Israel's Final Deliverance
Zechariah 12:1-14
We come to the twelfth chapter and the subject is a subject that's not new to us in the book of Zechariah. It's the theme of Israel's final deliverance and salvation. All the way through the book of Zechariah this has been predicted. This has been prophesied. This has been anticipated and hoped for and now we find a description of its coming to pass.
And really, it is not something that is unfamiliar to us today because Israel is so prominent in the news today. I imagine if we had been living a hundred years ago this would seem somewhat obscure. But in our life time since 1948, the eyes of the world have focused on that little plot of ground that is known as Israel.
There's a reason that Israel is the focus of history again and that is God is not yet finished with His purposes for them. A major part of the end of the redemptive plan of history finds its way coursing through the land of Israel.
Now you'll remember that we saw in chapter 11 the coming of Jesus Christ. And He is pictured here as a shepherd. And you remember that we saw in the first part of the chapter through verse 14 the story of Jesus' first coming. He came as the true shepherd and He was rejected. And then we saw in verses 15 to 17 that after Israel rejected the true shepherd, they would accept the false shepherd. That in the end time would come the one called the foolish shepherd who was Antichrist and Israel would accept him.
The first time Jesus comes in chapter 11 He's rejected. The second time Jesus comes in chapter 12 He is accepted. And those are the distinguishing elements in these two chapters.
Now let me give you another note for understanding the sweep of the book. The first eight chapters of Zechariah basically deal with Zechariah's time. They have prophetic implication but basically they deal with Zechariah's time. And then all of a sudden from chapter 9 to 14 you have this sweeping prophetic picture of the end time.
In that section, 9 to 14, there are two parts, one dealing with the first coming of Christ--9 to 11--the second dealing with the Second coming--12 to 14.
So, as we come to chapter 12 we are coming to the Second Coming of Christ, His return to earth to set up His Kingdom.
Now particularly, of course, Zechariah's point in chapters 12, 13 and 14 is to to show that when Christ returns, Israel will be converted and the Kingdom will be established...God's promised Kingdom.
There's so much prophecy here and it is so loaded that there's no way we can really cover everything.
The actual events which are presented here include the world confederacy against Jerusalem, the victory of God's people empowered of the Lord, the conviction of Israel nationally by the Spirit of God, the presentation of Christ as their rejected Messiah, the national day of atonement, the cleansing of the hearts of the nation, the purging of the land of idolatry and false prophets,
parenthetically the crucifixion of Messiah, the time of Jacob's trouble, the partial success of the nations invading Palestine, the appearance of the Messiah for His people, their rescue, His coming with His saints, the changed and renovated holy land, the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom, the punishment of the nations for their feudal assault on Israel, the celebration of the Kingdom feast, the feast of tabernacles, the complete restoration of the people of God to a holy nation, etc.
Now that's a lot of prophetic theme for one little section 12 to 14. But it's all here; a very expressive and vital area of prophecy.
Now, sixteen times in these three chapters, 12, 13 and 14, is the phrase "in that day." So we know one thing for sure, this whole section is about that day. There's no question about that. And what day? The day of the Lord. The whole picture focuses on the apocalyptic day of the Lord when history resolves into the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ.
All right, now you've got the picture. Chapters 1 to 8 of Zechariah, basically historic; chapters 9 to 14, futuristic prophecy; chapters 9 to 11 detail the first coming of Christ; chapters 12 to 14 the Second Coming, particularly as it relates to the salvation of Israel and the establishment of the Kingdom. Now, let's look at chapter 12 now that you've got all of that completely understood.
As we look at this there are four features of Israel's coming deliverance and conversion, four features, four major events:
The first one is
1. The Siege of Israel
Verses 1-3
Now those three verses very obviously tell us about some kind of a siege against Israel. In fact, the word "siege" is used in the Authorized in verse 2. The word simply means attack. The first element that the Holy Spirit wants us to focus on is that there will be a great attack by the Gentile nations coming against Israel. It's obvious at the end of verse 3 that all the nations of the earth will be gathered against Israel in this siege.
We know it as the great battle that takes place at the end of the tribulation called the Battle of Armageddon. This is a worldwide battle where all of the nations of the world converge on the nation Israel in an effort to wipe it out and to wipe out the potential of the Messiah's return to establish the Kingdom. It focuses on Israel. You'll notice verse 1, "The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel...for Israel..." This is all about Israel. They are the subject.
Further on you note that it mentions all through this chapter in addition to just Israel, Jerusalem in verse 2, Judah, again Jerusalem, and further down in verse 5 the governors of Judah, verse 6 the governors of Judah, the tents of Judah verse 7, Jerusalem, the house of David, Jerusalem and so forth. It's very obvious this whole prophecy is directed at Israel.
Now notice the term "burden." The burden of the word of the Lord. This Hebrew term is used frequently in prophetic literature. In fact it's used in chapter 9 verse 1 for a particular burden of prophecy against the Gentiles. It is generally used to indicate great grief or sorrow. Before salvation comes to Israel, there's going to be grief.
So it is directed to Israel; it’s a word of grief about an attack and a siege against them; but notice also that it is from God. It is God Himself who brings this to pass.
The burden of the word of the Lord...this is the word of the Lord. Notice verse 2, "Behold, I will make..." God is in mind here, He is the I. Verse 3, "In that day I will make..." Verse 4, "In that day, I will smite and I will open Mine eyes." Verse 6, "In that day I will make..."
Repeatedly we are told that God is acting here. Never forget that all of the history of the world is really the enacting of the sovereignty of God to one direct degree or another. God is involved in the flowing of history and if this attack is to come on Israel, then it is God who makes it happen. We saw the same thing similarly with the idea that there would come a false shepherd and we saw how that it literally is God who allows him to come, even the Antichrist.
Now God is making a promise here. God is directing a prophecy. It's a prophecy of siege but it's also a prophecy of salvation. And God is behind the whole thing.
And the reason this is emphasized so greatly is so that the people who hear this prophecy will have the confidence to believe that it will come to pass. It doesn't depend on men. It depends upon an unchanging immutable God, a God who doesn't make plans and scuttle them, a God who isn't thwarted by some other power.
When God says it and God plans to do it, it will be done. And this is why the emphasis here on God. And just in case somebody might wonder whether this God can handle it, you'll note in verse 1 that it says this, "The Lord says this..." and if you've forgotten who He is, "He's the Lord who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him."
So, the prophecy is toward Israel and it is from God. And the prophet says it will begin with a siege.
verses 2 and 3
Now, these two verses are what is simply called parallels. They both begin the same way: I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling and verse 3 says I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone. Both 2 and 3 say unto all the peoples and for all the peoples." So here you have a description of a coming siege.
Let's look at it for a minute. God says the siege is going to come and this is what's going to take place.
First of all, I'll make Jerusalem a cup of trembling.
The typical word in Hebrew for cup is kos..k-o-s. But the word here is saph, s-a-p-h. What’s the difference? The word kos means a small cup while saph means a basin. So what you really have here is a very large basin and it needs to be very large because it's a cup of trembling for all the peoples. And if you look at the end of verse 3, all the peoples on the earth are going to have to drink out of it. So the picture here that the prophet has in mind is this huge basin, everybody's going to drink of it.
Now you say, "Well, what is the point of this? What does he mean?" Well, there are certain cups from which if you drink you will find yourself staggering around. That's what it's saying. A cup of trembling. Not the idea that you're nervous, but the idea that you're sort of reeling around a little bit; you can't walk the straight line, you fail the test. I will make...literally, Jerusalem a basin of intoxication to all people.
Now let me describe what he is saying. The nations are going to attack Jerusalem. Now we know this because it's detailed for us in many places in the Bible. There's going to be a great world war, the battle of the centuries. They're going to converge on Israel, they're going to attack Israel, they're going to attack Judah the surrounding countryside and they're going to have their sight set on Jerusalem, although they never really are able to pull off much of an attack on Jerusalem as this prophecy points out.
But they really begin to go after the land of Israel. And he says they're going to be like men greedily draining a wine goblet. They're going to come in and they're just going to drink it up.
But in the end, they're going to find themselves reeling and staggering around like helpless drunks, unable to claim the coveted prize and in fact they're going to be so disorganized and so drunk and so staggering around that they're going to be easy prey for divine judgment. That's the idea.
In Revelation 17:6 you remember that the final evil world system of Satan is said to be drunk with all the blood of the martyrs. Well, in a similar sense that's what's going to happen. The nations come in and they get drunk with the idea of conquest. And they think they're going to conquer Israel and they drink deeply of the goblet of victory, deeply of the goblet of war and they find that instead of them having the sanity to make the victory they have in mind, they wind up as stupefied reeling staggering drunks who are easy prey for the judgment of God.
Now he has a second metaphor that he uses to speak of them, he says, "I'll make them a very heavy stone," literally a stone of burden, a heavy stone hard to lift.
It's an interesting word study in the Hebrew. This word referred to a stone that was used in weight lifting contests. Apparently in those days they had weight lifting contests and they just got bigger and bigger and bigger stones till people got eliminated. And the guy who could lift the biggest stone ultimately was the winner.
Now the figure here is very simple. He's saying I'm going to make Jerusalem a burdensome stone, and literally what it's saying is anybody that tries to lift it is going to get a hernia. That's what it says.
See the phrase "cut in pieces?" "All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces." Literally it says "shall grievously injure themselves." And the simple meaning in the Hebrew is to rupture, to tear's oneself, an injury perhaps sustained from lifting something too heavy.
So what's going to happen? Here come these nations to siege against Israel and instead of being able to conquer Israel, they're simply going to tear themselves to pieces in the effort. And what is absolutely incredible is there is coming a day when the entire world attacks that little nation and that little nation wins. Now that's a staggering reality. But after all, if the same people could walk around the walls of Jericho blowing horns and have all the walls fall down, don't discount what could happen in the future. It's describing for us Armageddon.
So all the world lays siege against Israel, and ultimately, in a drunken stupor and torn to pieces, they are unable to conquer Israel.
Why? Because, secondly, we see
2. The Shielding of Israel
verses 4-9
God is going to come in protection and bring a tremendous victory.
Notice the reference to horses in verse 4. Horses were the symbol of strength and power. They were a symbol of a formidable army. And in that day, He says, I will strike every horse with confusion.
In other words, the horses are just going to go off in all kinds of directions. And later in verse 4 He says the horses will be stricken with blindness.
Now if you believe that the battle of Armageddon will have literal horses, then the literal horses will be smitten with blindness and confusion. If you believe this is talking about military tanks and weaponry and so forth then that will all fall into confusion and they won't know where they're going. Whichever.
But he also adds, "And its rider with madness." This simply means panic, a wild and helpless kind of panic in the Hebrew. So here come all these great armies of the world and all of a sudden all of their weaponry and all of their instruments and all of their vehicles and all of the people who running the thing go into total confusion, blindness and panic.
That's nothing new. You remember some armies in the Old Testament that got so confused they started killing each other. Remember Gideon? He stands on a hill and bangs a bunch of pots and watched them all slay each other. Terror and confusion seizes the ranks of the worlds' armies. And while they have imagined that they have gained the victory, they find out that all they are rather than chasing the vanquished Jews is rushing themselves to destruction.
And the key phrase here in verse 4 is God says, "I will open My eyes on the house of Judah." No longer will I turn My back, no longer will I keep My eyes closed to what's going on, I'm going to open My eyes.
And these are eyes of love and these are eyes of care and these are eyes of tenderness and these are eyes of forgiveness, these are eyes of salvation. God says I'm going to open My eyes toward Israel.
Now look at verse 5, God shields them, "And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart..." Now we're looking at the countryside around the city of Jerusalem. The people who would be the most vulnerable in a war, they wouldn't have any defense, Jerusalem is somewhat defensible. They wouldn't have any defense. Just the people living all over the land and the governors, the leaders out in the countryside are going to say in their heart, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God."
What is it saying? Listen, it's saying this, the fact that God has chosen Jerusalem to be His city gives confidence to us in the surrounding countryside. In other words, we're getting in on the fact that Jerusalem is God's city. And all of us who live anywhere in this land are preserved because God has chosen Jerusalem. That's what they're saying.
Now I want you to notice something interesting. This is a critical verse because it opens the door just a crack and the light of salvation starts to come in.
All of a sudden all through Israel's history today they've been thinking their strength is in themselves, in their guns, and their smarts, and their military expertise. And they're going to come to the place where they all of a sudden say in their hearts, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, not in their power or in their military prowess or because they've got so many smart people, but in the Lord of host their God."
All of a sudden they turn from the politics of it and the armies and they begin to see God as the resource. They don't see that yet. But when they begin to see God shield them in the midst of Armageddon, they're going to see that God is their strength. They're going to realize there is no way militarily that they could handle what they're handling. They might be able to win a skirmish with the PLO, they might be able to stop the encroachment from Jordan and they might be able to handle the Egyptians, but when the world arrives and all of a sudden they see themselves gaining the victory, they're going to know that the strength that they have seen is not the strength of men. And here is the first glimpse of the saving faith that comes to the hearts of Israel.
Verse 6
Now the picture there is a little foreign to us, but a firepan in the woodpile or a torch in the sheaves just simply meant a quick start to the fire.
The Gentile armies are kindling. The governors of Judah are firepans. Those simple little people in their simple little military weakness are going to fire and burn the armies of the nations. He says it will also be like a torch of fire in a dry sheaf. Just as a firepan sets fire to twigs and dry wood and a torch sets fire to dry grain, so Judah's princes will devour. And who will they devour? Look what it says? "All the nations round about on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem will be inhabited again in her own place even in Jerusalem."
In other words, in the end time nothing will have happened to that city. It won't be moved. It will never be destroyed. It's going to be there right where it belongs. You know what's incredible about that? That city hasn't moved.
You know, as you study archaeology, you find a lot of cities move from place to place. You can go right to Jerusalem, right in the middle of Jerusalem, walk right out, lay your hand right on Mount Moriah, it's still there. And you can take about a ten-minute walk and stand with your feet on Mount Zion. It's right there. Nothing moved. And God says it won't move either.
Literally it says Jerusalem shall sit undisturbed, secure, shielded by God.
Then a very interesting note in verse 7.
In other words, if Jerusalem won this big victory to start with, if all the military geniuses and all the hotshots in Jerusalem won, they'd say, "Well, it was us." And so just to make sure they don't mistake it being human and know it's God, the great victory comes first to all the little folks out in the countryside who win the war, who knock off the big Gentile armies. And then Jerusalem's got nothing to boast about because by the time it comes to them, all they can say is it's got to be God, it sure isn't us, it wasn't them.
In other words, to prevent Jerusalem from magnifying itself against the country folks, God makes sure the country folks gain the first deliverance. Why? This is a time of humbling for the nations. This is a time of penitence.
This is a time of repentance. This is a time of bending the back and bowing the knee and laying prostrate before God. God wants no human glory, no human magnification and so just to make sure it won't happen He starts by giving the victory first to the little folks in the countryside. The defenseless land is delivered first. The well defended capital last in order that Jerusalem not think it was by her military might and be lifted up with pride. So God defends the defenseless and then Jerusalem.
Verse 8
Isn't that amazing? Who was the greatest soldier in the history of Israel? David. Saul has slain his thousands, David his ten thousands. Greatest soldier in the history of Israel. One little rock, one dead Goliath. Greatest soldier in the history of Israel. And the weak and the puny in this day will all be like David.
What an army. Can you imagine? And by the way, the strong represented by the house of David, those who are in the house of David, the royal line, the great warriors, the strong shall be like God. They'll be like the angel of the Lord. Who is the angel of the Lord? Christ. They'll be infused with the power of Christ.
That's going to be exciting, isn't it? If I read my Bible right we're coming out of heaven just about that time on white horses which will give us a perfect view of the whole thing. And the feeble are going to be like David and the people who normally are like David are going to be like God, infused with the energy of the Messiah Himself, the angel of the Lord.
That's just a little taste, that's a little hint of the fact that Jesus Christ is going to be there winning the victory.
In fact, if you study the book of Revelation, you find out that just at the climax of Armageddon, just when the war reaches its high point, out of the sky comes Jesus Christ as the Ultimate Victor!
verse 9
God is going to wipe out all those who sought to wipe out His people and His Kingdom.
The term "will seek" is a most interesting Hebrew term. It is a term that is used of a marksman who bends his bow with his eye focused on the target. He wants to hit the bulls-eye and nothing distracts him. The cup of iniquity is full and God comes in judgment. Read Revelation 16, read Revelation 19 and see how God begins to come in judgment, how Jesus splits the heavens with His coming, comes in glory and power with a flaming victory at hand with a sword dipped in blood and He comes to conquer.
So, we have the siege against Israel, the shielding of Israel, then we see
3. The Sorrow of Israel
Up until now, this scene has been primarily political and military. But there is one thing that stand out, and that is even in the political and military movements, Israel recognizes that God is involved.
They're going to see God at work. That's the beginning. That's an easy transition to verse 10.
Verse 10
While their spiritual antennae’s are up and they're thinking about God and how He has delivered them, they're going to see God incarnate, Jesus, coming. They're going to look on Him. The Savior will be revealed as the victor.
And they have a simple response.
Verses 11-14
What's He saying? He's saying there will be not just a national mourning like "This is declared the national day of mourning." No. There will be national mourning in this sense, every family on its own. And within that family, every individual, the men here, the wives here...there will be individual mourning, individual repentance, family repentance and then all those families making up the whole of national repentance. This is right at the point of victory.
You say, "It's strange, isn't it?" Oh yeah. Here they are, they've just won the battle of the centuries. Here they are, the greatest victory conceivable has just been won and their reaction is to all cry...all nations sobbing, crying, mourning. Why? Because they recognize that the very one who came back as their deliverer, was the same one they killed and they pierced when He came the first time. That's why they mourn. And now that's the anguish of true repentance, beloved.
Now watch this: There's really only one sin that God wants you to repent of in order to be saved.
John 16:8 says, “When He (Holy Spirit) is come, He will convict the world of sin, And what is it? Verse 9 says, in regard to sin, it is because they do not believe in Me.” That's the sin. That's it. That's the one sin the Spirit of God must convict to bring a person to salvation.
And that's exactly the one Israel will be convicted of. They'll look on Me, says God, whom they have pierced and mourn as if they were mourning the death of their only son. Sorrow for the sin of rejecting Christ.
That's where salvation always begins, whether it‘s individually in a person’s heart or the entire nation of Israel. In order for anybody to be saved they must turn from the ultimate sin which is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ...not believing in Him.
Now notice what he says about it. He says this mourning and this bitterness is similar to that which was in the valley of Hadad-rimmon, the valley of Megiddo. You say, "What's that?"
2 Chronicles 35 records for us a sad story. There we read about the terrible murder of good King Josiah at the hands of Egyptian Pharaoh Necco and the terrible weeping and wailing and mourning that occurred because of his murder. And Zechariah says the mourning in that day in Jerusalem will be reminiscent of the mourning of the people over the death of the good godly King Josiah at the hands of Pharaoh.
Now you'll notice also in verse 12 that it singles out the family of David and then the family of Nathan and then the families of Levi and Shimei.
Why these three in particular?
Well, the family of David is the royal line, the regal line, the line of Solomon, the line through which Joseph the husband of Mary descended. So the royal family is going to mourn.
Then the family of Nathan. Nathan is the brother of Solomon through whom Mary was descended. We discover that in Luke 2. So all of those people who fit anywhere into the royal line, anywhere into the Messianic line are going to weep. That makes sense doesn’t it? Don't you think they'll be the first ones to weep? Sure they will, because they'll know that it was in their very line that the Messiah came and was rejected.
Then the family of Levi and the family of Shimei. You know who they were? They were priestly families. Don't you think the priesthood will weep? Don't you think the priesthood will mourn? All those years they were supposed to connect men to God, all those years they were supposed to speak to men for God, all those years they were supposed to speak to God for men, all those years they stood in the place of God and when God finally arrived, they slew Him...don't you think they'll mourn?
And then in verse 14 it says all the families that remain...every family apart, individually, each family repenting and their wives, even the individuals in the family repenting. Great sorrow.
This is beautiful. You know what I thought of when I was looking at this? I just kept thinking of one statement by Jesus, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall...what?...be comforted."
This is the mourning of true repentance. It's coming. And they'll be comforted. The Hebrew word "mourn" means to strike the breast in deep grief...bitter sorrow...true repentance.
So, the siege, the shielding and the sorrow culminates into
4. The Salvation of Israel.
At the beginning of Verse 10 there is a simple word of salvation, "And I will pour upon the house of David," God never sprinkles, He always pours!
"I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit." You see, there's the evidence of salvation. God never gives His Spirit to an unbeliever. He pours the Spirit..and He's called the Spirit of grace, because that's the motive for which He's given...and the Spirit of supplication, that's the response which He brings. When God pours out His Spirit by grace, we respond in prayer. Zechariah is saying that just as God pours out refreshing showers on thirsty and parched ground, so will He pour out the Spirit of grace and supplication on a repentant needy Israel.
The Spirit of grace...what a great term. Isn't that a beautiful term? It's used in Hebrews 10:29, the Spirit of grace. Now that prophesy can only be fulfilled here.
On the day of Pentecost when Peter quoted it, they were just getting a little taste of it. But it's a future prophecy. Ezekiel said the same thing.
In Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel said, "Some day God is going to come to Israel and He's going to take out their stony heart and He's going to give them a heart of flesh," and he says, "I will give them My Spirit." Salvation.
And I can't resist pointing you to the fact that it only happens because, "They look on Me whom they have pierced." Who's talking here in this verse? God...God is talking. Do you know who it was on that cross? Who was it? God. Is that a great statement? Then notice, "They will look on Me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for Him." You see the trinity there? In one breath it's Me, in another breath it's Him. And there God sees Himself there in one breath and in the next breath He sees the incarnate Christ the Son.
Don't anybody tell you that that wasn't God, that Jesus is any less than God. God says that was Me you pierced. And don't let anybody tell you that the Jews didn't pierce Him. They may have used Roman swords, but it was their plotting that got Him there. That's all right. That's all right for God because God can forgive anything...anything, even the murder of the Messiah. And by the way, there isn't anything you've done that He couldn't forgive either. "They shall look on Me whom they pierced." Remember John 19:37, they took a sword and they pierced Him.
And then Israel is going to receive salvation, look at 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." God's going to wash the nation from its sin.
First, they're going to cry "My Lord and my God," when they see Jesus. They're going to realize it was God they pierced. And then God's going to turn the fountain loose and wash them and pour out His Spirit.
In any day in any age, repentance like this kind, true honest repentance will lead to the same cleansing.
And that fountain's open right now, did you know that? I've been there, have you? And I've been washed. It's open right now. Paul says today is the day of salvation. And while we as Christians look forward expectantly to the day of national mourning and blessing for Israel, meanwhile we can tell every Jew and every Gentile that they don't need to wait till then, the fountain's open right now. It's open for you right now.
Let's pray.
