Zechariah 8:9-16

Zechariah 8:9

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

 

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts:  (Haggai 2:4)  Just as Haggai prophesied to the people and to Zerubbabel that they should be strong, the LORD reminds them as they hear the words of Zechariah too that they should remain strong in the building of the temple.  The prophets were sent to them to encourage them in the task at hand.  Once the foundation was laid, then it was the task to continue building until the temple was completed.

 

Zechariah 8:10

For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.

 

These days being the present time the temple is being rebuilt.  There was no hire for man or for beast which meant there was no work either in the cities or in the fields for agricultural purposes.  There was no profit for anything being done.  No matter what they attempted, there was never any success because of the affliction which came upon them from the Babylonians and as a result, God set restraints upon them but lifted them and allowed their sinful natures to fully express themselves and that resulted in them fighting among themselves.  The same situation happened in 70 A.D. when General Titus sacked Jerusalem.  He stated later that if the Jews did not fight against each other and banded together, he would have been unable to destroy Jerusalem.  They helped the Romans destroy Jerusalem with all the infighting.

 

Zechariah 8:11

But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

Instead of God allowing their sinful natures to expand against each other, those restraints will now be put back in place and instead of God allowing them to fight among themselves, there will now be harmony of purpose and each will be living together in peace so prosperity can come especially when the temple will once again be the center of worship.

 

Zechariah 8:12

For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.

 

Then the LORD promises them great blessings in all areas.  When the land is seeded it will produce a large harvest.  The vine which will probably be grapes will have great clusters of them.  Then the ground shall yield great amounts of grain such as wheat and barley.  The heavens shall now give dew and that means the lands will be watered and green compared to what it was before.  Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.  (Haggai 1:10)  Then the last phrase speaks about salvation in Christ.  The remnant of the people which is also another name for the body of believers will have all these things, especially in the New Heavens and the New Earth.  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:  (Romans 9:27)

 

Zechariah 8:13

And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

 

And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.  (Jeremiah 24:9)  To the heathens they were a curse and were hated by the Assyrians and the Babylonians.  It is like the Christians in this present world are hated by the unsaved in the world.  And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:  (1 Corinthians 4:12)  When God mentions the house of Judah and the house of Israel, he is speaking about the complete body of believers which will be a blessing to the entire world.  These are the spiritual descendants of Abraham who will bless the world through the message of salvation in Christ.  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.  (Genesis 12:3)  Many unbelievers in the world benefit from Christians especially when they build hospitals, give relief, educate the children, supply food to the hungry, etc.  Yet, just like the Lord when he was here they hated him even when he did good works and the Christians are also hated even though they do good works in this world for the benefit of others.  Then God tells the temple builders to remain strong in their task at hand to rebuild the temple.

 

Zechariah 8:14

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

 

The LORD was determined to bring to pass all the threats of judgment if the people did not return to him, and that means the present generation together with their fathers who continued to sin and rebel and paid no heed to the warnings given by the prophets.  They refused to listen while the LORD had given them opportunities to repent and since they would not, the LORD did not repent but brought upon them the judgments of banishment from their land.

 

Zechariah 8:15

So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.

 

Just as the LORD had promised to bring judgments against the sinning generation before them, the LORD was now promising good things for Jerusalem and good things for the people of Judah.  They did not have to fear if the LORD would keep his word to them or not because he would bring the good things for them.  The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:  (Isaiah 14:24) 

 

Zechariah 8:16

These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:

 

Then the LORD begins to give them instructions so they can avoid becoming rebellious and suffering the same fate that their fathers suffered for their sin.  The first thing they were to do was not to lie to their neighbors which would include anyone they spoke with.  They were to deal in truth when dealing with other people and that not only included the personal but also they were to be truthful in business dealings.  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.  (Ephesians 4:25)  God repeats here what he previously told them.  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:  (Zechariah 7:9)  When judgment is made without any favoritism or bribes, then there will be peace between the litigants and then peace will prevail within the country because no one would be able to claim there was prejudice and then factions would not form.

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