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12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” 13 So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’ 16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’” ~ Zechariah 1:12-17
As we pointed out in our last blog and podcast, God is giving to Israel, through the prophet, Zechariah, a series of visions. And these visions were given to encourage the exiles that returned from their captivity. This first vision was sort of a general vision that speaks of all of the rest of the visions. And those following will add details to the first one.
You will remember that in v.10 of this chapter the Lord had sent "a man mounted on a red horse who was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses."
It was February 24th, 520 BC., and the Lord Jesus was the one on the red horse, and He had sent out His messengers into the world, and they have now come back to give a report to the Lord. This was very fitting, at that time, because the Persian monarchs used messengers on swift horses to keep them informed on everything going on in their empire. These messengers give their report beginning in v.11 to the Angel of the Lord, who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, every Jew who knew anything about the history of his people knew that there was one special angel who defended the people of Israel, and it was the Angel of the Lord. The people were weary in their rebellion because the Angel of the Lord had not appeared to them for 200 years. And now, all of a sudden, He is back. During those 200 years, while Israel was in rebellion against God, their defender seemed to not be around. This is what our rebellion does to us, we sense not the presence of the Lord. But, we can be assured that He is always aware of us, and when His disciplining of Israel was over and they had repented, they were made aware of His presence.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our defender and protector. But, He does not make Himself known to us when we are living in rebellion. You see, when we are in rebellion against the Lord, we forfeit His protection, and He turns us over to the consequences of our sinfulness. But, the moment we repent, we will enjoy His protection once again. This doesn't mean we lose our salvation, it just means we move ourselves from under His umbrella of protection during our rebellion.
In v.12 of today's text we read, "Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?"
Here is the Lord Jesus Christ taking up the cause of His people. When we find ourselves in the worst situations, we can rest assured that the Lord is aware and He is at work. We can always rest in the fact that His will will come to pass. And, His will for our lives is the absolute best.
Then in v.13-14 we read, "13 So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’"
The Lord always has perfect timing. With "kind and comforting words" He responds to the needs of His people. This is the essence of the whole book of Zechariah: it is a book about kind and comforting words.
God says, "I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment."
The Hebrew root for jealous is a two-sided word meaning love and hatred together. God loves His people so much that He hates anything that hurts us. The actual word for jealous here in the Hebrew comes from an Arabic word which means to turn intentionally red. To make something red means to become furious. God is describing here how really upset He was.
God has a special place in His heart for Jerusalem. He has a special place in His heart for His people. In 2 Chronicles 6:6 God says, “But I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name might be there.”
God was angry with the nations who harmed Israel, with Edom, Assyria, and Babylon who, at that time, felt secure. In eight places in the Old Testament, this phrase "feel secure" is used in a derogatory way, and it sometimes even means arrogant. Psalm 123:4 uses it to speak of the peoples pride. These nations who had hurt Israel were proud, indifferent, unfeeling, and careless. As a result, God says at the end of v.15, "they went too far." And because of that, God was much displeased with them. These nations didn’t grasp that God’s intention was to punish for a moment and then show them great compassion.
In v.16 we read, "Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty."
Wrongs suffered by God’s people will always be compensated. God will always bring justice on the behalf of His people. In fact, He will do this with mercy or deep feelings of emotion. It had been seventy years of silence from God, but now, He is back because the people positioned themselves to experience His deliverance.
In v.16 God says, "I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt."
Interestingly, four years after this prophesy, the temple was finished, and God's presence was there, and temple worship was restored.
In v.17 we read, "My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem."
God promised that Jerusalem would overflow with prosperity. Often we find ourselves in the valley of the shadow of death. We don’t reign in this world; Satan does. We are the outcasts. We are the ones that the world looks down on. We often find ourselves humiliated, but, right in the midst of all of this is the Lord Jesus Christ living in us. The pressures of this world and the trials we endure are mere reminders to us to draw close to Him and to know Him more intimately. This is true prosperity!
Zechariah’s vision came true in a total of 80 years. But, the Lord was not finished. This prophecy had two more fulfillments to come. And, the last fulfillment of this prophecy will be realized in the Millennial kingdom of Christ. After the soon to happen Tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ will sit on His throne and His people will be gathered to Him to reign with Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And all of the marvelous things described by the prophets for the kingdom will in that day come to pass.
