Sermon #01                                               Zechariah Series

 

     Title:           Zechariah’s Message

                        A Call to Repentance

     Text:           Zechariah 1:1-3

     Subject:      An Overview of Zechariah

     Date:          Sunday Morning — May 1, 2005

     Tape #        Zechariah #1

 

Reading

 

Isaiah 43:1-21

 

1 ¶  But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2  When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3  For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. 4  Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. 5  Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; 6  I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth; 7  Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

 

8 ¶  Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. 9  Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth. 10  Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. 12  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God. 13  Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?

 

14 ¶  Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. 15  I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. 16  Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; 17  Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow. 18  Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. 19  Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. 20  The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen. 21  This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

 

Introduction:

 

I have spent a good bit of time studying the prophecy of Zechariah in recent months. What a blessed word from our God it is! Today, I want to begin an exposition of this sweet, encouraging prophecy of mercy and grace. Today, I we will skip through these fourteen chapters, simply taking an overview of the book. Let’s begin in chapter 1.

 

(Zechariah 1:1-3)  “In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, (2) The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers. (3) Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.”

 

Zechariah’s name means, “The Lord Remembers;” and truly he does! The Lord remembers his people. The Lord remembers his covenant. And, even in wrath, the Lord remembers mercy.

 

Proposition: In these 14 chapters of Inspiration God’s faithful servant Zechariah calls us to repentance, calls us to turn again to the Lord; and he does so by reminding us of God’s boundless mercy, love, and grace in Christ, telling us, “the Lord remembers.”

 

It is ever the tendency of preachers, when we think God’s people are becoming indifferent to the things of God, careless in ordering their lives, and lax in the service of Christ, to sternly scold them, threaten them with the whip of the law, or bribe them with the promise of blessings. We know that God’s saints are no longer under the law, but under grace. We know that the scoldings, threats, and bribes of legality have no effect upon the hearts of men. Yet, when push comes to shove, we are terribly prone to revert to the use of the law.

 

That ought never be the case. It is Christ crucified, grace experienced, love manifest, and mercy sure that draws our hearts after our God and Savior. Nothing inspires devotion like devotion. Nothing promotes gratitude like grace. Nothing motivates love like love.

 

God the Holy Spirit taught these things to his prophet Zechariah; and Zechariah used them to inspire Israel during the days of Haggai and Ezra to zealously devote themselves to the building of God’s house in Jerusalem. He spoke to Israel about the sure promises of God’s grace and mercy, his presence and power, and the glory that God promised would come with Christ the Messiah. In these fourteen chapters, Zechariah speaks of Christ’s first advent to redeem us with his blood, to put away the iniquity of his people in one day by the sacrifice of himself (3:9), and of his glorious second advent, declaring, “the Lord my God shall come, and all his saints with thee” (14:5).

 

That Day

 

That is what the book of Zechariah is all about ― Christ our God and Savior saving his people. Yes, this prophecy was addressed to the Jews who had returned from Babylonian captivity; but its message is to God’s people in this gospel day.

 

The phrase “in that day” is used by Zechariah 20 times. He uses this phrase 16 times in the last three chapters. “That day” of which the prophet speaks is this gospel age. It began with our Savior’s first advent and extends to the end of the world when Christ comes again. In this day…

·       God pours out the Spirit of grace and supplication upon chosen sinners, granting repentance to whom he will (12:10).

·       There is a Fountain opened (Christ crucified) for cleansing from sin (13:1-2).

·       Though all the world fights against us, God’s church and kingdom is perfectly safe and constantly triumphant, under his constant care and protection.

·       And the purpose of God shall be fully accomplished in the end of the day. ― God’s glory in Christ shall be seen in the final defeat of all his foes and in the complete salvation of all his people (14).

 

Can we be sure of these things? Indeed, we can, because the whole work is his work, the work of Christ our Savior and our God, typified in mighty Zerubbabel (4:6-7, 9).

 

(Zechariah 4:6-7)  “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.”

 

(Zechariah 4:9)  “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.”

 

Divisions

 

Zechariah’s prophecy really has just two divisions.

·       Zechariah 1:1-8:23 describe the circumstances of the people during the building of the temple at Jerusalem, the present circumstances of Judah and Israel.

·       Chapters 9-14 speak about the future, the things God would do once the temple was finished.

 

Visions

 

The book of Zechariah begins by reminding the people that it was the sin, rebellion and unbelief of their fathers that brought them into Babylon. Wrath is the response of justice to sin. It is never arbitrary. Yet, in wrath our God remembers mercy. Look at the third verse of chapter 1. This is a word of grace and assurance the Lord God told his prophet to tell the people. ― “Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.”

 

After calling the people to repentance, the Lord gave his prophet eight visions to set before his people, visions full of comfort and encouragement.

 

1. Four horsemen among the myrtle trees depict Israel (God’s elect) scattered among the nations, but not forgotten (1:7-11). ― “The Lord remembers.” — “The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his!”

 

2. Four horns are used to portray the nations and their power; but along with these four horns the prophet describes four carpenters (skilled craftsmen ― Gospel preachers) as God’s agents of deliverance by whom the powers of the nations (the world) shall be broken and subdued (1:18-21)

 

3. Then Zechariah speaks of a man with a measuring line (2:1-13) measuring Jerusalem, the City of God (his church), assuring God’s people of prosperity and glory beyond measure. This is the similar to what Ezekiel describes in Ezekiel 40 and to what John describes in Revelation 11. ― The presence of the Lord, as a wall of fire round about his people, will make walls unnecessary and the vastness of the City will make them impossible.

 

4. Then we see Joshua the high priest cleansed, clothed and crowned (3:1-5), as the angel of the Lord stood by.

 

5. In chapter 4 Zechariah describes Christ, the Light of the World, as he is displayed in his church, portrayed in the vision of the golden candlestick.

 

6. The flying scroll (5:1-4) is the Word of God by which he both rules and judges the world.

 

7. The woman with a basket (“an ephah”) describes both the full measure of wickedness for which God shall judge the earth, and the limitation of it by God’s decree and power (5:5-11).

 

8. In chapter 6 (vv. 1-8) the prophet describes four chariots and the men riding in them as four spirits of the heavens sent from the presence of the Lord to continually patrol the earth and punish evil.

 

Christ

 

There are more direct prophecies of Christ in the book of Zechariah than in any other Old Testament book, except Isaiah. Zechariah speaks of our Savior both directly and typically.

 

1. Christ is the Man who measures his church (2:1-5). He is the only man who can. He alone knows the number of God’s elect. And he is “unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (v. 5; Isa. 26:1; 9:8; Isa. 60:19; Rev. 21:23).

 

2. Christ is the Angel of the Lord who commands the salvation of his people (3:1-5; Rev. 10).

 

3. Christ is the Servant of God whom he shall bring forth (3:8; Mark 10:45).

 

4. Christ is called “the BRANCH” (3:8; 6:12; Luke 1:78).

 

5. It is our great Redeemer who is the all-seeing Foundation Stone upon which God’s church and kingdom is built (3:9; 1 Cor. 3:10-11; 1 Pet. 2:6-8).

 

(Zechariah 3:9)  “For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.”

 

6. It is our all-glorious God and Savior, of whom the prophet speaks, when we read in verse 9 of chapter 3, “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.”

 

7. Christ our Savior is typified in Zerubbabel (4:6-9).

 

(Zechariah 4:6-9)  “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (7) Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. (8) Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, (9) The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.”

 

8. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Priest upon his Throne, our Priest and King, who builds his temple, bears the glory of it, and maintains the counsel of peace for us (6:13; Heb. 6:20-7:1).

 

(Zechariah 6:13)  “Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”

 

Read Zechariah 9:9-12.

 

(Zechariah 9:9-12)  “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.”

 

9. Christ is that King who came in humility, riding upon an ass’s colt (Matt. 21:4-5; John 12:14-16).

 

·       He is just, having salvation.

·       He speaks peace to the heathen.

·       His dominion is from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth an everlasting dominion (John 17:2).

·       It is by the blood of his covenant that the prisoners of hope go forth from their prison.

·       He renders to his own double for all their sins (Isa. 40:2).

 

10. He is the Lord our God who shall save his flock and make us stones in the crown of his glory (9:16).

 

11. It is Christ who was betrayed by his own friend (11:12-13; Matt. 27:9).

 

(Zechariah 11:12-13)  “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. (13) And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.”

 

12. His hands were pierced in the house of his friends (12:10; John 19:37).

 

13. Christ is the Fountain opened for cleansing (13:1; Rev. 1:5).

 

(Zechariah 13:1)  “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

 

14. Zechariah even presents our Savior in his dual nature as the God-man. In 6:12, he is called the Man. In 13:7 he is Jehovah’s fellow, slain by the sword of justice in our place.

 

(Zechariah 6:12)  “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:”

 

(Zechariah 13:7)  “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.”

 

15. Zechariah saw Christ as the Good Shepherd whose life was given for the sheep, whom he came to save (13:7).

 

16. Then (14:4-9) God’s prophet speaks of our Savior’s glorious second advent.

 

(Zechariah 14:4-9)  “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (5) And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (6) And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: (7) But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. (8) And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (9) And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.”

 

Grace

 

Zechariah’s prophecy is full of Christ and, being full of Christ, it is full of pictures of God’s saving grace in Christ.

 

Zechariah 3:1-5 gives us a tremendous picture of God’s grace displayed in the experience of conversion. Joshua the high priest of Israel stands before us in these verses as a picture of every sinner who is chosen, redeemed, called and converted by the grace of God in Christ. And the Angel of the Lord standing by is our all-glorious Savior and Advocate, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 

Obviously, our Savior is not one of the angelic hosts that he created. He is called “the Angel of the Lord,” because he is Jehovah’s Messenger, the Angel of the covenant. This One who is called, “the Angel of the Lord” in verse 1, is Jehovah himself. We know that because he is called, “the Lord” (Jehovah) in verse 2. This Man who is God, the Angel of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our almighty Advocate and effectual Intercessor (Heb. 7:24-27; 1 John 2:1-2).

 

(Zechariah 3:1-5)  “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. (2) And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (3) Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. (4) And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. (5) And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.”

 

In chapter 8 (vv. 7-13) we see a prophecy regarding the sure salvation of God’s elect. The Lord God declares, “Behold, I will save my people;” and save them he will. He promises to make himself the God of his chosen “in truth and in righteousness” ― in accordance with the truthfulness of his own covenant, oath, promise and character, and in perfect righteousness by the sacrifice of Christ. He promises to make his people prosperous and to make his elect remnant possessors of all things (1 Cor. 3:21-23), and to make them who were “a curse among the heathen…a blessing.”

 

(Zechariah 8:7-8)  “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; (8) And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.”

 

(Zechariah 8:12-13)  “For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. (13) And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

 

In Zechariah 9:12-16 the Lord’s promise of salvation to his elect is expanded. He promises his “prisoners of hope” that he will give them “double” (v. 12). I take that to mean the same thing promised in the gospel message in Isaiah 40:1-2. ― God in Christ gives believing sinners “double” for all their sins. He gives pardon and forgiveness; and he gives justification and righteousness. Then, he makes worthless sinners saved by almighty grace instruments of great usefulness in his hands, each one “as the sword of a mighty man” (v. 13; 1 Cor. 1:26-29), and promises that they shall be stones in the crown of his glory (v. 16; Isa. 62:3; Eph. 2:7).

 

(Zechariah 9:12-16)  “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.”

 

In the 10th chapter (vv. 6-8) Zechariah’s prophecy speaks of God’s saving grace as the effectual, irresistible operation of his omnipotence. The Lord promises not only to “hiss” for them, but also to “gather them.” Grace is not merely the hissing for, but also the gathering of God’s elect. Every redeemed sinner shall be gathered into the fold of mercy by omnipotent, irresistible grace.

 

(Zechariah 10:6-8)  “And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. (7) And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. (8) I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.”

 

Chapter 12 (v. 10) tells us how it is that lost, dead, helpless sinners who will not and cannot look to Christ in faith of their own accord are made to believe by the operation of God’s grace. God pours out His Spirit upon his elect, as “the Spirit of grace and supplications.” When he does, Christ is revealed and the sinner looks to him in repentance and faith.

 

(Zechariah 12:10)  “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.”

 

God’s Church

 

Zechariah describes the church and kingdom of God in chapters 2 (vv. 11-13) 4 (v. 2), and 8 (v. 3). Many commentators go to great lengths to try to prove their imagined theory that God’s church is not to be found in the Old Testament. Precisely for that reason, it is important to point out what should be obvious. It is certainly true that the Old Testament prophets did not clearly see the full meaning of all that they wrote by inspiration (1 Pet. 1:10-12). However, Zechariah, like many others gives an unmistakable prophetic picture of God’s church, family and kingdom being made of chosen sinners from many nations, in the midst of whom the Lord dwells. These blessed people, a multitude that no man can number, out of every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue are the Lord’s own peculiar portion in the earth.

 

(Zechariah 2:11-13)  “And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. (12) And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. (13) Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.”

 

God’s church is his candlestick in this dark world (Zech. 4:2). It is the church of God that is the instrument by which he upholds and from which he causes to shine the Light of the world. His church is his candlestick in the earth (Rev. 1:13). Particularly, each local assembly of blood-bought sinners, saved by his omnipotent grace is the means by which the Lord our God maintains the light of the gospel in the world from one generation to another until the end of time (1 Tim. 3:15).

 

(Zechariah 4:2)  “And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof.”

 

His holy mountain, the mountain of the Lord of hosts, that Jerusalem which is “a city of truth” (8:3), is “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

 

(Zechariah 8:3)  “Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.”

 

Anti-christ

 

Zechariah 11:16-12:9 speak of God sending an idol shepherd, the man of sin, anti-christ (2 Thess. 2:8) and the opposition of all the world against his church in that great battle that shall rage until our King comes again (Armageddon). But the Lord God declares, “I will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (12:8).

 

Hell

 

In Zechariah 14:12-13 we learn something about the everlasting torments of the damned, those who have opposed our God, his Christ, his gospel, and his people.

 

(Zechariah 14:12-13)  “And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. (13) And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.”

 

Oh, what a place of darkness, woe, and agony beyond description that must be in which there is nothing but everlasting, constantly increasing hatred of men and women for one another, each blaming the other for his torment!

 

The Feast of Tabernacles

 

In 14:16-21 the Lord God tells us a little bit about the glory that shall be ours when Christ comes again, and the Feast of Tabernacles (The Feast of Faith in Christ) is ours forever.

 

(Zechariah 14:16-21)  “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (17) And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. (18) And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (19) This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. (20) In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. (21) Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.”

 

The feast was kept by the Jews in remembrance of their wilderness journey, when they dwelt in tents. It typified of Christ’s incarnation, who was made flesh, and tabernacled among us. Spiritually, we keep this feast by trusting Christ, by believing that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. We keep the feast now; but in heavenly glory we shall keep it perfectly, ever feeding upon our Savior, ever rejoicing in him. When the tabernacle of God is with men, when the beast is destroyed, when Babylon is fallen, when at last we are triumphant forever over the world, the flesh, and the devil, we shall worship the King, the Lord of hosts with our brethren out of all the nations of the earth, and “keep the feast of tabernacles!”

 

Child of God, read the promises of God your Savior, and begin now to enjoy the glory that soon shall be yours in perfect fulness. This 14th chapter tells us of heaven’s glory and blessedness by telling us some things that shall not be there. When Christ comes and glory begins, there shall be no more…

·       Darkness (vv. 6-7)

·       Winter (v. 8)

·       Thirst (v. 8)

 

(Zechariah 14:6-8)  “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: (7) But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. (8) And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.”

 

·       Unbelief – We will worship and keep the feast (v. 16).

·       Sin ― Every pot, every gift, every service, even the bells on the horses will say, “Holiness unto the Lord!”

·       And there shall be no more Canaanite ― No Enemy!

 

Well might we pray with John, “Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!”

 

Amen.