Zechariah 12:8-14

Zechariah 12:8

In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

 

The LORD will defend Judah and especially the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.  (Psalm 84:9)  The feeble believer shall be just like the mighty warrior symbolized by David.  The next phrase is a Messianic phrase when it speaks of the house of David being like God.  The Lord Jesus Christ who is the second person of the Godhead comes from the line of David and will rule all the nations of the world when he comes on the scene in 500 years.  The angel of the LORD was an Old Testament description of Christ when he made his appearances before his incarnation in Bethlehem.  And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.  (Genesis 22:11) 

 

Zechariah 12:9

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

 

The day mentioned here is the time when Christ comes upon the earth and then after his earthly ministry is done, he goes back to Heaven and sends the Holy Spirit and the beginning of world evangelism takes place.  Then when the last person becomes saved, that will usher in the last day when all the nations of the world will stand before the LORD and those who are not saved will be subject to eternal damnation.  {32} And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:  {33} And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  (Matthew 25:32-33)  In the physical sense of the times Zechariah was written, God will also come to the defense of Judah against any foreign nations that attempt to attack since the Messiah must come through Judah and be born in Bethlehem.

 

Zechariah 12:10

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

 

The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem are synonyms for the true believer in Christ as it refers to the New Jerusalem which is comprised of only true believers.  The spirit of grace and supplications is another term for the Holy Spirit.  When he indwells a person, they becomes saved by the grace of God and not through any keeping of the law.   To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  (Ephesians 1:6)  The true believers who were in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion will see the Lord Jesus in his payment for sin.  And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.  (John 19:37)  The true believers would mourn for him but the unbelieving Jews who colluded with each other and got the Romans to crucify him would not mourn but would be happy to see him crucified and out of their lives.  The bitterness the true believers experience will be a painful grieving as a parent who lost their firstborn child.  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.  (Matthew 1:25)  Jesus was the firstborn of Mary and he was also the firstborn from the dead, that is, never to die again.  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.  (Colossians 1:18)

 

Zechariah 12:11

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.

 

On the day that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified, there was a great mourning in the city of Jerusalem.  {27} And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.  {48} And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.  (Luke 23:27 & 48)  The mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon was over the death of Josiah when he was killed in battle in the valley of Megiddo.  {24} His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.  {25} And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.  (2 Chronicles 35:24-25) 

 

Zechariah 12:12

And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

 

After the crucifixion, there would be such lamenting and mourning over the death of the Lord Jesus Christ that it would reach down to the individual families in Jerusalem and all the ranks of that society would experience that sadness because at this time they were grieving since the third day when Jesus was resurrected had not yet arrived so the true believers in Jerusalem were in mourning till then.  In Jewish custom the wives were separate from their husbands in the homes so they would grieve apart in their own rooms as the children would also.  Here we have specific names mentioned.  The house of David would mourn because Jesus was in the Davidic line and was the Messiah.  Then Nathan the prophet is mentioned and they would mourn because Jesus was also a great prophet and the things he prophesied had and would come to pass.  And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.  (Revelation 19:10) 

 

Zechariah 12:13

The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

 

Then the house of Levi is mentioned because the Lord Jesus Christ being the High Priest for his people was shown contempt which means that the Jews showed scorn for the Levitical Priesthood.  Then the family of Shimei was mentioned in that Shimei was the one that cursed David in 2 Samuel 16.  They would have mourned because like Shimei cursing David, the people of Jerusalem cursed Christ even when he was on the cross.  And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.  (Luke 23:35)  And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,  (Matthew 27:39) 

 

Zechariah 12:14

All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

 

All the other families in Jerusalem who were not related to the kingly or priestly line would have been in mourning, those that were the followers of Jesus and those who believed in him.  Just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  {20} And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.  {21} But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.  (Luke 24:20-21)

Verses 12-14 may also be indicative of the fact that some will become saved in Israel and as a result many will mourn for those who become saved not understanding the fact that in a family sometimes not all are saved and those who are into the law of Moses would mourn over those who have become saved by the gospel of grace.  Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: (Jeremiah 3:14)  In Jeremiah 3:14, God makes a similar revelation that only portions of a family will become saved and not entire families.

Back