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6 “Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,” declares the Lord. 7 “Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!” 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me. 10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 12 The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. 13 Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” ~ Zechariah 2:6-11
Today, we continue our study of Zechariah's prophecy to the people of Israel with regard to Jerusalem. As we saw last time, Zechariah 2 is a vision to tell Israel the wonderful news that Jerusalem will be rebuilt. But, the reality is they were in a situation of terrible degradation, humiliation and sadness. The city had been destroyed. And, they were an insignificant minority, wondering how they would defend themselves, much less rebuilt the city.
In v.6-9 of today's text we read, "'6 Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,' declares the Lord, 'for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven,' declares the Lord. 7 'Come, Zion! Escape, you who live in Daughter Babylon!' 8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me.'"
Zechariah comes to the people with this third vision and gives them the message that God yet has a marvelous future for Jerusalem. Essentially he was saying, "Put your hearts into the rebuild of Jerusalem because God has your back and He will see to it that you will succeed."
In the first vision, the rider on the red horse predicted hope for downtrodden Israel. The second vision was of the horns and the craftsmen, underscoring the fact that God would destroy Israel's enemies. And now, in this third vision, God says, "You will be successful! in the rebuild of Jerusalem."
This is directed at the captives who are still in Babylon. And, as God tells His people always, "Get out of the world system." For Israel, getting out of the world's system meant that they would get back into the land of God's promise.
But, the Lord tells the people to go to the north in v.6. That is confusing until we remember that from Jerusalem everything is north because north is the only way out of the city of Jerusalem. And all the conquerors had come from the north. Nebuchadnezzar came from the north. Even in 70 A.D., Titus came from the north. Everybody who ever entered the city as an enemy came from the north because from the north is the only way into the city.
According to 2 Kings 17:6, the Jews in the exile were scattered over an area from the Gozan River, which was 200 miles west of Nineveh, over to Medea, which was 300 miles east. Some of them were in Moab. Some of them were in Amman. Some of them were in Egypt, and some of them were in Edom. They were all over the place. And He’s saying, "Come back. I am doing a new work in the promised land."
Interestingly, according to Revelation 17 & 18, the final world system will be Babylon. And, as the world comes to its end, God will call Israel out of Babylon in the future. This will happen during the time of the Tribulation. And, of course, the reason to flee Babylon is that God is going to destroy them.
Once again, in v.8-9 we read, "8 For this is what the Lord Almighty says: “After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye— 9 I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me."
The Lord will send the Lord. The Lord of Hosts, which is the Father, will send the Lord of Hosts, the Son. And He will be the One who comes to defeat the nations and to deliver His people. Two thirds of the Trinity is right here in this Old Testament verse.
The Second Coming is mentioned about 1,845 times in the Scriptures. For every one time the first coming is mentioned or alluded to, the second coming is mentioned or alluded to eight times. Needless to say, it is a frequent theme. Thankfully, this world will not stay the way it is. Jesus Christ will one day rule for eternity and sin and death will be things of the past.
Interestingly, according to Matthew 25, when Christ comes and judges the nations, He will judge them on the basis of the way they treated Israel. He says in Matthew 25:40: "If you’ve done it unto the least of these My brethren, you’ve done it to Me.”
Then in v.10-11 of today's text we read, "10 “Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you."
God's people are to rejoice because God will be present with us. God says in v.10, "I will live among you." In the end, God will be there in person and in visible form. Then, according to v.11, God's salvation will be the gift to all who will be there.
In v.12 of today's text we read, "The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem."
This is the only place in the Bible where it’s called "the holy land." This is the only time that phrase is ever used. This will be the millennial title for Israel.
Then in v.13 of today's text we read, "Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."
God is always attentive, He has a plan, a perfect plan. And, all of His plans will one day come to fruition. His plans are far more intricate and sure than we know. I think of the fact that if I had entered college when I had graduated from high school, I would have never met my wife. You see, God's timing is always perfect.
I didn't become a believer in Christ until I had graduated from high school in June of 1981. When I was ready, God saw fit for me to enter Columbia Bible College, I enrolled in September of 1983. Then, my wife entered Columbia Bible College in September of 1985. Had I entered college right out of high school, I would have never met her. God can be trusted to bring about the best plan for our lives. And, since He has that part taken care of, we can be focused on how we fit into what He is doing in this world. The scripture says, "Be in the world but not of the world." That which is paramount in our hearts will be that which defines us most.
