#1184 Zechariah 8 Cloak Grabbers

 

And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. 23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” Zechariah 8 ESV

Zechariah 8

…13Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones. 14But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; the Lord has forgotten me!” 15“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you!… Isaiah 49: 13-15

When people say to me, “Well, I don’t know if there ever will really be a kingdom for Israel.” Zechariah chapter 8 is a great place to take them, because the Lord ten times says “Thus says the Lord of hosts.” I’m able to do it. There is no reason to stagger at the promises of God. Now notice that the phrase is used ten times. And I kind of like that. I don’t want to make a big issue out of this, but if you notice the Bible, you’ll notice that generally the number ten is a number of completeness. That’s true in the sense of the most obvious. Human beings have ten fingers and ten toes. And so consequently, since the year one, have always counted in increments of ten and so ten has always been representative of wholeness or fullness. So what you have here is God presenting the fullness of His program in the millennium for Israel. It’s the complete picture. - J Mac

I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy - Israel is His chosen people, His wife as the picture of Hosea calls it, and God is unwilling to let her go. He was angry and sent her away, into captivity, for her sin, but He still loves His people, and we are taught in Scripture that not all are Israel who are outwardly, but He has reserved a remnant that He makes His own inwardly, with a new heart. 

…13So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who was speaking with me. 14Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15but I am fiercely angry with the nations that are at ease. For I was a little angry, but they have added to the calamity.’… Zechariah 1: 13-15

Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city - This is quite a promise, and this is not what she was then, nor in Christ's time or now, so this looks forward to a future fulfillment. Look what He says before this, "I have returned to Zion", remember in Ezekiel that His Shekinah glory, the presence of the Lord, had departed, but He's coming back and in a big way. She has been called unclean in the past, compared to Sodom and Gomorrah, compared with an unfaithful prostitute wife, but in that day, God will cleanse her.

…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 26-28

Because of great age - He is going to restore health, and in a way that it will be a rare thing for someone not to make it to a rich old age. 

…19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her. 20No longer will a nursing infant live but a few days, or an old man fail to live out his years. For the youth will die at a hundred years, and he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.… Isaiah 65: 19-21

Playing in the streets - This is a time of peace, a place of safety.

…7The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The infant will play by the cobra’s den, and the toddler will reach into the viper’s nest. 9They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.… Isaiah 1: 7-9

If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant - Faith is not at the neglect of awe, but it focuses it's anticipation upon the real Speaker. 

A fourth – back to Zechariah. A fourth promise in the kingdom, divine punishment, divine presence, divine peace, and divine power. Verse 6, here comes another. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, if it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days,” – is the proper Hebrew. In those days, looking at the future kingdom. And that’s not just a theological interpolation. That is the literal Hebrew, those days – “shall it also be marvelous in my eyes says the Lord of hosts?” Now this is a terrific verse. This is just –you can see where God – where somebody can kind of get God’s goat in a way. That’s a funny phrase to use, but God gets upset at one particular thing. And that is when people don’t believe that he can really do something, see? Now, He really gets upset about that. And the word marvelous in the Hebrew really means difficult or impossible.

And so, He says if it is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of the people in those days does that mean it’s impossible in my eyes? I mean just because they think it’s too tough, is it too tough? The point is what is incredible and what is unbelievable to the remnant in the last days isn’t necessarily tough on me. In fact, if you read Genesis 18:14 and Jeremiah 22:17 and 23, you will see the very same word that is used here in the verb form and what the verb says is, is anything too what? Hard for me? And what’s the answer? No. What a truth. Have you learned that lesson? Divine power. - J Mac

In faithfulness and righteousness - He brings them back to the land, from the East and the West, all the places they were dispersed to and settled in. Gomer is now the faithful wife, and righteousness has been wrought in her. God will save them from their enemies, and often they have been stirred up and out of such places, as in the days of Hitler, and many have returned to the land. One day there will be a remnant there, a righteous one, that no longer trusts in the gods of materialism, of war and technology, of fortresses, but they delight in the true God. He will be their hope, their song.

As I purposed to bring disaster to you - Just as God said He would punish their sins and followed through, so that punishment should be a reminder of His faithfulness to His word. Don't sulk and say, "but we are your chosen people, how could this disaster come upon us?" No, but say, "You Lord, are a God of Your Word, You have kept your promises." 

24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath. Deuteronomy 4: 24-31

25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. 27And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”… Romans 11: 25-27

These are the things that you shall do - You won't just return to the land, look at verse 30 of Deuteronomy 4 above, "in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey Him." How will they do that? They have never been able to do that. Look at Romans 11 above, verses 26 and 27, "He will remove godlessness from Jacob...this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins." What does that look like, what is their motivation to do God's will to walk in His ways? Look a few paragraphs above at Ezekiel 36, verses 26 and 27, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances." There will be an outpouring of God's Spirit in the later days, the remnant will be born again, with a new heart, new desires, and then they will, look at verse 28, He says, "then", right, conditional, but He provides for the conditions, He puts His Spirit within them and that causes them to walk in His statutes, salvation is of the Lord. "Then you will live in the land I gave your forefathers", which is a much bigger piece of property than Israel possesses now. It will extend to the Euphrates River, but Israel now, today, does not have a new heart, as a nation they are very secular, this is a future promise for the Millennial reign of Messiah. 

Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you - Now Israel is the light she is supposed to be, a special people, set apart for the glory and honor of God. She will be His witnesses and ambassadors, in that God has shown now through His punishment of her, that He is righteous and Holy above all things, and in His mercy, that He is gracious and also sacrificial in His love, giving His only begotten Son. He is faithful, and has not made a unilateral covenant to no avail, but has met the requirements also of the Law through the sacrifice that He provided. They have carried the oracles, lived the story, it is God's redemptive plan, and it is marvelous.