In these final nine verses, the Messiah is characterized as a:

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1 Subject: Zechariah #10 Title: Zechariah Chapter Nine Text: Zechariah 9:1-17 Introduction As the Book of Zechariah divides neatly into two distinct parts, so does the ninth chapter of the Book. The first eight chapters were designed to motivate God s people to continue their building project, the reconstruction of the Temple. They were reminded that God wants to and will reestablish Israel and her kingdom. The people need to build the Temple, a visible sign of the worship life of the people. The last six chapters (9-14) deal with the coming of the Messiah, both His First and Second Comings. The first eight verses of Chapter 9 prophecy God s judgment upon several of Israel s lifelong enemies. All of this was accomplished before Christ came the first time when Alexander the Great led his Greek armies against these enemies (see Modlish notes beginning on p.63), but will take place again at the Second Coming since they are still Israel s enemies. The second half of the chapter speaks of the two advents of Messiah, one meek and lowly when He comes riding the foal of an ass (9:9), the second, as Israel s King and military defender (9:10). In these final nine verses, the Messiah is characterized as a: * King (9) * Prince of peace (10, 11) * Judge (12, 13) * Man of War (14, 15) * Shepherd (16, 17) Outline I. The Lord will Destroy Israel s Enemies and Supernaturally Protect Her (9:1-8) II. The Messiah will Come and Fulfill His Ministry (9:9-17) For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! (17) I. The Lord will Destroy Israel s Enemies and Supernaturally Protect Her (9:1-8) Zechariah 9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD. 2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. 3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 57

2 4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. 5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. * 9:1 - The burden of the word of the LORD - This burden is the prophecy that has been laid upon Zechariah s shoulders to give to these enemies of Israel, which was noted in the Introduction as fulfilled by the Greeks led by Alexander the Great, but will be again in the future when Israel s Messiah returns as their King and military commander after they accept Him as their Saviour (Zechariah 12:9-14; 13:1-2). - Hadrach...Damascus - The first place is unknown, but Damascus is the capital of Syria - when the eyes of man...shall be toward the Lord - The Lord will get everyone s attention when all the tribes of Israel are focused on the Lord! Friend or Foe will look upon Him. * 9:2 - Hamath...Tyrus...Zidon - These places border Israel and come under judgment. Hamath is north of Israel and near the land of Babylon (2 Kings 25:21; Jeremiah 39:5); and Tyrus and Zidon were the Phoenicians in northern Israel and southern Lebanon on the Mediterrean seacoast (Joel 3:4; Matthew 15:21). * 9:4 - cast her out - The Lord prophesies specifically of the destruction of the wealthy city of Tyrus. See Ezekiel 27 for its lamentation and wealth. * 9:5 - Ashkelon...Gaza...Ekron - Three of the five capital cities of the Philistines (Joshua 13:3; 1 Samuel 6:17). Located in southern Israel where the Palestinians live today in the Gaza Strip. These cities will also be effected by the destruction. * 9:6 - a bastard...in Ashdod...the pride of the Philistines - An illegitimate leader or king shall dwell in another one of the Philistine capital cities. * 9:7 - I will take away his blood...and his abominations - These two phrases suggest some kind of idol worship and symbolize the judgment and consequences that will fall upon these heathen and continual enemies of Israel. 58

3 - But he that remaineth...shall be as a governor in Judah - This would be Jesus at the Second Advent as He brings judgment upon these places. Psalm 22:8 says, For the kingdom is the LORD S: and he is the governor among the nations. In Matthew 2:6, the word Governor is substituted for ruler in the prophecy about Messiah s birthplace in Micah 5:2, out of thee shall come a Governor; that shall rule my people... - Ekron as a Jebusite - This capital city would fall like the early Jebusite inhabitants of Jerusalem when David expelled them at the beginning of his reign (1 Chronicles 11:1-6). * 9:8 - no oppressor shall pass through them anymore - God, Himself, will be their defense and defender. Israel will no longer be abused by her enemies. This is the kind of leader that the Jews were seeking at the time of Christ s first coming, the military defender and conqueror. The language was there, but they missed some of the other very important clues, particularly the words that follow in v.9, thy king cometh unto thee, and having salvation; lowly... II. The Messiah will Come and Fulfill His Ministry (9:9-17) Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 15 The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. 17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids. 59

4 * 9:9 - Rejoice greatly...thy King cometh - The fulfillment of this event at the First Coming is described in Mark 11:1-11 and quoted in Matthew 21:1-11, but after His first triumphal entry into Jerusalem as noted in Matthew 21, Jesus declared in Matthew 23:39, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Therefore, this event will be repeated when He returns as their King, riding upon a white horse (Revelation 19: 11, 16) rather than the foal of an ass! If Israel as a nation had accepted Jesus as their Messiah after His Crucifixion, Resurrection and Ascension, He would have returned as their King. But after the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54-60 where Jesus was standing on the right hand of God (55), He sat down (Hebrews 10:12) to await Israel s future repentance and restoration. The following verses speak of Jesus as Israel s King in the New Testament: Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!...37 And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS...42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war...16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen. * 9:10 - I will cut off...and he shall speak peace unto the heathen - Messiah will bring peace to Israel and the Gentile in the Millennium. He also brings peace to the Jew and Gentile through salvation, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). 60

5 Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. - his dominion...sea to sea - Currently, His Church is found in many places all over the world, but at the Second Coming with His Church, He will rule the entire world that is left from the time of judgment in the Tribulation. * 9:11 - out of the pit wherein is no water - A picture of Hell (Luke 16:24). Israel will no longer be spiritually dry. Isaiah 58:11 says, And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. * 9:12 - prisoners of hope...i declare...double unto thee - Israel has been hoping for their Messiah to come through their many trials and tribulations since they rejected Him. He will become their strong hold (fort) at the Second Advent, and He will give them double blessings because they are Jehovah s firstborn (Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 21:17). * 9:13 - made thee as the sword of a mighty man - Speaks of the day of victory for Judah (Southern Kingdom of Israel), Ephraim (Northern Kingdom of Israel) and Zion (Jerusalem) against Greece (more broadly, the Gentile enemies). * 9:14 - the Lord shall be seen over them - It will be well known on that day that the Lord is the protector and defender of Israel. Psalms 97:5 The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Nahum 1:5 The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Amos 9:5 And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. Isaiah 63:3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 61

6 * 9:15 - The Lord of hosts shall defend them - Again the Lord will bring them victory as Israel becomes like a drunken man who makes a noise as through wine while defeating their enemies. The image also speaks of the incredible amount of blood that will be spilt like the sacrificial blood on the corners of the altar. * 9:16 - save them...as the flock of his people - The Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20) will save Israel. John 10:11 calls Him the Good Shepherd who giveth his life for the sheep, which He did at His first coming when He became the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Psalms 77:20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. Psalms 78:52 But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. Isaiah 40:11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Jeremiah 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. * 9:17 - For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty - At His First Advent, Isaiah 53:2 says of Jesus, he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. But at His Second Advent, there will be no one that will match Him in his goodness, and...his beauty. Hosea 14:6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. Isaiah 33:17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off. - corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids - As the Lord brings restoration to Israel, agricultural prosperity returns, which is a thought that continues in Chapter 10:1, Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. Even today, the nation of Israel has reclaimed much of the dry desert land to one of bountiful crops, which causes much rejoicing at the harvest. 62

7 Modlish Notes for Zechariah Nine Introduction: The scope of the second part of Zechariah (chapters 9-14) is the same as the first part (chapters 1-8). The series of eight night visions (1:7-6:8) extend from Zechariah s time to the establishment of the kingdom over Israel in blessing (cf. Acts 1:6). The symbolic crowning of the high priest, Joshua (6:9-15), is a climactic act illustrating, as an event in history, the setting of the King-Priest, Messiah, over the established Kingdom. The answer to the question of the fasts (chapters 7-8) also leads in its final explanation to the time when the fasts will become feasts in full millennial blessings. Chapters 9-14 cover the same prophetic time period and involve the over throw of Gentile world powers and the establishment of Messiah s kingdom. This great prophecy of the Messianic future involves two prophetic burdens. The first burden embraces the First Advent and rejection of Messiah, the Shepherd-King (chapters 9-11), and the second burden deals with the Second Advent and acceptance of Messiah, Shepherd King (chapters 12-14). I. The Sudden Rise of Alexander the Great, World Conqueror (9:1-8) A. The Prophecy Against the Land of Hadrach (9:1-2a) At the battle of Issus in southeastern Asia Minor (October, 333 BC), Alexander the Great inflicted a defeat upon Darius and the Persians which immediately threw open Syria and Palestine to his lightning-like conquests, and exposed Egypt to his victorious armies. The prophet envisions the defeat of the historic enemies of Judaism: first Damascus, Hamath and the cities of the syrian interior, then the cities along the Mediterranean coast that stood in the conqueror s way in his victorious sweep into Egypt. After a detachment of Alexander s forces had subjugated the land of Hadrach, taking the key towns, Damascus and Hamath, the prophet pictures the eyes of man as well as the eyes of all the tribes of Israel fixed upon the Lord. What is meant is that when all civilized men at that time, as well as all the tribes of Israel, were looking upon Alexander the Great and his phenomenal conquests, they were actually fastening their eyes upon the Lord. Alexander was simply God s servant of judgment and chastisement (cf. vs.4 where the Lord Himself is said to have dispossessed Tyre, when Alexander is known to have done so). B. The Prophecy Against Tyre and Sidon (9:2b-4) The prophecies against Tyre and Sidon are well established in the Scripture (Ezekiel 26:3-5; 28:22-23). These people were guilty of selling Israel s children to the Greeks that ye might remove them far from their border (Joel 3:1-10), and in spite of this and other atrocities, they still seemed to prosper. Why they seemed to possess such worldly wisdom and prosperity was a real puzzle to Israel in light of the affliction of God s people for their own disobedience. 63

8 Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Tyre but some of the inhabitants escaped to an island one half mile off the shore and built a city fortress with walls 150 feet high; it appeared to be totally invincible until Alexander the Great appeared 250 years later and destroyed the city by taking the rubble of the old Tyre and built a causeway to the island. C. The Prophecy Against the Philistine Cities (9:5-7) Only four of the five capital cities of Philistia are mentioned. Gath is omitted, probably because at that time it had been incorporated into Judah. In the annals of Alexander s advance, there is no record made of Ashkelon, Ekron or Ashdod. However, the fate of Gaza is fully recorded. This stout, impregnable fortress, like Tyre in its natural strength, ventured to defy the great conqueror in spite of Tyre s fate. This city held out for five months against Alexander. Its king was slain, for the Persians had permitted its own local ruler to reign as a sub-king, the Persian monarch himself being termed king of kings. After the surrender of Gaza, 10,000 of its inhabitants were slaughtered and the remainder sold into bondage. The king, Batis, was bound to a chariot with throngs and dragged to death through the streets of the city. It is safe to assume that similar fates were in store for the other cities. The nationalistic pride of the Philistines was well known. God says through the prophet Zephaniah that they will become a mongrel, illegitimate people that will be destroyed and assimilated into other societies. Zephaniah 2:4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted up. 5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites! the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. 6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for flocks. 7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening: for the LORD their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity. The Philistine nation here is individualized as a man, spoken of in the singular. The blood alluded to is that of idolatrous sacrifices. The abominations are the polluting foods and other practices of idolatry. These pagan customs shall be purged away, and Ekron shall be as the Jebusite (vs.7), that is, like the ancient Jebusites who inhabited Zion when David took the city from them. These idolatrydelivered Philistines shall be amalgamated with the people of God like Araunah, the Jebusite, who lived in the midst of God s people as a distinguished citizen and the friend of David (2 Samuel 24:15-25; 1 Chronicles 21:18-29). 64

9 D. The Prophecy of Jerusalem s Escape from Alexander - The Type of a Future Complete Deliverance (9:8) The first part of this verse had an amazing and precise fulfillment in the advance of Alexander against Palestine. According to Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, XI,8:3), Alexander demanded of the Jewish high priest, Jaddua, the payment of tribute which the Jews had customarily paid to the king of Persia. The high priest refused to break his agreement of loyalty with Darius. Alexander, in a rage, threatened to inflict a severe punishment on Jerusalem as soon as Tyre had fallen and he had reduced the Philistine strongholds. Having taken Gaza, Alexander planned to go to Jerusalem. The high priest ordered the Jerusalem population to make sacrifices to God and pray for deliverance. God gave the high priest a dream, instructing him that he should take courage and go out of the city to welcome Alexander. When Alexander was not far from the city, the high priest led a venerable procession to meet the Macedonian. When the conqueror saw the Jewish high priest arrayed in purple and scarlet with his mitre on his head, having a golden plate with the name of God engraved upon it and attended by priests in white robes, he adored the name of Jehovah and saluted the high priest. Alexander said he had seen such a person in a dream at Dios in Macedonia. As a result of this experience, Alexander treated the Jews kindly. The city of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the people were granted a marvelous deliverance according to this prophecy of Zechariah. The promise maintains that the Jews were not to be molested either on the army s march to or from Egypt. Thus, vs.8 bridges the centuries between the deliverance of Israel under Alexander, the human world conqueror, and the nation s final deliverance under Messiah, the Divine World Conqueror at His Second Advent. But this prophecy embraces much more than the mere survival of the Jewish nationality until the coming of Israel s Messiah at His First Advent. It says an oppressor shall not again overrun them, which was cruelly true both of the Seleucids after Alexander s death and later the Romans. Under the latter s tyranny, the most terrible and relentless of all, Messiah was born. The reference can only be to the Second Coming of Messiah, the true World Conqueror and Establisher of the Kingdom over Israel, and through Israel over the nations of the Millennial Earth. His victorious and all-righteous reign alone will insure that an oppressor shall not pass through them any more. The lesson is that this prophecy, as many others, completely by-passes the Church Age, which again leads us to recognize the willingness of God to acknowledge the free will of man. 65

Zechariah 9:1-17. Introduction

Zechariah 9:1-17. Introduction Zechariah 9:1-17 Introduction Two thousand five hundred forty-nine years ago, in the year 538 B.C., the Jewish exiles from Babylon made the long journey back to their homeland in Palestine. Zechariah was