Bringing Israel Home – Part 1
Zechariah 12:1 – 13:9 (13:7-9)
March 12, 2017
One of our favorite stories in Scripture is that of the Prodigal Son.
• In it we have a son who totally disrespects his father and leaves,
• But then we love the part where that son comes to his senses
• And returns to the open arms of his father.
Luke 15:14-24 “Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. “So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. “And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”‘ “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. “And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
That parable is originally intended to expose the unrejoicing self-righteous heart of the Pharisees, but we still love to read of how that sinner is brought home.
I put that story in your mind to begin here,
Because it could easily be the story of the nation of Israel.
It is an event like that which we study here in Zechariah 12 & 13
When last we left Israel
We found that God had sent them a Good Shepherd to deliver them from the brutal shepherds that were fleecing the flock.
• The problem was that Israel rejected her Good Shepherd and as a result God promised her to be under the reign of a foolish shepherd.
• This foolish shepherd would certainly be brutal as well; Zechariah mentioned how he would tear the hoofs off of the sheep.
• But ultimately “foolish” is the right word for him because he will be the one who will exalt himself above God and blaspheme God at every turn.
• You just don’t get more foolish than that.
• That foolish shepherd is the man we know as Antichrist.
And at the end of chapter 11, Israel is left under his control.
And so you know then that we are dealing with the events of the end.
It is that time of tribulation when Israel has been deceived
Into following a man who will make a 7 year covenant with her,
Only to break that covenant 3 ½ years in.
He is also the man who will then
Unleash fury and terror on God’s people Israel.
Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
As our story picks up here in chapter 12,
We have fast-forwarded to the day when
Israel is under the leadership of that foolish shepherd.
• Israel (to borrow the analogy of the prodigal son) has lost her senses.
• She rejected her Messiah, and is currently blinded.
Romans 9:30-33 “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
Romans 10:21 “But as for Israel He says, “ALL THE DAY LONG I HAVE STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS TO A DISOBEDIENT AND OBSTINATE PEOPLE.”
Romans 11:7-10 “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY.” And David says, “LET THEIR TABLE BECOME A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. “LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER.”
But, also like the prodigal,
God has promised that she will one day come back to her senses
And return to her Heavenly Father.
Romans 11:25-32 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”
What we are going to learn here in these two chapters is that
It is through these horrific events of the Antichrist
That God will actually bring Israel back to her senses and bring her home.
The passage we read to open the sermon (13:7-9)
Is actually a summary of the entire process.
Before that get to that summary, we find that process played out for us.
Let’s look at it together to see how God will accomplish it.
In the past I have broken this down into 8 separate points,
But here I’ve chosen to combine them together because I think it will help us to more easily align them with what we’ve studied in Revelation and will hopefully make more sense to us.
#1 SUPERNATURAL DEFENSE
Zechariah 12:1-9
The point made in these 9 verses is that
• God will supernaturally protect Israel from the attempts of Antichrist to annihilate her
• And this protection will go a long way towards opening Israel’s eyes
• And causing her to come to her senses.
Now you already know that during the tribulation
Satan will in fact seek to destroy her.
Revelation 12:13-17 “And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
We’ve already talked in detail about this recently on Sunday mornings, but to refresh your memory…
At the 3 ½ year mark of the tribulation, Satan is kicked out of heaven.
• This coincides with 2nd seal (world war) and the abomination of desolation, since Satan’s removal causes him to seek to take control of the earth, and his first objective is to wipe out Israel.
• Of course God protects Israel through the war and makes her off limits from the enemy, so Satan unleashes alternate plans to kill her from a distance; namely through famine and plague (which are the 3rd and 4th seals as well)
But again God delivers.
Here in the first 9 verses of Zechariah 12
We are seeing those same realities, only with a little added information.
Most importantly we are seeing the effect
That this deliverance of God will have on Israel.
It begins very simply with God remembering Jerusalem.
(Zechariah’s name means “The Lord Remembers”)
(1-3) “The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”
Here God defines Himself as “the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him,”
This is God’s way of defining His great power.
• We are talking here about the source of all things.
• We are talking here about the One who can do anything He desires.
• We are talking about the Almighty.
Who else has the ability to “stretch out the heavens”?
Who else can “lay the foundation of the earth”?
Who else can “form the spirit of man within him”?
No one.
This is the one and only God.
And this powerful God then makes an announcement.
“Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.”
God speaks of a day when “Jerusalem” and all “Judah”
Will be under “siege”.
This is the day when the world will attack her.
You will remember that Jesus warned that when the Abomination of Desolation occurs, you should run because tribulation is on its way.
This all makes sense.
However, we also find that on that day God will “make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around;”
The imagery here is of one who sat too long at the bar
And had too much to drink.
They actually drank to their own hurt.
The point being that
It won’t be in anyone’s best interest to attack Jerusalem.
You may do it, but you will do it to your own hurt.
That analogy is pushed further in verse 3
(3) “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”
Again the siege is revealed as God says
“all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it”,
But again we find out that they will do so to their own ruin.
As it will be like when you try and lift a stone that is too heavy
And end up injuring yourself.
What we have here is God showing favor to Jerusalem.
God is supernaturally intervening.
• He is NOT keeping Israel from being attacked…
• He is NOT preventing the siege against her…
• But over time it becomes apparent that the attacker is suffering more than the attacked.
It’s sort of like the Alamo.
The battle of the Alamo is the most celebrated defeat in the history of the world, because it was a defeat that over time actually proved to be quite a victory.
That is what we are seeing here.
The world will attack Jerusalem,
But the greater injury will be on those who attack her.
TURN TO: EZEKIEL 38:1 – 39:8
Here you see the event in which God is calling the nations of the world
to war with Israel under this leader referred to as “Gog”.
And we also find that this battle was merely a ploy
Meant to draw the nations in that God might destroy them.
Their intention to destroy Israel actually becomes their own destruction.
We actually saw this this morning.
Revelation 16:12-16 “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.”
But the point to be made is that
It will become apparent that God is now favoring Israel.
Both in His supernatural protections
And His total sovereign plan of destroying those who attack her.
Now this favor that God will bestow will SOON BE NOTICED by Jews scattered throughout the world.
(4-5) “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’”
So when the world is seeking to destroy the Jews,
It will be blatantly obvious that God is protecting them.
For example, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness”
Entire cavalries will be charging only to have their horses get spooked
And their riders go crazy.
The supernatural deliverance will be obvious; especially to the Jews.
“Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.”
These “clans” would represent Jews scattered throughout the world.
• But when they see how God is delivering those under siege in Jerusalem, they
begin to realize that God’s favor has returned.
God is actually in the process of bringing Israel back to her senses.
AND THAT IS NOT ALL, God will not only strike the enemy of Israel with bewilderment, but God will also renew great strength to Israel as in the days of old.
(6-9) “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. “And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”
We are many times fascinated with the ways in which God delivered Israel in the Old Testament.
• It was obvious to us that Israel was stronger than they should have been and their enemies were weaker than they should have been.
• It was obvious that God was fighting through them and for them.
Well that phenomenon will return as you see here.
These “clans of Judah” will be “like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves”
And they will consume their enemies around them.
God is going to “save the tents of Judah”
But God will also be with those inside Jerusalem.
“the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David”
You remember David right?
“Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten-thousands.”
Even the cripples in Jerusalem will be as strong as David.
And the real warriors (the real Davids) “will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.”
And God will destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
It is clear what is happening.
God’s favor is returning to Israel and Israel is recognizing it.
They are coming to their senses.
Their eyes are being opened.
God is lifting that spirit of stupor.
You see it in the form of GOD’S SUPERNATURAL DEFENSE.
And that leads us to the next reality.
#2 GOD’S SPIRITUAL DELIVERANCE
Zechariah 12:10-13:1
God will most certainly deliver them physically,
But that is not the main goal.
The main goal is to deliver them spiritually.
And God also accomplishes that during this time.
(I should note that all of these realities are happening at the same time.
That is the seeking and the deliverance are all intertwined and overlapping)
(10) “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”
You must certainly recognize the instigator here.
It is not that Israel finally “wised up”
Salvation has never been due to the intellect of the sinner.
No, rather God “will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication”
During the midst of these battles,
And during the midst of this tribulation,
God will then re-open the eyes of Israel.
He will once again give them the desire for grace
And the desire to cry out to Him.
Only, they won’t just be crying out a distant God of their Fathers.
They will, for the first time ever, cry out to the God they have thus far rejected.
“they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”
Who will they begin to cry to?
Jesus, the One they “pierced”
Let me show you another place where this reality is played out.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 63 & 64
Isaiah there gives a detailed discussion of the thought process
Which Israel goes to when they begin to call out again to God.
They recognize what they have been missing,
Humble themselves and once again cry out to God.
Only this time, they cry out to the One they pierced
Recognizing that they need His salvation.
What we find here in Zechariah is that this awareness came from God.
He is the One who caused them to cry out to Jesus.
And the RESULT of this will be national
And total repentance and mourning.
(11-14) “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. “The land will 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 the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.”
“the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo” refers to the mourning that took place regarding the death of Josiah.
He was the last good king in Judah,
And when he was killed Judah mourned greatly.
Well now they mourn the loss of another King,
Only this king didn’t die at the hands of a foreign enemy,
This king died at their own hands.
AND THEY WILL MOURN FOR HIM.
It will not be a corporate police of repentance, but an individual brokenness in which they all personal cry out to Christ.
Ezekiel 39:25-29 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name. “They will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against Me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid. “When I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations. “Then they will know that I am the LORD their God because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them there any longer. “I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD.”
Incidentally, this is exactly what Peter said must happen, remember?
Acts 3:19-21 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
On this day they will.
Next time, we’ll look at how this repentance
Literally turns the nation around.
