Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

ZECHARIAH - CHAPTER 12

THE SEIGE OF JERUSALEM TO COME

Verses 1-3:

By The Beast And His Armies

Verse 1 describes the burden or weighty prophecy for Israel, from the Lord; And it concerned Israel. The Lord is described as progressively stretching forth the heavens, laying the foundation of the earth, and forming the spirit of man within him. He is not just a "past tense" God, but a present, sustaining God, in whom men "live, move, and have their being," is the idea, Acts 17:28. See also Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 65:17-18; Numbers 26:22; Hebrews 12:9.

Verse 2 warns that the Lord will make or cause Jerusalem to be a "cup of trembling" to all the people, her foes round about her, when they shall be in the siege against both Judah and Jerusalem, Isaiah 51:17; Isaiah 51:22; Jeremiah 13:13. This refers to the "Day of the Lord," as also described Zechariah 13:1-6; Isaiah 2:10-22; Revelation 19:11-21. This also alludes to the time of the battle of Armageddon, Zechariah 14:1-5; Revelation 16:14. The cup of His judgment will cause men to reel and stumble as a drunkard, Isaiah 51:17; Jeremiah 25:15.

Verse 3 describes Jerusalem in that day as a "burdensome stone," alluding to the oriental custom of testing youths strength by requiring them to lift a massive stone. Those who burdened themselves by trying to destroy Jerusalem would be cut in pieces, as the stone of Jerusalem fell upon them, Matthew 21:44. The Jews fell on this rock of offense, the Messiah, and were broken; But the rock shall fall on the anti-christ, who shall attempt to assault the restored Jews, and he shall be "ground to powder," though he gather all the heathen of the earth against Jerusalem, Zion, the city of God. The antichrist confederacy against the Jews will be nigh universal.

Judah To Be Strengthened

Verses 4-9:

Deliverance Of The Lord

Verse 4 warns that the Lord will smite in battle, every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness, as they attempt an attack against Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord promises to open His eyes upon or over the house of Judah, his restored people of old, as He smites every horse of the foe with blindness, much as "the horse and his rider," the Lord overthrew in the Red Sea, as they sought to destroy Israel, as she fled Egypt, Exodus 15:19; Exodus 15:21. At that hour the Lord will be watching, with protective care, His remnant of Israel, as the enemies destroy one another, Judges 7:22; 1 Samuel 14; 1 Samuel 20; 1 Kings 8:29; Nehemiah 1; Nehemiah 6; Psalms 32:8.

Verse 5 asserts that the rulers of Judah and Jerusalem in that day, shall witness from their hearts, when they behold the divinely blinded horses of their foes, that the occupants of Jerusalem are their strength in the Lord of hosts, their God. He who shall dwell in Jerusalem, in His own temple, shall be acknowledged as the source of power for His people in that day, Joel 3:16.

Verse 6 pledges that the Lord will make the rulers, or governors of Judah in that day, to be like an hearth of fire among the wood, to consume it all; And like a torch of fire in a sheaf, to destroy it almost instantly; And they of Judah are assured that they will devour or destroy their foes on either side, and all around them. And Jerusalem, it is pledged of the Lord, shall again be inhabited in her own place, even Jerusalem that belongs to the remnant of the Lord, by covenant pledge, Zechariah 9:13-15; Zechariah 10:5-7; Zechariah 12:2-6; Zechariah 14:14.

Verse 7 foretells that the Lord will save or deliver the tents of Judah, first, because of her confession of her dependence on Jerusalem. Her tents are now as safe and secure as the city of Jerusalem, their central fortification, with the house of God in her midst. It was also called the house of David, where his kingdom shall have her center, when Jesus reigns upon His throne, Luke 1:32; Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 1:1; Luke 3:23; Luke 3:31.

Verse 8 further pledges that the Lord will defend the inhabitants or Jerusalem in that day, so that even the feebler, or weakest among them in that day, will be as an heir of David in strength, even as when he slew Goliath with the little stone, Joel 3:10; 2 Samuel 17; 2 Samuel 8; 2 Samuel 18:3. And the house of David shall be as God, as the protecting angel of the Lord goes before them, as he did Israel in the wilderness, the highest type of strength and glory from heaven, Exodus 23:20; Exodus 32:34; Ezekiel 45:7; Ezekiel 45:9.

Verse 9 announces that the Lord will seek to destroy, bring to ruin or destruction, all the nations and swoop down to do harm to Jerusalem in that day. With earnest determination, based on His covenant and integrity of character, the Lord recommits Himself to destroy the heathen, or Gentile powers who attempt to destroy Jerusalem, Haggai 2:22.

The Spirit To Be Poured Out

Verse 10:

The Pierced One Revealed To The Delivered Remnant

Verse 10 is a promise from the Lord that He will pour out upon the house of David, and the occupants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication in that day, Malachi 2:15; Isaiah 32:15; Isaiah 44:3-4; Isaiah 59:21; Joel 2:2. This comes as a result of the conversion of the Jews, Jeremiah 31:9; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 39:29. The converted Jews shall then be empowered by the Holy Spirit, much as He has empowered the church, Acts 2:1-4; When they look upon Him bodily, face to face, whom they have pierced, John 19:37; Revelation 1:7. They shall then mourn for Him as one who mourns for his only son, or only heir, Jeremiah 6:26; Amos 8:10. And they shall be in bitterness of mourning, as one who is in bitterness of sorrow for the loss of his firstborn, Zechariah 13:6; Deuteronomy 30:3; Acts 1:9; La 4;19.

Repentance Of The Remnant

Verses 11-14:

Verse 11 declares that there will be great mourning in Jerusalem in that day, a public mourning illustrated by that bitter mourning in Israel when Josiah a good king in Israel had fallen in battle with Pharaoh-Necho, Acts 2:37. Lamentations for the occasion were written by Jeremiah, 2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 35:22-27. It too is compared with that of Hadadrimmon, a city in the valley of Megiddon, 2 Chronicles 35:22-24.

Verse 12 describes private mourning of families in all Israel: 1) The family of the house of David, the highest order of royalty shall mourn apart (in privacy), in repentance. 2) The family of the house of Nathan, not the prophet, but a younger son of David, 2 Samuel 5:14;­Luke 3:31, shall mourn and their wives in privacy. 3) The family of the house of Levi and their wives, of the priestly tribe shall mourn, for even those who are ordained to lead in and preside over matters of religious service still have sin in them, and they too must confess their sins to be right with the Lord: Jewish female worshippers worship separately from the males, Exodus 15:1; Exodus 15:20.

Verse 13 adds that the family of Shimei shall mourn apart and their wives, as well. This includes both the highest and lowest of the order of the priests and their wives, Numbers 3:18; Numbers 3:21. Their example of repentance, mourning, and worship, together with that of the royal order, sets forth an example and motivation for all Israel to follow.

Verse 14 concludes that all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives, are also called to mourn in repentance for their long and obstinate rejection of the Messiah; It shall be a universal mourning. For in this time of their tribulation ordeal two thirds of the population shall be cut off and die, Zechariah 13:8-9.