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More Zechariah commentaries
Zechariah 11:1-11
The Rejection of the Worthy Shepherd
Zechariah 11:12-17
Thirty Pieces of Silver
Zechariah 12:1-14
Israel Transformed in The Day of The Lord
Zechariah 13:1-9
National Cleansing for Israel
Zechariah 14:1-11
The Battle of Armageddon
Zechariah 14:12-21
The Nations Worship the King
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The Nations Worship the King
Zechariah 14:12–21
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)
Deeply immersed in meditation during a church service, Italian poet Dante Alighieri failed to kneel at the appropriate moment. His enemies hurried to the bishop and demanded that Dante be punished for his sacrilege. Dante defended himself by saying, “If those who accuse me h … More
Zechariah describes the destruction of Israel’s enemies which is the second phase of the invasion of Jerusalem by the Gentile armies (vv. 12-15). In this phase the Gentile armies will be destroyed. Then the survivors from all the nations will worship annually in Jerusalem. Millennial religious worship will not be a restored Judaism but a newly instituted worldwide religious order embracing both Jews and Gentiles. It will center in Jerusalem and will incorporate some features identical with or similar to certain aspects of Old Testament worship (v. 16). One of these aspects is the annual celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-43; Zech. 14:18-19).
Worshiping annually in Jerusalem will be necessary for the people to enjoy good crops (vv. 17-19). Those nations that neglect or refuse such opportunities for worship will forfeit their water supply. For most nations this simply means they will have no rain. But Egypt, whose irrigation depends not on rain but rather on the flooding of the Nile, will still experience the plague of drought as punishment from the Lord. The priest had “Holiness to the Lord” engraved on a gold plate on the turban he wore as a reminder and expression of his consecration (v. 20). The holiness of Judah and Jerusalem during Messiah’s reign will characterize millennial life whether it be in public life (the bells of the horses), religious life (the cooking pots in the Lord‘s house, the millennial temple, or private life (every pot in Jerusalem and Judah) (v. 21). In the Old Testament there would be no “Canaanite” because no person outside of the covenant would be in the house of the Lord. A Canaanite had become symbolic of anything ceremonially unclean and ungodly. In the millennial temple no such defilement will occur. Thus Zechariah’s prophetic book which began with a call to repentance (Zech. 1:2-6) concludes with an affirmation that all will be holy.Application
It is important worship the Lord according to what the Lord has outlined for that dispensation. For this it means to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth.
Zechariah 14:12-21 (English Standard Version)
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. 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. Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 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. Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, "Holy to the LORD." And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.
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