The burden of the Word of the Lord in the above verses is against five Gentile cities. The burden is heavy and is about to crush them. These cities were located to the north of Israel. Hadrach, Hamath and Damascus are cities of ancient Assyria and modern day Syria. Damascus was the capital of Assyria and still is the capital of Syria today. Tyre and Sidon are located in Lebanon. The Greeks referred to the people of Tyre and Sidon as Phoenicians.
Tyre was surrounded by sea on all sides. It had a double wall 150 feet high all around it. The people of Tyre assumed that they were wise because they had large reserves of silver and gold and were well defended. However, when Alexander the Great marched his army toward Egypt, he crushed Tyre. His army slew 8,000 people, enslaved 13,000 and crucified 2,000 of them. He sank their ships. Then, he set Tyre ablaze. His army also crushed Hadrach, Hamath, Damascus, and Sidon. He plundered their wealth.
“Ashkelon shall see it and fear. Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; and Ekron, for He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, and the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, and shall be like a leader in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite.” Zechariah 9:5-7
Ashkelon, Gaza and Ekron and Ashdod were four of the five major cities in Philistia. Gath, the fifth major city, was out of the way for Alexander to conquer. After a two month long siege, Alexander conquered Gaza. He slew 10,000 of its inhabitants and enslaved the rest. He also conquered Ashkelon, Ekron and Ashdod. A mixed race of people (Arabs) moved into these lands, which is true today.
The Philistines bowed to the works of their hands but not to the God who created them. They ate non-kosher foods and meat mingled with blood. Thus, God took the blood from their mouths and the abominations from between their teeth. God dealt with their pride. Perhaps, they had previously mocked the Jews for their dietary disciplines. Some of the survivors in Ashdod became ”for God” and became like some of Judah’s leaders. The Jebusites were the original inhabitants of Jerusalem. David subjugated them and incorporated them among his people (See 2 Samuel 24:16). Some of the survivors of Ekron became like the Jebusites in Israel.
“I will camp around My house because of the army, because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, for now I have seen with My eyes.” Zechariah 9:8
The Lord promised to camp around His house. He reassured the Jews who were rebuilding the temple and Jerusalem that He would protect them. Alexander passed by Jerusalem. Historical sources say that a dream stopped Alexander from attacking the city. Instead, he conferred on them great privileges. They were not oppressed.
“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
In contrast to Gentiles kings such as Sargon II (Assyria), Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon), Xerxes (Persia) and Alexander (Greece), the coming King of Jerusalem shall be humble and ride on a service animal rather than a conqueror’s horse. He would replace war chariots and the bows of archers with life producing tools. According to Isaiah 2:4, Israel’s coming Messiah shall, “judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Jesus Christ is just and the justifier of those who believe in Him. He doesn’t justify our sins. No, He condemns sin. He became a living sacrifice for our sins. Thus, God can justly say that those who believe in Jesus have no sin. Did any other king do that for us? No. Jesus resurrected from the grave after He died for our sin to prove that He is the Savior of the world. He is the only founder of a religion that left behind an empty tomb. Thus, Jesus has salvation.
Hebrews 2:14 says, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Jesus cancelled all the devil’s claims against us when He removed our sins from us. He also conquered death for us. We cannot do anything for ourselves when we die, but Jesus can. He resurrects the souls of us who believe in Him and gives us an eternal body. Glory!
Jesus Christ has already the converted the hearts of many people from being warlike to being charitable and kind. The servants of Christ are the salt of the earth because due to them God does not destroy entire populations as He did during the days of Noah. He gives evil nations like Ninevah the opportunity to hear His Word and repent. In some cases, He rescues His servants from a city before He destroys it as He did with Lot and his family.
In Proverbs 1:10-11, 15, 18-19, the Lord says, “My son, if sinners entice you... to lie in wait to shed blood... my son, do not walk in the way with them.” “They lie in wait for their own blood, they lurk secretly for their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.” Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” To be like Jesus, we need to love God and love people and live to glorify our loving Heavenly Father.
“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
The Lord connects the blood of the covenant with prisoners being set free from a waterless pit and fulfilling their hopes by setting them in a safe place. It is by the blood of Christ, not by the blood of bulls and goats (under Moses), that we are truly delivered from the waterless pit. To be in a pit without water is really an unpleasant place to be. The Lord shall pull them out of the pit and make them strong. In the days, Ephraim (another name for Israel) will have to fight the successor of Alexander. Antiochus Epiphanes shall arise after Alexander and try to force God’s people to forsake Him. God will raise up the bow and sword of Judas Maccabeus and his brothers to lead the Isreal to victory over Antiochus.
“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. 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.” Zechariah 9:14-17
It is not that we save ourselves from our foes. God works in perceivable and imperceivable ways to bring about our salvation. Romans 8:37 says, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” We are saved because of His love for us.
The Lord loves us and considers us His flock. He considers us jewels in His crown and banners over His land! God is love. He replaces ashes with beauty. He resolves hunger and thirst with bread and wine.
In Romans 8:38-39, Paul wrote, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Some historic and word etymology knowledge gleaned from Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
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