Daily Thoughts from Zechariah: The Feet of Jesus (Zechariah 14:1-9)

Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.

And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:1-9)

Zechariah has already announced a time when all the nations come against Jerusalem and Yahweh fights for them and gives them victory.  But here there seems to be more detail to that event and it somewhat strangely begins with Yahweh bringing the nations to the holy city.  The city must not be that holy because Yahweh allows the nations to plunder her and exile half her population before He comes to fight for her.  Does this event happen at the same time or are we looking at widely separated events (A.D. 70 and then the yet future invasion)?

When Yahweh comes it is dramatic to the max.  When His feet touch the Mount of Olives it creates a geological upheaval that splits the mount in two forming a valley between the north half of the mount and the south.  This provides an avenue of escape for Jerusalem inhabitants from these invaders.  Then Yahweh will amass these who fled to become His army and He will invade Jerusalem to reclaim it.

As Joshua had extra light of day provided to extend his victory, so this day of battle will have extended light.  A seeming reversal of day one of creation, when light was separated from darkness, will occur, making this day one, a unique day or beginning of God’s kingdom on earth.  Water will flow out of Jerusalem both east to the Dead Sea and west to the Mediterranean.   And unlike the idols whose names have been forgotten (Zechariah 13:2), Yahweh’s name will stand alone as the name to be worshiped.  He will be king of all the earth, not just Israel.  All nations will serve Him.

We are to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom (“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”) but this coming will not be without great resistance and groaning.  Yet God’s kingdom will prevail because He will exert His power personally.  It is the feet of the returning Jesus that will touch the Mount of Olives and engineer the defeat of evil (Revelation 19).  Even so, come Lord Jesus.