Zechariah 12
COMMENTARY:
: 1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, says the LORD, which stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. (3335 “forms” [yatsar] means to create, fashion, frame, plan, shape, or mold.)
DEVOTION: The Bible doesn’t teach evolution. Nowhere will you find God taking longer than six twenty-four days to create the world. HE rested on the seventh day. The book of Genesis says “evening and morning” regularly for the time period. Yes, another passage of the Bible states that one day is as a thousand years to the LORD but that is only stating that HE doesn’t live in time at all. We are the ones who live in time. It is hard for us to comprehend a God who is eternal. HE has no beginning or end. We have both.
HE formed our spirit or our God consciousness. We are made up of three parts: body, soul and spirit.
Our physical body will die one day if the LORD doesn’t return first to call all those who believe up to heaven to join HIM before the Tribulation period of seven years.
Our soul is our personality. It is what makes us different from other people. No two people are fully alike. Each of us is given a gift when we become a follower of the LORD. We are to use our gift in the local church for the glory of the LORD. We are all to be witnesses of what the LORD has done for us to others.
Our spirit is alive once we become a believer. Those who reject Jesus Christ are dead in trespasses and sins so their spirit is not alive to what God has to say. They are walking dead men and women who are just going through life without the LORD. The Holy Spirit teaches through our spirit what it means to live for the LORD and give HIM glory with our life.
CHALLENGE: God created everything perfect. We are fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who loves us. HE gives each human a choice to follow HIM or not. What is your choice?
: 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. (4614 “burdensome” [ma‘amacah] means heavy stone, load, burden, hard to lift, lifting heavy weights, or immovable.)
DEVOTION: Weightlifting was one of the means used in wrestling to get our bodies in shape to wrestle each week. We would run the halls with twenty pound sandbags under each arm. The High School I attended was perfect for this type of running. We had to run in the bleachers as well at times. The coach wanted us in the best shape ever even if we were not the number one wrestler in our weight class. No one messed with the wrestling team. If one member was being harassed by someone in the school the other members of the team would meet the person and straighten him out. That was just the way it was.
Now we find that the whole world is going to be against the people of Israel in the end times. All nations are going to come against Israel but the LORD is going to cause them to be an immoveable stone that will hurt anyone going against them.
Remember with the LORD one is a majority. No one can defeat the LORD when HE is protecting HIS people from an enemy. HE is with us today to help us through any difficulty that comes into our life.
However, we are not promised that we will win every battle that we face because we are a believer. Many believers throughout the ages have lost human battles but the spiritual battle is won in Christ every time. Our eternal home is sure once we confess Jesus Christ as Savior.
During the time period in question in this verse we I believe will be watching from heaven. We will be taken out before the Tribulation begins and those who are sealed of the Jewish race will be witnesses with the two witnesses in Jerusalem to the world. Many will become Tribulation saints during this time period from every tribe and nation.
So there are Old Testament saints, New Testament saints and Tribulation saints taught in the Word of God and we have to study to see what happens to each.
CHALLENGE: Remember that one with the LORD is always immovable. Victory is promised. Victory is eternal.
: 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (8045 “destroy” [shamad] means destruction, overthrown, exterminate, to be made unusable, or damage irreparably.)
DEVOTION: Jerusalem is in the news today. It is the capital of the Jewish nation. Many nations don’t recognize Jerusalem as the capital or even Israel as a nation. They were given that status in 1946 by the United Nations. There has been fighting over Jerusalem since by the Moslem nations that want to destroy Israel completely.
This is not something new. The LORD has allowed Israel to lose its status in the world because of their rejection of HIM and HIS Son. They have been set aside for a time period which is called the Church Age.
During the Church Age or the Age of Grace as some call it individuals will become followers of Christ from every nation while the nation of Israel as a whole doesn’t recognize Jesus as their Messiah.
This will change in the future. They will realize who Jesus really was and turn to become followers of HIM. God has not rejected Israel completely but for a time period. That time period will end when the LORD raptures the church and seals the 144,000 Jewish witnesses during the last week of the seventy weeks of Daniel or the time of Jacob’s trouble.
The LORD will defend Jerusalem and all their enemies will be defeated. It will be great to be able to watch this happen from heaven. The final victory is always the LORD’S.
CHALLENGE: The LORD has not changes HIS attitude toward the Jewish nation. HE is going to set up a future Kingdom in Jerusalem. What is your attitude toward Jerusalem?
: 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (1856 “pierced” [daqar] means thrust through, run through, or stricken through.)
DEVOTION: This chapter has the key words “IN THAT DAY” found throughout. This is a reference to a future day in the history of Israel. The day has not come yet.
The first part of the chapter deals with the battle of Armageddon. The enemies of Israel are going to be defeated. All the nations will come to battle against Israel but they will be an immoveable rock because of the help of the LORD.
IN THAT DAY they will realize what they did to the Messiah when HE came the first time. The Holy Spirit will influence the children of Judah, when HE gives them, the spirit of grace and supplications.
The Holy Spirit will bring to their memory the first coming of the Messiah. This verse is so plain in its explanation of the first coming of Christ the Messiah.
They ran HIM through with nails in HIS hands and feet. There was a spear in HIS side. HE was the only begotten of the Father. HE was the firstborn son. In the future the children of Israel will have to recognize HIM as the Messiah.
Once they recognize HIM, they will mourn over what they did to HIM at HIS first coming. They will realize that they will need to confess their sin and repent as David had to do when Nathan confronted him with his sin.
There will be many mourning at the second coming of Christ because they have not made the right choice while they were alive. They will be judged for their refusal to become a follower of Christ.
We have a choice today. Have we recognized the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior? HE was the one who died on the cross for the sins of the world. On the third day HE rose from the death. The grave is empty. HE is the only Savior that has risen from the dead.
Have we confessed our breaking of HIS Ten Commandments in our lives? Are we willing to receive HIM into our lives and chose to follow HIM? This needs to be done NOW. We can remember the cross. HE did it for us. Praise HIS name!!
We are not to be just a fan of Jesus but a follower. If you don’t know the difference send an email and we can correspond about the difference.
The future for Israel is one of blessing throughout the Millennium. However, they will go through a time of mourning over the actions of the past. That day is coming!!!!
CHALLENGE: Truth about the first coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah is found throughout the Bible. We all need to Study to show ourselves approved.
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