FRAMEWORKS:
Zechariah 14: The
Lord comes and reigns
[Preliminary
Comment: The prophecy moves on into what must
assume are the End Times when God comes with supernatural happenings
that are unclear as to context. The ‘events'
are continued to be described following the announcement, “On
that day”.]
v.1-3
A further time of judgment on Israel
v.1
A
day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions
will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.
v.2
I
will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it;
the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women
raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the
people will not be taken from the city.
v.3
Then
the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights
on a day of battle.
[Notes:
The identity of the time when this judgment will occur
is not made clear, though a judgment it clearly is. Whether this
occurred after AD70 is open to speculation. It certainly doesn't
seem to comply with the earlier prophetic pictures of the Lord
bringing nations to Israel to be destroyed in the Last Days, for
there Jerusalem was specifically saved, e.g. 12:6-8. It is possible
that we should include it as part of the ‘Interlude' or break
in the narrative, that we saw at the end of the previous chapter.]
v.4,5
Thus there appears a time when God will come down
v.4
On
that day [10] his
feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and
the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming
a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half
moving south.
v.5
You
will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You
will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah
king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy
ones with him.
[Notes:
The clarity of what will happen seems apparent but not
when and how it fits in with other historical happenings. It would
appear to make sense to see it as narrative continuing on from
verse 6 of the previous chapter. Event No.10.]
v.6,7
Times, seasons etc. seem to cease or just no longer matter
v.6
On
that day [11] there
will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.
v.7
It
will be a unique day – a day known only to the Lord –
with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes,
there will be light.
[Notes:
This is a unique day, it says, something very special
happening. Event No.11.]
v.8-12
A series of transforming events
v.8
On
that day [12] [i] living
water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead
Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and
in winter.
v.9
[ii]
The Lord will be king over the whole
earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only
name.
v.10 [iii]
The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon,
south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. [iv] But
Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the
site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower
of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.
v.11
[v]
It will be inhabited; never again
will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.
v.12
[vi]
This is the plague with which the
Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem:
their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet,
their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot
in their mouths.
[Notes:
Event No.12 comprises a number of other ‘sub-events'
taking place that bring transformation of the land, now under
God's reign, and an explanation given [v.12] how it came about
that the enemies of Israel died.]
v.13-19
A further series of ‘sub-events' that reveal the destruction of
the enemy
v.13
On
that day [13] [i]
people will be stricken by the Lord
with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack
one another.
v.14
[ii] Judah
too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding
nations will be collected – great quantities of gold and
silver and clothing.
v.15
[iii] A
similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and
donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
v.16
[iv] Then
the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem
will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty,
and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.
v.17
[v] If
any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship
the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.
v.18
[vi]
If the Egyptian people do not go
up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring
on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up
to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.
v.19
This
will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the
nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.
[Notes:
Event No.13, another series of ‘sub-events', are concerned
with the judgment / destruction on the enemies of Israel that
continues on as an expansion of verse 12.]
v.20,21
A final transformation in the life of Israel
v.20
On
that day [14]
holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses,
and the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the sacred
bowls in front of the altar.
v.21
Every pot in Jerusalem
and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come
to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And
on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of
the Lord Almighty.
[Notes:
The designation ‘holy' is brought to significant public
places as well as through the daily life of the people of the
land. It will be a day of final purification of the nation that
had never been achieved before.
Summary:
In this concluding
chapter we have seen the following continuing events:
10.
The Lord will come and stand on the earth bringing transformation
11.
Time [or seasons] will seem to cease to exist on that day
12.
A series of events will transform the land
13.
A series of events reveal the destruction of the enemy
14.
A final declaration that the Land is now holy.]