Zechariah 12:5  And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
6  In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
7  The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
8  In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
9  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

As Israel continues to deal with Iran through Hamas and Hezbollah, it is important to note that the day is coming when Israel will acknowledge the true God. In the meantime Israel will continue to struggle, but she will never be destroyed. That is important to note. As the west, including Canada try to undermine the place of Israel, they need to be reminded that they are fighting against God. There have been many compromises made by Israel in the past. They will no doubt make more yet. The problem in Gaza is the result of those compromises. We know they will embrace the antichrist when he first comes on the scene. Israel gives us a picture of what it is like to try to find peace and contentment without knowing the Lord. It does not work.
The Israelis are not very discerning because they do not recognize the true God. They are still God’s chosen people, but they are not behaving like God’s chosen people should behave. Due to their rebellion, they make foolish choices and they suffer.
However, we see in verse 5 that Judah shall say in their heart, the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength . . .
This praise will come at the end of the Tribulation and into the Millennium. Judah will acknowledge the LORD as their Messiah. Thus they will acknowledge their strength is in the LORD of hosts, their God. Keep in mind that the LORD is the LORD over all the earth. All people are accountable to the same God. There are many false religions today, but all those false religions will be destroyed and those who hold to them will answer to the One and Only True God.
From time to time I hear people talk about how they always believed in God. That is a lie. All people are born as lost sinners. They might have a belief in a god, but they do not believe in the true God. When a person humbles themselves and repents toward God and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, then they believe in the true God. Israel/Judah will acknowledge the true God one day in the future.
In verse 6 we see that the reference is again to “that day”. The governors of Judah will be as a platform or a stage of fire. They will be like a torch of fire in a sheaf. God explains these symbolic terms with the last phrase. They will devour all the people round about. Israel is trying to devour Hamas right now. They will not succeed. They may eventually announce that they have beaten Hamas back and they have taken control of Gaza. They may find and destroy all the tunnels. They may get some semblance of peace there for a short time. However, Hamas will still be around. They may need to move elsewhere, but they will still be around. England has a large number of Hamas in its borders. Canada also has them in this country. Canada is backing them up just as they have been backing up the rebels from India. Our P.M. needed to publicly accuse India of interference in Canadian government, but that was just a distraction. It hurt the diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries, but it did not make Canada a better place. The government has never given any proof of the allegations they made. They don’t seem to have any evidence. It was a diplomatic experiment that backfired.
In Israel, Canada claims the Jews have a right to defend themselves. Yet they are housing a number of Hamas terrorists within our borders and they are calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The day is coming when Jerusalem will be the capital of Judah, but also of the world. Jerusalem will be a place of peace. No enemies will rise up against her. Just as a fire is devastating to a sheaf of grain, so the people of Judah will be devastating to those who would seek to oppose them.
In verse 7 we see that the LORD is the fighter. The people of Judah will be present, but the LORD will give them the victory. This is the same LORD that is currently withholding His blessing from Israel. He is keeping the enemy restricted, but Israel is not at peace. Her enemies are still looking for a way to take her down.
In verse 8 we are reminded again that the LORD will defend Jerusalem. Even the feeble in that city shall be like David. David was known to be a great warrior. He was a fighter before he became the king. He killed a bear and a lion with his own hands. They were no match for him. He was able to kill Goliath with a sling and a stone. The reason being that David trusted in the LORD. It does not matter where you look in the Bible, you will always be reminded that victory is only found through knowing and trusting the true LORD.
We see again that God made reference to David. David was the standard that God set up for the nation of Israel and later for Judah. David was different than all other kings. He sinned, but he also understood the necessity of confession of sin in order to be forgiven and restored. David was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. As a type, he did not equal the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is without sin. He is the King of kings. He will come in power and rule over mankind. He will destroy all the enemies and He will reign as King. This will all happen in a day. The battle of Armageddon will not be a long drawn out battle as Israel is fighting right now. As we see in verse 9, all the enemies of Jerusalem will be destroyed. At the beginning of the Millennial kingdom, there will be no enemies of Israel. The LORD will see to it that His peace will be known at that time.
This was a needed promise for the nation of Israel to hear in the days of Zechariah. It is a needed promise for the nation of Israel to hear today. Prime Minister Netanyahu would be wise to humble himself and trust in the true God today. Because he is not willing to do that, they have now been fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah for over a month and they are not finished yet. There is an increasing hatred for the Jews across the globe as a result of the events since Oct.7. That is a misplaced hatred, but it is driven by the devil who hates God and hates the Jews.
No nation is doing anything to stop this hatred of the Jews. There are some boastful words spoken, but that is as far as it goes. It is God Who is protecting the Jews from destruction. It is God Who is protecting born again Christians as they boldly and rightfully pray for the Jews. True Christians do not need to be secretive about our support for Israel. We do not hate the Arabs. We just happen to know the importance of standing on the side of the LORD now and at all times.
Today is another day God has given us to go to His house and worship Him. We can learn so much about the LORD and we can learn how to trust Him more faithfully as we sit under the faithful teaching and preaching of His Word. The lost also need to be in a true church to once again hear the truth. It is wise to turn to the true God in repentance. God is warning us that the time is short. We do not look for signs. We look to God’s Word and we know that the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent. God the Father knows the day and the hour. We are told to watch and be ready. We need to know the truth and walk in It.
Pastor Bartel