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§ 5. The afflictions of the people and their results are set forth in figure and symbol. Jerusalem is represented as taken and plundered.
Zec_14:1
The day of the Lord; a day of (or, to) Jehovah cometh. The Greek and Latin Versions have the plural, "days of the Lord come." It is a time when he will specially manifest his glory and power, and be recognized as allowing the trial of his people for wise purposes. It is impossible to fix on any historical fulfilment of this prophecy. The details suit neither Maccabean nor Roman times; the attempt to define exactly the period and matter of its accomplishment has proved a failure, and has led to a mingling of events of very different dates, and to a conglomeration of senses literal, metaphorical, and anagogical, which creates confusion while assuming to explain difficulties. The literal interpretation must be resigned, and the whole prophecy must be taken to adumbrate the kingdom of God in its trial, development, and triumph. Thy spoil shall be divided. Jerusalem is addressed; and the prophet intimates that the enemy shall get possession of the capital, plunder it, and divide its spoil among themselves in its very midst with the greatest security, the inhabitants being wholly at the conquerors' mercy.
Zec_14:2
How this shall come to pass is now shown. For I will gather all nations. God uses the Gentile nations as his instruments in this trial of his people; they are the fires by which he refines and purifies his elect (Joe_3:2, Joe_3:9-11). The city shall be taken. The outrages offered to the captive city are such as are indicated in the case of Babylon (Isa_13:16; comp. Lam_5:11, etc.). Half of the city. The term "half" must not be pressed, as if it contradicted the mention of the two-thirds that were to perish, according to the prediction in Zec_13:8. It is a mere rhetorical expression. Or it may apply to the city alone, while the other referred to the whole land. Shall not be out off. In the former captivity all the people were carried away; in this capture of the city a remnant shall be left therein. It is plain from this statement that the prophecy cannot apply to the destruction of the city by the Romans; for, according to the account of Josephus ('Bell. Jud.,' Rom_6:9), the city itself was razed to the ground, and all the inhabitants were either put to the sword or sold for slaves.
Zec_14:3-7
§ 6. Then the Lord himself comes to her help, great convulsions of nature accompanying his presence.
Zec_14:3
Shall go forth. God is said to "go forth" when he manifests his power by delivering his people and punishing their enemies (comp. Isa_26:21; Isa_42:13; Mic_1:3). As when he fought in the day of battle. The Hebrew is in general terms, "as when he fighteth in a day of battle," or, "slaughter;" Septuagint, καθὼς ἡμέρα παρατάξεως αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρα πολέμου , "as a day of his battle in a day of war;" Vulgate, sicut praeliatus est in die certaminis. There is nothing in the text to confine the reference to any one special interposition; it refers rather to the general course of God's providence in defending his people, though, doubtless, the prophet has in his mind the crowning act of mercy at the Red Sea (Exo_14:13, Exo_14:14, Exo_14:25), which is so often referred to as a typical deliverance (comp. Isa_11:11; Jer_16:14; Jer_23:8; Hab_3:15; and above, Zec_10:11).
Zec_14:4
His feet shall stand. By this theophany he shall come to the aid of his people; nature shall do his bidding, owning the presence of its Maker. Upon the Mount of Olives … on the east. This mount lay on the east of Jerusalem, from which it was separated by the deep valley of the Kidron, rising to a height of some six hundred feet, and intercepting the view of the wilderness of Judaea and the Jordan ghor. The geographical detail is added in the text to indicate the line of escape which shall be opened for those who are to be de-livened. This is the only place in the Old Testament where the Mount of Olives is thus exactly named; but it is often alluded to; e.g. 2Sa_15:30; 1Ki_11:7; 2Ki_23:13 (where it is called "the mount of corruption"), etc. Shall cleave in the midst thereof. As the enemy are supposed to beset Jerusalem, so as to make escape by any ordinary road impossible, the Lord will open a way through the very centre of the mountain (as he opened a path through the Red Sea), by cleaving the hill in sunder, the two parts moving north and south, and leaving a great valley running east and west, and leading to the Arabah.
Zec_14:5
Ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; i.e. by the ravine made by the cleaving of Olivet into two, which God calls "my mountain," because effected by his special interposition. Septuagint, Φραχθήσεται ἡ φάραγξ τῶν ὀρέων μου , "The valley of my mountains shall be blocked;" Vulgate, Fugietis ad vallem montium eorum. The last word is probably an error for meorum. Into the chasm thus miraculously formed the remnant shall flee for refuge. Unto Azal; ἕως Ἰασόδ ; usque ad proximum (Vulgate); so Symmachus. If Azal, or Azel, be a proper name, it is with some probability identified with Beth-ezel, mentioned in Mic_1:11, a village on the east of Olivet. The meaning in this case is that the valley should extend from the west unto the east side of the Mount of Olives, and that in it the people shall find an asylum, that they might not be involved in the judgments which fall on the enemy. Some take Azal to mean "union," and see in it a symbol of the union of the Law and the gospel, or the Jew and Gentile, in one Church—the valley of God's mountain extending to "union;" that is, to enfolding all the faithful (see Wordsworth, in loc.). The earthquake in the days of Uzziah. This is mentioned in Amo_1:1, but not in the historical books (see note on Amos, loc. cit.). The intervention of the Lord is here accompanied by an earthquake, which produces the same panic as on the former occasion, and drives the inhabitants to flight. Shall come. To smite his enemies and to defend his people. All the saints (holy ones) with thee. The versions have, "with him;" and thus many Hebrew manuscripts. But such abrupt changes of persons are not uncommon (see note on Zec_2:8). The "holy ones" are the angels (comp. Deu_33:2; Job_5:1; Dan_7:10; and the parallel predictions in Mat_24:30, Mat_24:31; Mat_25:31).
Zec_14:6
The light shall not be clear, nor dark. The Greek, Syriac, and Latin Versions have, "There shall not be light, but cold and ice." With the absence of light and sun shall come bitter frost, which impedes all activity, and kills life: or, taking the Septuagint rendering, there shall no longer be the interchange of seasons, but one lasting sunshine. It is plain that a time of distress and calamity is intended, and that the passage is threatening and not consolatory, at any rate, at first. There is solid ground for the rendering of the Revised Version margin, adopted by Cheyne and others, which is according to the Khetib, "There shall not be light, the bright ones shall contract themselves;" i.e. the heavenly bodies shall contract their light, or be heaped confusedly together, and cease to shine. The prediction in this case may be compared with that in Joe_3:15; Isa_13:10; and in Mat_24:29; Rev_6:12, Rev_6:13. The Authorized Version is explained in the margin, i.e. "It shall not be clear in some places, and dark in other places of the world"—a gloss which is inadmissible.
Zec_14:7
One day. A unique day, unparalleled (comp. So Zec_6:9; Eze_7:5). Which shall be (is) known to the Lord. Its peculiar character, and the moment of its arrival, are known to God, and God only (Mat_24:36). Not day, nor night. It cannot be called truly the one or the other, because there is darkness in the day and light at night, as the following clause says. This is symbolically explained by St. Ephraem, "It will not be altogether consolation, nor altogether affliction." It is not full daylight, for calamity presses; it is not deep night, because there is hope amid the distress. At evening time it shall be light. In the midst of trouble and danger deliverance shall come. The whole section is a figurative description of the fortunes of the Church militant, even as Christ announced to his disciples: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (Joh_16:33); "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you" (Joh_15:20); "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid' (Joh_14:27).
Zec_14:8-11
§ 7. Then shall occur a season of joy. The land shall be transformed and renewed, and the Lord shall be owned as the sole King of all the earth.
Zec_14:8
Living waters; i.e. water fresh, pure, and perennial (Gen_26:19; Jer_2:13), a figure of the spiritual blessings and graces bestowed by God upon his Church. From Jerusalem, as the centre and representative of the kingdom of God, as in Zec_12:2. The city itself was, as we know, abundantly supplied with water by many conduits and subterranean channels; but standing, as it does, surrounded by hills higher than itself, it is physically impossible that the waters could literally flow as stated.
The description is symbolical, though the natural features of the country are supposed to be changed in order to preserve verisimilitude (comp. Eze_47:1, etc.; Joe_3:18). The former (eastern) sea … the hinder (western) sea. The Dead Sea is tile eastern sea to one looking to sunrise from Jerusalem: the Mediterranean is the western sea, behind the observer's back. Into every quarter the salutary stream shall flow. In summer and in winter. Neither drought nor frost shall stop their perennial flow. "Alike in times of peace and of persecution those waters shall continue their course" (St. Jerome); Septuagint, "In summer and in spring"—a rendering which seems to indicate the home of the Alexandrian Version.
Zec_14:9
All the earth; all the land of Israel (Zec_14:8, Zec_14:10)—a type of the kingdom of God in all its extent (Rev_11:15, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever"). Shall there be one Lord; rather, Jehovah shall be one. He shall be universally acknowledged as "the blessed and only Potentate" (1Ti_6:15). His name one. Idolatry shall be abolished, and the one God shall be everywhere adored (comp. Zec_13:2; Deu_6:4). Men shall no longer attribute operations and effects to various heavenly powers, but shall see and confess that all are derived from and centre in him, and are only different revelations of his ineffable nature and attributes. We do not, indeed, see this prediction yet fulfilled, but the grace to accomplish it is ready and operating; it is only men's perverse wills that impede the gracious purpose of God.
Zec_14:10
All the land shall be turned as a plain. To indicate the exaltation and stability of the centre of the new theocracy, the prophet announces that all the country round Jerusalem shall be turned into a plain, dominated by the metropolis, which stands sublime on a lofty mountain. The Revised Version renders, "shall be turned as the Arabah," i.e. as the Jordan ghor, a valley of abnormal fertility. From Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; i.e. from the north of Judah to its southern boundary. Geba was a town and district on the edge of the great Wady Suweinit, five miles north of Jerusalem. It is identified with Jeba (1Sa_13:3), and it formed the northern boundary of the kingdom of Judah (Jos_18:24). Rimmon is described as "south of Jerusalem," to distinguish it from a town of the same name in Galilee (Jos_19:13), and from the famous rock Rimmon, to which the Benjamites fled (Jdg_20:45, Jdg_20:47). It was situated in the territory of Simeon (Jos_15:32; Jos_19:7), and has been identified with Umm-er-Rummamin, a town ten miles north of Beersheba. It shall be lifted up. Jerusalem shall remain exalted on its hill, while all the country around sinks into a plain—a figure representing the spiritual exaltation of the new theocracy. Inhabited in her place; or, shall dwell in her place. Shall occupy her ancient limits, and abide there safely without fear (comp. Jer_31:38-40; Eze_48:15, etc.). From Benjamin's gate, etc. (Jer_37:13). It is difficult to define the given boundaries with certainty in every particular. Benjamin's gate is the same as the gate of Ephraim (2Ki_14:13; Neh_8:16), so called as leading to the territory of Benjamin, and beyond again to that of Ephraim. It was situated in the north or second wall. From this point the course of the wall is followed, first to the west, and then to the east. The first gate. This was in the eastern part at this wall, and is the same as "the old gate," or "gate of the old town," of Neh_12:39. The corner gate (2Ki_14:13; Jer_31:38) was at the northwest corner, west of the gate of Benjamin, at the angle where the first and second walls approached each other. These dimensions would give the breadth of the city from east to west. The tower of Hananeel (Neh_3:1-32 :l) was at the northeast corner of the north wall, where the citadel Basis or Antonia afterwards stood. The king's wine presses were probably near "the king's garden" (Neh_3:15), at the southeast extremity of the city. They may have been cut out of the rock, as was often the case. This description gives the extent of the city from north to south. Thus Zechariah illustrates the growth and stability of the Church of God by the figure of the earthly city Jerusalem, firmly and orderly built, and inhabited by a teeming population, as the following verse shows. There is no ground for expecting the literal fulfilment of this prediction.
Zec_14:11
Men shall dwell in it. There shall be no tear of exile and captivity, and no necessity to fly from a victorious enemy (Zec_14:2, Zec_14:5). Utter destruction; literally, curse, ban; LXX. and Vulgate, "There shall be no more anathema." The inhabitants shall not incur the curse which is inflicted on transgressors, idolaters, and their cities by the old Law (see Exo_22:20; Deu_7:2; Deu_13:12-15; Deu_20:17; comp. Ezr_10:8; Isa_43:28; Rev_22:3). Shall be safely inhabited; or, shall dwell safely. Sin being removed, there will be no more occasion for chastisement; and the spiritual Jerusalem shall never be destroyed.
Zec_14:12-15
§ 8. Having noted the blessings on the true Israelites, the prophet gives further details concerning the destruction of the enemies: they shall perish by plague, by mutual slaughter, by the sword of Judah.
Zec_14:12
This shall be the plague. These are the instruments which the Lord uses when he fights against the nations (not the people, as in the Authorized Version), Zec_14:3. The plague, or smiting (maggephah), is some contagions affliction sent by God, as in Exo_9:14; Num_14:37; 1Sa_6:4. Their. It is, in the Hebrew, "his flesh, his feet," etc; to show that the general plague extends to every individual. In the last clause the plural is used, "their mouth." With body, eye, and tongue they opposed the holy city, and took pleasure in its discomfiture: in all their members they shall suffer retributive punishment. While they stand upon their feet. The flesh of each shall putrefy and moulder away, while he is still alive and arrayed against the city of God. Holes; soakers. The eyes had spied out the weak places in the defence, and looked with malicious pleasure on the defeat and fall. Tongue. They had blasphemed God, and cried against his holy place, "Down with it, even to the ground!"
Zec_14:13
A great tumult from the Lord (Zec_12:4). A general panic or confusion sent by the Lord, such as befell the Midianites (Jdg_7:22) and the Philistines (l Samuel Zec_14:20), which ends in mutual slaughter. They shall lay hold every one, etc. In this general panic each shall seize his neighbour's hand in fierce contention. The next clause gives the same meaning (comp. Zec_11:6).
Zec_14:14
Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem. The adversus Jerusalem of the Vulgate and some Jewish interpreters is a mistake, and introduces a wholly irrelevant idea. The meaning is that the Judaeans outside of Jerusalem, the nation at large, rallying to the attack, shall fall on the enemy, now thinned by pestilence and internecine conflicts within the walls of the city, and prevail against them (comp. Zec_12:6). Septuagint, Ἰούδας παρατάξεται ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ ," Judah shall draw up his forces in Jerusalem." The wealth of all the heathen (nations) round about. The costly booty of the enemy shall fall into Judah's hands. Thus the Church emerges victorious from persecutions, and is enriched and adorned by the means of those who planned her overthrow.
Zec_14:15
So shall be the plague of the horse, etc. As was the plague that came on men (Zec_14:12), so shall be tide plague that falls on their beasts and cattle. The brute animals suffer for their owners' sin according to the ban under the old Law (Deu_13:15; comp. Num_16:32, Num_16:33; Jos_7:24, Jos_7:25). Tents; camps; Septuagint, παρεμβολαῖς . The verse illustrates the utter destruction which shall befall the enemies of God's Church.
Zec_14:16-19
§ 9. Warned by these manifestations of God's power, the residue of the heathen shall be converted, and shall join with the Hebrews in the regular worship of Jehovah.
Zec_14:16
Every one that is left. All the heathen that attacked the holy city shall not be destroyed; the remnant saved small become subjects of the Divine kingdom. Shall go up. This is the usual phrase for going to Jerusalem for the purpose of worship (comp. Isa_2:2, Isa_2:3; Mic_4:2; Luk_2:42; Joh_7:8). The prophet here and in the following clause speaks as a Jew to Jews, who knew and observed only the prescribed form of worship. It is evident that the announcement could never be literally fulfilled; the Gentile world could never come yearly to pay their devotions at Jerusalem. The prediction can only signify that under Messiah's reign the Gentiles shall be converted to true religion and worship God in regular, orderly fashion, the prophet intimating this in terms derived from the old dispensation, which had the Divine sanction. The Feast of Tabernacles. The Israelites were required to appear before the Lord three times in the year (Exo_23:17; Deu_16:16)—at the festivals of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. But the Gentiles are here required to present themselves only once. The Feast of Tabernacles is chosen for this occasion owing to its peculiar character and tile associations connected with it. It commemorated not only the ingathering of the harvest, but also Israel's sojourn in the wilderness and tide Divine protection there accorded to them, and their entrance into tide promised land; it was therefore a fitting symbol of the rescue of the Gentiles from the devil's kingdom, and their entry into the Church of God, where they enjoyed the blessings of God's grace and protection. It was also a more catholic feast, in one sense, titan the Passover or Pentecost, not being so distinctively Jewish, but one which all nations could keep in gratitude to the Giver of material benefits. We must remember, also, that it was at this feast that our Lord cried (Joh_7:37), "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink," and likewise he declared himself to be "the Light of the world" (Joh_8:12), wishing us, it may be, to understand that this feast was the one we should need to keep, being the one which specially sets him forth as the Sustainer and Guide through life's pilgrimage.
Zec_14:17
Will not come up; goeth not up. Those who neglected this yearly worship shall be punished according to the threat in Deu_11:16, Deu_11:17. No rain. The failure of periodic rain in Eastern countries meant drought, famine, and widespread distress. In a spiritual sense, rain represents the grace and blessing of God; these are withholden from those who refuse to worship him and wilfully cut themselves off from the Church. The LXX. has, Καὶ οὗτοι ἐκείνοις προστεθήσονται , "These shall be associated with those," i.e. shall be reckoned among those enemies whose punishment has been mentioned above.
Zec_14:18
If the family of Egypt go not up. Egypt is mentioned as the great typical enemy of God and Israel, and therefore most obnoxious to punishment if it did not obey the call. That have no rain. This rendering implies, what is not the fact, that Egypt is without rain, and is not dependent upon rain for its fertility. The expression in the text is elliptical, being merely, "then not on them," and it is obviously natural to supply, "shall there be rain." As the rise of the Nile depends upon the equinoctial rains in the interior, the failure of these would be disastrous. Another way of rendering the passage is to combine the clauses and append a note of interrogation; thus: "Shall there not be upon them the plague wherewith," etc.? The LXX. and Syriac omit the negative, Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτους ἔσται ἡ πτῶσις , "Even upon these shall be the plague."
Zec_14:19
The punishment; literally, sin; ἁμαρτία : peccatum; here obviously the punishment of sin—sin with all its fatal consequences (comp. Num_18:22; Lam_3:39; Lam_4:6).
Zec_14:20, Zec_14:21
§ 10. Then everything alike shall be holy, and the ungodly shall be altogether excluded from the house of the Lord.
Zec_14:20
Upon the bells of the horses. The prophet, describing the holiness of the theocracy, uses imagery drawn from the ritual customs of the Law. "The bells," says Henderson, "were small metallic plates, suspended from the necks or heads of horses and camels, for the sake of ornament, and making a tinkling noise by striking against each other like cymbals." Probably these plates had the names of the owners engraven on them. The Septuagint gives "bridle," which possibly the unusual word metzilloth may mean. HOLINESS (holy) UNTO THE LORD; Sanctum Domino (Vulgate); Ἅγιον τῷ Κυρίῳ παντοκράτορι . This was the inscription upon the golden plate on the mitre of the high priest (Exo_28:36). The affixing of this inscription on the trappings of horses signifies that the commonest things shall become holy, all things that men use for work, profit, or ornament shall be consecrated to God's service. The pots in the Lord's house. The "pots" are vessels of inferior sanctity used for boiling the meat of the sacrifice (1Sa_2:14; 2Ch_35:13). The bowls before the altar. These held the blood of the victims for sprinkling on the altar, and the sacred libations, and were considered of superior sanctity. The prophet announces that now all shall be holy, the lower equal to the highest.
Zec_14:21
The last announcement is amplified. Every pot. All the vessels of the country shall be consecrated and used in Divine service. The Levitical distinction shall be abolished, and the Lord's service shall be perfect freedom. Every member of the Church, however humble his station or mean his acquirements, shall be a saint and fit for the Lord's use. The Canaanite; mercator (Vulgate). The word is used in the sense of "trafficker," or "merchant," in Job_40:1-24 :30 (Job_41:6, Authorized Version); Pro_31:24 (comp. Zep_1:11). If any vessel might now be used in God's service, worshippers would no longer be obliged to buy special bowls from those who sold in the temple courts (Mat_21:12). But it is best in agreement with the context to take "Canaanite" to mean any unclean or profane person (comp. Gen_9:25; Le Gen_18:28, etc.). Thus Daniel, in the History of Susanna, verse 56, addresses the wicked elder, "Thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Jude;" and Isaiah (Isa_1:10) calls the chiefs of Israel "rulers of Sodom," and "people of Gomorrah." Henceforward the "people shall be all righteous" (Isa_60:21). There shall be one, holy, Catholic Church. Thus the vision of the golden candlestick (Isa_4:1-6.) is fulfilled; and that this should come to pass is the design of God's manifold providences and operations (comp. Rev_21:27; Rev_22:15).
(1) its immediate antecedents; and
(2) its primary results.
I. ITS IMMEDIATE ANTECEDENTS. These appear to be described here only so far as "Jerusalem" is concerned—whether we understand thereby, as some do, the literal city inhabited again and besieged (see above, Zec_12:2) by the rest of the nations, or that great "spiritual city," the Christian Church (Gal_4:26; Heb_12:22; Rev_3:12). In either (or both) of these senses we see the condition of "Jerusalem" at the time intended (note "then" in Act_1:3). For example, we see:
1. The city itself wholly subdued. Its bulwarks are all "taken," its separate "houses" "dried," its choicest treasures boldly divided by the secure and triumphant enemy in its most central positions, and every refuge against the deepest indignities utterly gone. 2 Its population half destroyed. When the inhabitants of a neighbourhood are decimated by disease it is awful enough. Here we have a proportion of lost ones just fives times as great! Every second house uninhabited! Every family less by one half! What all this exactly points to it is hard to say; but there are passages connecting such unexampled excess of trial with the very eve of the Saviour's coming, in Dan_12:1; Mat_24:12, Mat_24:13; possibly, also, in a spiritual sense, in Luk_18:8.
II. ITS PRIMARY RESULTS; viz. as might be expected, very great natural—or else spiritual—convulsions (comp. Hag_2:6, and beginning of 7; Mal_3:1, Mal_3:2). Three things to be marked about these.
1. How mighty they are in nature! To divide the tideless waters of the upper Red Sea in old days had been much. To do the same by the flowing waters of Jordan (Jos_3:16) perhaps more. To separate, as prophesied here, into two districts, and far removed portions, the solid range of Mount Olivet, more again. At any rate, nothing less.
2. How momentous in results! Jerusalem, with Mount Olivet practically gone from "before" it "on the east," where it had stood for so long the most conspicuous object all round about (comp. Psa_125:2), would be no longer the same place as before. Where once had been a mountain was now a valley; where a barrier, a way of escape—a way of complete escape to "Azal;" either, i.e; as far as needed (so some), or else close at hand (as others). Certainly, if we may judge from the case of Zedekiah (2Ki_25:4, 2Ki_25:5), the "way of escape" in previous sieges had been by a very different route.
3. How easily wrought! viz. immediately on the Master's arrival, by the mere force of that arrival itself by the mere touch, as it were, of his feet! Compare—itself not improbably another prediction of the same occurrence—the striking description of Hab_3:6; also 2Th_2:8, "Whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming", as darkness is destroyed, and that instantly, by the mere presence of light.
Observe, from all this, the inevitable consequences of every manifestation of Christ, specially, of course, of the latest of all.
1. Amazing changes to all. "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low." These will be partly, of course, in the world of feeling and thought. "Then shall the righteous shine forth," as they certainly do not at present (see also Mat_20:16, and elsewhere; and Act_3:20, Act_3:21). Partly, also, it is far from improbable, in the world of matter and sense. (See such passages, on the one side, as Psa_67:6; Eze_34:25, Eze_34:26; Amo_9:13; the very ground which was cursed for the first Adam's sake being blessed then for the sake of the second. See, on the other, 2Pe_3:10, etc.)
2. Exceeding fear to some. Many then will be found fleeing as though for their lives, even in such a way as they did on the occasion of that appalling earthquake in the days of Uzziah, the terror of which had engraved itself so deeply on the national mind. Never before had there been greater fear than there will be at "that day" (Mat_24:30; Isa_2:19; Rev_6:15-17).
3. Corresponding triumph to others. How many things which now divide Christ from his people—how many which now separate his people from one another—shall then be things of the past! All his "saints" shall be with him then (2Th_2:5), and with him forever (1Th_4:17). Consequently (1Jn_3:2; 1Co_15:49), they shall be fully "like him" at last; and therefore, also, like one another; and therefore, again, divided no more! No longer, when at last in the Master's presence, will they "dispute," as they once did "by the way".
Zec_14:6-11
(1) a centre of blessing;
(2) a centre of rule; and
(3) a centre of strength.
I. A CENTRE OF BLESSING. This is represented to us under the figure of a flow of "living waters" therefrom (see Joe_3:18; Eze_47:1-23; passim, and especially Eze_47:9; also Joh_4:10; Joh_7:38) What is remarkable in this case is that the flow of these waters shall be:
1. In most unusual directions. Some will flow, naturally enough, along the intervening descent to the "former," or eastern sea; but some also, altogether supernaturally according to the lie of the land, to the "latter," or western sea. Countries and races, that is to say, which at present are hardly sprinkled with gospel influences, and to which at present it seems almost impossible to send them, shall then be overflowed by them as by a flood.
2. At most unusual seasons. How sadly intermittent, as things are now, is the flow of Church work! Now in decadence, now restored! Now frozen by indifference, now revived by warmth! Now exhausted by heat, now refreshed by rain (Psa_68:1-35 :92)! The flow of these days is to be independent of seasons—rivers all the year through (comp. Rev_22:2).
II. A CENTRE OF RULE. Very naturally does this head follow from that before. Influence of such a gracious character, so universally and constantly in operation, will subdue the whole world in due time. This is what seems foretold in Zec_14:9. In the present divided rule of the world—and, in some measure, of the Church as well—it is difficult to give hearty subjection to this authority without rebelling against that. Not so when, in all the world, there shall be but one supreme Head. Not so, still more, when the possessor of that supreme authority shall only be known by one name. At present, in many cases, we have vast composite sovereignties, "united kingdoms," "dual empires," at best. The man obeyed here as Emperor of Austria is only obeyed next door as King of Hungary. Not so at all in "that day." The King of "Jerusalem"—Christ in his Church—shall be the one title of that "only Potentate".
III. A CENTRE OF STRENGTH. "Jerusalem" is to be strong then for three different reasons. There shall be:
1. No facilities for attacking it. Beginning from the ancient fortress of Geba on the north (Pusey, in loc.), down along the whole mountain range to Rimmon in the south, instead of lofty hills sheltering the invaders and dominating the hill of Mount Zion, the "whole land shall be a plain."
2. Every facility for defending it. What those other mountains lose, as it were, the hill of Zion shall gain. Remaining still "in her place," but "lifted up" (setup. Isa_2:2) far above her former elevation, the holy city shall look down then on the whole subject neighbourhood—every ancient wall and battlement being also restored and elevated together with it, and so made doubly effective as a means of defence.
3. Better still, the knowledge of the possession of these advantages shall prevent the very thought of attack. "Men shall dwell there"—shall choose to dwell there—knowing how secure it is from attack. What had been so often there shall be never again. "Jerusalem" now is a city which can never be touched. This shall be felt, this shall be acted on, by all without, by all within.
This glorious prospect of that future day of blessing and peace, whether comparatively near or far off, may console us greatly in the days that now are, whether in witnessing:
1. Their cruel dissensions. What a scene of selfishness, greed, competition, strife, suspicion, distrust, and violence is that now around us! Worse than a "struggle for existence," it is too often a struggle, even where existence is not imperilled, to keep others down. See how the whole civilized (!) world is standing armed to the teeth, possessed of deadlier weapons, and, consequently, of deadlier determination, than ever. How restful to the spirit to look beyond all this to that described here!
2. Their cruel disappointments. Much as these evils have been bewailed and lamented, and often as many men have hitherto tried to relieve them, how little comparative success they have reached! Political endeavours to remedy these evils have only led to worse, as a rule. Even the religion of Jesus, the religion of "liberty, equality, and fraternity," in the very best (and perhaps only possible) sense, has become the occasion, too often, though not the cause, of that which it sought to remove. It is a comfort to know that another hand will itself apply this remedy in due time; and that that will be easily accomplished by him when he comes down from the "mount," which is now impossible to his friends (Mar_9:14-27).
Zec_14:12-21
(1) to those who shall hate "Jerusalem;"
(2) to these who shall despise it; and
(3) to those who shall inhabit it, in those days.
I. THOSE WHO HATE IT. For such persons there will be, even at that time, as at all previous times, in existence. There will even be some in existence—at any rate, at the very beginning of "that day"—who shall be bold enough to declare war against it. How will it be with such then? Not at all as it is with them now, when they seem so often and so mysteriously to have the "upper hand" (Psa_9:19, Prayer book Version) against God. On the contrary, partly
(1) by judgments within them, their very bodily organs, as it were, visibly withering away under God's displeasure; partly
(2) by judgments among them, causing them, as in a kind of frenzy, to lay violent hands on one another; partly
(3) by judgments upon them, which shall turn their very endeavours to injure "Jerusalem" into means for enriching it; and partly
(4) by judgments around them, represented as coming even on the poor brutes they employ for their sakes;—God will testify openly what are his feelings and purposes with regard to such doings. In such circumstances, if evil be sometimes desired, it will very seldom be deliberately attempted, and never achieved. How total a contrast, in every respect, to that which we read of in Ecc_8:11!
II. THOSE WHO DESPISE IT. Besides that hostility which is open and active, there is that which is passive and half-concealed. Some men do not so much oppose religion as ignore its injunctions. Men disposed to act thus will not be lacking, even in that glorious "day." This illustrated here by a reference to that well known ancient "Feast of Tabernacles," in which the settled Israelites commemorated the fact of their having been wanderers once in the wilderness (Le 23:41-43). Something so far corresponding to this, at any rate, as to be fitly described by the same appellation, will be of universal obligation in the final settlement of that great sabbatical "day" (comp. Heb_4:1-9). How will things be with those who despise it and neglect to "come up" (Ecc_8:17) ? Not as now (see Mat_5:45); but rather as it was in those days when Goshen was distinguished for Israel's sake, as by a special command from Heaven, from all the rest of the land. Every such contemptuous nation or "family," whatever the peculiarity of their circumstances and ordinary climate, shall be made to feel then the open displeasure of him who commandeth the clouds. How widely different in those days the language of Heaven! How widely different the conduct, may we not expect, therefore, of the most callous of men!
III. THOSE WHO INHABIT IT. These men shall find Jerusalem then "the holy city" indeed. Speaking here of the future, in language drawn from the usages of his own time; or possibly, as some have supposed, speaking so because there will be a certain measure of return to those usages in the future;—there are three great changes which the prophet bids us expect in the "Jerusalem" of" that day." Its inhabitants will see:
1. The previously "common" become "holy." The very bells of the horses being outwardly marked for God's service, like the high priest's mitre was in ancient times (Exo_28:36-38; see also Isa_23:17, Isa_23:18).
2. The previously holy made holier still, The ordinary temple "pits," only used of old days for "dressing the victims" (Pusey), being now regarded as like the sacrificial "bowls before the altar," containing the atoning blood itself; and even those vessels outside the "house," which were only so far holy before that they were found in "Jerusalem" (the holy city), or belonged to "Judah" (the holy people), shall now be regarded as tilt for employment in the temple worship itself.
3. The irreclaimably profane forever shut out. "The Canaanite," i.e; as representing those who, though not truly the children of promise, yet "would live" amongst them (Jdg_1:35) through all the ages, being never seen there again (comp. Isa_35:8; Joe_3:17; Eph_5:27; Rev_21:27; Rev_22:15).
"Not yet! not yet! The faultless flock,
The field without a tare,
Come last of all the blessing sought
By centuries of prayer!"
How fitting a close of the whole is this thought! How rightly does this chief prophet of the post-Captivity Jerusalem tell us thus, in conclusion, of that far more glorious Jerusalem which is some day to shine forth! It is much the same that the Prophet Daniel does at the end of his prophecy. It is the same also that "St. John the divine" does at the end of his song. They bring their message to an end when they have given us a glimpse of the end which God has in store. It is for us to take care that we are truly numbered with those for whom that "end" is prepared.
I. TO IMPRESS US WITH THE GREATNESS OF GOD. There are forces great and terrible. But back of all, and controlling all, is God. So the prophets taught, and so we believe (Psa_68:8; Psa_104:32; Job_25:1-6 :9-14; Exo_19:18).
II. TO HUMBLE US UNDER A SENSE OF OUR UTTER HELPLESSNESS. Many things possible to man. Can tame the wild beasts and subdue the earth. Can make fire and air and water his servants. But there are times when he feels his impotence. When the earthquake comes, can only say, "It is the will of the Lord" (Isa_2:19-22).
III. TO CONVINCE US OF THE INSTABILITY OF ALL EARTHLY THINGS. The earth seems of all things the most stable. But there comes a crisis, and our old faith is gone forever. "A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations. The earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet; one second of time has created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity which hours of reflection could not have produced" (Darwin).
IV. TO ADMONISH US OF THE JUDGMENTS THAT ARE COMING UPON THE EARTH. Geologists tell us of internal fires, and the probability of some great catastrophe, sooner or later. "Coming events cast their shadows before." Earthquakes are prophecies. Confirmed by Scripture (2Pe_3:10-12).
V. TO TEACH US THE PERFECT SECURITY OF GOD'S SAINTS. Come what will, who shall separate us from the love of God? There are things which cannot be moved, and they are the heritage of God's people (Isa_54:10; Psa_46:1-11.; Heb_12:25-29). We look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.—F.
Zec_14:6, Zec_14:7
I. THE DAWN. Ordinary light seems withdrawn. Things are seen dimly. Discouragement and fear. Ready to say, "Darkness shall cover us." Call for faith. "God is light." "He will bring the blind by a way that they know not, making darkness light before them" (cf. Isa_1:10).
II. PROGRESS. Still uncertainty. Neither wholly day nor night. Alternations. Now the sun seems about to break forth, now the gloom returns. Hopes and fears. But on the whole advance. Faith still finds firm footing. Rope brightens. Love never fails. Amidst all the conflicts with science and philosophy, Christianity abides in its power. There is promise of the "perfect day."
III. THE CLOSE. "Evening." After long waiting and many disappointments, When most needed and least expected. Not in the order of nature, but of grace. When the shadows are lengthening and the sun going down, the light shines forth with a sweet and beautiful radiance. Glorious ending to a dark and cloudy day. The history of the Church, and the experience of individual Christians, afford many illustrations. The promise sometimes finds a tender and comforting fulfilment in the last hours of the dying believer. Bunyan tells us of Mr. Fearing, that, at the entrance of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he was "ready to die for fear." But to him the valley was quiet from troublers. Then Greatheart notes, as something very remarkable, at the departure of this pilgrim, "The water of that river was lower, at this time, than ever I saw it in all my life; so he went over at last not much above wet shod."—F.
Zec_14:8-11
I. SOURCE. "Jerusalem." Centre of supreme authority and law. The place of holy sacrifice. The city of the great King. Here is God's throne (Rev_22:1). "Salvation is of the Jews." "Of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came."
II. DIRECTION. There is movement. Not arbitrary, but regulated. Not limited to one land, but for all people. "Beginning at Jerusalem." Such was the law; but from that starting point the messengers of salvation were to go forth to the whole earth. Water seeks the lowest level, and the gospel comes down to the poorest, the most despised, "the chief of sinners."
III. AFFLUENCE. Rich supply—ample to meet the needs of all. In the wilderness the rock waters followed the Israelites in all their wanderings. But this river is sufficient "for the whole world."
IV. PERPETUITY. There are rivers that vary. They run part of the year, and then they fail. But this river never fails. Neither the winter's cold nor the summer's heat can affect its flow. There are rivers that have disappeared—like old peoples and old civilizations—but this river runs on throughout the ages with unchanging life and virtue.
V. BENEFICENCE. Vitality. Life and the power of life. What so sweet and refreshing as the streams of pure water? Carry blessings far and wide. So with the gospel. Converting souls. Purifying society. Advancing the world in the highest forms of civilization. Grand future. Universal subjection. Universal homage. "One Lord."—F.
Zec_14:9-11
I. RAISED ABOVE THE STRIFE OF FACTIONS. Sects. Party spirit. Din and strife of tongues. Confusion and every evil work. But for Zion's children there is a purer atmosphere and serener skies.
II. RAISED ABOVE THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE WORLD. We hear much in our day of germs. The air is everywhere infected. The seeds of disease are on every side. But rise higher, and the danger ceases. So of Zion. Drunkenness, illegitimacy, worldliness, and other sins abound, and lower the tone of society. Need to rise nearer to heaven. "Ye are from beneath: I am from above," said our Lord.
III. RAISED ABOVE THE ASSAULTS OF THE WICKED. Storms. Enemies. Temptations. Cry, "Deliver us from the evil." The higher we rise, the greater our safety. The more we resemble Christ, with the more hope can we say, "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me."
IV. RAISED ABOVE THE VICISSITUDES OF TIME. Dispensations vary. Habits of society alter. Beliefs may change. But eternal truth and righteousness abide. "The true religion is built upon the rock, the rest are tossed upon the waves of time" (Bacon).
"Serene will be our days, and bright
And happy will our nature be,
When love is an unerring light,
And joy its own security."
(Wordsworth.)
Zec_14:16-21
I. UNITY OF WORSHIP. No more many gods, but one. No more hostile sects and parties, but the holy Catholic Church of the living God. At last the old promise is fulfilled (Num_14:21).
II. JOYFULNESS OF SERVICE. The Spirit of Christ reigns. Love and joy and peace are in all hearts. From all lands and peoples come the songs of praise and the services of thanksgiving to the Father of lights, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift.
III. SANCTITY OF LIFE. Society is purified. Every life is consecrated to God. There is no need any more for the law of ordinances, for all things are cleansed. "Holiness" is the law everywhere.
1. Common life.
2. Domestic life.
3. Religious life.
"Ah! when shall all men's good
Be each man's rule, and universal peace
Lie like a shaft of light across the land,
And like a lane of beams athwart the sea,
Thro' all the circle of the golden year?"
F.
I. THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF PERPETRATING THE GREATEST ENORMITIES ON THEIR FELLOW MEN. "The city of Jerusalem shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished." In the account given by Josephus of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, we have a record of enormities at which we might well stand aghast. Christ said, concerning this event, "There shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." "The particulars," says Dr. Wardlaw, "here noted, are such as usually, it might be said invariably, attend the besieging, the capture, and the sacking of cities; especially when, as in this case, the assailing army has been exasperated by a long, harassing, and wasting defence. The entrance of the unpitying soldiery, the rifling of houses, the violation of women, the indiscriminate massacre, and the division of the spoil, are just what all expect, and what require no comment. And never were such scenes more frightfully realized than at the destruction of Jerusalem, when God in his providence, in judicial retribution, gathered all nations against the devoted city to battle." "All nations," a correct description of the army of Titus, the empire of Rome embracing a large proportion of the then known world, and this army consisting of soldiers of all the different nations which composed it. And, while such was to be the destruction brought upon the "city," the desolation was to extend, and that in different ways, at short intervals, throughout "the land." The fact that men are capable of perpetrating on their fellow men such enormities, shows:
1. Man's apostasy from the laws of his spiritual nature. To love supremely the supremely good, to do unto others what we would have others do unto us, to love and to be loved, seem to us to be truths inscribed upon the very constitution of the soul. They are instinctive truths. But in all such abominations as here recorded, all these are outraged. Men have fallen away from their own nature. Somehow or other they have become denaturalized.
2. The great work which the gospel has to do in our world. The great mission of the gospel (and admirably adapted it is to its mission), is morally to renew human nature, to bring it back to its true self and its God. It has done so in millions of instances, it is doing so and will continue to do so until the present abominations shall be unknown amongst the race.
II. THAT WHATEVER ENORMITIES THEY PERPETRATE, THEY ARE EVERMORE INSTRUMENTS IN THE HANDS OF THE WORLD'S GREAT RULER. The period in which these abominations were enacted is in the text called the "day of the Lord," and he is represented as calling the Gentile armies to the work. "I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished." If we are to particularize the predicted destruction, and are not satisfied with figurative explanation, we may look to the conquest under Titus, as in some sort fulfilling the announcement. Rome at this time was the mistress of the world, and the army of Titus, who besieged and sacked the holy city, was composed of soldiers of all the nations. These all moved freely, unconscious of any Divine restraint; still they were but the "sword" of justice in his hand—mere instruments. God in his retributive procedure punishes the bad by the bad. In this case:
1. No injustice is done. The men of Jerusalem deserved their fate. They "filled up the measure of their iniquity." So it was of old with the Canaanites, who were exterminated by Joshua and his triumphant hosts—the aborigines deserved what they received. Joshua was but the sword of justice. No injustice therefore is done.
2. There is no infringement of free agency. Good men might revolt from inflicting such enormities upon their fellow creatures, but it is according to the wish of bad men. They go to it freely. It is the gratification of their malign nature. This is God's retributive method, to punish the bad by the bad. Thus he makes the very wrath of bad men to praise him.
III. THAT ALTHOUGH THEY ARE BUT INSTRUMENTS IN THE HANDS OF THE WORLD'S RULER, HE WILL PUNISH THEM FOR ALL THEIR DEEDS OF ENORMITY. "Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." That is, for example, he will fight against Rome, the instrument with which he inflicted just punishment upon the sinners at Jerusalem. By successive irruptions of the barbarous tribes of the north, the glory of Rome was extinguished, and its end hastened. Where is the justice of punishing men whom he employs to execute his own will? Two facts will answer this question.
1. What they did was essentially bad. Murder, plunder, rapine, etc; were all violations of his great moral laws, and repugnant to his holy nature.
2. What they did was in accord with their own wills. He never inspired them nor constrained them. They were free, and because they committed crimes of their own free accord, eternal justice required their punishment. Of the Divine government, the justice cried, "Awake, O sword!"
CONCLUSION. Do not let the abominations of war and the outrages on justice, truth, and humanity, which are rife in this country of ours, shake our faith in God. "The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice;" "The Lord sitteth upon the flood."—D.T.
Zec_14:4, Zec_14:5
I. HE OBSERVES THEIR TERRIBLE CONDITION. "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east." On this Mount of Olives Jesus often stood, and from it he commanded a view of the holy city; on one occasion, from its brow, he beheld the city, and wept over it on account of its approaching doom. But the idea suggested here is that God observes men in all their calamities and dangers. His eye is on them. He watches them with the interest of a Father. This is especially the case with his people. We are assured that his eye is ever upon the righteous. Job said, "He knoweth the way that I take." Let us remember, in our greatest trials and sufferings, that he stands on the Mount of Olives. In standing there:
1. He sees what we have to endure.
2. He sees how we behave ourselves in our condition, whether under our afflictions we are trustful, patient, and submissive, or otherwise; whether in our perils we are making an effort to escape. How comforting it is to feel that the eye of a tender, compassionate Father is ever on us, in all our sufferings, in this world of sorrow, trial, and dangers! "Thou compa