Zechariah 13:7-14:15

IV.      Israel’s salvation will come by trial, 13:7-9.

These verses appear to have both first and second advent of the Messiah (My Shepherd, the Man who is My Companion) in mind.  In v8 we see the rejection of the Shepherd that results in the scattering of the sheep.  Jesus saw the people in His first advent as sheep without a shepherd (Mt. 9:36).  But they rejected Him and were thus doomed to desolation until He returns (Mt. 23:37-39).

We believe 12:8-9 speak of the time of Jacob’s trouble that ends in the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Israel will go through a time of great affliction (this is referred to in Rev. 12 and ends with God’s supernatural protection of the remnant in the wilderness.)  Two-thirds of the population will be cut off but the rest will be brought through the fire.  These are the ones of whom God says, My people, and who say The Lord is my God.

V.   Israel will see a restoration of the theocracy under Messiah, 14:1-15.

The test of 13:9 is where Zech. 14 begins.  But Zech. 14 calls it the day of the LORD.  Let us remind ourselves once more of the nature of that day as being a day of refining for Israel leading to Israel’s salvation and deliverance from the nations.  These three facets of that day are seen in this passage.

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14:1-2: The LORD Himself will gather the nations against Jerusalem and they will bring about a terrible devastation.  Note that two thirds of the land are cut off in 13:8 and one half of Jerusalem here.

·        14:3-15: The LORD Himself will then fight against those nations.

o   14:3-5: This, of course, describes the Messiah who is the LORD our righteousness (Jer. 23:5-7).  His feet will stand on the Mt. of Olives, the very location from which He ascended (Acts 1:9-12).  At that moment the Mount will be split in two by a great earthquake, providing a way of escape for the remnant.

o   14:6-7: This passage seems to describe a miraculous day like the one in the time of Joshua when the sun and moon stood still in the Valley of Aijalon (Josh. 10:1-15).

o   14:8-11: Israel will flourish as a land in the Messianic Kingdom.  The key is that there will be an abundance of living water.  This is a key thought given the struggles today in Israel with water for farming (Israel has mastered the art of desalinization making an abundance of drinking water).  This living water will flow from Jerusalem and, as you can see from the map on the previous page, will flow to the (Western) Mediterranean and (Eastern) Dead Seas.  (Ezek. 47:1-12 prophesies the same wonder so that the Dead Sea will be alive, a boon for fishing.)  The plain referred to in v10 is of uncertain dimensions, as our map indicates.  It seems to deal with the mountainous area north of Jerusalem.  The markers around Jerusalem, also in v10, relate to the city in Zechariah’s time, with the walls rebuilt in Nehemiah’s time.  (See Hammond’s diagram above.)  The key in all of this is that there will be one King over all the earth and that King is the LORD!

o   14:12-15: To many this sounds like some sort of nuclear event, brought on the armies of the nations by their own infighting.  Whether nuclear or not it will be a repeat of many attempts by Israel’s neighbors to bring about her destruction (e.g. Gideon’s defeat of the Midianites, Jud. 7:19-23).  

All of this is consistent with teaching on the Messianic Kingdom in all of Scripture.  The events of the climactic Day of the Lord will usher in the time of righteousness, peace and prosperity characteristic of the Messiah’s reign.  Not only Israel but all the world will see the glory and blessing of having the LORD as King.  How wonderful it would be to come to that King today, to bow and kiss the Son of God (Psalm 2:12).  Confess Jesus as your Lord today (Rom. 10:9-10)!