Zechariah 10:7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.
10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.
11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
12 And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.
Ephraim was symbolic of the northern kingdom. Ephraim was also mentioned several times as leading in the apostasy of that time. However, in the Millennium that will all change. We see again here that when a person or a nation turns to the Lord, they are changed and the change is noticeable. There is no need to guess and wonder if the person was truly saved.
We hear much today of revival hitting the U.S. We also hear of Muslims turning to the Lord because they are seeing visions of Jesus. We know that is all a lie because it is not supported by the Bible. The supposed revival in the U.S. is not changing hearts. Those supposedly revived still love their ungodly music and immodesty. They still love their false doctrines. There are some big name people who are promoting this fraud. We do not need to be fooled by them. We still have God’s Word.
At the end of the Tribulation, the Jews alive at that time will be so broken due to the severe persecution they have suffered at the hands of the antichrist, that they will welcome the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes to destroy the antichrist and his armies. There will be true repentance and there will be a true revival at that time.
As we see in verse 7, the children of Ephraim shall see the change that has taken place in their parents. They will rejoice in the change. It is a blessing when a father and mother repent and are saved and begin to show the children the right way.
In verse 8 we read that the LORD will hiss for them. The Hebrew word translated as “hiss” means “to whistle”. It is speaking of calling to them to come and follow Him. He has redeemed them and they shall increase. The redeemed will be brought into an environment where they can increase. There will be no enemy for a time at the beginning of the Millennium. Jesus Christ will rule and there will be a beautiful peace on earth.
In verse 9 the LORD declares that He will sow them among the people. When you sow something is takes root and it grows up a plant that multiplies. That is what will happen at that time. The people in far countries will remember the LORD.
There are many people today who claim they do not know the LORD. However, if their history is examined, it reveals that they did know the LORD at one time but they chose mythology over truth and thus pushed the truth far back in their minds.
This is certainly true today of the Jews. There is so much archeological evidence in Israel of her past, that it is impossible for them to erase the truth from their history. They needed to be reminded and Jesus Christ will remind them at the end of the Tribulation.
God will gather the Jews from far countries and they will readily come back to their land. Material gain will not be on their minds. Peace of heart will be on their minds. They will be so tired of the losing battle they have fought for a long time. Now finally they will seek and receive the rest that their souls have longed for.
In verse 10 God named some of the places that the Jews will come back from. We know this has not happened until this day. Israel is either at war in those lands or they are on the defensive against aggression from those areas. However, the time will come when the Jews will come back to their land and appreciate the privilege of coming home.
In verse 11 God pointed back to the miraculous way He opened the Red Sea for the children of Israel to leave Egypt earlier in their history. God would do that again, not at the Red Sea but in the lands where they have been scattered. No nation will be able to hold them back. No saved Jew will want to stay away from the land of Israel. They will be drawn back there by the mighty hand of the LORD.
In verse 12 the LORD continued to speak of how He would strengthen them. There is no strength outside of the LORD. All the weapons of the world are nothing against the LORD. David took down Goliath with a sling and a stone. He did not need an armour bearer or a sword or a spear. He took Goliath’s sword to cut off his head. His armour bearer was of no help to him.
It is important to know the true God and to walk with Him. He is all the protection we need.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
That promise is repeated nine times in the Old Testament. God assured the nation of Israel that He was there for them. They simply needed to submit to His will. That was their problem. That is still their problem today. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to earth at the end of the Tribulation, Israel will have no problem submitting to Him.
They will be happy to be associated with His name then. There will be no Jew who will proclaim “we have no king but Caesar” at that time. They will not cry out “crucify Him, crucify Him.” They will embrace Him and be blessed in doing so.
Zechariah was told to write this at a time when the nation was weak. A few were trusting the LORD, but the majority were still in the flesh. In 1948, God brought some of the Jews back to a portion of the land He promised to Abraham. Since that time, they have expanded a little on what they had in 1948, but they have also given away some of the land that God blessed them with since that time.
The world is still disputing over whether Israel is “occupying” Arab land or not. Of course they are not, but when you abandon God’s Word, you have nothing sure to stand upon.
The same holds true for Gentiles. When Gentiles forsake the LORD, then they do not know what the church should be. Then they buy into the lies of the New Evangelical crowd. Then they take offence at the Truth. However, the few who are truly born again, appreciate the blessing of submitting to the will of God and walking in His peace. I trust that is true for each one reading this devotional. If not, you can change that today. You can humble yourself and turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. Then you too can begin to grow in Him and rejoice in His abundant blessings.
Pastor Bartel