strength,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed,
    for he will be highly honored around the world.
   And he will be the source of peace. – Micah 5:2-5 NLT

This discovery fueled their curiosity and motivated their journey. But little did Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah know that their gifts would be used for something other than the Temple.

With the three recent arrivals in tow, Zechariah went to Joshua’s house where he took the gold and silver and crafted a crown. He then placed the crown on the head of Joshua the high priest and pronounced the following blessing.

Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” – Zechariah 6:12-13 ESV

Again, there are a lot of details in this passage that could easily be overlooked. First, the oracle mentions “the Branch,” which God foreshadowed in chapter 3.

“Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.” – Zechariah 3:8 ESV

The prophet Jeremiah used this same designation when referring to a future descendant of King David who would rule and reign upon his throne.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’” – Jeremiah 23:5-6 ESV

“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’’ – Jeremiah 33:15-16 ESV

This was all in keeping with the promise God gave to David concerning an heir who would one day sit on his throne and rule over an everlasting kingdom.

“I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:12-13 ESV

Jesus was that descendant, having been born of the tribe of Judah and through the line of David (Matthew 1; Luke 3). The apostle Paul referred to Jesus as God’s Son, “who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4 ESV). In the Book of Revelation, Jesus refers to Himself as “the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16 ESV).

Jesus was the Branch who “sprouted” from the tree of David and the prophet Ezekiel was given a vision of the majestic glory of this future branch.

“This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take a branch from the top of a tall cedar, and I will plant it on the top of Israel’s highest mountain. It will become a majestic cedar, sending forth its branches and producing seed. Birds of every sort will nest in it, finding shelter in the shade of its branches.” – Ezekiel 17:22-23 NLT

So, as Zechariah crafts a crown of silver and gold and places it on the head of Joshua the high priest, there is far more going on than he even realizes. This symbolic act of crowning the high priest is weighted with meaning. As Zechariah crowns Joshua he boldly proclaims, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both’” (Zechariah 6:12-13 ESV).

Even Joshua must have been at a loss as to what was taking place. It was Zerubbabel’s job to oversee the construction of the Temple, not his. Why was Zechariah placing that responsibility on his shoulders?

But Joshua was merely a stand-in for the greater high priest to come. This ceremony of crowning the high priest as king was meant to foreshadow the coming of the Messiah, who would be the priest-king. The Book of Hebrews provides an explanation for Jesus’ designation as this hybrid ruler over the people of God. The author of Hebrews uses a story from the Book of Genesis to introduce a rather obscure character named Melchizedek, who is described as the king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High” (Hebrews 7:1; Genesis 14:18).

According to the author of Hebrews, “The name Melchizedek means ‘king of justice,’ and king of Salem means ‘king of peace’ (Hebrews 7:2 NLT). Melchizedek was the king of what would later become Jerusalem. He was also a priest of Yahweh but not a descendant of Levi. He was a priest of a different order and Jesus was to follow in his footsteps.

Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. And the psalmist pointed this out when he prophesied,

“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. – Hebrews 7:16-19 NLT

Jesus would combine the offices of priest and king, serving as the perfect and complete leader for the people of God. With His death and in His role as the high priest, Jesus offered the only sacrifice acceptable to God for the sins of mankind.

Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. – Hebrews 7:27 NLT

And because God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice and raised Him back to life, Jesus lives forever and “his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf” (Hebrews 7:24-25 NLT).

He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. – Hebrews 7:26 NLT

Zechariah is told that the Branch “shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne” (Zechariah 6:13 ESV). Once again, God is foreshadowing future events concerning the coming Messiah. In his gospel account, John records Jesus making the following statement to the Jewish religious leaders:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” – John 2:19 NLT

They understood Him to be speaking of the literal Temple, but John points out, “when Jesus said ‘this temple,’ he meant his own body” (John 2:21 NLT). Jesus was the Temple of God. He was God in human flesh. Jesus would later tell the woman at the well, “the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem…indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (John 4:21, 23 NLT).

The oracle ends with the following words:

“…those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.” – Zechariah 6:15 ESV

This promise carries a now-not-yet aspect to it. Zerubbabel and the people of Judah would complete the physical Temple. But God had something far greater in mind. He is predicting the coming of the Church, the true temple of God; a fact that the apostle Paul makes clear.

So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit. – Ephesians 2:19-22 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.