Introduction:
The Hebrew prophets in the Bible prophesied for four time frames, firstly for their own time, secondly for the first coming of the Messiah, thirdly for the second coming of the Messiah and fourthly for the Messianic Kingdom in the age to come. When reading their prophecies often the four time frames were in the one prophecy.
As there were no chapter and verse divisions in the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament, a prophecy would often contain at least three of the time frames and in other cases all four time frames and run them all together. Isaiah Chapter 11 is an example of this pattern of prophecy.
Added to this, often prophetic events would have partial fulfilments with a similar pattern to them which collectively all pointed to a final fulfilment in the future. For example when we read about the abomination of desolation prophesied by Daniel we see a partial fulfilment in Antiochus IV when he slaughtered a pig in the Jewish temple in 168 BC, which was part of his efforts to desecrate the temple and impose Hellenistic practices on the Jewish people.
In Matthew chapter 24 when the Messiah our Lord Jesus was speaking about the future, He took this past event prophesied by Daniel that occurred with Antiochus IV and said it would happen again in the future and it did in 70AD when Roman soldiers erected emblems to their god Zeus on the ruins of the temple mount and worshipped them, another abomination of desolation. This event occurred around 40 years after the Messiah had foretold this event.
When He spoke about this we see that He was telescoping these two events and saying that they would be repeated at the end of the age. All of the Hebrew prophets prophesied in this manner. Now in this prophecy of Zechariah chapter nine we see this pattern. Let’s now look at this.
1. The LORD will judge Israel’s enemies (Vs. 1-7)
“The Word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and will rest upon Damascus- for the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD, and upon Hamath too, which borders on it, and upon Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skilful. 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. Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted. Foreigners will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God and become leaders in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.”
We know from the prophecy of Daniel that over all of the ancient empires of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and Rome that there was a chief principality in the unseen spiritual realm controlling the kings of these empires that were steeped in the occult (Daniel 10:13, 20).
In verses 1-7 we have this part of the prophecy related to Syria, Lebanon and Gaza. While there was a historical fulfilment related to God judging these three of Israel’s enemies we see that there is also a future fulfilment to come. All three are still active in their attempts to destroy Israel. The Word of the LORD is still against these three antagonists against Israel today. The same principalities ruling over Syria, Lebanon and Gaza are still active in these territories.
a) Syria
Syria has always been Israel’s enemies even to this day as we see the regime of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa the self-appointed President of Syria who in reality is against Israel and supported by Erdogan of Turkey. Also there are other terrorist groups also operating in Syria, all wanting to see the destruction of Israel as a nation.
The prophet Isaiah tells us that Syria’s capital Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins (Isaiah 17: 1). Hadrach and Hamath today are also located in Syria. As yet Damascus is still basically intact even though areas of the city have been destroyed. See (Amos 1:3-5). Added to this, Erdogan of Turkey wants control of Syria so that he can move his armed forces to attack Israel in the future. Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa is paving the way for this to happen. His army and that of Turkey are destined to fall on the mountains of Israel.
b) Lebanon
Today Tyre and Sidon are located on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast, with Tyre about 12 miles north of the modern border with Israel and 25 miles south of Sidon. Israel’s enemy in Lebanon today is Hezbollah, the proxy of the IRGC regime in Iran. Their fiery rocket and missile barrage being launched into Northern Israel by Hezbollah terrorists are controlled by the principality over Lebanon. What Hezbollah are perpetrating against Israel will eventually come back upon their own heads when their support from Iran ceases, and the LORD takes away their possessions, destroys their power on the sea, and they themselves will be consumed by fire. It also needs to be said that the Lebanese government and the Lebanese people for the most part is not the problem but they are controlled by Hezbollah.
As the LORD says through the prophet Obadiah concerning the Day of the LORD when the nations will be judged; “For the Day of the LORD is near for all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your recompense will return upon your own head” (Obadiah 1:15).
c) Gaza
The Word of the LORD is against the whole of Gaza controlled by Hamas under the power of the principality that ruled over Israel’s ancient enemies the Philistines. When the demise of Hezbollah happens, Hamas in Gaza will see “the writing on the wall” where their own demise is concerned and writhe in agony at their impending doom.
As the LORD declares through the prophet Amos; “Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they deported an entire population To deliver it up to Edom “So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza And it will consume her citadels. “I will also cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And him who holds the sceptre, from Ashkelon; I will even unleash My power upon Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” Says the Sovereign LORD” (Amos 1:6-8).
The Philistines of course are long gone; however, the ancient principality over Gaza is still active today and operating through the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
The hope of this death cult of Hamas to destroy Israel and butcher Israelis as we saw on October 7, 2023 will also wither and for a time Gaza will be mainly deserted. Foreigners will move in possibly to rebuild Gaza. The power of the occult will be broken over Gaza and some of those remaining in Gaza will belong to the LORD and become leaders in Judah. Lets’ continue…
2. The LORD will defend and preserve Jerusalem (Vs.8)
“But I will defend My house against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun My people, for now I am keeping watch.”
At present it does not seem that the LORD is watching over Israel against marauding forces however He is using these forces arrayed against His House the nation of Israel to bring them to the Messiah. Once these marauding forces have served His purposes for Israel He will get rid of them and that big time. Israel as yet is to pass through their darkest hour but a remnant will come forth who will be saved and reconciled to the Messiah (Zechariah 13:8-9) (Zechariah 12:10-13:1).
Indeed as it is written; “He who watches over Israel will neither slumber of sleep!”(Psalm 121: 4). Only when Israel has been reunited with the Messiah and witnessed the power of God to save them as a nation will the cry ring throughout the whole land; “Never Again!” not as a self-generated cry rooted in Israel’s own prowess and strength, but grounded in the Triune God of Israel who will have saved the nation by His power and not theirs.
As we also read in the prophet Isaiah; “For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamour—so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights. Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it” (Isaiah 31:4-5).
3. The LORD announced the Messiah’s first and second coming (Vs. 9-10)
“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. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. 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.”
Now the prophecy telescopes to the first and the second coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus. In His first coming the Messiah is riding on a donkey not to save Israel from the Roman oppressors but from their sins and their enemy Satan. In His first coming He came as the suffering servant in the character traits of Joseph.
In His second coming at the end of this age He will return as the all-conquering Messiah King where the surviving remnant of Jews will recognise Him as their Messiah King, their Lord and their saviour and as the King of the Jews (Zechariah 12:10-13:1). He will destroy the enemy and their weapons, rescue Jerusalem, break the
Enemy’s missile launchers, and proclaim peace to the nations in His Messianic reign. His kingdom will extend to all of the nations that have survived His second coming. In that day “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk 2:14).
As we read in the prophet Isaiah; “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
4. The LORD remembers His Blood Covenant (Vs.11-13)
“As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. 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.”
God always remembers His covenants. He cut the blood covenant with Abraham on behalf of him and his descendants the people of Israel through the lineage of Isaac and Jacob and not through the lineage of Ishmael and Esau (Genesis 17:21).
As the Psalmist writes; “He has remembered His covenant forever, The word which He commanded to a thousand generations, The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac. Then He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant, Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan As the portion of your inheritance,” (Psalm 105:8-11).
When God cut the blood covenant with Abraham He was in fact cutting it with the Messiah who would shed His own blood to establish the new and everlasting covenant guaranteeing the salvation of Israel and of all who would believe whether Jew or Gentile (Genesis 15:7-19) (Galatians 3:16). Those who were prisoners in Abraham’s bosom in Sheol with the hope of salvation in their hearts would be doubly restored and taken to heaven at the resurrection of the Messiah which we see recorded in the Bible (Psalm 68:18) (Ephesians 4:8) (Matthew 27:51-53).
The New Covenant, which affirms and supports the Abrahamic covenant, is an everlasting one made with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah through the shedding of the Messiah’s own blood (Jeremiah 31:31) (Luke 22:20). It was not made with a Gentile Church. Gentiles who believe are spiritually grafted into the Olive Tree being the Commonwealth of Israel and share in the blessings of Abraham (Amos 9:11-12) (Acts 15:16-17) (Romans 4:16-25) (Romans 11:17-18).
The covenant promise made to Abraham includes the whole land of Israel to be for the Jews as “an everlasting possession” (Genesis 17:7-8), guaranteeing the complete national and spiritual restoration of Israel at the end of this present age (Romans 11:25-29). The Millennial Messianic Kingdom will be the harbinger of the final and eternal state to come after the 1,000 years have come to a close (Isaiah 65:17-25) (Revelation 21:1-5).
It is interesting to note that in our text Zechariah also says; “I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.” Here we see a future reference to Israel seemingly fighting against Greece. However, the world for “Greece” in the Hebrew is “Yavan” of “Ionia” which today would be located in modern day Turkey. Ionia was part of the Middle-eastern leg of Alexander the Great’s Empire.
As we see Erdogan of Turkey calling for Jihad against Israel we may well see Israel and Turkey clash if Turkey gains control of Syria. We know from Ezekiel chapter 38 that in the future Turkey will lead the invasion force against Israel. According to the text there will be a future conflict between Israel with Turkey.
5. The LORD will bring victory and prosperity (Vs. 14-17)
“Then the LORD will appear over them; His arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; He will march in the storms of the south, and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with sling stones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. 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! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.”
When it looks like Israel is to be completely destroyed when that last trumpet sounds announcing the arrival of the Messiah there will also be loud shouts in heaven announcing that the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and Messiah to reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15), the arrow of His power will flash like lightning when He returns to earth.
As we read in the prophet Habakkuk; “God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendour covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise. His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power. Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him. He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting” (Habakkuk 3:3-6).
As the Messiah our Lord Jesus said concerning His Second Coming; “For as lightning that comes from the east flashes even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27).
As the prophet Isaiah writes; “Come, see the works of the LORD, who brings devastation upon the earth. He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth” (Psalm 46:8-10).
When the Messiah our Lord Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives to rescue beleaguered Israel (Zechariah 14:1-5), Judah will also fight at Jerusalem under His authority as their Commander in Chief (Zechariah 14:14). It will be as if Israel had sling stones compared to the powerful weapons of their enemies yet have total victory over them.
Israel is compared to a lion, eating of the prey and drinking the blood of the slain as we read in Numbers 23:24; “Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
God’s power will absolutely destroy the powerful weapons of Israel’s enemies in that day when the Messiah Israel’s redeemer saves the sheep of His pasture from them, and from the hand of all who hate them, to show mercy to their fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, the oath He swore to our father Abraham to rescue them from the hand of their enemies, to enable them to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all their days (Luke 2:68-75).
Indeed on that day when Israel’s shepherd the Messiah saves His flock they will sparkle and shine in His Messianic realm on earth like Jewels in the crown of a king. Indeed how attractive and beautiful they will be as His redeemed people and the flock under His care. Israel will be the envy of the nations in that day when the Messiah makes them as the Jewels in His royal crown.
The grain of God’s eternal Word will enable the redeemed people of Israel thrive in every way and the wine of the Spirit’s joy also enabling the young women to thrive as well.
Indeed the prophet Zechariah writes; “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there” (Zechariah 8:4-5).
Indeed as it is written in the prophet Isaiah; “Was it not You who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea for the redeemed to cross over? So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee” (Isaiah 51:10-11).
Also the prophet Jeremiah writes; “They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish” (Jeremiah 31:12).
And again the prophet Isaiah writes; “Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs” (Isaiah 61:7).
As the prophet Zephaniah also writes; “On that day they will say to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:16-17).
Let’s be clear, God has not finished with Israel!!!
As Rabbi the Apostle Paul writes; “…the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen (Romans 9:4-5).
He also writes; “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; and this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins. As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:25-29). Indeed for the people of Israel the day is coming when “The LORD will appear over them!” Selah.
