Prisoners Of Hope

Prisoners of Hope

Zechariah 9:11-12

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb03VOm2EGM

I’ve been looking lately at Scriptures that speak to the coming Messiah and the gospel message, and when I read the Scripture that I will be sharing today, it has the fullness of the gospel within it, but not exactly in a way that it would normally be brought forth.

So, that’s why I’d like to spend our time together and pull out what I consider to be some real gold.

It is found in the book of Zechariah. And within the context of our passage, it speaks of the coming Messiah, He who would be King, and what a great and glorious day that will be, but it’s not as the children of Israel would like to have seen.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey … He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.’” (Zechariah 9:9-10 NKJV)

Here they are told to rejoice because the Messiah King is coming, and they’ll be free from those who have oppressed them. But He’s not coming as they expect. He’s not riding on a war horse, but rather He’s coming in humility riding on a donkey, actually a colt of a donkey.

And then we get to our verse which speaks to exactly what the Messiah will do, and it is literally the gospel message personified.

“Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today I declare that I will restore double to you.” (Zechariah 9:11-12 NKJV)

And so, what we are introduce to in our passage is the condition of humanity, and that is humanity is fallen, and trapped in a prison and needs deliverance.

Let’s begin by looking at humanity’s present condition as outlined in our verse.

Humanity’s Present Condition

“I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.” (Zechariah 9:11b NKJV)

The gospel, that is, the good news of Jesus Christ always begins by letting us know the true condition of humanity, and that is, “fallen.”

It began with Adam and Eve when they gave into Satan’s temptation and ate of the tree of good and evil, directly disobeying God. And this brought sin into the DNA of humanity, where everyone is born into sin.

This was brought out by Kind David has he confessed his sinfulness to the Lord in Psalm 51. He said, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5 NKJV)

And then the Apostle Paul said, “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12 NKJV)

What I found interesting in our passage in Zechariah is how this is bought out. He calls humanity’s present condition as a pit where there is no water.

Now, the word pit, is a hole that has been dug, and it is mainly used in relationship to a cistern, which is a well for collecting and holding water in the desert. And while it was meant to be life giving, in this instance it wasn’t because it is without water, that is, it is without life.

How appropriate this is in describing the world we live in and the condition of humanity. Back in the beginning, Adam had dominion over the earth, as the Lord said “Be fruitful and multiply … (and) have dominion over … every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28 NKJV)

Now, however, we live in a world of disease and death, and that’s because of Adam and Eve’s sin, where we are now held captive to both sin and death, and thus Satan.

And so, through Zechariah the Lord describes us living in a pit, a hole we dug trying to find life, but instead it is a pit that sucks us in and takes life away.

But God provides a way out, a way of escape, as brought out in this beautiful picture found in Psalm 40. Here King David said, “He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.” (Psalm 40:2 NKJV)

Here, David calls this a horrible pit, and that’s because it is filled with “miry clay.” The word “miry,” basically means that which is left behind, or the “dregs.” And the word clay comes from the root word meaning, “sticky.”

So, let’s go back and look at this pit. Remember, it is a word commonly used for cisterns, that is, a place where water is collected. But, in the desert where it is hot, the water soon begins to be not only used, but it also begins to evaporate, and soon what’s left on the bottom is this miry clay, or the sticky dregs of what’s left. Some refer this to yucky mud.