Zechariah 9:12 - Meaning and Application

The prophet has already taught the returning captives to give credit for their rescue to the blood of the covenant and to the promise of the Messiah. Their help was so marvelous because that blessing was already at work among them, though still, as it were, in their nation’s womb. Now he turns to encourage them with the hope of a joyful and settled future, with glorious days ahead. They did enjoy that kind of happiness for a time, in large measure, but these promises reach their full meaning in the spiritual blessings of the gospel that we enjoy through Jesus Christ.

He invites them to look to Christ and run to him as their city of refuge: “Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope” (Zechariah 9:12). The Jews who had returned from captivity to their own land were still, in effect, prisoners, “We are slaves to this day” (Nehemiah 9:36). Yet they were prisoners of hope, or expectation, because God had given them a little relief in their bondage (Ezra 9:8-9). Those who still remained in Babylon, held back by their business there, also lived in hope that they would one day see their own land again. Both groups are told to fix their eyes on the Messiah, who stands before them in the promise as their stronghold, a place to shelter in and rest on, so that he may complete the mercy that was so gloriously begun by his grace and for his sake.

“Look to him and be saved” (Isaiah 45:22). The promise of the Messiah was the stronghold of faithful people long before he came. They saw his day from afar and were glad, and the believing hope of the redemption in Jerusalem was for a long time the support and comfort of Israel (Luke 2:25, 38). In danger and distress, people were ready to turn to this or that created help for relief, but the prophets kept directing them to Christ, and to comfort themselves in the joy of their king who was coming to them with salvation. And just as their deliverance pointed ahead to our redemption through Christ (Zechariah 9:11), this call to the stronghold speaks the language of the gospel. Sinners are prisoners, but they are prisoners of hope. Their condition is sad, but it is not hopeless. There is still hope for Israel concerning them. Christ is a stronghold, a strong tower, where they may be safe and quiet from God’s wrath, the curse of the law, and the attacks of spiritual enemies. They must turn to him by living faith, flee to him, and trust in his name.

They are also assured of God’s favor toward them: “Even today I declare that I will restore double to you” (Zechariah 9:12). When things seem worst and they think their case is as bad as it could be, God solemnly promises that he will give back double to Jerusalem, to each of these prisoners of hope. He will give comforts double to their sorrows, or blessings double to anything he ever gave their fathers in their best days. The glory of their latter state, and of their latter house, will be greater, indeed twice as great, as the former. In the fullest sense, this was true through the coming of the Messiah, the preaching of his gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom. These spiritual blessings in heavenly things were double what they had ever known in their most prosperous earthly condition.

As a pledge of this, God here promises the Jews victory, plenty, and joy in their own land. Yet even that would only be a picture and shadow of the greater victories, riches, and joys in the kingdom of Christ. They would triumph over their enemies. After their return, the Jews were surrounded by enemies on every side. They were like a speckled bird, with all the birds of the field against them. Their land lay between the powerful kingdoms of Syria and Egypt, both branches of the Greek empire, and Daniel had foretold the dangers they would face between them (Daniel 11). Still, God promises to deliver them from all of them. This was first fulfilled in the days of the Maccabees, when the Jews stood against their enemies, kept from being overrun, and after many struggles came to be above them.

God says that they will be his instruments in defeating and frustrating their persecutors: “I have bent Judah as my bow, and filled it with Ephraim as my arrow.” Some think the idea is that he has drawn the bow fully, ready to shoot. The images are vivid and beautiful. Judah had learned the use of the bow (2 Samuel 1:18), and Ephraim had been known for it (Psalm 78:9). But they must not think they win by their own strength, for they are only God’s bow and arrows, tools in his hands. He uses them as he chooses, and directs them to the mark. The strongest and bravest people are only what God makes them, and they do only the work he enables them to do. The preachers of the gospel were the bow in Christ’s hand, by which he went out conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:2). The next words explain this more clearly: “I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece.” This was fulfilled when, against Antiochus, one of the kings of the Greek empire, the people who knew their God were strong and did great things (Daniel 11:32). In the hand of almighty God, they were like the sword of a mighty man, before whom none can stand. Wicked people are called God’s sword (Psalm 17:13), and at times good people are also made to serve that way, because he uses both as he wills.

God will also be captain and commander over them in every campaign and battle. “The Lord will be seen over them” (Zechariah 9:14). He will make it plain that he rules their affairs, and that all their movements are under his direction, as clearly, though not as visibly, as he was seen over Israel in the pillar of cloud and fire when he led them through the wilderness. If their army is to be raised and gathered, the Lord will blow the trumpet, calling the troops together, announcing the war, sounding the alarm, and directing them which way to move. If God blows the trumpet, it will not sound uncertain or weak. If the army is marching out and beginning battle, God himself will go before it, with whirlwinds of the south, which are known for their speed and force. Before those whirlwinds, your sons, O Greece, will be like chaff. If the army is already in the fight, God’s arrows will go out like lightning, so sudden, so strong, and so unstoppable. His lightnings will go out as arrows and scatter them, meaning that he will shoot his lightning and throw them into confusion.

This points back to what God did for Israel long ago, when he brought them out of Egypt and into Canaan. It was partly fulfilled in the remarkable victories the Jews won over their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, when God showed special care for them. It was fully fulfilled in the great victories won by the cross of Christ and the preaching of the cross over Satan and all the powers of darkness, by which we are made more than conquerors.

Are they in danger of being overpowered by the enemy? The Lord of hosts will defend them (Zac 9:15), and the Lord their God will save them (Zac 9:16). So their enemies will not defeat them or plunder them. God will be their defense as well as their attack, the shield that helps them as well as the sword that gives them honor. He does this as the Lord of hosts, who has power to protect them, and as their God, who is bound to them by promise and by his claim over them. He will save them in that day, that dangerous and critical day, with the same care and tenderness a shepherd uses to protect his flock. Those whom God saves are truly safe.

Did their enemies hope to swallow them up? The outcome will be turned back on those enemies, and the people of God will devour them instead. They will defeat their foes even with sling-stones, for lack of better weapons, when they go out against them. When God chooses, the stones from a brook can do as much damage as the best artillery, for the stars in their courses will fight on the same side. Goliath was brought down with a sling-stone. After they have won, they will devour, as it were, and drink the blood of their enemies, and, like victors, they will shout as men do over wine. Conquerors often make loud cries and cheers to celebrate their victories and publish them abroad. Scripture speaks of those who shout for mastery and of the shout of a king among God’s people. They will be filled with blood and spoil, as the bowls and basins of the temple, or the corners of the altar, were filled with the blood of sacrifices, because their enemies will fall as victims to divine justice.

They will also triumph in their God. They will take comfort in their victories and give God the glory for them. That is how some read Zac 9:15. They will eat, meaning they will quietly enjoy what they have won. God will give them power to enjoy it after they have overcome the sling-stones, that is, the enemies who attacked them with sling-stones. They will drink and make a joyful noise before the Lord their Maker and Protector, like people glad at a wine feast. Yet they will not be drunk with wine, which leads to excess. Instead, being filled with the Spirit, they will speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph 5:18, Eph 5:19). In the fullness of their joy, they will offer many sacrifices to honor God, filling both the bowls and the corners of the altar with the fat and blood of their offerings.

When they triumph in this way, their joy will end in God himself, as their God, the God of their salvation. They will rejoice, first, in the love he has for them and in their relation to him, that they are the flock of his people and he is their Shepherd. They are also to him like the stones in a crown, precious and valuable, and kept under strong protection. No king was ever so pleased with the jewels in his crown as God is, and will be, with his people, who are dear to him and in whom he delights. They are a crown of glory and a royal diadem in his hand (Isa 62:2, Isa 62:3). “They shall be mine,” says the Lord, “in the day when I make up my jewels” (Mal 3:17). They will be lifted up like a banner over his land, like a royal standard raised in triumph and joy.

God’s people are his glory. He chooses to make them so, and he counts them that way. He sets them up as a banner in his own land, both as a challenge against those who hate him and as a gathering place for all who love him. It is a signal to the children of God who are scattered abroad, calling them to come and gather under this banner (Isa 11:10, Isa 11:12). They will also rejoice, second, in the provision God makes for them (Zac 9:15). That is the subject of their triumph (Zac 9:17): “For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!” This is the heart and burden of the songs they will sing before the Lord.

Here we are taught to admire and praise how lovely God is. How great is his beauty! Every perfection in God’s nature joins together to make him infinitely lovable to all who know him. The people are to him like the stones in a crown, but what is he to them? Our duty in the temple is to look on the beauty of the Lord (Psa 27:4), and how great that beauty is! It is far above all other beauty, especially the beauty of his holiness. This may also point to the Messiah, Zion’s coming King. See that king in his beauty (Isa 33:17), who is fairer than the children of men, the fairest of ten thousand, and altogether lovely. Though the world saw no beauty in him, faith sees great beauty in him.

We are also taught to admire and thank God for the gifts of his favor and grace, for his bounty as well as his beauty. How great is his goodness! How rich he is in mercy! Its springs are deep and full. Its streams are varied, abundant, and precious. God does so much good. Here is one example of his goodness to his people: corn will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women. That means God will bless his people with plenty from the earth. They had once suffered such severe shortage that the young men and young women were ready to faint from hunger and thirst (Lam 2:12, Lam 2:21; Lam 4:7, Lam 4:8; Lam 5:10). Now they will have enough and more than enough, not only water, but wine, new wine, which will make the young people cheerful and strong. Some have noticed that plenty and cheap grain often encourage the poor to marry and refill the land, because they can support families. Whatever good gifts God gives us, we must serve him gladly with them, trace the streams back to the fountain, and when we are refreshed with corn and wine, say, How great is his goodness!