Project 119: Zechariah 14
| Project 119 | Amy Hirsch
At last we come to the end of Zechariah. But it seems like, as we come to the end of Zechariah, we’ve also come to the end of the story of Scripture, to the very book of Revelation. (Although, in The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis would argue that, when we reach that day, we really haven’t come to the end, but rather to the beginning of the real story that never ends, where every chapter is better than the one before.)
What Zechariah pictures in Zechariah 14 is nothing short of cosmic in nature; after a period of war, the Lord Himself will intervene for His people. He won’t send an emissary or a messenger, though. Rather, God Himself will break into time and space and history again—not as a baby born in a manger, but as a conquering king (Zechariah 14:3-5, 12-15). Zechariah pictures the Lord standing on the Mount of Olives, the very power of His stance causing earthquakes under His feet. Like in Revelation, when that day comes, there will be no more need for light (Zechariah 14:6), because God Himself will be all the light His people need (Revelation 21:23-24). The river that flowed through the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:10) will flow again through this city, the New Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8), the river of the water of life (Revelation 22:1). The day Zechariah pictures is the day that brings us back to what life was like in the garden, when man walked with God before sin entered the picture. Once again, the dwelling place of God will be with man. We will be His people, and He will be our God, and He will wipe away every tear (Revelation 21:3-4). And on that day, God will be recognized by all as king (Zechariah 14:9).
There are so many comforting images in Zechariah 14, but the most beautiful word in this passage to me is the word “then” in verse 3. You see, Zechariah wrote to people who were well-acquainted with sorrow. They had been exiled from home and forced to grow up in a foreign land, to serve a foreign king, to observe foreign customs. They had walked through all kinds of suffering, partially because of their own sin, but also partially because of the brokenness of this world. Sure, they had been allowed to come back home, but they were facing an enormous task while still under Persian rule, with fears that other nations might threaten fledgling Israel.
But the words of Zechariah 14 promise the Israelites—and all believers—that a day is coming when God will return and when all things will be made right. A day is coming when sin will be eradicated forever, when everything and everyone existing in the presence of God will be holy, simply because they are in the presence of the Lord (Zechariah 14:20-21). A day is coming when God will intervene, when He will rise up against injustice of all kinds and will say, “No more!” And on that day, we will certainly celebrate that we serve a God who is faithful to deliver His people (Zechariah 14:16).
Zechariah 14 (ESV):
The Coming Day of the LORD
1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.
8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea[fn] and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.
10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.
12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.
16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.
20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.