ZECHARIAH 14: 8-15
THE BLESSINGS OF RESTORATION
The return of Messiah to earth causes the period of overhauling or restoration of all things which God has said would be restored (Acts 3:21). The grand finale of Christ's appearing is the establishment of His Kingdom over all the earth. The establishment of His Kingdom is preceded by supernatural convulsions of the earth which cause great physical and spiritual changes to take place in Palestine. And out of Jerusalem will flow abundant blessings of rejuvenation into all the earth.
Part of God's restoration is the establishment of the city of the Great King. Yet before Jerusalem can be exalted to her proper position as the religious and governmental capital of earth, God will need to deal with the anti-Christian hordes around Jerusalem. He will strike them severely for their villainous crimes against Him and His people.
I. The Land Restored, 14:8-11.
II. The Land Cleansed, 14:12-15.
The appearing of the exalted One will bring about great topographical changes in the whole earth but particularity in Jerusalem. Verse 8 depicts the life healing waters that will then flow out of Jerusalem. "And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, it will be in summer as well as in winter."
God, with whom nothing is impossible, will bring about topographical changes in the whole land which are described here and in other Scriptures. A main feature in the change is water. In a semi-arid country such as Palestine, water was always a great blessing. In earth's golden age water will flow forth abundantly from Jerusalem. The waters are literal waters which are also representative of the spiritual blessings which also will flow from Jerusalem. These blessings are characterize by holiness (Isa. 4:3-4), strength (Isa. 35:3-4), and restoration (Ezek. 36:16-37:28).
Zechariah points out three features of these waters. They are living, they are abundantly available for the whole land (or earth), and that they never fail. "Living waters" are waters that facilitate life; or that manifest signs of life by moving in fresh fullness as a running brook or river, or gurgling from a perennial spring or bubbling up in a well. Living waters which gush forth cold, fresh, and exhilarating to the taste depict the true blessings which come from God in contrast to the seeping murky flow that the broken cisterns of sin offer.
In the ancient world cities were built near rivers, but not Jerusalem. "In that day" Jerusalem and Israel will no longer lack what any earthly paradise must have, an abundant supply of fresh water (Gen. 2:10-14). The earthquake that splits the mountains and perhaps causes the river to flow, apparently will also elevate Jerusalem and it will become a watershed plateau with the flowing of the Living Waters dividing themselves between seas. [Years ago, when Sheraton Hotel Corporation was looking at the Mount of Olives as a potential building site, an environmental impact study showed that, due to a major fault running right through the Mount of Olives, they could not continue construction. The impact study not only discovered an east to west fault line, but seismologists also said a massive amount of water would break through if the quake were severe enough. [Jon Couson's Application Com. OT Vol. 2. Thomas Nelson, 2006. p 913] The western sea which they flow to is the Mediterranean. The eastern sea is the Dead Sea which shall be healed by the living water.
The reason the Dead Sea is presently so deadly, the reason it cannot support life of any kind is because, although seven million tons of water gush into it every day, there is no outlet. And, because of that, the water is stagnant. In our Christian experience, along with input there must be outflow. If we're just taking in the Word, we'll become like the Dead Sea unless we share it with others.
Water in Scripture is a symbol of purification, spiritual life, and refreshment. [It is symbolic of true spiritual life given in salvation (Jer. 2:13; Jn. 4:10; 7:38).] God is the source of the effects of this river, for He is the source of all spiritual blessings that man and nature need.
When Jesus comes back these living waters will flow all year round, never to run dry. Even the Dead Sea will undergo a change. It will be flooded with a new source of water that will flow into it and out of it (see verse 10). Wherever this new river flows it "will be for the healing of the nations." See Isaiah 33:21; Hab. 2:14; Joel 3:18; Revelations 22:1-2. [Ezekiel 47:1-12 also describes a life giving river springing from under the threshold of the sanctuary, flowing eastward with increasing depth dispensing fertility and prosperity to the entire desert region.] That's always the way it is. Wherever the work of the Spirit flows, things change. The water of life-the Spirit of the Living God-always brings healing.
Verse 9 presents the basis on which all this abundance of spiritual blessing will be achieved. "And the LORD will be King over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be (the only) one, and His name (the only) one".
When the Son of David sits on the throne of His father David, YHWH, by the presence of Messiah, Immanuel, will be sovereign over all! He will establish a theocracy and the extent of the Messiah-Priest-King's dominion and rule will be "over all the earth." (See Ps. 47:2; 93:1; 97:1; 99:1-2). It is on earth where God has been denied or forgotten, where His honor and Word have been disregarded; and His commandments have been transgressed. It is on earth where nations have not sought His glory or given Him His praise, or bowed to His authority. And it is on this earth that the Lord shall reign! His name shall be exalted in all the earth!
"In that day" the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:9-10 will be answered in the fullest sense. Quote..."Our Father...".
"His name," which embodies His character or who He is, & what He is like, will be reverenced (13:2). He will be known and adored for who He is; the One and only Lord, the absolutely unique and incomparable One, the only God and Savior.
Monotheism shall be world-wide and God alone will be worshiped. Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Animalism, Humanism, Materialism, etc. which flourish today will vanish forever. The One True God manifested in Christ will be the sole object of faith, worship, and service.
The prophet next presents a picture of the dominance and supremacy of the final reign of God in terms of physical changes in Palestine. Verse 10 states that when Jesus comes back, the entire city of Jerusalem will be elevated. "All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin's gate as far as the place of the first gate to the corner gate and from the tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses."
The land around Jerusalem will be leveled while Jerusalem will be elevated. The cause of this vast topographical change which elevates the city of Jerusalem above the surrounding hills could be the mammoth earthquake set off when the Messiah returns (14:4). The transformed geography will exalt Jerusalem as is befitting the capital and chief city of the millennial earth.
The literal event of Zion being raised will at the same time be emblematic of a great spiritual truth. Zion will be "the habitation of righteousness and the mountain of holiness."
The hills which shadow and surround Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. A better translation would be "as the Arabah," which is the name for the deep rift that extends from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan valley through the Dead Sea and on to the Gulf of Agaba. It is the deepest depression on the face of the earth. At the sea of Galilee it is 652 ft. below sea level and almost 1300 ft. below sea level at the Dead Sea.
The depression and leveling out by the tremendous earthquake is from Geba to Rimmon. Geba (modern Jeba) is about six miles north east of Jerusalem and Rimmon is 33 miles south west of Jerusalem. Thus Jerusalem will finally be higher than the surrounding hills totally unobstructed to and from view. (See Mich 4:1-5; Isaiah 2:1-3.)
The latter part of verse 10 points out the future enlargement and expansion of restored Jerusalem. She will be even larger than in her glory days of old.
Verse 11 tells us that the purified people and city will live in undisturbed safety. "And the people will live in it and there will be no more curse for Jerusalem will live in security."
Here in three brief sentences is a glimpse of the blessed condition of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. First, "they," the redeemed people of the Lord, will live in the restored city of Jerusalem. His people will have been purified and will be ready to live in His presence.
Next, "there will be no more curse." When a city is put under a curse all its inhabitants were to be put to death and the city destroyed (Josh. 8:26, 10:28; 1 Sam. 15:18-20). The Anti-Christ had put the city and its people under his curse. But Jerusalem will no longer be under the curse of Satan but under the peace and protection of the Lord.
"Jerusalem will be secure." This is the confidence and undisturbed peace of those who have the LORD in their midst, and whose relationship with Him is un-compromised. "Security" is betah from batah, which indicates "quiet, undisturbed confidence and repose which gives well being and conscious safety." For though there will be no walls or fortification, the city will have nothing to fear for YHWH will be a wall of fire about her and glory in her midst (Zech. 2:5).
Hope is strengthened by looking forward. In passages such as this one, Scripture encourages us to hope and faithfulness by providing glimpses of the glory that is yet to be. It seeks to stir us up to that eager, almost impatient, expectation that characterizes the whole creation as it waits for the sons of God to be revealed (Rom. 8:19, 23). Looking forward also helps us to regain a God–centered perspective on life.
Here the emphasis is on what the LORD will do and what He will be seen to be in that day. It promises the vindication of His name and the establishment of His kingdom fires the soul of the faithful. The clearer light of New Testament revelation brings sharply into focus that ‘we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ' (Titus 2:13). [Adapted, John Mackay, Christian Focus Com. Focus on Zechariah. ]
II. THE LAND CLEANSED, 14:12-15.
Zechariah continues the description of the events of ‘the great and dreadful day of the LORD' (Joel 2:31), but he does not follow a strictly chronological order. This picture of Jerusalem transformed is in direct contrast with the repulsive picture of judgmental cleansing which has previously fallen. But judgment must come before glory. With verse 12 we return to the theme with which Chapter 14 began, the conflict against Jerusalem and the LORD's intervention. Zechariah returns to what is involved in the LORD fighting against the nations that had captured Jerusalem (14:2-3). God's wrath will be poured out on those who have manifested their opposition to Him by attacking His people (14:12-15).
Three divinely decreed punishments are unleashed against the confederated enemies of God and His people just prior to Jerusalem's establishment in earthly glory as the religious and governmental capital of earth: A deadly plague, verse 12; stampeded hatred, verse 13; the superhuman valor of the godly, verse 14. Chronologically verses 12-15 follow the events of 14: 1-3 with details not touched on there. [The prophet places them here because he did not want to interrupt the events of Messiah's return in glory and splendor. See H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Zechariah. Baker Bk. pp 269-70.]
Verse 12 begins to examine the fate of those who attack God's people. "Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who have gone to war against Jerusalem;"
"The plague" is divinely sent upon Jerusalem's last and cruelest enemies and invaders. It is the penalty for those who come against Jerusalem. [Plague often is the divine means of retribution against those who have opposed God (Ex. 9:14; 1 Sam. 6:4; Ps. 106:29; Rev. 15:1; 16:1-21).] The anti-Christ people of the earth are well familiar with plagues by this time for 7 plagues (Rev. 15:1) known as the seven bowl judgments previously have been poured out upon the anti-Christian peoples of the earth (Rev. 16:1-21). Still this plague, which fits into the end-time period of cataclysmic judgments, is unparalleled in its severity and terribleness. The vengeance taken on them will be commensurate with their crimes before God.
Verse 12 continues describing this plague. "Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth." "The flesh will rot," decay or be consumed, so quickly that the victim will become a skeleton erect upon his feet with his flesh a putrid mass about it. The "tongue" that had spoken abominations against the Lord, the "eye" that refused to see the glory of God in the world, and the flesh with its never ending craving that was pampered and indulged, will receive their just end.
Many Bible scholars of old thought Zechariah was speaking figuratively when he describes this terrible fate. Yet nuclear scientist have designed a neutron bomb to work just this way. It annihilates man but leaves the buildings for the conqueror. It almost instantaneously consumes the flesh leaving not much more than a skeleton.
Verse 13 reveals another divinely ordained calamity that will afflict the enemies of God as the plague is unleashed. "And it will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another."
God turns the internal break down and blind hate of the forces arrayed against His people against themselves. When infinite holiness is seen by wicked people panic will fall upon them seizing them violently ( hech'ziqu 1 Sam. 5:10-11; Ezek. 7:7). This tremendous tumult or panic includes two features. Each attacker first will seize the other's hand attempting to hold him powerless then he will lift his other hand to strike his fellow soldier who is also attempting to strike him. Thus they will slaughter one another in the wildest panic. The phrase "from the LORD" indicates that the Lord produced it.
Such confusion or tumult the Lord had sent in the midst of Israel's enemies before. E.g. Gideon's 300; Judges 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:14-16; 2 Chron. 20. [Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit.]
Since the invaders must march through Judah (12:2) to get to Jerusalem, Judah is referenced in verse 14. "And Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold, and silver and garments in great abundance."
A third divinely ordained weapon is empowered. This is the superhuman valor of the remnant of Judah who will also fight at Jerusalem when the Lord returns. The remnant, conscious that their Lord is now with them and that the Almighty is fighting on their side, are stirred up to take the fight to the anti-Christian armies. The weakest warrior will have the power of David who slew tens of thousands of enemy soldiers (1 Sam. 18:7). The Jewish army will go forth like the Angel of the Lord who killed 185,000 soldiers in one night (Isa. 37). [Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Com. David Cook, p 472]
The verse ends with the victorious remnant gathering the spoils of battle, the reversal of 14:2. The collection of the wealth of the invading armies will yield an immense quantity of booty for Israel. The examples of gold, silver, and clothing are given (2 Chron. 20; 2 Kings 7:2-8). The wealth of sinners is laid up for the just.
Zechariah explains why animals are not part of the booty on this occasion in verse 15. "So also this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps."
The entire encampment of the enemy will fall under the same curse of destruction (radiation poisoning?). In the O.T. it often occurred that Israel was to slaughter all the animals of a perverted people also (Joshua 6:17-21, 7:24f). When God's justice is aroused it is completely thorough.
Whether the animals are real or symbolic indicator for means of transportation, the result is still the same. All the beasts or vehicles that could have been used for escape are struck with the plague. A very horrible picture but this is God's justification: Those that have singled out God's people as the object of their hatred and attack have committed an atrocious crime against God and as a result deserve the severe punishment of divine justice.
CONCLUSION
You can now see more reason for the transformation of the land, for it will have need of renewing and restoration after all this death and shedding of blood. The people also will have need of "a river whose streams make glad the city of God," (Ps. 46:4) to wash away all the memories of the past with all the joy of the present. The past will be forgotten though because with Jesus' return Jerusalem shall be "the city of the Great King!" (Ps. 48:2).
Next will see that a remnant of the nations will be saved (14:16-19). The final scene presented is that of the holy city, enjoying the peace of the LORD and totally devoted to His service, with even the most insignificant items dedicated to Him (14:20-21).
