Dec 4 2019 - Zechariah 14 – The Day of the Lord

And so we come to the end of the book of Zechariah as Zechariah 14 speaks of the coming of the Day of the Lord. It will be a day marked by judgment but also salvation. The nations are gathered to wage war against Jerusalem and half of the city is taken into exile. Then the Lord will appear and fight for his people, fighting against the nations. The nations will be defeated and Jerusalem, now secure, will become the source of living water flowing out into the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean – as the waters flowed out of Eden at the beginning of creation (see also Ezekiel 47:1-12). Those who have fought against Jerusalem will be destroyed but those from the nations who have not fought against Jerusalem will now go up to the city to "worship the King, the Lord Almighty" and to join in the celebrations that remind his people of the way the Lord has saved them and blessed them. The wealth of the nations will be brought into the city. And:

On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty. (vv. 20-21)

Exodus 28 describes the various garments that were to be made for Aaron as High Priest and mediator between God and his people. Among these special garments was a turban which had a plate of pure gold fastened to it with a blue cord. This plate which was to have a place of prominence on the front of the turban was to bear an engraving which said, HOLY TO THE LORD (28:36-38; 39:30). It marked out Aaron as one possessing a special holiness which allowed him to enter into the very presence of the Lord in the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place. Now, in the book of Zechariah, this same inscription is to be found on horses and cooking pots. Everything, however menial, is now able to live in the presence of the Lord. "Zerubbabel's temple has given way to the reality it symbolised: God the King in the midst of his saved people – forever" (Barry Webb).

Many of these themes are later echoed in the Book of Revelation as it pictures God's ultimate triumph over all who oppose his Messiah and who fight against the triumph of his kingdom.

The decisive opening campaign of the warfare between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this present world was fought when Jewish and Gentile authorities conspired together to nail Jesus to the cross.

The battle continued in the months and years that followed as the Jewish and Gentile authorities combined again to try to destroy the church and silence its gospel witness. It continues today whenever a hostile world is confronted with the truth that God reigns, and it will be ended only when Jesus returns in glory. It is a titanic battle, and there is a cost to being involved in it. But it is no futile struggle; indeed, it is a battle that has already been won. Continued resistance is futile, for God is King, and his kingdom will come. There will be a great harvest! That is the note on which Zechariah's message concludes. (Barry Webb)

It is with confidence in the triumph of our Saviour and assurance that a great harvest will flow from his saving work that we can give ourselves to the joyful task of proclaiming the gospel message.

Father God, we thank you that when we pray for your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, we do so with confidence that you are answering and will answer the prayer that our Lord Jesus himself has taught us to pray. Strengthen us by your Spirit and enable us to give ourselves unstintingly to the work of the kingdom knowing that because our Lord Jesus is risen from the dead, our labour is never in vain.

Peter Misselbrook