Intro
Our text today begins in Zechariah 8:9 with the words: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong.’”i The word translated strong is chazaq. It means “to be strong, be courageous, be firm, be resolute.”ii God used this word three times when commissioning Joshua for the task of leading Israel into the Promise Land. In Joshua 1:6 the Lord said to him, “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” Then he added in verse 7, “Only be strong and very courageous.” Then again in verse 9, God used the word to encourage Joshua in his assignment: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Notice the link in that verse of personal resolve and courage with the assurance of God’s presence and support.
Throughout Israel’s history, we find the word employed when encouraging people to resolutely accomplish the assignment God had given them to do.iii Psalm 31 concludes with this exhortation: “Be of good courage [chazaq], And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.” So, from the word of the Lord, I pass this encouragement on to you, “'Let your hands be strong.” Be resolute in your commitment to fulfill all that God has called you to do. God is with you. In His strength you can do it. That is the theme of our text today.
Overall, in Zechariah 7 and 8 God motivates His people in four stages:
(1) In chapter 7 He shows them what needs to change for a good outcome. He gives them clear direction on what they should do (Zech. 7:8-10). When God corrects us, He is always specific. It is never a general rejection with no course of resolution. It is always, “Do this and I will strengthen you and help you.” Our adversary, the Accuser, will tell you that you’re simply no good, and there is no hope. He leaves his victims with a sense of despair and hopelessness. But God’s correction points to a path that leads to a better life in the future. Life in God’s will is always a better life. So first God reveals the specific action to take for their own good.
(2) In 8:1-8 He gives them a picture of the end result that He has in mind for the nation. In their mortal lifetime, Zechariah’s generation will not experience the fullness of this revelation. The fulness of these promises will only be realized at Messiah’s Second Coming and the Millennium that follows.
So we might ask, “Why, then, does God share this revelation with them?” There are at least three important benefits in this for them.
1. In showing them the end He has in mind for the nation, God is assuring them of His favor. It is a source of hope that should encourage them to proceed.
2. In pursuing these things, they will experience some of the blessings in their mortal lifetime. That becomes clear in the rest of the chapter.
3. After their resurrection, they will participate in this golden millennial age.
So, the passage is important for Zechariah’s immediate audience, just as it is important for you and me. For we too will participate in that. We dealt with verses 1-8 last week.
(3) In 8:9-17 He encourages Zechariah’s audience to let their hands be strong, finish the temple, and live godly lives. This is our text today. It communicates the practical application of all that is being revealed.
(4) In 8:18-23 God again reveals His ultimate plan for the nation. Here He gives additional details as to what He will ultimately do for the nation. In this section, the question asked at the beginning of chapter 7 is more specifically addressed.
Our text today is the sixth oracles in this chapter. We know this is a new oracle because it begins with the words, “Thus says the Lord of hosts.” That’s the way these oracles are marked out in the text. Follow with me as we read Zechariah 8:9-13.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Let your hands be strong, You who have been hearing in these days These words by the mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts, That the temple might be built. 10 For before these days There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast; There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in; For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' says the Lord of hosts. 12 'For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall give their dew — I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these. 13 And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.'”
I. PURPOSE of the oracle: to encourage Zechariah’s hearers to resolutely fulfill their assignment.
Notice how the oracle begins with the exhortation in verse 9, “'Let your hands be strong,” and concludes with the same words in verse 13, “Let your hands be strong.” The purpose of this oracle is to encourage Zechariah’s hearers to resolutely fulfill the assignment God has given them to do. God has commissioned them to build the temple in Jerusalem. They have experienced challenges in doing that. But the Lord is assuring them of His grace to get the job done.
They will only accomplish this if they live according to God’s commandments. That is reinforced in verses 8:16-17: “These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; 17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,' Says the Lord.” If they do one another right and live in unity; if they look to the Lord daily for His grace and strength, then God will bless the work of their hands.
So, there is an ethical component to the assignment, and there is a task component to their assignment. Both are required. This is true for you and me as well. What has God called you to do? He has work for us to do. We are not just aimlessly traveling through life. Life is a stewardship.iv Every moment, every dollar, every word is to be consecrated to His service. What is your assignment in life? For Zechariah’s generation, they were to restore the temple in Jerusalem. That temple was to be as a place of worship. It was to be built for that purpose. Their obedience would bring glory and honor to the Lord.
We too are given assignments that will bring glory and honor to God. We too find our strength in drawing near to God in worship. We too are called to live in obedience to the Lord and finish the work He gives us to do.
Jesus set the standard when He said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). Many people receive the gift of eternal life, yet never enter into what Jesus is saying here. They never understand that the life of a Christian, a true follower of Christ, is to do the will of the Father. They never enjoy the fullness of God’s grace and strength in their lives because they are trying to live their life to fulfill their own will. When a decision is to be made in life, their criteria is: what do I want? But the criteria should always be: what does God want? The empowerment of the Spirit is found in doing the will of the Father.v You will find yourself very frustrated if you pursue your own will and then try to get God to bless it. Even when facing the horror of the cross, Jesus said to the Father, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will (Matt. 26:39). Are you living with that mindset?
Are you determined by the grace of God to finish the work God has given you to do in this life? If so, you will always have plenty to do. You will always be full of purpose. You will always be about your Father’s business. The carnal Christian is about his own business and wants God to help him along the way. God is so gracious, that He will answer some of that person’s prayers. But the individual will never live in the fulness of what God has in mind for his life.
Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Then in verse 14 he adds, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Is your life characterized by resolutely pressing forward in God’s purposes for your life? No apathy here. No half-hearted service to the Lord. It is a passionate pursuit of God’s purposes each day, making it our aim to please Him.vi This is not done out of slavish, religious duty. It is done out of a love and appreciation toward the Lord. It is done out of a deep desire to honor the Lord in all that we do.
So, God said to Zechariah’s generation, “Let your hands be strong.” He says the same to you and me today.
We saw in verses 1-8 a picture of what God will ultimately do for Israel.
But there is a shift in verse 9 to Zechariah’s immediate situation. That verse explicitly identifies who is addressed in this oracle: “You who have been hearing in these days [Zechariah’s days] These words by the mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day [another time marker] the foundation was laid For the house of the Lord of hosts, That the temple might be built.” Another time marker is given in verse 10: “For before these days.” Then in verse 11 we have further confirmation that it is the remnant with Zechariah that is primarily addressed: “But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' says the Lord of hosts.”
So, in the first 8 verses of this chapter God reveals the long-term goal for the nation. But in this oracle, He brings it down to the present situation and calls for a response.
Before we move forward, let’s make sure we understand verse 9. Zechariah is addressing the people of his generation “who have been hearing in these days.” And what have they been hearing? “These words [words Zechariah is reading to them]vii by the mouth of the prophets [this is at least Haggai and Zechariah. We know that from Ezra 5:1; 6:14.], Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid For the house of the Lord of hosts, That the temple might be built.” The day referred to is not the initial laying of the foundation. It is the day the foundation was rededicated, and the building project resumed as recorded in Haggai 2:10-23. That happened in about 520 BC.viii
Do you remember from our previous studies, that after a strong beginning, this remnant lost heart and stopped working on the temple for 16 years?ix They had put their hand to the plow, but then turned back from the work God had given them to do.x They turned their attention from the work God had given them to do to their own personal affairs. Their time and money were put into building their own houses, taking care of the own needs, to the neglect of what God had called them to do.xi But the harder they worked for themselves, the further behind they got. It was like a person putting money in pockets with holes. God was cursing their efforts.
God raised up the prophet Haggai to confront their selfishness. In Haggai 1:4-11 he said to them:
“‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?’ 5 Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: "Consider your ways! 6 You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.’ 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,’ says the Lord. 9 ‘You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.’” That is the background for our text today. That passage may have been some of the “words by the mouth of the prophets” referred to in verse 9.
As a motivation to let your hands be strong, God CONTRASTS what happened in those days of disobedience to what He is doing now for them since they have come back into obedience and are building the temple.
II. PREVIOUS CONDITIONS (vs 10): when disobedient during the 16 years of neglect.
First look at what God says about that 16-year period when they were not doing their assignment. Verses 10: "For before these days [the days before the work on the temple was resumed] There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast; There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in; For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.” Haggai had pointed out these conditions when he was calling on the remnant to resume construction of the temple.xii He called their attention to the judgment they were experiencing so that they would repent. And they did repent and resumed the building of the temple in 520 BC.xiii Compare Zechariah 8:10 to the prophetic words in Haggai 2:10-19:
“On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius [Dec. 18520 BC],xiv the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Now, ask the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 ‘If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?’ Then the priests answered and said, ‘No. 13 And Haggai said, ‘If one who is unclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?’ So the priests answered and said, ‘It shall be unclean.’ 14 Then Haggai answered and said, ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,' says the Lord, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15 And now, carefully consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord — 16 since those days, when one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. 17 I struck you with blight and mildew and hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you did not turn to Me,' says the Lord. 18 'Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid — consider it: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.’” That promise at the end corresponds with Zechariah 8:11.
The three conditions listed in Zechariah 8:10 describing God’s judgment on disobedience were:
(1) “There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast.” Depressed economic conditions. A recession or a depression may be an indication of God’s judgment.
(2) “There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in.” War may be an indication of God’s judgment. First Kings 11:14 says God stirred up the Edomites against Solomon as a judgment on his disobedience. Later in Israel’s history God stirred up the Philistines and Arabians against Israel as a judgment on disobedience (2 Chron. 21:16).
(3) “For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.” Internal strife is also an indication of God’s judgment. Racial divide, social strife, inability to work differences out in a civil, sane manner, a break down in law and order should always alert people to the need for repentance. This may shock you, but God sends this as a judgment: “For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.”
Can you see any application of these three judgments in America? Take the civil strife in our country. Never in the history of this nation, with the possible exception of the 1860’s civil war, has there been such animosity between different groups. You will always have differences of opinion, but when people resort to slander, when people cannot reach any compromise, when there is the absence of respectful, constructive conversation, when people resort to violence—then you know something serious is wrong. God may be withholding grace for reconciliation until people repent. Our humanistic leaders think they can have harmony in the horizontal relationships among people without right vertical relationship with God. They may accomplish this for a brief period, but it will not last. Just as it did not last at the Tower of Babel.xv Resolving the social unrest and violence in our nation must include a turning to God as the source of the needed peace.
Do we have the potential for economic trouble? Is inflation eroding the common person’s purchasing power? Is the danger of recession looming before us? Can we fix this with human ingenuity? Can the Federal Reserve overcome a curse from God? Ultimately God controls the prosperity of a nation and the prosperity of an individual. That is the lesson we must not miss in this text.
What about wars? Is the war in Ukraine a problem for us? Is there a threat of war with Russia? How about China or Korea? Is there any lasting peace in the Middle East?
What should we do about all that? Should we reach out to Saudi Arabia or Iran for help? Do we solve the problem by depleting our oil reserves, jeopardizing our national security? Our text suggests one answer: Get right with God. If God has a judgment planned, the only solution is repentance.xvi All other efforts will be futile. I don’t think our national leaders understand this. They seek solutions that leave God out of the equation. At best, that will only bring temporary relief. You can dodge God’s requirement of repentance all you want, but no solution will come without it.
And what is true for a nation is true for an individual. During my 40 years of pastoring, I have watched people try to solve problems without repentance. They try to get other people to help them do it. It is like putting money in bags with holes. No amount of help brings lasting relief. Sometimes they try to give God a little token repentance, but God sees through that as well. If the root problem is God’s disfavor, the only solution is to turn in the direction He wants us to go.
So, in Zechariah 8:10 the people are reminded of the terrible conditions that existed when they were not living in obedience.
III. CURRENT-FUTURE CONDITIONS (vs 11-13): when living in obedience to God.
Then in verse 11 two wonderful words follow: “‘But now.”xvii “‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,' says the Lord of hosts.” With their repentance is coming a change in circumstances. These circumstances are in contrast to the way things were: Zechariah 8:12: “For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall give their dew — I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all these.”xviii These conditions stand in contrast to the way things were before they got back on task.
Hearing this must have been a huge encouragement. What good does it do to labor hard if God has not lifted the curse? But if God has now put His blessing on our lives, then our efforts will not be in vain. When we plow our fields and plant our seed, God will send the dew of heaven, and the harvest will come. This word of encouragement is given in the context of the admonition, “Let your hands be strong.” Putting forth effort will not be in vain as it was before they repented.
Although God requires their obedient participation, the key to their success is stated at the end of verse 12 where God says, “I will cause the remnant of this people To possess [inherit] all these.”xix Ultimately, your success is dependent on that one thing. It is not an excuse for laziness. You cannot make it happen if God is not granting the success. But if He is willing to bless the effort, then it should inspire us to plow with hope. It should cause us to let our hands be strong.
The promise is reinforced in verse 13 where God says, “And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.'”
The word translated save (yasha`) means to save or deliver.xx NLT says, “I will rescue you.” The contrast in this verse is from being under a curse and being a byword for that to being blessed and viewed in that way.xxi In Deuteronomy 28 God promised blessing on obedience and warned them of the curse that would fall on disobedience. Prior to the exile Jeremiah warned Israel that under God’s curse they would become a byword among the nations. In Jeremiah 24:9 God said, “I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.” Of course, God did this to work repentance in the nation so that He could ultimately bless. But the judgment was very real. Zechariah and his companions had experienced it. But now God is reversing that and placing His blessing on them.
The promise is to: “house of Judah and house of Israel.” In Zechariah’s day, there were people in that remnant from both the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom.xxii But other passages in Scripture extend this promise to the work of God at the end of the age. First, Deuteronomy 28:64 had warned them of what would happen if they were disobedient: “Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other.” That worldwide scattering did not happen until after 70 AD. The full reuniting of the Northern and Southern tribes will not happen until the end-time regathering. That is described in Ezekiel 37:15-28. So, there is an eschatological extension of this promise that is more profound.xxiii
This oracle in our text concludes with the exhortation: “Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.'” This promise of blessing is designed to alleviate their fears. Since they have turned back to doing what God called them to do, the future will be different from the past. Those curses did not just happen per chance. They were a judgment on disobedience. Their future is not left to chance either. Their future is in God’s hands, and He has promised to bless them. So, they are to lay aside their fears, take heart, and finish the task God has given them to do.
May we do the same.
Are there fears and worries that try to invade your thinking. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). “Let your hands be strong.'” Take heart in the assignment God has given you. 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Strong’s Concordance, OT: 2388.
iii For example: Num. 13:20; Deut. 31:6; Josh. 10:25; 2 Sam. 2:7; 10:10; 1 Kings 2:2; 2 Chron. 15:7-8; 2 Chron. 32:7; Ezra 10:4; Isa. 35:4; Dan. 10:19; Hag. 2:4.
iv Cf. Matt. 25:14-30; 2 Cor. 5:10.
v In John 4:34 Jesus said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (KJV). In the natural, we draw our strength and sustenance from the food we eat. In our spiritual life, our strength is found in doing the will of the Father.
vi 2 Cor. 5:9.
vii The “words” in Zechariah 8:9 had probably been written and were being read by Zechariah. This would point to Haggai’s prophecies, but others may have been included. For a technical analysis of why we think this, see Meyers and Meyers, 419-420.
viii Pedersen, 305.Meyers & Meyers (p. 422) write, “Those earlier times were the days prior to the recommencement of work on the temple—i.e., prior to December 18, 520.” Also see Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 207.
ix Ezra 4:1-4. See Part 1 in this study of Zechariah entitled: “God Remembers.”
x Luke 9:62.
xi The people had not apostatized. They had not rejected God. They did not go into idolatry. In today’s terms, they were still going to church. But they were neglecting their calling, and living for their own agendas (Heb. 2:3).
xii Zechariah joined in this call to repentance as recorded in Zechariah 1:1-6.
xiii This repentance is confirmed in Ezra 5:1-2.
xiv See Merrill, 46.
xv See Genesis 11.
xvi 2 Chron. 7:13-14.
xvii This corresponds with the promise in Haggai 2:19: “But from this day I will bless you.”
xviii Scholars debate the exact meaning of the Hebrew phrase at the beginning of verse 12 translated by the NKJV “For the seed shall be prosperous.” Meyers & Meyers (p. 422) understand the phrase to literally mean, “sowing (or seed) of peace,” and translate it prosperous sowing. Disagreeing with Wright, Baron, Keil, Koehler, and Leupold, Unger (p. 142) says, “the thought is not ‘the seed of peace,’ namely, the vine . . . but ‘sowing’ or ‘time of sowing (seedtime)characterized by peace’ (as opposed to war).” In either case, the general idea is communicated.
xix “The idea of undeserved, unearned goodness underlies, as regularly, the verb ‘inherit’ (nachal).” Leupold, 152.
xx See Strong’s Concordance, OT: 3467.
xxi Feinberg makes an important distinction when he writes, “The meaning of verse 13 is not that Israel was a curse to the nations in her dispersion (the word is baggoyim, ‘among the nations’ and not ‘laggoym,’ ‘to the nations’). Feinberg, 108. Satan convinced Hitler that they were a curse to his nation. The consequence of that lie was terrible.
xxii Although most were from the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Levi, others had migrated from the Northern Kingdom to the Southern Kingdom in order to continue orthodox worship of Jehovah and avoid the idolatry Jeroboam instigated (2 Chron. 11:14, 16).
xxiii See Unger (pp. 142-143) for a fuller explanation of this.
