INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 10 This chapter is a prophecy of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, spoken of in the preceding chapter Zechariah 9:1. It begins with an exhortation to ask rain of the Lord; denounces wrath upon his enemies; and con... [ Continue Reading ]
ASK YE OF THE LORD RAIN IN THE TIME OF THE LATTER RAIN,.... There was the former and the latter rain, of which see Hosea 6:3. The former rain was in autumn, a little before or about seed time; the latter was in the spring, and a little before harvest, which is here referred to. So Hesiod g calls tho... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE IDOLS HAVE SPOKEN VANITY,.... The vanities of the Gentiles cannot give rain; if they promise it, they speak vain things; God only can give it, and therefore it must, be asked of him, Jeremiah 14:22. The word for idols is "teraphim", the same as in Genesis 31:19 and here signifies worshippe... [ Continue Reading ]
MINE ANGER WAS KINDLED AGAINST THE SHEPHERDS,.... The Targum interprets it of "kings"; as the "goats" of "princes", in the next clause; by whom, according to Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, are meant the kings of Greece; but rather the antichristian kings are designed, the kings of the ear... [ Continue Reading ]
OUT OF HIM CAME FORTH THE CORNER,.... Or "cornerstone"; by which is meant a king or ruler, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; and is no other than the King Messiah, who was to come out of Judah, and did spring from that tribe, 1 Chronicles 5:2 and this is a reason why God will visit the house of Jud... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THEY SHALL BE AS MIGHTY [MEN],.... That is, the converted Jews shall be such; they shall be strong in faith, giving glory to the Messiah; they shall be strong in the grace that is in him; they shall be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; his strength shall be made perfect in their... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILT STRENGTHEN THE HOUSE OF JUDAH,.... Both with internal and external strength, so that they shall be able to stand their ground against enemies of every sort: AND I WILL SAVE THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH: the ten tribes, such of them that shall be found, for all Israel shall be saved, Romans 11:26... [ Continue Reading ]
AND [THEY] OF EPHRAIM SHALL BE LIKE A MIGHTY [MAN],.... What remain, and shall be found of the ten tribes, shall be as is said of Judah, or the Jews of the two tribes, Zechariah 10:5: AND THEIR HEART SHALL REJOICE AS THROUGH WINE: they shall be filled with inward and spiritual joy, through the love... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL HISS FOR THEM,.... Or "whistle for them" p; the word signifies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, the motion of the lips with the voice, and is a sign of calling; and so the Targum renders it, I will cry or call for them; and it denotes the call of them by the Gospel, which is the voice of Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL SOW THEM AMONG THE PEOPLE, The people of God in the Gentile world: this is to be understood of the conversion of the Jews, when they will become the good seed that hear the word, and understand it, and bring forth fruit; and of their being known, acknowledged, and reckoned among the peopl... [ Continue Reading ]
I WILL BRING THEM AGAIN ALSO OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT,.... The Targum paraphrases it, "and as I brought them out of the land of Egypt, so will gather their captivity out of Assyria;'' suggesting there would be a likeness between the one and the other. Egypt may denote the state of distance and bon... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE SHALL PASS THROUGH THE SEA WITH AFFLICTION,.... Either the people of the Jews, as Israel of old did, when they came out of Egypt, to which the allusion is; or the wind shall pass through the sea, as Aben Ezra supplies it, and it shall become dry; that is, the river of Egypt: or "affliction" r... [ Continue Reading ]
AND I WILL STRENGTHEN THEM IN THE LORD,.... Not the Egyptians and Assyrians, but the Jews, as in Zechariah 10:5, the Targum is, "I will strengthen them in the word of the Lord;'' in the Messiah, by his power, and in the grace that is in him; and their faith and hope in him, and love to him: or "by... [ Continue Reading ]