Zechariah 12:1-9--The LORD Will Give Salvation

Zechariah 12:1-9
English Standard Version

The LORD Will Give Salvation
12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.

7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

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Remember how the last passage didn't really seem to fit because it spoke of how the Son was going to take the wrath that the people of Israel deserved, but since He was taking their place it was as if that wrath was being poured out on Israel?  We are back now to the part where the LORD tells us about the salvation that is sure and certain for His covenant people, and that starts with a reminder that He is the one who made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them out of nothing.  He is the one who breathed His Spirit into man to give Man a three-part identity of body, soul (emotions), and spirit (eternal part).

The LORD is going to bring judgment on Jerusalem and Judah once again and the people of the other nations will cry out for the LORD to allow them to be destroyed.  In fact, all the other nations will rise up against it.  However, the LORD will not close His eyes and allow His people to be destroyed.  He will fulfill His covenant promises to them.  When He destroys every horse and rider, He will do so with eyes wide open and spare the people of Judah and Jerusalem in particular who will remain His covenant people.

On that day, it will be the other nations that come out against them in battle who will be destroyed, but Judah and Jerusalem will be saved.  He will do so for the sake of the covenant that He made with King David.  He will give strength to the weak and feeble on that day so that they will all have strength like King David did.  The angel of the LORD (that is Jesus) will go out before them in battle and they will be a glorified army of soldiers who will finally execute the LORD's judgment and vengeance on the wicked nations.  They day of salvation for His people will be the day of destruction for their enemies (just like with the Flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah, Passover, and the crossing of the Red Sea, and probably others that you can think of).  Salvation and judgment are intertwined all throughout the Bible.  Those who are saved don't earn or deserve it, but they were chosen by God to reveal His glory and to be a part of His perfect plan so it was in the past, so it is now, and so it will be in the future.