Zechariah 9:11-17
11 ¶As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you,
I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who have the hope;
This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you.
13 For I will bend Judah as My bow,
I will fill the bow with Ephraim.
And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece;
And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.
14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning;
And the Lord God will blow the trumpet,
And march in the storm winds of the south.
15 The Lord of armies will protect them.
And they will devour and trample on the slingstones;
And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine;
And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin,
Drenched like the corners of the altar.
16 And the Lord their God will save them on that day
As the flock of His people;
For they are like the precious stones of a crown,
Sparkling on His land.
17 For how great will their loveliness and beauty be!
Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins.
The Redemption of Isreal
Israel’s redemption in the end times
In 9:10, the Messiah’s peace and worldwide reign were prophesied. Today’s passage explains how that prophecy will be fulfilled. It says, “As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit” (v 11). (1) “You” refers to Jerusalem (Zion), that is, the Jewish people. (2) The foundation upon which this deliverance is accomplished is the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 15). This covenant was ratified by blood. The Exodus from Egypt was made possible because of the Abrahamic Covenant, and the same thing will occur in the end times. (3) “The waterless pit” refers to a dry pit, that is, a prison. The people of Israel will be released from the lands of their dispersion just as prisoners are released from prison. “Return to the stronghold, you prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you” (v 12). (1) Israel is the firstborn among the nations (Exod. 4:22-23). The firstborn receives both punishment and blessing in double measure. (2) The prophecy of double punishment is found in Jeremiah 16:18: “I will first repay them double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and their abominations.” (3) The prophecy of double blessing is found in Isaiah 40:2: “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; and call out to her, that her warfare has ended, that her guilt has been removed, that she has received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
Isreal’s victory
(1) Verse 13 prophesies that Judah will become a bow and Ephraim an arrow. It is God Himself who shoots the arrow against Israel’s enemies (the Gentile nations). (2) Verses 14-16 portray in vivid imagery the victory of the people of Israel through the help of the Lord. (3) Verse 17 describes “the result of redemption and praise to the Lord.” “For how great will their loveliness and beauty be! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine, the virgins” (v 17). Let us remember that Israel is not a people abandoned by God, but a people who will be redeemed in the end times. The foundation of that redemption is the Abrahamic Covenant. Our salvation also rests upon God’s unchanging covenant. Remembering this, let us give thanks to God.
Today's prayer
Father God of Jesus Christ, just as the redemption of the people of Israel is certain, so also is our salvation certain. For this, I praise Your name. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.