Zechariah 14:14  And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20  In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21  Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

The enemies of God will never succeed in their evil plot. During the battle of Armageddon, there will be much wealth brought together in Jerusalem. The enemies of God will be gathered together for what they assume will be a winnable battle. They will lose in a mighty way. No one wins against the Lord. They will leave behind much wealth which will benefit Judah.
As we have noted, Judah will be in the place of repentance at this time. They will not repent because they see all this wealth. They will repent because their eyes and hearts will be open to the truth and they will understand they are guilty of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. God is a forgiving God. He does not have to forgive, but that is His nature. He forgives the repentant sinner. He does not sugar-coat sin. Israel will have suffered greatly by this time.
In verse 15 God spoke of a plague. This is further explained to us in Revelation 19:18. The slaughter of the wicked will be great at that time. There are people who are complaining about the death incurred by the terrorists in Gaza now. They are not willing to acknowledge their part in starting this conflict. They just want to play the victim so that they can gain the sympathy of the world and thus rebuild their weapons caches. Hamas will never surrender. It is not in the nature of Islam to surrender. They are masters of deception and will do what ever they think will give them the upper hand.
As we see in our text, the enemies of God never get what they want. No one can fight against God and win. Israel is the “apple of God’s eye” and He will not allow them to be destroyed. The sooner a person realizes this and is saved, the better off they will be.
In verse 16 we read that those who turn to God in repentance and thus enter into the Millennium, will go to Jerusalem every year to keep the feast of tabernacles. They will worship the true God. There will not be any false religion allowed to practice during that time. All will need to submit to the true God. The true God is the Creator God. He is the Saviour of mankind.
All those who enter the millennium, will acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the King and the LORD of hosts.
In verse 17 we see that God will not tolerate rebellion at that time. Those who refuse to humble themselves before the LORD will find that it will not rain on their crops. They will not have their thirst quenched either.
There are areas today that are facing drought. I read that B.C. has some very severe penalties for those who water their lawns. When the lawns are allowed to dry out it creates a fire hazard. We do not know what the intent of the ungodly government in B.C. is. We know that God is testing the rebellious nature of many people today.
In verse 18 God mentioned the nation of Egypt. Egypt has quite the history. It was a powerful and prosperous nation at one time. God used them to bless the fledgling nation of Israel at one point. Egypt did not respect God’s goodness to them and they persecuted God’s people. This was not a wise move on their part. Egypt was almost destroyed due to their rebellion against the true God. Egypt is still a nation today. God tells us that there will be Egyptians in the millennium. If they choose to be stubborn then, God will withhold rain from them. They will learn it is not wise to reject God’s rule.
In verse 19 we read that while Egypt is mentioned, any nation that follows the path of rebellion will face the same judgment. God is just in His dealings with man. The feast of tabernacles is obviously an important feast. God wants all people to recognize this feast. God first established this feast prior to the Jews entering the promised land. It was designed to remind the nation of Israel of God’s provision for them during their wanderings. God provided shelter from the weather and from enemies.
Interestingly, it was at the supposed remembrance of this feast that the debauchery was taking place in Israel and that opened the nation up to the vicious attack by Hamas. Israel has lost the significance of this feast at present. However, those who enter the millennium will be taught the proper keeping of this feast. The Gentiles will also be taught the importance of keeping this feast for God’s glory. God’s feasts are not a time for partying. They are designed to remind the participants of God’s blessings.
In verse 20 we see further that God will enlist the help of the horses to remind the people of His goodness. The horses will have bells on them and those bells will have the HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD engraved on them. As these horses walk, the people will be reminded of the importance of honouring the true God. We see as well that the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like bowls before the altar.
In verse 21 we learn more about these pots. These pots will also be holiness unto the LORD of hosts. These pots will be used by the people to prepare their offerings to the LORD. God’s offerings need to be done God’s way and as we see here, God provides all that is needed for His people to fulfil His will.
We see as well that the Canaanite will not be allowed into the house of the LORD of hosts. The Canaanites were an idolatrous people and no lost person will enter the millennium. God reminded Zechariah and the recipients of this book that when God judges a nation, it can be quite severe. God’s justice is always right. He never treats anyone unjustly. There is a great need for people to know the true God even today.
We do not know the day of the Lord’s return. We know He wants all to be ready to meet Him, whether at the “rapture” or at death. The only way to prepare for death is to receive eternal life now. Then the sting of death is gone and it is just moving from this sin-cursed world, into the presence of the Lord for all eternity.
Pastor Bartel