Israel Transformed in The Day of The Lord
August 19, 2022
Commentary
In this chapter the final siege of Jerusalem is described. The fate of Israel is pronounced by the Lord (v.1). He says, I will make Jerusalem and Judah like a cup of poison to all the nearby nations that send their armies to surround Jerusalem (v. 2) Also pictured is the deliverance of Jerusalem from the siege, and the kingdom blessing that follows. Jerusalem will be a heavy stone burdening the world. Even though all the nations of the earth make an attempt to move her, they will all be crushed (v. 3).
The attackers of Jerusalem become like drunken men, powerless and unable to function properly (vv. 4-5). On that day, The Lord will make the leaders of Judah like fire in a forest (v. 6). He will make them like fire among wheat that the farmer has cut. They will kill all the people from surrounding Jerusalem, but the people in Jerusalem will be safe (v. 6).
The Lord will save the homes of the people from Judah first (v. 7). This message isn’t just for the professional and prominent people. So David’s family and the people who live in Jerusalem will not be greater than the people from Judah (v. 8). On that day, the Lord will save the people who live in Jerusalem. Even sick people will be as strong as King David was (v. 9). The family of David will lead the people from Jerusalem like the angel of the Lord. God himself will go before them. Those who fight against Jerusalem will in the end be destroyed. God says, “It is my plan to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem” (v. 9). The preceding verses have told what God will bring to Israel’s enemies which is destruction. Now, the prophet records what God will do for Israel which is regeneration (v. 10). Eventually all people will realize that the man who was pierced and killed, is indeed the Messiah (vv. 11-14).
Application
I should never think that I have to witness to just important people such as movie stars, professional athletes and wealthy businessmen. Christ came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) no matter what their state in life may be. Lord help me to be an active witness.
Zechariah 12:1– 14 (NET)
1 This is an oracle, the Lord’s message concerning Israel: The Lord—he who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth, who forms the human spirit within a person —says, 2 “I am about to make Jerusalem a cup that brings dizziness to all the surrounding nations; indeed, Judah will also be included when Jerusalem is besieged. 3 Moreover, on that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy burden for all the nations, and all who try to carry it will be seriously injured; yet all the peoples of the earth will be assembled against it. 4 On that day,” says the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness. I will pay close attention to the house of Judah, but will strike all the horses of the nations with blindness. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a means of strength to us through their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’ 6 On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like an igniter among sticks and a burning torch among sheaves, and they will burn up all the surrounding nations right and left. Then the people of Jerusalem will settle once more in their place, the city of Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will deliver the homes of Judah first, so that the splendor of the kingship of David and of the people of Jerusalem may not exceed that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord himself will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like mighty David, and the dynasty of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 So on that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. 11 On that day the lamentation in Jerusalem will be as great as the lamentation at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself—the clan of the royal household of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the clan of the family of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the clan of the descendants of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; and the clan of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the clans that remain, each separately with their wives.