Zechariah 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.
7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
Once again the LORD reminded Zechariah that He had something important to say. Zechariah was a man of God. The message he was to write was important then and it is just as important today.
In Exodus 20 God told the nation of Israel that He was a jealous God. He demanded complete loyalty to Himself. He was and is the only true God. It is foolish to worship an imaginary god like the Muslims do or the Catholics or the Pentecostals or many others religions.
In our text the LORD declared that He was jealous for Zion. Zion was the city of God. Zion was Jerusalem. It was the place where God told Solomon to build the Temple. King David was able to conquer that city in spite of the fact that the Jebusites taunted him regarding that city. They claimed he would never take that city from them. They failed to realize that the LORD would fight for David and he did take that city. God declared it to be His city.
Thus in our text, God reminded the children of Israel that Zion was His city and they had defiled it.
The LORD opened the gates to Jerusalem for the Babylonians to come in and plunder the city, break down the walls and the Temple. God removed His blessing from that city for a time, but not forever.
Today, Jerusalem is a place of commerce. There are synagogues there, but there is little truth there. I do not know if there is any true Gospel witness in that city today. There are false religions, but the truth is in scarce supply anywhere in Israel today.
God was jealous of Zion in the days of Zechariah, and He is jealous of that city today. There is a day coming when Zion will be the city of God and the Temple will be there and the Lord Jesus Christ will rule and reign from that place.
In verse 3 the LORD declared that He was returned unto Zion. When you read the book of Ezra, you get more details of what Zechariah was writing about. Zechariah wrote about the time in which he was living, but he also wrote of a future time which we know to be the time of the Millennium.
God declared that He would dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Solomon’s Temple was the central part of Jerusalem. The second Temple was also to be the central part of Jerusalem. King Herod spent 46 years rebuilding that Temple. He wanted peace with the Jews and he thought that if he would rebuild it, he would have the loyalty of the Jews. He did not realize that he actually defiled that Temple. The Temple of God needed to be built by the people of God.
God allowed the Romans to destroy that second Temple in 70 A.D. and there has never been a Temple in Jerusalem since that time. God was speaking of His return to Jerusalem in the time of Zechariah. His presence was there in part. Zechariah was also speaking of a future time when Jerusalem would be called the city of truth. It was not that during Zechariah’s day nor in the time of Christ. However, in the Millennium it will be the city of truth.
Jerusalem is built upon a mountain and that entire mountain will be a holy mountain because the LORD of hosts will claim it for Himself.
In verse 4 we read that at that time there will be old men and old women dwelling in the streets of Jerusalem. They will be so old they need a staff to lean on. But there will be peace. It will be safe to walk down the streets of Jerusalem.
Today, the only way to keep some peace in Jerusalem is by having soldiers patrolling the streets. When I was there some years back, we were warned not to go to the Arab quarter of Jerusalem at night. It was not safe. That will not be the case when the Lord Jesus Christ rules there.
In verse 5 we read that there will be boys and girls playing in the streets of Jerusalem as well. In verse 6 we read that the people would be very impressed by the change that will take place in Jerusalem when the LORD of hosts is in charge. The change will also be pleasing to the LORD. His design for Jerusalem was that it should be the centre of life for Israel. When Solomon began his reign, He built the Temple and he built his palace. Jerusalem became the hub for commercial and spiritual life. Not too many years into Solomon’s reign, he began to corrupt that holy place. He followed his flesh and married seven hundred wives and had three hundred concubines. They turned his heart away from the LORD. The result of that was disaster for the nation.
In verse 7 we read that the LORD of hosts will save His people from the east country and from the west country. Salvation is of the LORD. There is no hope outside of the LORD. Israel is trying to find peace today, but they cannot find it. Mr. Trump has put together his “Board of Peace”. That board consists of countries that hate God and hate the Jews. Mr. Trump thinks that if he can get them involved in a common event, they will not fight. He is a fool and this whole effort will backfire one day. God knows the time of that.
However, when the Lord Jesus Christ comes back at the end of the Tribulation, He will clean up that city and He will have His Temple built there and He will establish His throne there and that city will be what it was always meant to be.
It will be a place of blessing because the Truth will dwell there and be proclaimed from there.
In verse 8 we read that the LORD will bring His people into the midst of Jerusalem. They will be His people and He will be their God. They will see the true God and they will hear the truth proclaimed then. There will be no corruption at that time.
Churches are not a replacement for the Temple. They are God’s plan for this time. Churches are supposed to be built by the Lord Jesus Christ. When people attend a church, they should know they are entering into a holy place. We do not worship the building, but we worship the true God in that place.
If we submit to the true God, we will be able to establish a true church where truth and righteousness will dominate. If we set up our own standard, it will be no better than going to a bar or a dance hall. Sadly, that is what most “churches” are today. They offer a place to play bingo and they feed the flesh with CCM music and with story telling. However, the truth is not found there. The lost love those places because it feels good to the flesh. They can imagine they are serving the Lord, but if they are honest, they have to admit they are just doing what feels good to them.
We know from our text, that God wants a holy place for people to meet. He wants them to know Him. He is holy. Those who are saved today, need to be holy as well, even as He, God is holy.
The Millennium will be unique. The world has never experienced such a time. Adam and Eve had it good in the Garden of Eden. They lost that quite soon after Creation. There were only the two of them to experience that short time of great blessing. The Millennium will give man the opportunity to experience a time where sin will be heavily suppressed and righteousness will be heavily exalted. It will not be heaven, but it will be much different than what we know now. There will be no Parliamentary garbage going on. Everything will be ruled from Jerusalem. All those who have any place of authority will be under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His Word will be central to all. No Muslim prayers, no Catholic mass, no New Evangelical rock concerts, etc.
Today, we do not need to sit here and wish for better times. We need to be saved and then submit to the will of God. In spite of the wickedness of our time, those who are truly saved, can still come together in a true church and exalt the true God and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are saved, that is where you should be tomorrow and that is the place you should be encouraging others to be as well.
Pastor Bartel