Zechariah 9 King James Version (KJV)
9 The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord.
2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
14 And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
Commentary
9:1-14:21 THE TRIUMPH OF THE MESSIAH
Israel always looked forward to a messianic day of glory and power. The people longed for the day when all enemies would be destroyed, and righteousness would be established in the land under the rule of the Messiah. The nation’s re-establishment under Zerubbabel and Joshua was a foretaste of that great day. Israel could expect to see its former enemies conquered and full independence restored in its land.
This in fact happened. The years 334-326 BC saw the Greek conqueror Alexander the Great spread his rule over all those countries that had previously controlled Israel. Although Alexander’s conquests included Israel, the time came when Israel finally won full independence under the Maccabees (143 BC). In due course the Messiah came in the person of Jesus Christ, but by this time the Jews, through their own sin, had lost their independence. Worse still, they rejected their Messiah.
The prophecies of Zechariah have to some extent been fulfilled, but they still await a greater fulfilment. This will take place when Jesus Christ returns to conquer all enemies and establish his universal rule of peace and joy. In Zechariah the time factor therefore has little meaning. Events that cover many years, or perhaps are separated by centuries, may be condensed into one verse. Much shorter periods may be dealt with at length.
Zechariah’s prophecies are not descriptions of historical events that he happens to have written in advance. They are a revelation of God’s purposes given to instruct, warn, encourage, guide and inform his people. Their fulfilment may take different forms in different eras. In some cases the fulfilment may be closely related to events belonging to the time from Alexander to the Maccabees; in others it may be more concerned with the greater events of Christ’s life and work; and in yet others it may relate more fully to the future events of the return of Christ and the age to come.
Enemies punished; freedom restored (9:1-17)
The prophet outlines how Israel will move from its present position (in its own land but still under Persian rule) to full independence, and then into the era of the Messiah’s rule. He sees an invading army moving down from the north. First it conquers the Syrian cities of Hadrach, Damascus and Hamath, then
the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon (9:1-4). From there it moves down the coastal plain to conquer the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and Ashdod. The Philistine practice of eating unclean food will cease, and the Philistines will become part of Israel, as the Jebusites had in the time of David (5-7; cf. 2 Sam 5:6-10). Jerusalem, however, will be preserved. Although it will come into the enemy’s sphere of control, it will not be destroyed (8).
(History records that an invasion such as the above took place when Alexander’s armies swept through the region, conquering many of Israel’s former enemies, including its current master, Persia. Although Alexander took control of Jerusalem, he did not destroy it.)
Greek rule may spread over Palestine, but eventually it will be overthrown. God’s king will then reign in Jerusalem, though not as a warlike conqueror. He will enter the city in quiet yet royal dignity, and establish a worldwide reign of peace (9-10).
Now that he has pointed to the climax of Israel’s glory through the reign of the Messiah, the prophet returns to the time of Alexander. He shows that God will set his people free according to the covenant he made with them at Sinai (11-12). Israel will become a weapon in God’s hand to slaughter its enemies and thereby carry out God’s judgment upon the nations (13-15). On gaining its freedom, the nation will settle down to a life of security, joy and prosperity (16-17).