Zechariah 9:1-10 says,...Bible reading week 36, day 5

We are unto Zechariah chapter 9 today with verses 1 through 10, which read,

v.1 - The burden of the word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach, with Damascus as its resting place (for the eyes of men, especially all the tribes of Israel, are toward the LORD),...

This oracle is pointed at the tribes of Israel which were the northern tribes, 10 of them in all.  We are told clearly that these words of the Lord are against them.

v.2-8 - ...and Hamath also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.  For Tyre built herself a fortress and piled up silver like dust, and gold like the mire of the streets.  Behold, the Lord will dispossess her and cast her wealth into the sea; and she will be consumed with fire.  Ashkelon will see it and be afraid.  Gaza too will writhe in great pain; also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded.  Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited.  And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.  And I will remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth.  Then they also will be a remnant for our God, and be like a clan in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite.  But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of him who passes by and returns, and no oppressor will pass over them anymore, for now I have seen with My eyes.

Zechariah is prophesying about the coming domination of Alexander the Great to this region.  We have a lot of names of cities and what was to happen to them.  This is spoken about 200 years before the swift conquest of Alexander who brought fear to the eyes of the cities and nations but passed over Israel.  There were those because of this siege of Alexander that turned to follow the God of the Israelites.  There will be a remnant that will gather like a tribe of Israel to be a people collected by God from this assault.  Alexander the Great passed over Israel to go to conquer Egypt and then passed through Israel again without doing it any harm.  Israel experienced the protection of God through this historical event and more that would come in the future.

v.9, 10 - Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey.  Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off and He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Do you see Jesus in these verses?  A king is coming to them.  A king who is just.  A king who brings and is salvation to them.  A king who is humble and one of the ways his humility is shown is through this entrance on a donkey and then clarified as the foal or offspring of a donkey.  Jesus came as a king and bowed to by the wise men from the East.  Jesus is just in all He does and says for they cannot trap Him in a question or touch Him before God's time for it to happen.  Jesus comes into Jerusalem on a donkey and on the foal of a donkey that Sunday we call Palm Sunday prior to Easter Sunday.  We are given here a picture into the far future for them and the fulfilled past for us of Jesus the Messiah who was to come and has come.

This king that is coming is going to be king over more than just Ephraim representing the northern tribes of Israel and more than just Jerusalem representing the southern tribes of Judah.  This king will speak peace or salvation to all the nations and his dominion will be from sea to sea.  Again, we see Jesus who is not just King of the Jews but King of all.  His peace and salvation are coming and gathering those who follow after Him just as the foreigners did after the attack of Alexander the Great and joining up with the Israelites to follow after their God.  

Why is this important?  For us we see the prophecy of what was to come in the near future and the far future and we have history to verify its actual happening.  These are points of time in history and also foretelling of Jesus' coming that establish our faith as we see Jesus' life unfolding as prophecies some 700 to 1000 year prior to His arrival.  We do not have a blind faith but a very documented one.  What was said and has come to be also gives us faith in what has been said by Jesus and has yet to be.  Jesus is coming again.  Let us pray.

"Lord, thank You for Your recording of Your word.  Thank You for the prophecies given over time to see fulfillment to the letter and confidence in future prophecies given to us.  May this encourage us to share about You, the King over all.  Amen."

Pastor Adam