Slices
Prepare
Imagine the preparations and anticipation if the Queen were coming to your town. Can you imagine being Israel and realising that their long-awaited king was coming?
Bible passage
Judgment on Israel’s enemies
9 A prophecy:
The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak
and will come to rest on Damascus –
for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel
are on the Lord –
2 and on Hamath too, which borders on it,
and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skilful.
3 Tyre has built herself a stronghold;
she has heaped up silver like dust,
and gold like the dirt of the streets.
4 But the Lord will take away her possessions
and destroy her power on the sea,
and she will be consumed by fire.
5 Ashkelon will see it and fear;
Gaza will writhe in agony,
and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.
Gaza will lose her king
and Ashkelon will be deserted.
6 A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod,
and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.
7 I will take the blood from their mouths,
the forbidden food from between their teeth.
Those who are left will belong to our God
and become a clan in Judah,
and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
8 But I will encamp at my temple
to guard it against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
for now I am keeping watch.
The coming of Zion’s king
9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle-bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
13 I will bend Judah as I bend my bow
and fill it with Ephraim.
I will rouse your sons, Zion,
against your sons, Greece,
and make you like a warrior’s sword.
The Lord will appear
14 Then the Lord will appear over them;
his arrow will flash like lightning.
The Sovereign Lord will sound the trumpet;
he will march in the storms of the south,
15 and the Lord Almighty will shield them.
They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones.
They will drink and roar as with wine;
they will be full like a bowl
used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
Explore
This chapter marks the start of the second half of Zechariah. In the first eight verses, we read a prophecy concerning the conquests of Alexander the Great, who passed Jerusalem, but never laid siege to it – God protected her (vs 8). The great moment of joy bursts forth in verse 9 – the King is coming to Jerusalem!
His character is righteous, his manner is humble, and the kingdom he comes to establish will be marked by international peace (v 10). The nation of Judah will have abundant blessings with which to celebrate the wonder of God’s salvation (see vs 14–17).
Our God is a God who delights to save his people from their enemies, like a shepherd rescuing his sheep (v 16). They are valued by God as precious jewels in a crown (v 16). And we know that joy because humble King Jesus came to Jerusalem as our good shepherd, ready to lay down his life for us, his sheep (see John 10:11,15).
Respond
As you imagine Jesus arriving in Jerusalem, consider how his character shaped all that was to follow – his righteousness, his humility. Worship God for the salvation that Jesus has achieved as our good shepherd!
Deeper Bible study
‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’1
Zechariah ends with two ‘messages’ or ‘oracles’, in chapters 9–11 and 12–14. The first begins with a prophesy of God’s judgement on his people’s enemies. This was at least partially fulfilled by Alexander the Great in 332–331 BC during his campaign against the Persians. Unfortunately, much later, Alexander’s successors, the Seleucids, oppressed the Jews, until the Maccabean Revolt brought them a measure of independence in 160 BC (cf v 13). However, Zechariah 9 speaks of a different kind of ruler…
The king who comes riding on a donkey (v 9) is identified in the Gospels as Jesus Christ.2 The people rejoicing at Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem that first Palm Sunday, greeting him with the words of Psalm 118:25 and 26, clearly viewed Jesus as the promised Messiah. Their expectations, however, differed greatly from Zechariah’s righteous, victorious and lowly ruler (v 9)! Jesus came, not to overthrow the Jews’ Roman oppressors, but to dethrone sin in men’s hearts. His death on the cross a week later set in motion the fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy. But Zechariah has more to say…
Verse 10 speaks of the universal peace and global extent of the coming kingdom. These have yet to be realised! Certainly, Christ’s kingly rule has already begun in the lives of those who love him. However, only at Christ’s second coming will his people fully enjoy the blessings mentioned in verses 10 and 14–17. Once again Zechariah points us to the future. The kingdom of God and its benefits are here among us, but the best is yet to come! It is no vain repetition that keeps us praying to our heavenly Father, ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’!3
What sins keep pushing Jesus off his rightful place on the throne of your heart? Seek God’s help for determination to deal radically with them!
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 1–3; Mark 9
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for new Grow Communities as they are forming, for strong relationships, safe space for open discussions, and good engagement with the Bible as children and young people from the 95 discover more of who God is.
