Zechariah 10- The Lion of Judah

Leave a reply

Ask the LORD for rain In the time of the latter rain. The LORD will make flashing clouds; He will give them showers of rain, Grass in the field for everyone.  For the idols speak delusion; The diviners envision lies, And tell false dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep; They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.  Zechariah 10:1-2

Where does your hope come from? The prophet Zecheriah and telling Israel to ask God for their needs, to trust in God as their provider and not the false idols of this world. Isn’t this very relevant for even us today? What do we put our faith and trust in? Who is going to make America great again? God or our government? Who do we really put our faith in when times are tough?

As God says “They are in trouble because there is no shepherd” The good news is we have a Good Shepherd in Jesus Chris (John 10) The One that all the prophets of the Old Testament are pointing towards, put your faith in Christ and He will take care of you like a Shepherd over His flock

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  John 10:11

My anger is kindled against the shepherds, And I will punish the goatherds. For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock, The house of Judah, And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.  From him comes the cornerstone, From him the tent peg, From him the battle bow, From him every ruler together.  Zechariah 10:3-4

Many false shepherd have come and gone, many that misled Israel (religious leaders) and many false shepherds today, but God will not be mocked! Notice the warning God have to false shepherds through the prophet Jeremiah:

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. / Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.  Jeremiah 23:1-2

But notice “From Him (Judah) comes the cornerstone” Out of Israel , God sent his only Begotten Son, the Messiah, the Good Shepherd, to save us from our sins! (Matthew 1:21) The Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ, is the foundation of our faith, that will never leave or forsake us, One day Israel will turn to Him for salvation!

So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.  Isaiah 28:16

They shall be like mighty men, Who tread down their enemies In the mire of the streets in the battle. They shall fight because the LORD is with them, And the riders on horses shall be put to shame  “I will strengthen the house of Judah, And I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, Because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside; For I am the LORD their God, And I will hear them.  Zechariah 10:5-6

As we know the world is against Israel, however as the prophet states “they shall fight because The Lord is with them” God will keep His Covenant with Israel and save and restore them during the Millennial Reign of Christ. “For I AM The Lord their God, and I will hear them (Israel” Those who fight against Israel are fighting against The Lord God

When Christ first came, He came as the The Lamb of God to take away our sins (John 1:29) However when Christ returns, He will return as The Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5), to rule and reign with a rod of iron

Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  Revelation 19:11

Zechariah 9- God our Shepherd

Leave a reply

“As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.  Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That I will restore double to you.  For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”  Zechariah 9:11-13

As we continue through this Chapter, the last section God revealed Jesus Is The Messiah, The King, the fulfillment of the prophecy riding through Jerusalem on a donkey (v9) But now God through the prophet Zechariah reveals more what that means for us all!

Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free! Because of what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross, Jesus has set us free from the curse and penalty of our sins, 

This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins  Matthew 26:28

Then the LORD will be seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts will defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones. They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar.  V14-15

God has promised to save Israel and his people, as He has done throughout time. This will trigger the physical return of Christ, when all the world comes against Israel to destroy them, but the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God will come back on the Mt of Olives and save them

This is also foretold by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:, the Deliverer , the Messiah Jesus will come out of Zion (Jerusalem, and turn away the ungodliness of Jacob (Israel). All of Isreal, God elect will be saved by Christ!

And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;  Romans 11:26

The LORD their God will save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land—  For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women.  V16-17

How will Israel be saved? The same way the world will be saved through Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation! (John 14:6) Some translations say “As a Shepherd (the flock) of His people” What did Jesus reveal to us, that Christ is The Good Shepherd who lays down his life for His Sheep! Amen!

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  John 10:11

Zechariah 9 – Messiah Has Come!

Leave a reply

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth.’ Zechariah 9:9-10

Israel has long awaited for their Messiah, He was prophesied since the beginning in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) He was foretold by Moses in the Law (Deuteronomy 18:18) He has been foretold by the Prophets like Isaiah, Daniel, including here Zechariah. 

The prophet Zechariah, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives us exactly the event that will happen when the Messiah will be proclaimed to the world. We as Christians know this day as Palm Sunday, which Jesus fulfilled this prophecy, among over 300 other Messianic prophecies.

Despite Jesus fulfilling these foretold events, exactly as it was prophesied, many still denied him then, while shouting Hosanna at the beginning, by the end of the week shouting Crucify Him! Why? Because Jesus is not the Messiah, the King, Israel wanted. The Son of God didn’t come with military force, He came to die for our sins on the cross (Isaiah 53, Daniel 9) Jesus defeated Sin, Death, Satan, and Hell on Calvary and rose again the 3rd day to give us eternal life 

What is the sign of the Messiah? “Behold Your King is coming to You, riding on a donkey” Do you not remember this was fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth? Listen to what the Apostle Matthew documented:

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: / “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey Matthew 21:4-5

But why a Donkey? Why would the Messiah ride in Jerusalem on a colt? Because it was foretold since the beginning, in the Torah, in the book of Genesis:

Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. Genesis 49:9-11

The scepter, the Messiah, the King, The Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) has been prophesied to come on a donkey, a sign of royalty and meekness. There was nothing accidental that happened on Palm Sunday, it was the Messiah being revealed to the world

Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:9

The Jewish crowds in Jerusalem recognized these signs, they shouted Hosanna (Save Us) from Psalm 118, They called him The Son of David, which is another title for Messiah, Blessed Is He who comes in the name of Yahweh, they knew Jesus is the Messiah, all the signs were there, all the prophecies are fulfilled, so why did they reject him? Same reason why do you reject him?

Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” Matthew 27:22

What shall we do with Jesus who is called The Messiah? Will you submit to the Messiah? The King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Or will you be a child of the devil, and partake in the murder of the Son of God? 

Messiah has Come! Repent and believe the gospel