Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

 

Zachariah 9:1-8

 

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

A prophecy:

The word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrak and will come to rest on Damascus—for the eyes of all people and all the tribes of Israel are on the Lord— and on Hamath too, which borders on it, and on Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.  Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.  But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.  Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.  Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted.   A mongrel people will occupy Ashdod, and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.  I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God and become a clan in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.  But I will encamp at my temple to guard it against marauding forces.  Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now, I am keeping watch.

 

If you have been reading my blog for any time, you understand that I attempt to give credit to others when I use their materials or thoughts.  With that stated, I am at a total loss on what the Lord is saying to you and me or what I should be taking away from this, so I’m going to give some thoughts from the Holman Christian Study Bible.

 

“The third section of Zechariah is different in many ways from the first and second sections.  Leading many Commentators to conclude that it was written by a different person (see introduction).  It is an extended poem, beginning with a description of God as victorious Conqueror and King, which follows the pattern of oracles against the nations (see notes at Amos 1:3-2:16).  Since poetry is often characterized by piling on images to emphasize a point it is not surprising to find God’s overpowering strength expressed in numerous ways and against many different enemies.  The poet included obscure cities and regions not mentioned elsewhere in the Bible (Zechariah 9:1-2), with little archaeological or literary data preserved about them.  The intent was to underscore the contrast between the enemies who would be consumed by God’s power and the new king ruling from Jerusalem.”

 

They also believe that God is proclaiming that the eyes of the nations will be on Him and that the 12 tribes and Israel would be united along with the Gentiles. Tyre the great and powerful Island nations would come under attack by Alexander the Great, and he and his army would take seven months destroying the part on the mainland and building a causeway to the island of Tyre.  This was the prophetic judgment of prophets like (Isaiah 23, Jeremiah 25:17-22, and Amos 1:9-10).  The HCSB also tells us that Alexander the Great, also came to Jerusalem but did not conquer it but chose to spare it.  Some used the statement that no oppressor will march against them again, but it is clear that the Romans A.D. 70 totally destroyed Jerusalem, suggests that it is better to understand the statement as the poetic language for God’s general protection.

 

Let me be clear these are not my thoughts and both you and I should ask the author of the Bible to give us understanding.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice