Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 12

Verses 1-2

Zec 12:1-2

Zechariah’s Second “Burden”

(Oracle or Revelation)

(Zechariah 12:1-2)

“The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:1-2).

The first oracle was directed at the nations who put their trust in the things of this world (cf. Zechariah 9-11). Zechariah is now given the second oracle or burden (divine revelation) which concerns Israel. The surety of the revelation is made by the facts of Jehovah. The Lord is the creator and sustainer of all creation and secondly He directs each man’s spirit with the word of God. When God makes a proclamation the reality of it occurring is based upon His creative power and divine revelation. The context of the chapter shall reveal this to be a time when Israel would be under the Messianic King and shall cause many nations to “reel.” The nations of the world believe that Israel is week and feeble under the new king Jesus. As they drink from the cup of Israel they reel and stagger as a drunkard for they have drank from the cup of God’s wrath.

Verse 3

Zec 12:3

In That Day (Zechariah 12:3)

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it” (Zechariah 12:3).

We read the first of sixteen “in that day” statements for this section. Each of these “in that day” sections reveal the time under consideration to be the church age (i.e., the time when the Kingdom of God is established with His Son reigning as King). The first “in that day” time frame considers a time when the nations will reel at their attempt to drink down Jerusalem due to their imaginations of the city being week and feeble. Those who attempt to destroy Jerusalem (i.e., all nations of the earth) will find themselves sore wounded. The church of Jesus Christ will be assailed by many yet Jehovah and His people shall eternally prevail in victory.

Verses 4-7

Zec 12:4-7

In That Day (2) (3)

Zec 12:4-7

“In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts their God” (Zechariah 12:4-5).

The nations against the church of Christ will be militant. Those who oppose the truth will be as horsemen running throughout the church with weapons of warfare. Jehovah; however, shall smite these horses with blindness and they shall be defeated. Like all other gracious gifts, the defeat of these militant peoples against the church is contingent upon the church’s mutual militant stand against its foes. The truth is our weapon and when it is wielded no enemy has any chance of standing (cf. Ephesians 6:17). Each true member of the kingdom of God must fight knowing that God will not be defeated. The apostle Paul speaks of this spiritual warfare at 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 saying, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds)... and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience...” When the Jerusalem church is united in truth they are at great strength through Jehovah.

“In that day will I make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and they of Jerusalem shall yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem. Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah” (Zechariah 12:6-7).

In the day that (i.e., the day that the church has been established and the wicked assail it with all their might) the chieftains of the people of God shall consume the wicked by the word of God. No place for pride or self- glorification will be given to the people of God. All shall stand on equal ground in the fight against the ungodly forces of the world.

Verse 8

Zec 12:8

In That Day (4)

Zechariah 12:8

“In that day shall Jehovah 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 Jehovah before them” (Zechariah 12:8).

When the enemies of truth assail the church even the feeble among the people of God will have the strength of David. David was a mighty warrior for the Lord. By the strength of God he defeated Goliath and many other foes. No enemy is powerful enough to take even the feeble one down. Note the militant disposition of those opposed to Jehovah’s Kingdom! They are on the attack and so the Christian must exercise the same disposition toward them in this warfare or they shall be consumed.

God will not lose one soul as long as that soul exercises the spirit of humility and asks for His forgiveness. The forgiveness of sins will be the ever renewing life of the Christian during the church age. The enemies of God may slay us with the sword yet through prayer and repentance the soldier of Christ is able to rise again and again. The enemy cannot defeat us.

Verses 9-14

Zec 12:9-14

In That Day (5)(6)

Zechariah 12:9-14

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born” (Zechariah 12:9-10).

In the day that the church will be established all nations shall wage war against it. At that time, God will pour out His “spirit of grace and of supplication” upon it. God will graciously offer up His beloved Son that man may be forgiven of sins through repentance and supplication (cf. Acts 8:22). John quoted from this verse at John 19:37. The Roman soldiers pierced the side of Jesus to make sure he was dead on the cross. John then quotes from Zechariah 12:10 and applies it to Jesus (herein we find the interpretation of Zechariah’s second oracle to the people of Israel). Said reality will move the true people of God to mourn with a grievous mourning of sadness over their sinfulness. They will be moved, by the grace of God, to repent and asks for His forgiveness. Note that we see the deity of Jesus in these verses. God is the “me thy have pierced” and John applies this to Jesus at John 19:37.

“In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart” (Zechariah 12:11-14).

Some believe the “mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon” to be the day when Josiah lost his life to the Egyptians who were passing through. The whole land mourned the death of Josiah. Likewise, all shall mourn when they realize that they had crucified the son of God. All families small and great shall mourn the death of Jesus upon the cross.