Grace and Supplications - Zechariah 12

“The burden of the Word of the Lord against Israel. ‘Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples. All who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” Zechariah 12:1-3

A burden is something weighty. God created heaven and earth. He breathed life into the first man. God created helium to be light and iron to be heavy. In this passage, He announces that He will make Jerusalem into a very heavy stone for all peoples. So much so, that when all the nations gather together against her thinking they will drink her wealth as a drunkard drinks wine, they find her invincible. The Lord made her too heavy for them to move. Her weight shatters them into pieces.

“In that day, says the Lord, I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness. I will open My eyes on the house of Judah and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’ In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves. They shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.” Zechariah 12:4-6

In the previous chapter, the Lord spoke of Jerusalem being destroyed by her enemies. Now, He speaks of Jerusalem’s victory over her foes and of her growing population. What changed? The answer is her relationship with her Creator and Savior. She is with the Lord and He with her.

“The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day, the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Zechariah 12:7-9

In Philippians 4:13, Paul testified, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul acknowledged that God’s grace helped him to get so much done for God and people. He wrote, “By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” When the people of Jerusalem and her surrounding cities abide in God, their feeblest citizen becomes like David the giant slayer. The Angel of the Lord, an Old Testament reference to Messiah, clears her path to victory.

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication. Then, they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.” Zechariah 12:10-14

God’s Holy Spirit of grace and of supplications empowered the people of Judah and He empowers us who believe in God to see JESUS! When we know for certain that God’s own beloved Son was pierced for our transgressions, we know that God loves us and wants us to be with Him forever. This message of God’s love for us empowers us.

In Romans 8:31-32, 37, Paul wrote, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

During 1997, my family of six lived in a fifth floor room of a school in Guangzhou City, China. We experienced many trials, from overwhelming heat and humidity to swarms of mosquitos. We burned smoking coils of repellent and slept under mosquito nets. Sometimes the meals provided for us had a good aroma but were inedible due to particles of sand in the rice. Then, there was the not-so-hidden clues that people with ill-will toward us were spying on us.

Amidst great trials, the Holy Spirit led us to divine moments of joy as we listened to songs of the Savior, such as: “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood” (William Cowper); “At the Cross” (Isaac Watts); “Jesus Paid it All” (Elvina M. Hall); “Whiter than Snow” (James Nicholson); “The Love of God” (Frederick M. Lehman); and “What a Friend we have in Jesus” (Joseph M. Scrivener).

I did not always know how to pray but the Holy Spirit did. As Romans 8:26 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

The trials that were meant to defeat us drove us to Jesus and to reliance on His Holy Spirit’s guidance and comfort. Thus, our witness for Christ burned bright in that place.

“Then, they will look on Me whom they pierced.” Look at the only begotten Son of God! See His pierced hands and feet! Pierced for our sin. Look at Him with hymns! Look at Him with prayers! Look at Him with praise! Look at Him and tell others what you see!

“Yes, Heavenly Father, please continuously keep our lamps burning with the Spirit of Your grace and supplications. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.”