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1 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.” 3 This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.” 4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” 6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty. 7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God.” ~ Zechariah 8:1-8
As we transition into Zechariah 8, the promise of God to restore the people of Israel to the promised land comes into plain view. Whether it is the church of the New Testament or whether it is Israel of the Old Testament, God has always manifested boundless love toward His children. And, true love is not just something God says, it is something He does. This is what Zechariah 8 is all about.
One of the reasons the United States has always provided for and protected the nation of Israel is due to the fact that we have long understood God's word regarding Israel. As early as Genesis 12 God has said over and over in His word, "Those who bless Israel, I will bless, and those who curse Israel, I will curse."
In v.1-2 of today's text we read, "1 The word of the Lord Almighty came to me. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.'"
The root word here for "jealous" means to burn, or to glow. So, God's love for His people is seen in His burning protection of us. God’s jealousy for Israel has always been a product of His love, and His love can clearly be seen in Him bringing them back from Babylon into the promised land. In addition, His love will be seen in what He will do for Israel in the millennial kingdom of Christ after the Tribulation.
In v.3 of today's text we read, "This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."
In Zechariah’s day the Jews had been in Babylon in captivity for 70 years. They were taken there when Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the city and flattened the temple and wiped out everything. God allowed this in order to purge Israel of their idolatry and to reveal to them His great love for them.
At this point in time, Israel had come back to the land under the leadership of Haggai, Zerubbabel and Zechariah. It was these willing men of faith whom God used to complete the building of the temple and the wall and the city of Jerusalem. God had promised the people the city would be rebuilt, the temple would be restored, the wall would be complete, and they would be restored to their land. And, that was only to be a token of what God was going to do in the end of time, in the millennial kingdom of Christ.
Now, ever since the Babylonians had come in and wiped Israel out, the Jews had established a whole series of fasts, which were times of mourning and sorrow. And in each of those fasts, they would go without food and they would weep and wail. Now that the city was being rebuilt, a group of people came from the town of Bethel to the priest and the prophets, asking whether the fasting was necessary.
God's answer to their question in Zechariah 7 was negative, as we considered in our last blog and podcast. And, through that response, we learn something about His love. Sometimes love responds negatively. True love sometimes disciplines us which often hurts more than we think we can endure.
In our text today, God's love is seen as positive. Here, God gives the people of Israel incredible promises for the future. In fact, He gives them the ultimate gift, the promises relative to the final kingdom. Jerusalem will become safe for all. They will no longer fear suicide bombers in that day. They will be absolute safe and free of harm.
In v.4-8 of today's text we read, "4 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. 5 The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there.” 6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?” declares the Lord Almighty. 7 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. 8 I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."
This prediction is not only of a return of the people to the land, but also of their return to the Lord. Today, the people have been brought back into the land, but their hearts have not turned back toward the Lord, yet. The Jews have been from all over the world being gathered back to the land of Israel, but the best was yet to come. When they, in the end times, turn back to the Lord, and recognize the Lord Jesus as the whom they have pierced, God, then, will dwell among them the way He has always wanted to dwell among them.
Nothing is too hard or impossible for the Lord. Ten times in this chapter God says "This is what the Lord Almighty says." The number ten is a number of completeness in the Bible. We count in increments of ten and so ten has always been representative of wholeness or fullness. So what we have here is God presenting the fullness of His program in the millennium to Israel. Here, He is giving the complete picture of that which awaits believing Israel.
Incidentally, the name YHWH appears 22 times in this chapter. And, attached to this covenant name of God are His promises including His punishment (v.2), His presence (v.3), His peace (v.4-5), His power (v.6), His populating (v.7), His people (v.8), His prosperity (v.9), His preference (v.14), His pleasure (v.19), and His prominence (v.20-23).
We access many of God's promises through our obedience to His word. In that day, Israel will look on Him whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as an only Son and their stony hearts will be replaced with hearts that will yearn to bring glory to their KING. The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to save all, including the Jews. One day, this will be the reality for the Jews, as well as all those who trust in His promises.
