Zechariah 12:1-14

God remembers his promises

Zechariah

Gordon Churchyard

Chapter 12

v1 The *LORD’s message warns (about danger) to Israel. The *LORD spreads out the skies. He lays a strong base for the earth. And he puts the spirit into a man. (The *LORD) says (this). v2 ‘Look! I am going to make Jerusalem (like) a cup. It will make all the nations round (Jerusalem) *stagger. (An enemy) will surround both Judah and Jerusalem. v3 And on that day, I will make Jerusalem (like) a heavy rock to all the nations. All the nations of the earth will gather against (Jerusalem). But all the people that try to move that rock will give themselves an injury. v4 On that day’, says the *LORD, ‘I will strike every horse with confusion and I will make their riders mad. And I will watch over the house of Judah. But I will make the horses of all the nations blind. v5 Then the families of Judah will say in their minds, “The people in Jerusalem are strong. This is because the *LORD of Everything is their God.” v6 On that day, I will make the families of Judah like a pot of fire in a pile of wood. (They will be) like a torch of flame in (dry) corn plants. And they will destroy all the nations round them, to the right and to the left. But (the people of) Jerusalem will remain safe in Jerusalem. v7 And firstly, the *LORD will save the places where (the people of) Judah live. So the honour of the house of David will not be greater than that of (the people in) Judah. Neither (will the honour) of (the people that live in) Jerusalem be greater. v8 On that day, the *LORD will protect (anyone) that lives in Jerusalem. Even the weakest person in Jerusalem will be like David. And the family of David will seem to be like God. (They will be) like the *angel of the *LORD. (The *angel) will be in front of all the nations that (come to fight) against Israel. v9 And, on that day, this will be my plan. (I will) destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.’

Notes

Verse 1 Notice that Zechariah says that the *LORD is still doing these things. Read Colossians 1:16-17, especially the end of verse 17, ‘He (Jesus) holds all things together (in their places).’ Zechariah says this because the message is so important. The *Hebrew word here for ‘warns’ is ‘massa’. It is something that is very heavy. This means that it is very important. The same word is in Zechariah 9:1. Israel here probably means all the *Jewish people, Judah and Israel. It does not mean just the northern country, as in Zechariah 11:14.

Verse 2 ‘*Stagger’ means ‘to walk as if you will soon fall over’. All the people will seem drunk! It is not the cup that makes them *stagger. It is what is in the cup. Other *prophets wrote about the cup that God uses. Isaiah 51:17 mentions ‘the cup of the *LORD’s anger’. Jeremiah 51:7 says ‘Babylon is a gold cup in the *LORD’s hand. It will make all the earth drunk.’ These cups mean what God will do. When he punishes people, they will not walk. They will *stagger!

Zechariah was describing a battle against Jerusalem. Many nations will attack Jerusalem. But God will make their soldiers weak, like drunks.

Verse 3 Again Zechariah uses the *Hebrew word ‘massa’. But now, it is not the message that is heavy. It is the rock that is heavy. Many people try to move it, but they only hurt themselves. When people do not obey God, they always hurt themselves.

So when the nations oppose Jerusalem, they will hurt themselves.

Verse 4 But here God himself hurts people also. He makes them mad and he makes their horses frightened and blind. Those who do not obey God are like mad and blind people. Deuteronomy 28:28 links these two ideas. ‘The house of Judah’ may mean ‘the royal family of Judah’. But it may mean ‘the people that live in Judah’.

Verse 5 Here and in verse 6, some translations have ‘leaders’ instead of ‘families’. Bible students are not sure which is correct. Most translations have ‘families’. The people of Judah probably decided then to make the *LORD their God also. Perhaps, before this, they had not bothered to trust God. Jerusalem was the capital city of Judah.

Verse 6 Judah was the country round Jerusalem. The enemy could get into Judah easily, but they could not get into Jerusalem. This verse tells us that the people of Judah would destroy their enemies. However, the people in Jerusalem would watch safely!

Verse 7 The people in Judah saw that God was fighting for Jerusalem, verse 5. God used Judah to defeat the enemy, verse 6. God did this so that Jerusalem could not feel more important than Judah. In other words, Jerusalem would not have more honour than Judah. It was God that defeated the enemy, verse 4.

Verse 8 In the *Hebrew language, ‘protect’ is ‘be a shield’. A shield is something that a soldier covers himself with. It protects him from arrows and swords. The weak people will become strong, like David. The family (‘house of’ in the *Hebrew language) of David will be like God. And they will seem to their enemies like the *angel of the *LORD. This may be a name for the *LORD himself, or it may be the leader of God’s *angels, Zechariah 1:11.

On that day

This phrase comes in verses 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9. When is ‘that day’? Bible students believe that there are several meanings:

The *historical meaning is that it happened in the history of Judah and Jerusalem. Perhaps it happened when the four *chariots came, Zechariah 6:1-8, or the trouble in Zechariah 8:9-13.

The church meaning is that Jerusalem here may mean all God’s people, including the church. Whenever there is trouble, God will send help. But we may have to wait for it.

The *eschatological, or end of time, meaning is when Jesus returns to the earth. He will save Jerusalem, the city and the church. Jesus, of course, came from the family (house) of David.

The section that follows is about the death of Jesus. One day, the *Jewish people will be sorry for it. They will cry and weep. But what made Zechariah think of this? What did he see that the *Holy Spirit of God used to make him *prophesy this? We shall never know. Bible students have had many ideas. One idea is in the note on verse 10. But really, it does not matter. Part of what Zechariah said actually happened. Jesus died and a soldier *pierced him with a sword. This means that he pushed a sword into him. The rest of the *prophecy is still in the future!

v10 ‘And I will pour out on the family of David a spirit of *grace and of prayer. (I will also pour it out) on everyone that lives in Jerusalem. And they will look to me whom they *pierced. Then they will cry for him, as people cry for an only child (that dies). And they will weep bitter (tears) for him, as people weep bitter (tears) for an only son (that is dead).

v11 And (the people of) Jerusalem shall weep very much in that day. They shall weep as much as (the people of) Hadad-rimmon wept in the plain of Megiddo.

v12-14 And the (people of) the country will cry, every family by itself:

• the family of the house of David and their wives;

• the family of the house of Nathan and their wives;

• the family of the house of Levi and their wives; (13)

• the family of Shimei and their wives;

• and all the other families and their wives.’ (14)

Notes

Verse 10 One way to understand this difficult verse is to use the *historical, church and *eschatological idea.

*historical: Somebody killed someone in Jerusalem with a knife. *Pierced means ‘stuck a knife or sword into’. Zechariah wrote, ‘They will look to me whom they *pierced.’ So, the dead man may be a *prophet. Or it may mean the *LORD. But this is just an idea. Bible students do not agree who murdered whom, or when. There are many possibilities in *Jewish history.

church: John 19:33-37 tells us about a soldier who *pierced (or stuck a sword into) Christ’s body. Many *Jews wept at Jesus’ death. This included Peter, Matthew 26:75; and Mary, John 20:11. Probably hundreds more wept as they became Christians on the Day of *Pentecost, Acts 2:37.

*eschatological: Revelation 1:7 tells us about the time when Jesus returns to this earth. ‘They that *pierced him’ will weep. This means the people that were responsible for the death of Jesus in Jerusalem.

So, the people in Jerusalem are very, very sorry. This is because God has poured his Spirit on them. God’s Spirit gave them God’s *grace and he made them pray to him. ‘*Grace’ means ‘kindness when you do not have to be kind’. The *Hebrew word here for ‘prayer’ means ‘ask for *grace’. Notice that Zechariah wrote, ‘they will look to me whom they *pierced’. The speaker is the *LORD. Therefore Bible students say that Zechariah meant the *Messiah. *Messiah was a name for a *Jewish king or leader. But when Jesus the *Messiah came, he was the *LORD in human form. People looked on God whom they *pierced. Jesus was, of course, God’s only son, but he was God also. In this verse, ‘bitter’ means ‘very, very sad’.

Verse 11 Hadad-rimmon puzzles Bible students. Megiddo was a place in Israel. Probably people gathered there to weep for someone that died. Perhaps the person that died was:

• the false god Hadad; or

• the *Jewish king Josiah, 2 Chronicles 35:25.

Verses 12-14 The house of David (and his son Nathan) means ‘all the political leaders’. The house of Levi (and his son Shimei) means ‘all the priests’.

Something to do

1. Study cups in the *Old Testament:

• Cups that do good things to people, Psalms 23:5 and Psalms 116:13.

• Cups that do bad things to people, Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:17; Jeremiah 25:28-29.

2. Add to your *table after chapter 9 (Something to do number 2) John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7.

3. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, with all that it means (Psalms 122:6).

4. Learn to say Zechariah 12:10 by heart. (‘By heart’ means that you do not look at the words.)

lord ~ someone in authority; ‘my lord’ means ‘sir’. With a capital L, a name for God.
LORD ~ the covenant name for God that his servants use.
covenant ~ an agreement. God’s covenant with his people was a special agreement.
stagger ~ to walk as if you will soon fall over.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven; usually we cannot see them.
heaven ~ a name for the home of God; it can also mean the sky.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
stagger ~ to walk as if you will soon fall over.
prophet ~ someone who tells people what God is saying.
historical ~ about past events.
chariot ~ a special cart that soldiers used. Horses pulled chariots.
eschatological ~ about what will happen when Jesus returns to earth at the end of time. Eschatology is the study of this.
holy ~ very, very good; only God is really holy. ‘Holy ones’ is sometimes a name for angels.
angel ~ a servant of God from heaven; usually we cannot see them.
heaven ~ a name for the home of God; it can also mean the sky.
prophesy ~ tell people what God is saying.
pierce ~ stick a knife or a sword into.
prophecy ~ words that a prophet speaks.
prophet ~ someone who tells people what God is saying.
grace ~ kindness that people do not deserve.
pierce ~ stick a knife or a sword into.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children.
Pentecost ~ the time when God’s Spirit came to the first Christians.
grace ~ kindness that people do not deserve.
messiah ~ leader; with capital M a name for Christ. Christ is the Greek word for messiah.
Greek ~ the language that people speak in Greece.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which the writers wrote before Jesus came.
table ~ a number of boxes to show information clearly.