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5 Together they will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame. 6 “I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them. 7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord. 8 I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before. ~ Zechariah 10:5-8
Today, we come back to our study of Zechariah 10 which has as its theme redemption. Thus far, in this chapter, the Lord has been describing Himself as Israel's Protector and Redeemer. You see, there would never be any redemption without the Protector-Redeemer. And, it was the Lord Jesus who agreed in eternity past to come to earth to lay down His life for the willing. And, that will be the point of the Tribulation, to grant Israel a willing heart toward the God of the Bible. In fact, this is the point of all of our trials.
In v.5 of today's text we read, "Together they will be like warriors in battle trampling their enemy into the mud of the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them, and they will put the enemy horsemen to shame."
The first word of this verse is very instructive: "Together." In the previous verse the Lord identified Himself as Israel's cornerstone, tent peg and battle bow. The ability of God to bring people together to accomplish a task is quite remarkable. We live in a world that divides at every chance it gets. Not so with the Lord Jesus, He brings people together. And, it doesn't matter where we have come from or what we look like, we are unified in Him. And, we should never be surprised at what He can do through our yielded lives.
Think with me of all of the failures of the people of Israel throughout history. They complained in the wilderness. They followed other gods. They were delivered to foreign captors. They cried out again to God and they went through that horrible sin cycle during the time of the Judges. They were taken into captivity over and over. And, they were brought back over and over. All of the years of failure, and the Lord says to Israel, "If you are willing, I am willing to utterly forgive your sin and wipe your rebelliousness away and give you a future and a hope." This is His message to all who are willing.
The Lord Jesus will be the one who will strengthen Israel, and, as a result, their enemies will be confused and ashamed. The Hebrew word translated as "shame" here means they will be confused and ashamed. In their confusion they will be confused and ashamed of their inability to defeat Israel. The world will go into a state of shock on the day when the King of Kings comes for His people Israel. Through their yielded lives, He will, at the end, win that great and final battle of Armageddon on their behalf.
In v.6 of today's text we read, "I will strengthen Judah and save the tribes of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the Lord their God and I will answer them."
The house of Judah is a reference to the southern kingdom of Israel and the house of Joseph to the northern kingdom. God will restore the whole nation, north and south as one. This will be amazing given Israel's history with God. You will remember that in 722 BC, the northern tribes of Israel were taken into captivity by the Assyrians, and the southern tribes of Judah were taken into captivity by the Babylonians in 586 BC. Taken and dispersed due to their rebellious hearts. According to this verse, God will not only bring Israel back, but He will unite them as one nation in the promised land.
This just underscores the fact that God has lost none of the tribes of Israel. He knows where every one is right now. And, He knows who belongs to which tribe. In Ezekiel 37 the Lord said, "And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King shall be King over them: they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again."
In v.7-8 of today's text we read, "7 The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord. 8 I will signal for them and gather them in. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before."
According to v.7, when God does all that He has promised, the natural response of the people of Israel will be a joy that will not be of their making. This will be a joy that will be so intense that those who see it will think they have had too much to drink.
And, according to v.8, Israel, will literally hear the whistle of God for them, and He will gather them into the land once and for all. For four hundred years, they once increased greatly when they were in Egypt. As slaves, they so greatly multiplied that it irritated the Egyptians to the point that they treated them more harshly. Unbeknown to Israel, God was using the trials to not only increase their numbers but also their faith in Him. Likewise, during the Tribulation, God will protect Israel as they flee the assaults of the Antichrist, according to Revelation 12:14. And, through it all, Israel will grow in their hearts ability to see the one true living God.
In Isaiah 5:26 we read, "He will lift up a banner to the nations from afar, and will whistle to them from the ends of the earth; Surely they will come with speed, swiftly."
When the Lord Jesus comes at the end of the Tribulation, the Jews who will be redeemed will not die. They will go into His Millennial kingdom with physical bodies. They, for the thousand years of the Millennium, will have many children. In fact, the earth will literally proliferate with their children. This will be the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham who was known to look at the innumerable stars.
In the end, the word of God will be proven absolutely correct and true. And, the Lord's trophy, among others, will be that little vulnerable country we know as Israel. In Matthew 24:35, the Lord Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away." His word is powerful enough to change our stone cold hearts to hearts that respond to Him with loving faith. I trust you have done just that.
