Project 119: Zechariah 10
| Project 119 | Amy Hirsch
One of the things I love about Scripture is that these words are written by God for His people. Sometimes we can get caught up in the stories and narratives, perhaps forgetting that all of Scripture is God-breathed. Well, here in Zechariah 10, I doubt you’d have that problem. The author of Zechariah 10 is clear from the onset: it is God Himself speaking to His people about their restoration. And make no mistake, God Himself is also the one who bring this restoration. Count how many times you see “I” as the subject in this chapter!
I think the beginning of Zechariah 10 helps give us a really helpful framework to understand God’s action in this chapter. The Lord encourages them to seek Him and ask Him for the rain they need to bring agricultural growth, rather than seeking after Baal or other false gods. This problem plagued Israel since the beginning of her existence, but Zechariah 10 is a clear reminder to God’s people that their redemption comes from Him. He is the author and the enactor. No false god will save them, no household god will deliver them, no diviner will come to their aid. God is the one who will strengthen them and save them. He is the one who will have compassion on them—not because they deserve His pity, but because they are His people and He is their God. He shows kindness to them because of the covenant He made with them. This favor and mercy they receive is unmerited and unearned. And God is the one who will bring them home! Notice that He isn’t just addressing Judah here, but the northern kingdom, Israel, is also mentioned. Zechariah pictures a day when the kingdoms are united again. And like a shepherd calling his sheep, God will whistle and His children will come home.
Perhaps we aren’t praying to golden calves for rain, or worshipping household gods hoping for better crops this year, but I think it’s certainly also the tendency of our sinful hearts to look to other things for meaning and value, to trust in our own set of false gods for salvation, validation, and affirmation. The Lord’s message here is clear: He is God. He is the one who saves us, who sustains us, who carries us through, who makes us strong. Oh Father, let our hearts rejoice in You when we see all the ways You have shown us Your kindness. Turn our eyes away from ourselves, away from our idols, away from the works of our hands, and teach us what it means to walk in Your name.
Zechariah 10 (ESV):
The Restoration for Judah and Israel
1 Ask rain from the LORD
in the season of the spring rain,
from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field.
2 For the household gods utter nonsense,
and the diviners see lies;
they tell false dreams
and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.
3 “My anger is hot against the shepherds,
and I will punish the leaders;
for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,
and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
4 From him shall come the cornerstone,
from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
from him every ruler—all of them together.
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the LORD is with them,
and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.
6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
7 Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.
8 “I will whistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as many as they were before.
9 Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
10 I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
till there is no room for them.
11 He shall pass through the sea of troubles
and strike down the waves of the sea,
and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.
The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,
and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.
12 I will make them strong in the LORD,
and they shall walk in his name,”
declares the LORD.