As we come to chs 9 & 10 of Zechariah it might be helpful to know that the book is divided into 3 parts:
1-6: Visions God says:
return to me and I will return to you
I will judge the nations
rebuild Jerusalem
forgive your sins
raise up godly leaders
bring the nations to Jerusalem to worship
7&8: Teaching. God says:
I scattered you
I will gather you
I will bring the nations back with you
9-14: Prophecy. God says, I will:
judge the nations
punish your bad leaders
give you godly leaders
forgive your sins
reign in Jerusalem
bring all nations to Jerusalem to worship me.
Notice that each section says basically the same thing though in different ways. Notice especially, that each section ends with the same theme, of the nations coming to Jerusalem to worship. That indicates fairly clearly that this is a fairly important theme in the book, since each section ends with it.
Well, as we begin to look at Chs 9 & 10 we discover that they form a parallel. Two different prophecies with the same message. In ch 9 the prophecy is of God the warrior, while in ch 10 it’s of God the shepherd. Each chapter has three sections. The first shows God coming to overthrow those who are opposed to him, the second describes how his appointed leader will take his place over the people, and the third describes how the rule of God will extend to the whole earth until all those who were cut off have been brought back to worship God in Jerusalem.
So lets have a look at these 2 chapters.
In ch 9:1-8 we begin with God the warrior coming through the holy land from north to south and ending up in Jerusalem. If you’d been in our Tuesday night bible study recently, you might notice a resemblance between these verses and the description in Joshua 10 & 11 of the initial conquest of the land. God the warrior will begin in Hadrach, Hamath and Damascus in the north, then he’ll work his way south via Tyre and Sidon, down to the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod, until he comes to Jerusalem.
He’s coming through the land, ending up at Jerusalem to defend his house, the Temple and in the process, defeating the enemies of God’s people. But it isn’t just destroying his enemies, notice. Have a look at v7: "I will make an end of the pride of Philistia. 7I will take away its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth; it too shall be a remnant for our God; it shall be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites." Although God is conquering his enemies, some of them will turn away from their idol worship to worship the true and living God, just as the people of Jerusalem had done, when the Israelites first came into the land and they too will be incorporated into the people of God.
Then in ch 9:9 we find these words that are so familiar from the NT: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Here we have this wonderful picture of God’s anointed king entering Jerusalem, triumphant, yet humble, to bring in the reign of God, to bring peace, an end to war, to the whole world, because his rule will cover the whole world.
Just think for a moment how this would have sounded to the inhabitants of Jerusalem at this time. This would have been revolutionary teaching. You see Jerusalem didn’t have a king. It only had a governor, appointed by Darius who was King of the whole empire. But Zechariah here announces that another King is coming, who will in fact overthrow the nations roundabout, including, presumably, Persia. In fact, in v10 we learn the extent of the King’s reign: "His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth."
And what will this King do? (vs 11-16) As we read on we find God the warrior bringing the prisoners back, from wherever they are in exile, to Jerusalem. The nation will be restored. Again they’ll conquer the nations around them. Nothing will be able to stand in their way. In vs14 & 15 the language is that of the exodus: the LORD will appear over them, there’ll be lightning, trumpets and whirlwinds.
Notice too, the basis on which he acts. v11: It’s because of the blood of the covenant that he’ll free them. God hasn’t forgotten the promise he made to them. No, the warrior God will achieve his purpose, he’ll fulfill his promise, and bring his people back.
So the message of ch 9 is that God the warrior King will defeat the nations, present his king to Jerusalem and bring the prisoners back from exile.
Ch 10 has a similar outline: vs 1-3 God attacks, not the nations, but the false leaders of his own people. He says, ask God for rain, he’s the one who provides the harvest. But what’s been happening? The leaders of the people have let them down. They’ve turned to idols and diviners with the result that the people are misled. They wander like sheep without a shepherd. So what will God do? He’ll punish the leaders and he’ll care for his flock himself.
And in v4 he’ll raise a leader, a cornerstone, a tent peg, a battle bow, a commander. This is a direct parallel of the coming of the King in 9:9.
Then in 10:6-12 we have another picture of God bringing his people back from exile - this time including the northern kingdom as well. It’s like the picture we saw in ch 8, it’s a vast reclamation process, again using the language of the exodus, so vast in fact that the land won’t be big enough to hold them all.
Well, as we saw a couple of weeks ago, this is a theme that runs right through the whole Bible and of course is a major theme in the NT. Eph 2:13 says this: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." God is bringing his people back to him and in the process is bringing back people of every nation.
And how does he do it? Well, these 2 chapters of Zechariah tell us don’t they? They both speak of God coming to rule the nations and his own people; both talk of a God who provides a ruler from Judah; both speak of a God who brings his people back from exile.
You see the great picture in Zechariah is of a God who wants to, and is able to bring people back to himself. Notice, in ch 10 it’s God who takes initiative. He says "I will" over and over again. I will strengthen the house of Judah; I will save the house of Joseph; I will bring them back; I will answer them; I will signal for them and gather them in; I will bring them home from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria; I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon, I will make them strong in the LORD.
This is something we all need to hear isn’t it?. We’re all people who have wandered away from God. Some of you will remember those words from the confession in the old prayer book: "we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep." That’s so accurate isn’t it? We so often feel like people who have wandered from God’s ways; who are scattered; who are distant from God. If you look around you as you go about your daily life, you’ll see many people who have wandered a long, long way from God; people who don’t even know which way to turn, let alone how to take a step towards God. That’s why this picture of a God who can draw people from anywhere, after any length of time, who is powerful enough to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way ("You who were once far off have been brought near through the blood of Christ"), and who takes the initiative in drawing people back to himself, this picture of the gathering God is such a powerful one for our world today. You see, my need is to be gathered to God, and your need is for God to gather you and the great need of those around you, your neighbours and friends, is for God to gather them to himself, to bring them to faith in Jesus Christ. How will this come about? By the blood of Jesus Christ, Paul says. Zechariah says it’s by the blood of the covenant. Do you see, it’s the same blood.
And of course this picture of a gathering God isn’t just a picture of what God is doing today or in Zechariah’s time. It’s also a picture of the last day when the angels will go out to the four ends of the earth to gather in the elect. Listen to what Isaiah had to say about that: (Isaiah 60:1-5 NRSV) "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. 5Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you."
So here we have two powerful chapters revealing God the Warrior, God the Shepherd, God who sends his King, his Messiah to rule in peace over all peoples. By the way, don’t miss the context in which this picture of the coming Messiah appears - it appears in the great context of the awesome power of God.
First we see God the warrior King, 9:1-8, then we have this picture of the King, the Messiah, in vs 9, coming in humility and gentleness. First a great picture of the power and majesty and rule of God, and then a picture of the manner in which God’s King comes - humble & having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey. Now let me ask you, which picture attracts you the most. The warrior God or the Messiah who comes in humility, in weakness and vulnerability? If we were living a hundred or so years ago, in the age of conquest, it would probably have been the former, the warrior king. But these days most of us prefer the latter. The one who comes in humility and patience and gentleness.
But you see, you can’t take 9:9 away from the rest of 9&10. Here we have a great picture of the way God in his power and majesty achieves his purpose of establishing his rule over all the world. If you miss this then you miss the way God’s program, God’s plan for the world, the great program of God the warrior, God the Shepherd, is achieved through the humble king. If all you think about is the humble king, you’ll miss the fact that this humble king is achieving the powerful plan of God. You’ll misunderstand the coming of Jesus. And you’ll probably also concentrate on the first coming of Jesus and forget about his second coming, with all the majesty of God the warrior and God the Shepherd, to judge the world.
Well, what do we do with this great picture of God the warrior and God the shepherd and God’s Messiah, God’s King.
Well, first we see that the events of Zechariah’s time, of the return from exile are parallels first of all to the exodus, and secondly to the comings of Jesus. We’ve already noticed how Zechariah uses the language of the exodus in speaking of the return from exile. That’s to encourage them to remember that just as God won the victory then, so he’ll win the victory now.
But Zechariah also looks forward to what God will do not just in Jerusalem and the Holy Land but to what God will do throughout the whole earth. If God can rule the land of Israel, in the NT we discover that he’ll rule the whole earth.
Next, what do we learn here about God?
Well, we learn about God and history. We learn that history isn’t just a cycle of cause and effect. The things that happen in history aren’t just random events. No, they’re His story - God’s story. It’s God who’s been acting all the way through. We may think God is absent, that God is distant, that God is doing nothing, but in the end when the books are opened we’ll see that it’s God who’s been running the world.
God and grace. The exiles are a great picture of failure aren’t they? They’re God’s people who had abandoned God. Did God abandon them? No. He brought them back again. Why? Because he’s a God of grace and compassion. If you’re someone who’s wandered away from God you can take heart that God wants to bring you back, and he is bringing you back.
God and covenant. Is God an erratic God, a fickle God? No, God is a constant God; a God who keeps his promises; who keeps his word, who’s faithful to his people despite their faithlessness.
God and the nations: they’re no effective opposition to the plan of God. If you read Zech 9&10 you could never doubt that God will achieve his purposes.
God and his ruler, the Lord Jesus: "Now in Christ Jesus you who were far off have been brought near, through the blood of Christ.
Finally what’s our response to this powerful picture of a powerful God? Well, what response does Zechariah expect from the people of God? 9:9 "rejoice, shout, for Lo, your King comes to you."
I often get people ringing me up to ask me to support their favourite program or cause, or to promote it within the Parish. And they’re almost always incredibly passionate about it. They’re usually good enough programs, worthy enough causes, but rarely do I feel the sort of passion that they obviously have. So I have to try to sound at least mildly interested. Now I imagine that must be terribly frustrating for these people. The worst thing you can encounter if you’re passionate about something is indifference. Someone saying "Well, yes, I’m sure you’re right. I hope you can get somewhere with that." I probably shouldn’t admit this but one of my passions is the music of Peter, Paul & Mary. Well, I remember a few years ago getting their latest CD for Christmas and no-one else wanted to listen to it. So I had to go and listen to it all on my own. It was very frustrating.
Well, let me ask you, what has God done in Zechariah? He’s declared his passion for his name and for his people. Turn back to Zech 1:3: "Therefore say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts: Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you."
Or 1:14: "Thus says the LORD of hosts; I am very jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion."
Or 2:8: "the one who touches you touches the apple of my eye."
Or 2:12: "The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem"
Or 3:2: "The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!"
Or 8:2: "Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath."
Or 8:3: "I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts shall be called the holy mountain."
What’s God doing here? He’s telling us of his passion. He’s saying my love for you is passionate. I’m jealous for you. I want your good, whatever it takes. I’m not an indifferent God or a remote God. I’m passionate about you, my covenant people, and I want to do good for you. That’s why the response called for here is ’rejoice and shout’. It calls for a passionate response.
How do you respond to the passion of God? Do you give it an intellectual assent? "Oh yes, it’s really good that God is going to save all people." Or are you passionate about it?
Will you respond to God’s passion for you, with your passion for God? Will you respond to God’s passion for the world with your passion for those around you who are headed for eternal judgement if they don’t come to Jesus Christ for salvation? I was thinking about this last week after the AGM. I was trying to work out why our outreach isn’t that effective. And one reason I came up with, among others, was that we’re not really committed to winning our friends to Christ. We’re not passionate about it. We’re not setting out to win them. Oh, it’d be nice if we had a few more people in Church, we think, but there’s not much we can do about it. And it won’t really matter if they don’t come. But God says, "I’m jealous for my people. I’m passionate about those who are estranged from me. I long to bring them back!" God is so passionate about us that even while we were still sinners while we were his enemies, he sent Christ to die for us. Will you match that passion of God for those who are separated from him, by setting out to bring them to know Jesus Christ in a personal way? Will you look around you and select, say, 3 people for whom you’ll pray consistently that they’ll come to know Christ; who you’ll talk to about your faith in Christ, who you’ll invite to outreach events that we might hold; who you’ll invite to guest services, or just our ordinary Sunday services, until they come to know Christ in that personal way. That would be an appropriate response to the passion of God for his people wouldn’t it?
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
