Zecheriah 9:11-10:12

We believe the key to this longer section is to understand that the shepherds with whom the Lord is angry (10:3) are not the leaders of Israel but leaders of the nations.  Another help is the reference to Greece (9:13).  We believe that what is described here are the victories during the time of the Maccabees.  Let us move through each paragraph with brief explanation.

·        9:11-12: God assures His people that the many who have not yet been regathered from the nations are prisoners of hope.  In other words the day is coming when all Israel will be back in the land.

·        9:13-10:2: Then God promises, in the face of the nations, to strengthen Judah and Jerusalem.   They will be His strength and the result will be that the land will be blessed.  Note that this blessing on the land (v13-17) is tied to the holiness of the nations as they call on the Lord for rain.  This is contrasted with those who listen to idols, diviners and false dreamers.  How important it is that we today are listening to the voice of the Lord in Scripture and not to those who speak their own mind.

·        10:3-5: Again, God will strengthen His people to be His army.  Cornerstone, tent peg and battle bow are terms that apply to the Messiah.  Here they are used to describe the nature of the people of Judah and Jerusalem when God strengthens them; it will be as in the days of the Messiah.

·        10:6-8: The time when the prisoners of hope will be regathered will be characterized by the unity of the nation (Judah and Ephraim together).  God will bring them back, redeem them and bless them abundantly (this is consistent in the prophets: the people are first regathered and then redeemed.)

·        10:9-12:  Israel’s strengthening is seen clearly in the context of the nations.  No nation will be able to keep God’s people when it is time for them to return to the land.  Egypt and Assyria were past empires that by Zechariah’s time were of little significance, object lessons of God ability to keep His word.  God’s people will do all they do in the name of the Lord (v12). 

This is clearly a saved/redeemed people.  But how can those whom God is judging by the nations become the saved people with power over the nations?  The answer to that question begins to be unfolded in Zech. 11.