THE MESSAGE OF ZECHARIAH
Number 24
EXAMPLE OF GOD'S JUDGEMENT
Zechariah 9:1-8

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WE move on now to the last division of the prophecy of Zechariah, which takes us to the end of the book. This section is prophetic in nature. The first section which we are considering in this sermon takes us to verse 8 of chapter 9, and deals with God's judgement on sinful nations.

A PROBLEM.

Before we commence this prophetic section we must note a difficulty which presents itself, and has occupied commentators without them coming to any definitive answer to it. The problem is as to whether this last section of the book of Zechariah was written by Zechariah or whether it was written by someone else and attributed to Zechariah. It is not important because whether it was written by Zechariah or not, it is still recognised by authority as part of the true canon of scripture and so is inspired as well as any other part of the Bible, and therefore is the word of God for us.

The problem is because Matthew 27:9,10 is attributed by Matthew to the prophet Jeremiah. Zechariah 11:12,13 is the nearest Old Testament expression of this quotation, though Jeremiah does have reference to a potters field and the buying of it. This has caused commentators to examine this section of Zechariah and look for other signs which might suggest another writer rather than Zechariah as the one who wrote these words. I am not qualified to make any judgement on this problem, and it is not in my brief which is to expound the message of God in Zechariah. There is no doubt that these chapters are part of the inspired word of God, so we can study them confidently to learn the message of God for us in them.

AN ORACLE.

These eight verses commence with the word 'oracle' or 'burden'. It has been established conclusively and is accepted as definitive, that when this opening is made it has the meaning that the words spoken are of somber warning of judgement which will come upon people or nations on account of sin. It is speaking of the action of God on sinful nations after great provocation to God as sin has been followed without any sense of guilt or repentance over a long period of time. This is the nature of these eight verses, and is prophetic of God's judgement which was fulfilled when Alexander the Great carried out his conquest in the countries that border the Holy Land. Here we see God warning of this judgement by the prophet Zechariah, and giving these nations time to heed the warning and turn from sin. This is the mercy and grace of God, but the trouble is, and is still so today, that people and nations take no notice of the warnings of God, and go on still in godlessness and unrighteousness.

These warnings in Scripture, which have been fulfilled as prophesied, should cause all of us to take notice, and turn to the Lord. and call others to do so also.

INTERPRETING THE PASSAGE.

We come now to the explanation of what the passage is telling us. We must do this before we seek to draw out some spiritual lesson from the passage.

As indicated above, the verses we are considering are a prophecy concerning God's judgement on sinful nations which was fulfilled when Alexander, the Great invaded this part of the world. The fulfillment came around 200 years after Zechariah made the prophecy, so we see that we must not expect prophecy to be fulfilled necessarily quickly . This long time between the time when the prophecy was given and the prophecy was fulfilled, shows the mercy of God in that he gave plenty of time for the warning in the prophecy to be heeded, and repentance shown. That God would have withheld the executing of the judgement if repentance had taken place is revealed in the case of Nineveh when they repented after the preaching of Jonah.

We can trace the root of the invading army from the passage and this follows the known route taken by Alexander. Alexander comes across from the west, through Damascus and the area of Hamath to the coast. Then he proceeded down the coast to Sidon and Tyre, onward down to Ashdod and Gaza, and then west again through Ekron to Jerusalem. Alexander never invaded Jerusalem, but apparently was turned back by a dream, and rather than invade the city, he poured blessings on Jerusalem.

Verse one speaks of the attitude of God towards the cities mentioned in the verses. The word of the Lord is against these cities and is going to bring judgement upon them for their sin. This action of God would commence with Hadrach, though what town or land this represents is unclear, and then follow on to Damascus. This is expressed in the words "and will rest upon Damascus. The next phrased translated 'the eyes of men' makes no sense in the NIV, because it suggests people are looking to God for some providential care. A better translation would be that of 'the eyes of God are on men, on Israel and the nations. God knows all that people do and why, and his actions towards them follow from what he beholds. 

Verse 2, then, speaks of God's eye being also on Hamath and upon Tyre and Sidon. God sees the way they live and the sin and godlessness that their lives represent, and indicates that he will bring judgement on these sinful places. The phrase in verse 2 "though they are very skilful" speaks of the reputation these cities of Sidon and Tyre held in their time. In Ezekial 28:3-5, 12,17 we read that they had a reputation for being wise and skilful in all they did, and so had became rich. At the time when Alexander arrived, Old Tyre was on the main land. Being on the mainland it was vulnerable to attack and had been devastated in the past. Judgements uttered through Isaiah and Ezekial seem to have been directed at Old Tyre and were fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar razed the city to its foundation and left it a heap of ruins. After the overthrow of Old Tyre, the Tyrians concentrated their strength on the Island, surrounded it with a wall 150 feet high, and filled with 25 feet of earth. So the new Tyre was on the Island surrounded by this great wall, and the sea, and was felt to be impregnable.  

In verse 3 we have expressed the feeling of the Tyrians in their new stronghold on the island. They felt they had built a city which was safe against any attack. Because they had such a safe environment they were able to concentrate on commerce, and were a centre of trade in the Mediterranean. The city had become very wealthy and influential. This great wealth is expressed in the sentence "gold like dirt of the streets".

Though new Tyre was so strong the prophet predicts its overthrow (v.4). The Lord will take possession of Tyre and destroy her power, and the city will be consumed by fire. Such an eventuality seemed impossible to the Tyrians, and they went on in their godless ways for another 200 years after the prophecy was made. The prophecy would have been thought to be impossible to imagine. However when Alexander arrived the prophecy was fulfilled. When the Tyrians would not allow Alexander access to the city on pretence of worshiping to Hercules, Alexander sought other ways to gain access to the city. He had no ships, and in the end he used the rubble of Old Tyre to build a causeway from the mainland to the Island, and after massive labour achieved access to the city, and the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. In fact Alexander fulfilled another prophecy in the way he gained access to Tyre. This was given in Ezekial 26:4-12 which predicted that Old Tyre should be scrapped off, and her stones, timber and dust be laid in the midst of the sea.

Alexander's campaign continue down the coast as predicted by Zechariah. In v.5 the prophecy speaks of Askelon seeing the downfall of Tyre on which the people depended for protection, and they are made to fear, with their fear being realised. Gaza and Ekron also suffer the same fate. Again the prophecy is accurate because history tells of the governor of Gaza, King Betis, being dragged around the city. Foreigners did come to dwell in Ashdod as verse 6 prophecies and the pride of the whole area of Philistia was humbled.

In verse 7 the reference to taking the blood from their mouths, taken with the next sentence, suggests that the practice was to drink the blood of the idol sacrifices, and also there was the practice idol worship which was brought to an end.

In spite of this wholesale devastation, the ruin would not be total. Some would remain and afterwards be converted to God. The reference to being like the Jebusites is a reference to the Jebusites who surrendered to David and came under his protection, and under his rule. In fact in the time of Christ great numbers from Tyre and Sidon came to Christ (Luke 6:17).

The last verse of this section speaks of the miraculous preservation of Jerusalem from Alexander who was turned away from advancing on Jerusalem by a dream, and his allowing Jerusalem privileges afterwards. However the real fulfillment of this prediction should be seen in the true temple of God, the church, being formed and preserved through the preaching of the apostles and evangelists.

APPLICATION OF THE PROPHECY.

A prophecy like this one is not exactly palatable to many in the church today. That God can judge in this way, and bring death and destruction is felt to be unworthy of God. We see this point of view in the reaction of society to disasters and wars today. Much is spoken about the human cost and the awfulness of the disaster, but any idea that God may have a hand in it, and that there is a reality of judgement, or that our decadent world deserves judgement, is thought to be wholly unthinkable and unbelievable.

The fact is that this prophecy teaches us that God is looking over our world all the time. God is noting the godlessness and unrighteousness of human living. God is offended by all this and the Bible warns us that he does judge sinning and sin. The fact that 200 years passed before this prophecy was realised is an indication of the mercy and grace of God, for he gives plenty of warning of his intentions and his attitude to the sinful pride of mankind. The trouble is that, like the pride of the Tyrians, nobody heeds these warnings. They don't even consider it worth a thought that judgement is a possibility. The Bible and its warnings are considered out dated and old wives tales.

The arrogant pride of mankind is illustrated in verse 2 by the mention of the skill and worldly wisdom of Tyre and Sidon. They thought they knew everything, and that they needed no instruction. The same is true today. What the world does not realise is that its wisdom in nothing compared with the wisdom of God, and not to take note of, and act upon, the word of God, is utter folly.

The truth is that God has given us his word. He has taught us that he is the creator, and he has taught us in the Bible what he requires of humankind. God has also warned us, in such passages as this we have been considering, that he does care about human behaviour, and he does judge sin. He has also proved he can judge sin, and will do so again, unless people turn and repent. We who believe the word of God given to us in the Bible should take the judgement of God seriously, and seek to warn people concerning it, and seek to show forth the way and word of God in every way we can. Having the Word of God, we should not be surprised at disasters in our world, and though all may not be interpreted as judgement, some will be, and we should not fail to learn the lesson God is teaching, and to proclaim it in every way we can.

What is also true from this prophecy is that amidst all this mayhem in the world, the true believers in Jesus are safe under the Almighty hand of God. We also learn that out of judgement God plans good and the further progress of the building of his church, as he calls others into faith through the work of His Spirit.