Daily Thoughts from Zechariah: The Day of Yahweh and Strength Through Yahweh (Zechariah 12:1-9)

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: “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. 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. 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. Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.’

“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.

“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. 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. And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:1-9, ESV)

This oracle and the ones that follow all speak to “that day,” the Day of the Lord, the Day of Yahweh, when God will finally bring judgment to all the earth and establish His kingdom on earth in Jerusalem.  This is what we would call the millennial kingdom described in Revelation 20.  The Day of Yahweh is a common theme in the Old Testament.

Chapter 11 spoke of a judgment on Jerusalem for rejecting the good shepherd Yahweh sent her (Jesus) and the giving over of the people to a bad shepherd (the antichrist).  This prophecy ushers us into these prophecies of the last days.

The way Yahweh is going to judge the nations is by first allowing them to march on Jerusalem with their mighty armies (see Revelation 19) under the leadership of the antichrist.  But their desire to drink up Jerusalem will leave them staggeringly drunk.  Their attempt to lift the stone that is Jerusalem will break their backs.  Yahweh will cause a panic among their armies and give strength to Jerusalem’s army to be a flaming torch among dried up stalks.

God will first use those in the tents of Judah outside Jerusalem so that the city inhabitants can’t boast that they brought the victory.  David’s house will once again rule over Judah and Jerusalem in the person of Jesus the Messiah and the feeblest from that tribe will be like the mighty king David and the whole house like God in that the angel of Yahweh will precede them with power to destroy the enemy nations.

Only Christ can rule with sinless servanthood.  Only He can bring the judgment needed upon the nations.  And only He can give us the strength we need to overcome the enemies in our lives, both human and demonic, personal and impersonal.  The Enemy wants to kill and destroy us, but our testimony should be that we “have strength through Yahweh of hosts.”