Zechariah 9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.
2 And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
3 And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
7 And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
8 And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
The LORD began this chapter by painting a very clear contrast between parts of the Middle East in the time of Zechariah and even in our time today. Hadrach and Damascus are places in Syria.
When we listen to the news, we know that Syria is in a state of turmoil. It is not that long ago that their leader was kicked out and they have a much worse leader now. There is a civil war taking place there. The current government is doing some ethnic cleansing in the land. The U.S. has been involved there somewhat, but the problem is not solved. Of course Syria is currently a threat to Israel as well.
In our text, the LORD spoke of a time when things will be much different. There will be a rest in that area of the world. That is certainly not the case now and has not been the case till now.
Again we need to get rid of our bias and let the Word of God speak to us. As we noted last night in our Bible study, God never uses vain words. He does not waste any words. If He says something, we can be assured that it will happen as He says. If He uses symbolism, the text will show us that. In our text God used real names of real places. He spoke of a time when rest would be in those areas. He spoke of the reason for that rest. It will be when the eyes of man shall be toward the LORD. He used Israel as the example. We know that the eyes of Israel are not toward the LORD today. The eyes of Israel are toward any country that will supply them with weapons, etc. They are fairly self-sufficient but not fully. Apparently the goal now is to be militarily self-sufficient within the next ten years. Time will tell. However, they are not trusting in the LORD as their Protector, Redeemer, and Saviour/King.
Zechariah was told the day is coming when there will be a rest in that land. Notice as well that Syria, an enemy of Israel for years, will rest with Israel at that time. Mr. Trump will not bring about that rest. He cannot even bring rest to Minneapolis and other parts of the U.S. that are being taken over by the Muslims.
In verses 2-5 God dealt further with the neighbours of Israel. Hamath is in Syria as well. Tyrus and Zidon are part of what is currently Lebanon. Tyrus was a wealthy stronghold and will be until God destroys them. Verse 4 tells us that. The places mentioned in verse 5 are part of the Philistine territory of old. We know that Mr. Trump has big plans of turning Gaza into a wealthy resort area. His plan is to spend billions of dollars to transform that area from the current war-torn place into a luxury tourist attraction. Even if he is instrumental in doing that, God will destroy it all in the future.
Nations that reject God might do well for a time, but money and human philosophy cannot stand the test of time. We are witnessing that in Canada and the U.S. right now. Mr. Trump is working hard to bring wealth back to the U.S. They are so far in debt, that he will not be able to accomplish his goals. He has less than four years to do what he wants to do. The mid-terms are this year and he could lose his majority in Congress. If he does, his building days will be over. If they cannot turn around the corrupt court system in that country, the “left” will continue to dominate and of course, with that, corruption will continue to escalate. It is like a snowball. It starts off small and seemingly unthreatening. If continued, the snowball grows into something that cannot be handled by one person. It is heavy and can be destructive. That is what has taken place in Minneapolis and elsewhere. So far all the efforts to reform that area have been a failure. ICE is working hard, but the governor and mayor and too many people are causing great interference that the federal government does not know how to stop.
In our text we see that God knows how to stop crime and evil. He is greater than all and when He says no more, there will be no more.
When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to rule from Jerusalem, things will be different. He overthrew the money changers’ tables in an instant. He drove them out of the Temple, but He did not destroy the Temple. He cast out devils but did not destroy the people that were possessed. He will change things when He comes back. Today He is changing things for those who turn to God in repentance and trust in Him for salvation.
In verse 6 God used the word “bastard”. He used that word in a different way than our society does. Hebrews 12 tells us the bastard is someone who does not know the Lord but pretends to know Him. In our text it could be referring to Jews who intermarried with Gentiles.
Deuteronomy 23:2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
The point being that the natural people of Ashdod will not be there. The pride of the Philistines will come to an end. The so-called Palestinians of today are the Philistines of the past. God will end their aggression. They are seeking to control that part of the world today, but when the Lord comes back that will all end.
In verse 7 we read that the LORD will remove the lust for violence from the people at that time. Those who are violent will obviously be wiped out. Those that remain will be changed. They will repent and be saved and that is why they will remain. No lost person will enter the Millennium.
In verse 8 we read that the LORD will be the Protector of the land and the people. He will accomplish His purposes. The pride of man gives him the idea that he can protect himself. Mr. Trump likes to boast of the peace deals he has made and how that negotiating is one of his many skills. He is a blow hard who has given the impression of being able to accomplish great things but in reality everything he has is of this world. None of it will last.
God does not make idle boasts. He speaks Truth. What He says, He will do.
Again the wise person will submit to Him and know His peace and blessing. The fool says he knows better, but that arrogance is short lived. This life is not very long. Eternity is a long time. Be sure you are resting in the LORD today and every day.
Pastor Bartel