There Is A Fountain

"There Is A Fountain!"

Zechariah 13:1-6

Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

Introduction: Author: Zechariah says he is the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo. Iddo was head of the priestly families coming back from exile (Neh 12:4,16). This would make Zechariah a priest and a prophet. It would also explain his emphasis on temple and priestly matters in the book. Zechariah's ministry began between Haggai's second and third message. If Haggai is talking about rebuilding the temple and Zechariah is writing about the same thing. The title of this book comes from the prophets name, Zechariah, which means "Yahweh remembers." What does He remember? His covenant. "Iddo" means at the appointed time, and "Berechiah" means God will bless. God remembers and at the appointed time He will bless them. The names of the prophets are a summary of their messages. Because God remembers, there is hope for the people of Israel. God will remember His covenant with them recorded in Deuteronomy 28-30 and will keep His promises. Zechariah was written to comfort and encourage the returned remnant to repent of their evil ways, to return to the Lord and to rebuild the temple. The people who had just returned from exile felt like their efforts were insignificant and the future was uncertain. They weren't even an independent nation - just a client state of a mighty empire. Zechariah's message focuses on the future and proclaims that God would send the Messiah to establish His Kingdom.

The situation in Palestine and in Jerusalem in particular was deplorable. This once great and proud people and their way of life had been destroyed. The Temple and the city walls had been reduced to rubble. Their enemies made fun of this fact.

Nehemiah 4:2 And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?

10 And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.

Tens of thousands had died in battle, in the famine and in the pestilence during the siege of Jerusalem. Tens of thousands more had been carried into captivity. Solomon's temple was just a memory and only the elderly who returned with Nehemiah and Ezra could even remember its former glory. There is a very poignant moment in Ezra chapter 3 that describes the feelings of these older believers when saw the new temple:

Ezra 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice...

They knew that their current circumstances were the result of their disobedience and rebellion. This is revealed in chapter 1 verses 1-6. They were in despair, they were despondent, and they were desolate and discouraged. The future looked bleak but then God send them a message of hope in chapter 13 verse 1: The form of the message is a metaphor; "a fountain shall be opened for sin and uncleanness..." Let's look at this "fountain" and see if it has any application for us today:

I. The availability of the fountain

a. The season

Jehovah has remembered His covenant and He declares that there would be a day of salvation and cleansing for His people. This is the day of the Lord when Messiah would come, "...and they shall mourn for me whom they have pierced..." He can be speaking of no one else. Notice how many times "...in that day..." appears in chaptes12-13. (9 times) The Lord is saying that they are not to give up hope that "...in that day..." He will pour out His spirit on them and furthermore "...in that day..." there would be a fountain.

b. The surety

"There shall be..." is the promise from Jehovah. It will happen. Ever since man sinned in the Garden God had been unveiling His ultimate remedy for sin. He gave His word in Genesis 3 that the "seed of the woman would bruise the serpents head" and for 6,000 years God had been waiting, waiting to keep that promise. Have you ever noticed that as Jesus taught and preached that He referred to "...His time not having come..." and that there came a day when He said, "...my time has come..." Jesus knew the Father's promise because he was there when sentence was passed on the guilty pair and the first Adam was driven out of the Garden.