ZECHARIAH 9
In the opening verses of this chapter we see the judgment of God coming upon certain cities which had been, more or less, in rivalry with Jerusalem. They all have to come down to give place to God’s city. We have seen at the end of chapter 8 many people leaving their own cities to come to Jerusalem. The cities [p. 121] which they left represent the principles which are dominant in the world, and are such as would mark Damascus, Tyre, Zidon, Ashkelon, and other cities mentioned in chapter 9 which all come under the judgment of God. The only city which is going to stand is God’s city, Zion representing His sovereign mercy, and Jerusalem His universal thoughts of blessing in Christ. Men have now the opportunity of changing their city, of leaving what is under judgment, and coming to where there is full blessing.
In Psalm 87 we find God making mention of Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia, and noting these as the birthplace of certain ones. These places represent the characterising principles of the world. They are rival centres of influence, competing, as it were, with Zion; but God is not there, nor His house. Man is made something of in those rival centres, and if they are our birthplace we shall make something of man, but all that is come to nothing. Thank God, there are those who are born of Zion, who are begotten of sovereign mercy, and who feel that nothing is of any value but what is of mercy. It is interesting to see that, though God speaks of cutting off the pride of the Philistines, He has in mind to secure a remnant for Himself even from amongst them. “But he that remaineth, he also shall belong to our God, and shall be as a leader in Judah”, verse 7. This is a striking illustration of the sovereignty of God’s mercy, of which we have been speaking. We all really come in on this ground alone.
“And I will encamp about my house ... for now have I seen it with mine eyes”, verse 8. I understand this to mean that God recognised what the remnant was building as His house; it was taking concrete form, though far from being finished yet. There was something there round which He would encamp. He will not defend what has a great place in the sight of men, but He will defend whatever has the true character of His house, though it may be small in outward appearance. Christians are divided because rival centres have been set up. Different bodies have been formed according to the light which men had, but, now that the truth of the assembly as the house of God has come out, believers must either accept it as the truth, and seek to walk according to it, or they will be found supporting what is really contrary to it. God will not encamp about what is contrary to the truth which He has so graciously revived, but He will encamp about what has the true character of His house. He will make manifest that His house is very precious to Him.
[p. 122] Just at this point we have the well-known prophecy of Zion’s King coming to her. The remnant building the house in Zechariah’s day were to have in mind Christ coming as the just One, having salvation in Himself but coming in lowliness. He would own Zion as His city, and no doubt the true “daughter of Zion” would own Him as her King. But verse 9 must be clearly distinguished from what is spoken of in verse 10. In verse 10 we read of His speaking peace to the nations, and His dominion being from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. This is clearly yet future. But verse 9 speaks of His coming in such a way and character that only those who were divinely taught could discern Him. He was presented in lowliness to see many hearts there were that could discern Him and rejoice to receive Him. Everything that was needed to complete the joy of the daughters of Zion was there in her lowly King. But the ruling powers in Jerusalem did not discern Him; He was only discerned by faith and love. His presentation in lowliness to Zion answers in great measure to the way in which He manifests Himself now to the saints of the assembly.
He said, “I will not leave you orphans, I am coming to you”, John 14: 18. The prophetic word would have prepared every loyal heart to look for Him as Zion’s King. Those who, like Simeon, were “awaiting the consolation of Israel”, and those who “waited for redemption in Jerusalem”, would be out for Him. Now we have His own definite word, “I am coming to you”; shall we not look to Him to fulfil it? If we ha d more in our hearts the thought of His coming to us it would produce affectionate concern that there might be conditions that would attract Him, and be suitable for Him. “He is just” means that whatever He does has a basis of righteousness; He is “Jesus Christ the righteous”. And “having salvation” conveys to us that whatever may be needed to give effect to God’s precious thoughts concerning those who receive Him is there in fulness. But all is “lowly” in character as set forth in His “riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass”. Though particularly presented to the daughter of Zion and the daughter of Jerusalem, there is an intimation in this that He would have a place to which He could come, where His rights would be owned, and where He would be received with joy and praise. There was a brief gleam of this when He rode into Jerusalem, secured by the power of God in fulfilment of this prophetic word, but at the present time the only place where He is received with joy is [p. 123] amongst His saints of the assembly. The “daughter of Zion” and the “daughter of Jerusalem” have, surely, some spiritual counterpart in those who can now know Christ as coming to them, and, as having uncorrupted affections, can receive Him with rejoicing. The ass and the colt would suggest that He has need of those who can bear Him into that place where He loves to come. I doubt whether He comes to the assembly apart from such a service being rendered. What a privilege it is to carry Him in affection into the place that is due to Him in the assembly! This is an exercise for us all in coming together in assembly, the Lord’s supper awakening lively affections in all hearts so that we are all prepared in heart to bear Him into the place which He loves to occupy. The Lord looks for this service, and has need of it. Shall it not be willingly rendered?
When He came in lowly grace to the literal Jerusalem they crucified Him, and this resulted in all power being cut off from that guilty city so that it became helpless against its enemies. Jerusalem became, indeed, a “pit wherein is no water”, and this is what all fleshly religion is. But there were some, even in Jerusalem, who were there as “prisoners of hope”, and the prophetic word declared, “As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I will send forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water”, verse 11. Jerusalem’s “prisoners” I take to be those who realised that she had forfeited everything by her rejection of her Messiah, and that their only hope lay in what is called here “the blood of thy covenant”. By that means alone could they be delivered, but if God acted by that means there was no limit to what He would do for them. He would not only take them out of the pit, but bring them to the stronghold, and He would defend them. “And they shall be filled like a bowl, like the corners of the altar”. The “bowl” referred to here is one of those mentioned in chapter 14, “bowls before the altar”. They were vessels connected with offering service. “The corners of the altar”, as we know from other scriptures, were where the “horns” were placed, representing the power of the altar. What a mighty divine deliverance! Prisoners taken out of the pit, but made full vessels for offering service! This is how God’s sovereign mercy acts; all that is blessing comes in on this ground, as much for us as for them, and thus God secures the carrying on of the service of His house.
“And Jehovah their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they shall be as the stones of a crown,
[p. 124] lifted up (or, sparkling) upon his land”, verse 16. They are a flock secured for God, to feed on the wealth of His land, and to be there as a precious adornment, for the thought of the flock has linked with it another, and a different, figure when they are compared to sparkling crown jewels. God has brought many figures into service to indicate the pleasure which He finds in having blessed His people through Christ. His thoughts are, indeed, beyond all figures, but He is pleased to use figures to convey to our minds the great wealth of His thoughts and purposes in Christ. When we think that they are all the outcome of what God is in Himself we can understand that they must be surpassingly wonderful. “For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!” verse 17. Whatever God has done for us through Christ, and in Christ, is to bring into display what He is in Himself: “that he might display in the coming ages the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus”, Ephesians 2: 7. There is that in the blessed God which is properly the subject of holy admiration on the part of those blessed by Him, for it is a beauty which shines forth in the way of infinite grace, and it becomes the adornment of His people, for one could say, “And let the beauty of Jehovah our God be upon us”, Psalm 90: 17.
Finally, it is said, “Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens”, It is the continuous feeding upon Christ that maintains spiritual strength. It is not enough to be brought to the knowledge of even the greatest spiritual blessings; we have to be maintained in vigour by spiritual food. Many think they can live upon what has come to them as light, and they steadily decline. We need the “measure of corn in season”, that fresh appropriation of Christ by which alone we can “flourish”. Then “the maidens” represent the subjective side, which flourishes as we continue to “drink of one Spirit”. It was never the divine intent that we should only drink once; we are to do it characteristically and continuously. It has often been said that it alludes to the cup in the Lord’s supper, as the one body alludes to the bread. We are reminded every Lord’s day by the emblems before us that we are one body, and that we are drinkers of one Spirit, but we are to be this characteristically all the time. If we are so we shall truly “flourish”.