ACT II: A VISION OF CHRIST'S RETURN (9:1-14:21)

             A. SCENE 1 -- (9-11) His First Coming

            1. Deliverance Promised (9:1-17)

     In Zechariah’s last prophecy (9-14) we have a beautiful picture of the judgment of the nations surrounding Israel and of the glorious reign of Christ from Mt. Zion. The scene on history’s prophetic stage begins with a dramatic picture of two conqueror’s coming to bring judgment on the nations surrounding Israel with the promise: “Jehovah has an eye upon (or ‘over’) man and the tribes of Israel” (LXX translation). The first eight verses describes the first conqueror who defeats “Hamath, Tyre, Sidon and other cities in Syria, Philistia and Phonecia”(9:1-8). The second Ruler will be seen riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and later becoming King (9:9-17). Boice, quoting David Baron states: “the first section contains a judgment against the gentile world power for the benefit of Israel, while the second contains a purifying judgment against Israel herself” (The Minor Prophets, Vol.2,p.529).

“An Oracle, the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach and will rest upon Damascus--  the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel are on the Lord (v.1)”

     This word “oracle” actually means “a burden” which refers to a heavy prophecy of judgment from Yahweh. It is usually spoken through a prophet containing pronouncements of judgment. Thus, in these first eight verses, we read the unfolding judgment on those gentile nations surrounding Israel. WHO WAS THIS CONQEROR? Alexander the Great! Again, Boice explains: “the remarkable thing about this first section of this rehearsal of judgment against the gentile world powers is that it accurately foretells the conquest of the eastern Mediterranean coaslands by Greek armies under the command of Alexander the Great. Alexander...defeated the armies of Darius himself at the decisive battle of Issus in 333 BC. After that he marched south against Damascus, Tyre, Sydon and the cities of Philistia, precisely as Zechariah foretells in 9:1-8” (The Minor Prophets, Vol.2,pp.529,530).

     General Alexander united the kingdom of Greece after his father, Philip of Macedonia, died in 336 BC. In a matter of months he was able to defeat the Medo-Persian forces. He had a small army of some 50,000 men, highly disciplined and dedicated to world conquest. After conquering Europe, he went to Asia Minor (Turkey) conquering city after city. His power and military might is described in Daniel 2 by the “belly and thighs of brass;” in Daniel 7, as a “leopard with four wings & four heads”; and in Daniel 8 as the “goat with a prominent horn between his eyes”.

     As Alexander swept through Asia, he began a systematic destruction of Syria, Philistia and Phoenicia. His method was to tear them down to such a wakened state that they could never rebel. Hamath and Damascus were two important Syrian Cities; Tyre and Sidon were the most important cities of Phoenicia; the cities along the Mediterranean Sea connected with Philistia included Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashtod. These nations who often oppressed Israel were marked for destruction as verse 8 makes clear: “I will defend my house against marauding forces; never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch”.

     Note that the Lord specifically singles out Tyre because of its wealth, pride and arrogance. Tyre seemed impregnable! Isaiah 23:4 calls her “the fortress of the sea” and then pronounces its ultimate overthrow. Over a hundred years later Zechariah picks up the “prophetic pen” describing her demise: “Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust and gold like the dirt of the streets, but the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea and she will be consumed by fire” (v.3-4). Assyria tried for 5 years to overthrow Tyre under the leadership of Shalmaneser but failed; Nebuchadnezzar also tried for 13 years but they moved from the coast to an island where they built an impregnable fortress wall a hundred and fifty feet high. But the Lord said He would “take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea”. That is precisely what happened! Zechariah’s words were fulfilled when Alexander the Great placed Tyre under siege, constructing a causeway (from the ruins of the old city) through the sea to Tyre, now situated on an island off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

     We sometimes use the phrase “a hop, skip and a jump” which seems to apply to these last nine verses. Zechariah presents the main Actor in the final drama of this chapter. Israel is called to rejoice because the true King is coming with deliverance from all her enemies.

Verse 9: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

     Dr. McComiskey connecting the two chapter divisions states, “The encouragement to God’s people to rejoice flows out of the previous affirmation of his concern for them. Because God’s eye is on his people he will direct the events of history so that from those events there will emerge a king who will fulfill the promise of verse 8” (The Minor Prophets, p.1166). When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey that first Palm Sunday, He was offering to Israel the gift of Salvation. The donkey appears to express humility in this context because verse 10 states that the Lord will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem finally ending their misplaced trust in engines of war. His first coming on a donkey was a sign of humility and servitude; His second coming described in Revelation 19:11 finds Him riding into Jerusalem on a white horse as the conquering King of kings and Lord of lords. At His first coming He bears the cross; at His second coming He wears a crown! Peter spoke of these two events in I Peter 1:11: “when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” Little did they realize when they cried Hosanna to the Son of David that a day or two later they would be crying, “crucify Him!” “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him” (John 1:11). But Zechariah looks beyond the chasm to His victorious return when “He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth” (v.10b)

The final picture described in verses 14-17 finds the armies of the world assembled around

Israel in what appears to be the final battle of the ages: Armageddon. God, who remembers His “covenant of blood” (v.11), will fulfill His promise. Verse 13 forms an interesting backdrop to

the final end-time drama: a lowly priest, Judah Maccabees, against a Grecian tyrant, Antiochus Epiphanes, help to illustrate the triumph of Messiah.

Verse 13: I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion -- against your sons, O Greece -- and make you like a warrior’s sword."

      The initial historical fulfillment of this prophecy appears to take place when Judas Maccabees, with a small band of Jews, defeated the Greek ruler of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes in 165 BC. Yet the final and complete fulfillment awaits a future day when the lowly Rider on a donkey(v.9) comes from heaven as the Cosmic Warrior on a White Horse bringing defeat to His enemies and victory to Israel.  James Boice states: "at some point in these verses--it is hard to tell when--attention passes from the time of the Maccabees to a more distant time or at least to a more general consideration of God's provision.  ...somewhere between the mention of Greece in 9:13 and the end of the chapter, Zechariah begins to show how the one who was earlier introduced as a king would actually function as a shepherd to his people, unlike the harsh rulers defeated by the Maccabees.  The shepherd theme grows in importance until almost the end of the prophecy" (The Minor Prophets, p.533).
      Yahweh speaking through His prophet Zechariah then proclaims liberty and peace to Zion.

Verses 14-17: Then the Lord will appear over them; His arrow will flash like lightning. The Lord will send the trumpet.....And the Lord Almighty will shield them...The Lord their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people...They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown....How attractive and beautiful they will be!"

God’s covenant promises to Israel will finally be fulfilled. The reason He delivers them is that they are the priceless token of his sovereignty. Isaiah 62:3 makes that clear: “You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

:

Jesus shall reign where’re the sun, does His successive journeys run

His kingdom spreads from shore to shore, ‘till moons shall wax and

wane no more.

       TWO KINGS REVEALED 

THE SECOND ACT ONCE MORE BEGINS
WITH SCENES FAR DIFFERENT THAN BEFORE
TWO MIGHTY KINGS APPEAR ON STAGE
ALONG THE ROUTE TO ISRAEL'S SHORE.

THE FIRST LOOKED LIKE A FIERCE-HORNED GOAT
A GRECIAN KING OF YOUTHFUL AGE
DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT
WITH UNRELENTING MIGHT AND RAGE.

THE YOUNG COMMANDER ROSE IN STRENGTH
BY CRUSHING PERSIA'S NORTHERN FLANK
THEN SYRIA, TYRE AND SOUTHERN TOWNS
BECAME THE TROPHIES OF HIS RANK.

WHEN ALEXANDER'S FORCES MET
OUTSIDE JERUSALEM'S HOLY LAND
A MIRACLE FROM HISTORY CAME
THE VISION OF GOD'S WARNING HAND.

THE HIGH PRIEST WITH EACH MAN IN WHITE
MARCHED OUT TO MEET THE COMING KING
BUT THROUGH A VISION YAHWEH GAVE
THE LAND WAS SPARED FROM CONQUERING.

YET ISRAEL FAILED TO UNDERSTAND
THE WAY TO FREEDOM WAS MUCH MORE
THAN CASTING OFF THE YOKE OF ROME
BY SOME MESSIAH OF THEIR OWN.

THE PROPHET SAW A SECOND KING
WHO RODE UPON A DONKEY'S COLT
HIS HUMBLE BIRTH FROM DAVID'S LINE
GAVE PROOF HE WAS THE LORD DIVINE.

BUT ISRAEL IN THEIR IGNORANCE THOUGHT
A MILITARY PRINCE WOULD COME
SO WHEN HOSANNA SONGS GAVE PRAISE
THE CRIES OF "CRUCIFY" WERE RAISED. 

BUT ZECHARIAH VIEWED A DAY
FULFILLING PROMISES GOD MADE
THAT AFTER "JACOB'S TROUBLED DAYS
MESSIAH'S KING WOULD COME ABLAZE.

THE BRANCH FROM JUDAH'S PROMISED LINE
WILL REIGN IN REGAL MAJESTY
AND GRAFTED ISRAEL WILL SHINE FORTH
AS HIS CROWNED JEWELS OF ROYALTY.

THEN DESERT LANDS WILL BLOOM AGAIN
AND PEACE THE GIFT FOR EVERY MAN
FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS HIS ALONE
WHO SITS AND REIGNS FROM ZION'S THRONE. 

                                           THOUGHT QUESTIONS

1. The word “oracle/burden” means “to bear” and signifies something heavy or burdensome. What may have been some reasons for the use of this word?
   
   
2. The first 8 verses indicate battles and destruction taking place all around Israel and later in verse 13 Greece is mentioned as a part of it. As you read Daniel 7:6 and 8:5-7 Alexander the Great is described as a four-headed, winged leopard and a strong he-goat. What kind of picture is conjured up in your mind after reading these verses? What fear may have gripped their hearts as he was nearing Jerusalem?
   
   
3. What affect did Alexander’s conquest have on the future expansion of the Gospel in the first century?
   
   
4. Verses 9-10 describe the coming of another king. Why does Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a colt instead of a horse? Wouldn’t that seem somewhat odd in view of Israel’s Messianic expectation? What confusion might have entered their minds after reading verse 10?
   
   
5. The “blood covenant” mentioned in verse 11 goes back to his unconditional promise made to Abraham and his seed in Genesis 15:1-10. The rest of this chapter jumps from Greece to the dark, war days of Armageddon (vs.14-15) and the personal return of Christ (vs.16-17). What comfort would this give to Israel during their present and future struggles as a Nation?