Zechariah returned to Judah with the former exiles and was apparently a priest (Neh 12:16). He was a contemporary of Haggai. Though nothing is known of cooperation between the two prophets, they had similar missions and are credited with the successful reconstruction of the temple (Ezr 5:1-2; 6:14). Zechariah gave dates for two periods of his prophetic ministry (520 and 518 BC; Zch 1:1,7; 7:1). Whether he was the author of the entire book is debated. Many scholars, impressed with the differences between chapters 1–8 and 9–14, conclude that Zechariah did not write the last six chapters. The concept of authorship at the time of the Bible, however, was different from modern standards. In the OT, there is evidence of portions of books under a single author’s name that were not written by that author (Nm 12:3; Dt 34:5-12; Jr 51:64c).
A key moment in the history of the Israelites came after King Cyrus of Persia granted the captives permission to return to Palestine (538 BC). The chosen people had just come through one of the worst experiences possible in the ancient world. Their homeland was devastated by invading armies, their capital city and temple were plundered and flattened, many of their people and leaders were killed, and most of the rest were carried off into pagan lands. The returnees who made the long trek back to Judah were faced with the challenge of reestablishing Jerusalem and the temple. Based on the account in the book of Ezra, work began immediately. But after the altar was rebuilt and the foundation stones were laid, problems arose and the work stopped (Ezr 3:1–4:24). Though sacrifices were offered on the altar, the temple continued to lie in ruins for almost two more decades.
The book of Zechariah is full of the language of judgment, but it is also full of God’s promises. The Lord challenged his people to undertake an overwhelmingly difficult task, and he assured them of their success through his power. But the nature of these promises extended beyond rebuilding the temple. From beginning to end, the Bible tells the story of God’s redemptive plan, culminating in God’s triumph over evil and salvation for sinners. Zechariah’s prophecies anticipate this grand culmination of history, describing a coming glorious king, a God who triumphs over all, and a world with all wrongs corrected. These promises set the stage for God’s future kingdom, as evidenced by the quotes and allusions to Zechariah in the NT.
The book of Zechariah is complex, sometimes with seemingly disjointed units, like a series of snapshots that need to be put in order. The apparent lack of organization may reflect the oral origin of the book, a collection of sermons that were patched together in written form. But it may also have been intentional. With the goal of shocking the hearers and bringing them to their senses, rapid-fire movement from one thought to another may have been part of Zechariah’s technique. Chapters 1–8 contain carefully dated visions and sermons, while chapters 9–14 consist of undated poetic oracles and narrative descriptions of judgment and blessing.
Zechariah used a mix of genres. His sermons, poetry, and oracles of judgment and salvation were typical of the prophetic genre. But his visions had similarities with apocalyptic literature, best represented in the OT by the book of Daniel. The content of some of his oracles, describing divine intervention and a radically different world, are also typical of apocalyptic literature. Thus, Zechariah may represent a stage of development between a prophetic form and an apocalyptic form.
This vision and prophecy graciously reveal the future history of Jerusalem. We may spiritualize it and say Jerusalem signifies the church, but we should not forget the literal meaning of the words. The Jewish people and their royal city will remain the center of the manifestations of divine glory. The nations of the earth will be joined to the Lord, a suburban population to the chosen city. Jerusalem will be rebuilt in more than her former splendor; the Jews will be restored to their own land; and Messiah will reign as a prince of the house of David.
1In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo: 2 “The LORD was extremely angry with your ancestors. 3 So tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD of Armies says: Return to me — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — and I will return to you, says the LORD of Armies. 4 Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the LORD of Armies says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to me — this is the LORD’s declaration. 5 Where are your ancestors now? And do the prophets live forever? 6 But didn’t my words and my statutes that I commanded my servants the prophets overtake your ancestors? ’ ”
So the people repented and said, “As the LORD of Armies decided to deal with us for our ways and our deeds, so he has dealt with us.”
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo:
8 I looked out in the night and saw a man riding on a chestnut A horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley. B Behind him were chestnut, brown, and white horses. 9 I asked, “What are these, my lord? ”
The angel who was talking to me replied, “I will show you what they are.”
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the LORD has sent to patrol the earth.”
11 They reported to the angel of the LORD standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth, and right now the whole earth is calm and quiet.”
12 Then the angel of the LORD responded, “How long, LORD of Armies, will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that you have been angry with these seventy years? ” 13 The LORD replied with kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me.
14 So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The LORD of Armies says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. 15 I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease, for I was a little angry, but they made the destruction worse. C 16 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; my house will be rebuilt within it — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.
17 “Proclaim further: This is what the LORD of Armies says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the LORD will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”
18 Then I looked up and saw four horns. 19 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these? ”
And he said to me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.”
20 Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are they coming to do? ”
He replied, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so no one could raise his head. These craftsmen have come to terrify them, to cut off D the horns of the nations that raised a horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.”
2I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2 I asked, “Where are you going? ”
He answered me, “To measure Jerusalem to determine its width and length.”
3 Then the angel who was speaking with me went out, and another angel went out to meet him. 4 He said to him, “Run and tell this young man: Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and livestock in it.” 5 The declaration of the LORD: “I myself will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.”
6 “Listen! Listen! Flee from the land of the north” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “for I have scattered you like the four winds of heaven” — this is the LORD’s declaration. 7 “Listen, Zion! Escape, you who are living with Daughter Babylon.” 8 For the LORD of Armies says this: “In pursuit of his glory, he sent me against the nations plundering you, for whoever touches you touches the pupil A of my B eye. 9 For look, I am raising my hand against them, and they will become plunder for their own servants. Then you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me.
QUOTE 2:8
Stand at the foot of Calvary, and let the groans of Christ pierce your heart. Behold his head crowned with thorns; look at his hands and his feet streaming like fountains of blood. Think for a moment of the awful anguish which his spirit suffered, of the unknown pains he bore when he redeemed our souls for God; and you will readily conclude that love so amazing, which could pay a price so stupendous, would not easily loosen its hold on what it has purchased for itself.
10 “Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you” — this is the LORD’s declaration. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD on that day and become my C people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you. 12 The LORD will take possession of Judah as his portion in the Holy Land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem. 13 Let all people be silent before the LORD, for from his holy dwelling he has roused himself.”
2:1–5 “‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the number of people and livestock in it.’ The declaration of the LORD: ‘I myself will be a wall of fire around it, and I will be the glory within it.’” This vision and prophecy graciously reveal the future history of Jerusalem. We may spiritualize it and say Jerusalem signifies the church, but we should not forget the literal meaning of the words, such as those in verse 12:“The LORD will take possession of Judah as his portion in the Holy Land, and he will once again choose Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is spoken of, and Jerusalem is meant. A man with a measuring line is about to measure the length and breadth of the city; he appears to be interrupted in his work by another angel who foretells that Jerusalem will greatly extend in terms of both people and livestock and that she will be as a town without walls. This prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. It may have had some partial fulfillment in those times of peace before the coming of the Christ, but even then Jerusalem was surrounded by a triple wall; and though there was a large suburban population, the city was not then without walls, nor was the glory of God in the midst of her in any prominent degree. I believe this passage refers to a happy and glorious future yet to come, when the city of Jerusalem will have no walls, only the protection of the Lord, but will be extended far and wide. The Jewish people and their royal city will remain the center of the manifestations of divine glory. The nations of the earth will be joined to the Lord, a suburban population to the chosen city. Jerusalem will be rebuilt in more than her former splendor; the Jews will be restored to their own land; and Messiah will reign as a prince of the house of David.
2:8 “For the LORD of Armies says this: ‘In pursuit of his glory, he sent me against the nations plundering you, for whoever touches you touches the pupil of my eye.’” God esteems his people. He esteems them as much as people value their eyesight and is just as careful to protect them from injury, as people are to protect the pupil of their eye. The pupil of the eye is the most vulnerable and sensitive part of the most vulnerable organ and fitly sets forth the inexpressible tenderness of God’s love. It is a mystery of loving-kindness and affection. The Lord is enthroned above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants are like grasshoppers. The nations are like a drop in a bucket and are considered as a speck of dust in the scales (Is 40:15,22)—how marvelous that he has thoughts of everlasting love toward such worthless things. It is wonderful that God should even notice such insignificant creatures as us, that he, in his infiniteness, should even be able to discover such delight in this drop of matter that we call the world. But that wonder is totally eclipsed by another, namely, that God should love such utterly worthless, as well as insignificant, creatures.
One of the reasons for this esteem is because the people of God are the object of the dearest purchase that was ever known. They were redeemed not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Stand at the foot of Calvary, and let the groans of Christ pierce your heart. Behold his head crowned with thorns; look at his hands and his feet streaming like fountains of blood. Think for a moment of the awful anguish which his spirit suffered, of the unknown pains he bore when he redeemed our souls for God; and you will readily conclude that love so amazing, which could pay a price so stupendous, would not easily loosen its hold on what it has purchased for itself. We think little of ourselves when we value ourselves at anything less than the price Jesus paid; we dishonor the Lord who bought us, if we think ourselves only fit to live for the flesh.
3Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan A standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The LORD B said to Satan: “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! May the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire? ”
3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy C clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 So the angel of the LORD D spoke to those E standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes! ” Then he said to him, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with festive robes.”
5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him in garments while the angel of the LORD was standing nearby.
6 Then the angel of the LORD charged Joshua: 7 “This is what the LORD of Armies says: If you walk in my ways and keep my mandates, you will both rule my house and take care of my courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.
8 “Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your colleagues sitting before you; indeed, these men are a sign that I am about to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 Notice the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave an inscription on it” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “and I will take away the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree.” This is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
QUOTE 3:9
The position of sin in a natural man is that of a king on his throne; the position of sin in a Christian is that of a bandit hiding in secret places trying to get back its old usurped dominion but failing in the attempt.
3:3-4 “Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. So the angel of the LORD spoke to those standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes!’ Then he said to him, ‘See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with festive robes.’” The original intention of this vision was to foretell the revival of the Jewish state after its long depression through the Babylonian captivity. Joshua, the high priest, with his tattered garments, must be looked on as a type of the Jewish people in their deep distress. He was ministering before the Lord in worn and filthy garments to show at once the sin of Israel and the poverty into which they had fallen. They were so poor that the service of God could not be conducted in suitable apparel, and the high priest himself appeared before the altar in robes unfit for his sacred work. The set time to favor Zion is according to the visions most near at hand. And Satan, the old adversary of the chosen race, arouses himself to resist them and turn away the favor of God from them; but that same angel of the covenant who led the people through the wilderness and carried them all the days of old, stands before the throne as their advocate, and at his request Jehovah rebukes Satan and begins to bless the people. Joshua, their representative, receives a change of clothes in testimony that the people’s sin is forgiven and that God accepts their worship. The vision then sweeps on to the day of the Lord Jesus, and the heart of the prophet Zechariah is cheered by a sight of the whole land restored to its former peace and happiness.
3:9 “‘Notice the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave an inscription on it’—this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies—‘and I will take away the iniquity of this land in a single day.’” The removal of our transgressions lies in four things. First is the removal of the punishment; the man God pardons cannot be punished for sin. It would be a mock pardon that left a man in the executioner’s custody. The sentence is stayed; no, it is revoked. Second, the removal of transgression means taking away any guilt before the Lord. Sin has made God angry; it is a breach of his law and a dishonor to his name. Yet God will forgive the believing sinner so that no anger will linger against him. Third, the removal of sin implies the putting away of the defilement of sin. Sin makes us to be polluted creatures. When the sin is put away, the defilement consequent on it is also cleansed, and we become pure before God—personally acceptable with God. Finally, the removal of sin includes the total destruction of the dominion of sin over our nature. Not that in us sin has lost all its power, but that in the believer it has lost its reigning power and is dethroned. The position of sin in a natural man is that of a king on his throne; the position of sin in a Christian is that of a bandit hiding in secret places trying to get back its old usurped dominion but failing in the attempt. Thus the promise of the text is a full one. The removal of sin includes the remission of the punishment, the putting away of the guilt, the cleansing of the defilement, and the dethronement of the evil power.
4The angel who was speaking with me then returned and roused me as one awakened out of sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see? ”
I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand also has seven lamps at the top with seven spouts for each of A the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 Then I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord? ”
5 “Don’t you know what they are? ” replied the angel who was speaking with me.
I said, “No, my lord.”
6 So he answered me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of Armies. 7 ‘What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. And he will bring out the capstone accompanied by shouts of: Grace, grace to it! ’ ”
8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Zerubbabel’s hands have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will complete it. Then you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you. 10 For who despises the day of small things? These seven eyes of the LORD, which scan throughout the whole earth, will rejoice when they see the ceremonial stone B in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
11 I asked him, “What are the two olive trees on the right and left of the lampstand? ” 12 And I questioned him further, “What are the two streams C of the olive trees, from which the golden oil is pouring through the two golden conduits? ”
13 Then he inquired of me, “Don’t you know what these are? ”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
14 “These are the two anointed ones,” A he said, “who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
4:2-3 “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top. The lampstand also has seven lamps at the top with seven spouts for each of the lamps. There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” Here is a candlestick that must challenge the notice of all who gaze at it, for it is of costly material and curious form—fitted for the holy place of the tabernacle. It resembles the candlestick whose pattern Moses received from God, and yet in some respects it differs.
The object is remarkable in its position. Note that it stood in the open. Under the old covenant the candlestick stood within curtains where only priestly eyes might see it; it was hidden from the mass of the people. Within the holy place, the holiest of all, the “holy of holies,” no man ever entered except the high priest, and only he but once a year. The people’s worship had less of the visible about it than we are apt to imagine, for most of the material emblems were simply certified to them by testimony and not otherwise verified to their senses. Then, as if to let us know that the light of God did not yet fully shine among men and that the fullness of grace and truth had not yet been revealed, seeing Christ had not come, the seven-branched golden candlestick stood out of sight of the mass of the people, shut in within the curtains, enclosed within the holy place. But the lamp Zechariah saw was in the open air. We are sure of this because he saw two olive trees growing, one on each side of it. It was in an open space. Today the veil of the temple is torn in two. What was mystery before has become plain to us now. Now we see Jesus; and, seeing Jesus, we behold a light such as never greeted the eyes of prophets and kings.
5I looked up again and saw a flying scroll. 2 “What do you see? ” he asked me.
“I see a flying scroll,” I replied, “thirty feet B long and fifteen feet C wide.”
3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land, for everyone who is a thief, contrary to what is written on one side, has gone unpunished, D and everyone who swears falsely, contrary to what is written on the other side, has gone unpunished. 4 I will send it out,” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by my name. It will stay inside his house and destroy it along with its timbers and stones.”
5 Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Look up and see what this is that is approaching.”
6 So I asked, “What is it? ”
He responded, “It’s a measuring basket E that is approaching.” And he continued, “This is their iniquity F in all the land.” 7 Then a lead cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting inside the basket. 8 “This is Wickedness,” he said. He shoved her down into the basket and pushed the lead weight over its opening. 9 Then I looked up and saw two women approaching with the wind in their wings. Their wings were like those of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky.
10 So I asked the angel who was speaking with me, “Where are they taking the basket? ”
11 “To build a shrine for it in the land of Shinar,” he told me. “When that is ready, the basket will be placed there on its pedestal.”
6Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two mountains. The mountains were made of bronze. 2 The first chariot had chestnut G horses, the second chariot black horses, 3 the third chariot white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses — all strong horses. 4 So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord? ”
5 The angel told me, “These are the four spirits H of heaven going out after presenting themselves to the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The one with the black horses is going to the land of the north, the white horses are going after them, but the dappled horses are going to the land of the south.” 7 As the strong horses went out, they wanted to go patrol the earth, and the LORD said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he summoned me saying, “See, those going to the land of the north have pacified my Spirit in the northern land.”
9 The word of the LORD came to me: 10 “Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go that same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take silver and gold, make a crown, I and place it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 You are to tell him: This is what the LORD of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; he will branch out from his place and build the LORD’s temple. 13 Yes, he will build the LORD’s temple; he will be clothed in splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. There will also be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them. 14 The crown will reside in the LORD’s temple as a memorial to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen A son of Zephaniah. 15 People who are far off will come and build the LORD’s temple, and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you. This will happen when you fully obey the LORD your God.”
6:13 “Yes, he will build the LORD’s temple; he will be clothed in splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. There will also be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them.” As a priest, our Redeemer not only pleads with God, but he blesses the people. It was the work of the high priest to pronounce the benediction over the house of Israel. Jesus does that, but he does it royally, with the power of a king as well as with the commission of a priest. He does not merely wish us good, but he works us good. There is omnipotent sovereignty at the back of the priestly benediction. He that speaks and declares his people to be justified, accepted, preserved, and blessed is he who can make good his words. The benediction of Jesus, the Priest, is the benediction of Jesus, the King. Let us rejoice and be glad in this.
7In 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, Regem-melech, and their men to plead for the LORD’s favor 3 by asking the priests who were at the house of the LORD of Armies as well as the prophets, “Should we mourn and fast in the fifth month as we have done these many years? ”
4 Then the word of the LORD of Armies came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? 6 When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves? 7 Aren’t these the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and secure, B along with its surrounding cities, and when the southern region and the Judean foothills were inhabited? ”
8 The word of the LORD came to Zechariah: 9 “The LORD of Armies says this: ‘Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the resident alien or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’ 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they closed their ears so they could not hear. 12 They made their hearts like a rock so as not to obey the law or the words that the LORD of Armies had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore intense anger came from the LORD of Armies. 13 Just as he had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen, says the LORD of Armies. 14 I scattered them with a windstorm over all the nations that had not known them, and the land was left desolate behind them, with no one coming or going. They turned a pleasant land into a desolation.”
7:5-6 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests: When you fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh months for these seventy years, did you really fast for me? When you eat and drink, don’t you eat and drink simply for yourselves?” After the Jewish people had been thoroughly cured of their idolatrous tendencies by their seventy years of captivity, they fell into another evil: they began to regard their ceremonies superstitiously; they lost the life and spirit of devotion and neglected the weightier matters of the law. The spirit of pharisaism had commenced in the time of Zechariah. Great attention was paid to the formalities and externals of worship, but the vitality of godliness was unknown. They multiplied ceremonies to themselves, apart from God’s word. They had fasts and feasts that Moses never commanded. They had ordained for themselves a certain fast for the burning of the temple by the Babylonians, and a question that seemed to them important had arisen as to whether this fast should be observed now that the temple was rebuilt. The Jews in Persia sent an honorable deputation to Jerusalem on this important matter. They received no direct answer, for it was nothing to the Lord their God whether they fasted since he had not commanded it and could not accept such worship at their hands.
Learn this, then, with regard to all religious ceremonies—if they are not expressly commanded of God, it is a small matter how people keep them; in fact, it would be vastly better if they left them alone. I wish all our churches were willing to search for the foundation of all their ceremonies in Scripture. This is the way to promote true Christian unity—not to hide our views but to speak plainly, not to settle down on our old rituals but to examine them and see whether they are of God; for let us be sure of this, that if we do anything that is not according to God’s Word, in whatever spirit we may do it, or however well we may perform it, it is not a service God can accept of us.
8The word of the LORD of Armies came: 2 The LORD of Armies says this: “I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” 3 The LORD says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.” 4 The LORD of Armies says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. 5 The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” 6 The LORD of Armies says this: “Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me? ” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. 7 The LORD of Armies says this: “I will save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west. A 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”
QUOTE 8:6
Consider the infinite difference between God and man, and look no longer at God through the misleading glasses of our own feebleness.
9 The LORD of Armies says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the LORD of Armies. 10 For prior to those days neither man nor animal had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But now, I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. 12 “For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance. 13 As you have been a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Don’t be afraid; let your hands be strong.” 14 For the LORD of Armies says this: “As I resolved to treat you badly when your fathers provoked me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the LORD of Armies, 15 “so I have resolved again in these days to do what is good to Jerusalem and the house of Judah. Don’t be afraid. 16 These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another; make true and sound decisions within your city gates. 17 Do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love perjury, for I hate all this” — this is the LORD’s declaration.
18 Then the word of the LORD of Armies came to me: 19 The LORD of Armies says this: “The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.” 20 The LORD of Armies says this: “Peoples will yet come, the residents of many cities; 21 the residents of one city will go to another, saying: Let’s go at once to plead for the LORD’s favor and to seek the LORD of Armies. I am also going. 22 Many peoples and strong nations will come to seek the LORD of Armies in Jerusalem and to plead for the LORD’s favor.” 23 The LORD of Armies says this: “In those days, ten men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
8:1-2 “The word of the LORD of Armies came: ‘The LORD of Armies says this: I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.’” Because they worshiped idols instead of the living God, Jehovah was angry with his ancient people and allowed them to be carried away into captivity. And it is well for us in these days to remember that we serve a jealous God and that if our hearts are not true to him, he will soon send us sharp afflictions and make us feel the weight of his rod. Let our hearts be loyal and true to him, or else we will stir up the holy jealousy of our God. Yet the same jealousy that makes God punish his people for their unfaithfulness prompts him to return to them in love as soon as he sees that he can justly do so. When their enemies have sorely provoked and oppressed them, then the Lord jealously and swiftly returns to his own people in love.
8:6 “The LORD of Armies says this: ‘Though it may seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem impossible to me?’—this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.” This is a remarkable passage, warning us that though a thing may be difficult for us, there are no difficulties with God. Even if we imagine anything to be humanly impossible, the word impossible has no relation to the Deity, for with God all things are possible. If we face trouble, do we say that it is impossible for us to be delivered? It is an easy thing for God to deliver us, even though the task may seem so hard. Do we feel the weight of our sin, and do we imagine that it is impossible for our sins to be pardoned? Remember that his thoughts are not our thoughts, and neither are our ways his ways (Is 55:8). Consider the infinite difference between God and man, and look no longer at God through the misleading glasses of our own feebleness.
9A pronouncement:
The word of the LORD
is against the land of Hadrach,
and Damascus is its resting place —
for the eyes of humanity
and all the tribes of Israel
are on the LORD A —
2and also against Hamath, which borders it,
as well as Tyre and Sidon,
though they are very shrewd.
3Tyre has built herself a fortress;
she has heaped up silver like dust
and gold like the dirt of the streets.
4Listen! The Lord will impoverish her
and cast her wealth into the sea;
she herself will be consumed by fire.
5Ashkelon will see it and be afraid;
Gaza too, and will writhe in great pain,
as will Ekron, for her hope will fail.
There will cease to be a king in Gaza,
and Ashkelon will become uninhabited.
6A mongrel people will live in Ashdod,
and I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.
7I will remove the blood from their mouths
and the abhorrent things
from between their teeth.
Then they too will become a remnant for our God;
they will become like a clan in Judah
and Ekron like the Jebusites.
8I will encamp at my house as a guard,
against those who march back and forth,
and no oppressor will march against them again,
for now I have seen with my own eyes.
9Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem!
Look, your King is coming to you;
he is righteous and victorious, B
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the horse from Jerusalem.
The bow of war will be removed,
and he will proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion will extend from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River
to the ends of the earth.
11As for you,
because of the blood of your covenant,
I will release your prisoners
from the waterless cistern.
12Return to a stronghold,
you prisoners who have hope;
today I declare that I will restore double to you.
13For I will bend Judah as my bow;
I will fill that bow with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece. A
I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
14Then the LORD will appear over them,
and his arrow will fly like lightning.
The Lord GOD will sound the trumpet
and advance with the southern storms.
15The LORD of Armies will
defend them.
They will consume and conquer with slingstones;
they will drink and be rowdy as if with wine.
They will be as full as the sprinkling basin,
like those at the corners of the altar.
16The LORD their God will save them on that day
as the flock of his people;
for they are like jewels in a crown,
sparkling over his land.
17How lovely and beautiful!
Grain will make the young men flourish,
and new wine, the young women.
9:11-12 “As for you, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless cistern. Return to a stronghold, you prisoners who have hope; today I declare that I will restore double to you.” This passage unquestionably has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ and his salvation. We are not at all in doubt about this matter, for the connection is exceedingly clear. If you begin to read in verse 9, you will see that we have, from that place on to our text, much prophetic information concerning our Lord and his kingdom. We read, first, something about his own manner of triumph and his way of conducting himself in his kingdom—“Look, your King is coming to you; he is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” We know that the prophet speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the king who put aside the pomp and pageantry in which eastern monarchs delighted; and, instead of riding on a horse, he mounts a lowly donkey. If he must ride in procession through the streets of Jerusalem, it will be in that meek and humble guise. The king of the kingdom of grace is not high and lofty, haughty or proud, but condescends to men of low estate.
The Pharisees and scribes complained that Jesus received sinners and ate with them, and it was true. He is a king, but his kingdom is not that of pomp and show, of force and oppression. He is just and righteous, but he is also lowly, gentle, and kind. The little children flocked around him while he was here below, and now the meek and lowly ones of mankind delight to serve him. How glad I am that I can say to any who have not yet yielded to him that they need not fear to become the subjects of Jesus, the Son of God, for he is so gentle a king that it will always be for our profit and pleasure.
10Ask the LORD for rain
in the season of spring rain.
The LORD makes the rain clouds,
and he will give them showers
of rain
and crops in the field for everyone.
QUOTE 10:1
Prayer has the key of nature as well as the key of heaven hanging at her belt.
2For the idols speak falsehood,
and the diviners see illusions;
they relate empty dreams
and offer empty comfort.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.
3My anger burns against the shepherds,
so I will punish the leaders. A
For the LORD of Armies has tended his flock,
the house of Judah;
he will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4The cornerstone will come from Judah. B
The tent peg will come from them
and also the battle bow and every C ruler.
Together 5 they will be like warriors in battle
trampling down the mud of the streets.
They will fight because the LORD is with them,
and they will put horsemen to shame.
6I will strengthen the house
of Judah
and deliver the house of Joseph. D
I will restore E them
because I have compassion
on them,
and they will be
as though I had never rejected them.
For I am the LORD their God,
and I will answer them.
7Ephraim will be like a warrior,
and their hearts will be glad as if with wine.
Their children will see it
and be glad;
their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.
8I will whistle and gather them
because I have redeemed them;
they will be as numerous as they once were.
9Though I sow them among the nations,
they will remember me in the distant lands;
they and their children will live and return.
10I will bring them back from the land of Egypt
and gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them to the land
of Gilead
and to Lebanon,
but it will not be enough for them.
11The LORD F will pass through the sea of distress
and strike the waves of the sea;
all the depths of the Nile will dry up.
The pride of Assyria will be brought down,
and the scepter of Egypt will come to an end.
12I will strengthen them in the LORD,
and they will march in his name —
this is the LORD’s declaration.
10:1 “Ask the LORD for rain in the season of spring rain. The LORD makes the rain clouds, and he will give them showers of rain and crops in the field for everyone.” The atheistic philosopher of the present day laughs at such a verse as this and sneeringly asks, “What possible connection can there be between men and women praying to God and the showers of rain which fall on the earth? According to the laws of nature, showers fall at certain seasons, and if the atmosphere should not happen to be in a certain state, all the praying in the world cannot produce a single drop of rain.” But faith can clearly see where reason is blind, and the prayer of faith moves the arm of God, and the arm of God controls what the philosopher calls the “laws of nature,” and so the rain descends. Let us learn from this precept and promise the power of believing prayer. Prayer has the key of nature as well as the key of heaven hanging at her belt. When we have received one mercy from the Lord, we are to pray for another. These people must have had “the former rain,” yet they were to ask for “the latter rain” also. And if we have had “the former rain” of conversion, we should go on to ask the Lord for “the latter rain” of sanctification. When we cease to pray for blessings, God has already ceased to bless us; but when our souls pour out floods of prayer, God is certain to pour out floods of mercy.
10:2 “For the idols speak falsehood, and the diviners see illusions; they relate empty dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.” Observe the readiness of man to forsake the great fountain of living waters and to make for himself broken cisterns that can hold no water. Some sort of comfort may, for a time, be derived from a false trust, but it is “empty comfort.” As a dream yields no comfort when a man wakes up and finds himself not rich—as he had vainly dreamed he would be—but miserably poor, so all confidence in the flesh, all reliance on anything except the almighty arm of God, even if it should yield us temporary hope and consolation, will only make our grief the greater when its utter failure is discovered.
11Open your gates, Lebanon,
and fire will consume your cedars.
2Wail, cypress, for the cedar has fallen;
the glorious trees are destroyed!
Wail, oaks of Bashan,
for the stately forest has fallen!
3Listen to the wail of the shepherds,
for their glory is destroyed.
Listen to the roar of young lions,
for the thickets of the Jordan are G destroyed.
4 The LORD my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them but are not punished. Those who sell them say: Blessed be the LORD because I have become rich! Even their own shepherds have no compassion for them. 6 Indeed, I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land” — this is the LORD’s declaration. “Instead, I will turn everyone over to his neighbor and his king. They will devastate the land, and I will not rescue it from their hand.”
7 So I shepherded the flock intended for slaughter, the oppressed of the flock. A I took two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I shepherded the flock. 8 In one month I got rid of three shepherds. I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you. Let what is dying die, and let what is perishing perish; let the rest devour each other’s flesh.” 10 Next I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, annulling the covenant I had made with all the peoples. 11 It was annulled on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock B who were watching me knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
13 “Throw it to the potter,” C the LORD said to me — this magnificent price I was valued by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw it into the house of the LORD, to the potter. D 14 Then I cut in two my second staff, Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The LORD also said to me: “Take the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 I am about to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are perishing, and he will not seek the lost E or heal the broken. He will not sustain the healthy, F but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves.
17Woe to the worthless shepherd
who deserts the flock!
May a sword strike G his arm
and his right eye!
May his arm wither away
and his right eye go completely blind! ”
11:4 “The LORD my God says this: ‘Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter.’” This is a deep prophecy. It may be interpreted concerning many events, but I think it primarily refers to the departure of the people of Israel from God and their rejection of Christ. It has to do with the first coming of Christ and the way they cast off the great Shepherd, and he cast them off. The result was that Israel was simply spoiled and scattered throughout the whole earth. The teachers of those days were false to their service.
G 11:3 Lit for the majesty of the Jordan is
A 11:7 LXX reads slaughter that belonged to the sheep merchants
B 11:11 LXX reads and the sheep merchants
12A pronouncement:
The word of the LORD concerning Israel.
A declaration of the LORD,
who stretched out the heavens,
laid the foundation of the earth,
and formed the spirit of man within him.
2 “Look, I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the peoples who surround the city. The siege against Jerusalem will also involve Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who try to lift it will injure themselves severely when all the nations of the earth gather against her. 4 On that day” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness. I will keep a watchful eye on the house of Judah but strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 Then each of the leaders of Judah will think to himself: The residents of Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of Armies, their God. 6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves; they will consume all the peoples around them on the right and the left, while Jerusalem continues to be inhabited on its site, in Jerusalem. 7 The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of David’s house and the glory of Jerusalem’s residents may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that on that day the one who is weakest among them will be like David on that day, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD, before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “Then I will pour out a spirit A of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at B me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself: the family of David’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Nathan’s C house by itself and their women by themselves; 13 the family of Levi’s house by itself and their women by themselves; the family of Shimei D by itself and their women by themselves; 14 all the remaining families, every family by itself, and their women by themselves.
QUOTE 12:10
Repentance is in no sense a preparation to faith in Christ. It is, on the other hand, a legitimate consequence of faith.
12:10 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and the residents of Jerusalem, and they will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn.” This prophecy, first of all, refers to the Jewish people; and I am happy that it confirms our conviction that the Lord will do good to Israel. We know God has said that the Jews will be restored to their own land and that they will inherit the good country the Lord has given to their fathers by a covenant. But, better still, they will be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and will see in him the house of David restored to the throne of Israel. The day is coming when they will see in Jesus of Nazareth that Messiah for whom their saints looked with joyful expectation, of whom the prophets spoke with rapture, but who was despised and rejected by their blinded leaders. What a happy day it will be when our Jewish brethren will all be found worshiping before the Lord of hosts through their great high priest, who is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek!
It is also helpful to hear our text as it speaks to us. A great mistake is common among all kinds of people. It is currently believed that we are, first of all, to mourn for our sins and then to look by faith to our Lord Jesus Christ. Most persons who have any concern about their souls, but are not as yet enlightened by the Spirit of God, think there is a degree of tenderness of conscience and of hatred of sin that they are to obtain, somehow or other; and then they will be permitted and authorized to look to Jesus Christ. Now you will perceive that this is not according to the Scriptures, for according to the text before us, men first look on him whom they have pierced; and then, but not until then, they mourn for their sin. This is the common human folly—they look for the effect in order to produce the cause; they forget the old proverb and put the cart before the horse. But our text plainly indicates what is the cause and puts it first, assuring us that the effect will follow. Repentance is in no sense a preparation to faith in Christ. It is, on the other hand, a legitimate consequence of faith. In certain diseases the surgeon aims at producing an outward eruption that carries off the internal poison and so assists in the cure; but no man would be justified in refraining from medical advice until he could see the eruption in his skin, that being a healthy sign, a forerunner of the cure, a result of medicine, and by no means a preparation for it. So repentance is the bringing into our own sight the sin that lurks within; it is a result of the medicine of faith.
12:12 “The land will mourn, every family by itself.” True repentance is the distinct act of each individual. It cannot, as a rule, be performed in the mass. There is a general repentance that, like that of the Ninevites, has a special excellence about it because it affects a whole city or nation, but that is not the kind of repentance that is described here. In this case the sharpness of personal conviction of sin cuts and wounds the conscience of each individual, and a bitter cry is uttered by each one as if he were the only sinner in the world. How sincerely you and I would repent if we felt as if we were the only ones who had ever broken God’s law! Yet such repentance as that is necessary if we would be personally forgiven.
13“On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity. 2 On that day” — this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies — “I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets A and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him: You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the LORD. When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through. 4 On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. 5 He will say: I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased B me as a servant since my youth. 6 If someone asks him: What are these wounds on your chest? C — then he will answer: I received the wounds in the house of my friends.
7Sword, awake against my shepherd,
against the man who is my associate —
this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies.
Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
ILLUSTRATION 13:7
The passage may be best illustrated by a description I once heard from one of our Lord’s servants who pictured a storm gathering in the heavens. The darkness was deepening, and soon came the thunder and lightning, and the storm shook the earth. He saw before him a towering mountain, with its peak lifted high toward heaven. At the foot of it lay a small, sheltered settlement. The storm seemed all concentrated around the mountain’s brow that was the center of the battle of the elements. That lofty peak seemed to be split and broken to shivers by the dread artillery of God. The settlement down below was in comparative peace—only some gentle drops of rain fell on it, fertilizing its fields. And he who gave the illustration said, “That peak was the Christ of God, Jesus the substitute and security of his people, standing in our place, on whom burst the full storm of Jehovah’s wrath that the soft drops of pity and of grace might fall on the people for whom he suffered.”
8In the whole land —
this is the LORD’s declaration —
two-thirds D will be cut off and die,
but a third will be left in it.
9I will put this third through the fire;
I will refine them as silver is refined
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call on my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say: They are my people,
and they will say: The LORD is our God.”
13:1 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.” What is this fountain that is said to be opened, and when and how was it opened? It is a fountain opened to the house of David and its inhabitants for sin and uncleanness. The blessing here spoken of deals with the greatest evils mankind is subject to—sin and uncleanness. We have all fallen; we have all proved our fall by our sinful practice; sin has separated us from God and brought on us his divine wrath. Uncleanness, which is a tendency to continue in sin, prevents our returning to our heavenly Father and entering into renewed fellowship with him. This great evil in its double form is, according to the text, distinctly recognized by God. It is not winked at; it is not treated as a trifle that may remain. Yet we may be beloved by God and be happy; preparation is made for evil’s removal. The text does not say that the filthiness is concealed, that the transgression is excused, but that there is a fountain opened for the effective removal of sin and uncleanness. In the gospel God never trifles with human sin; we proclaim full, free, immediate forgiveness to the chief of sinners, but it is not in a way that makes us think sin is trivial in God’s esteem. By the sacrifice of his Son, God renders it possible for him to be merciful without being unjust. In the substitution of Christ Jesus, we see justice and mercy peacefully embracing and conferring double honor on one another.
13:7 “Sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate—this is the declaration of the LORD of Armies. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
14Look, a day belonging to the LORD is coming when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, A for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled B from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come and all the holy ones with him. C
6 On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish. D,E 7 It will be a unique day known only to the LORD, without day or night, but there will be light at evening.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the eastern sea F and the other half toward the western sea, G in summer and winter alike. 9 On that day the LORD will become King over the whole earth — the LORD alone, and his name alone. 10 All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and will remain H on its site from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the First Gate, I to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. 11 People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So Jerusalem will dwell in security.
12 This will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the people who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day a great panic from the LORD will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other. 14 Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected: gold, silver, and clothing in great abundance. 15 The same plague as the previous one will strike J the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals that are in those camps.
16 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 17 Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Armies, rain will not fall on them. 18 And if the people K of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the LORD inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
20 On that day, the words HOLY TO THE LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite A in the house of the LORD of Armies.
14:20 “On that day, the words HOLY TO THE LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.” The simple meaning of the text is this—that the day will come when in common life holiness will be the guiding star, when the ordinary actions of human existence will be as much the worship of God as the sacrifice on the altar or the mission of the high priest when he went within the veil. Everything that was most despised (the horses), the places that seemed the least likely to be consecrated (the stables), and those things that seemed the least holy (the horses’ harness) will be thoroughly used in obedience to God’s will. Common things, then, in the day spoken of by Zechariah, are to be dedicated to God, and used in his service.
A 14:5 Some Hb mss, LXX, Sym, Tg read The valley of my mountains will be blocked
B 14:5 LXX reads It will be blocked as it was blocked
C 14:5 Some Hb mss, LXX, Vg, Tg, Syr; other Hb mss read you
D 14:6 LXX, Sym, Syr, Tg, Vg read no light or cold or ice
E 14:6 Lit no light; the precious ones will congeal