Creator, Father, King #161

The LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past.

WHERE CAN YOU GO in the Bible to find eight remarkable visions involving angelic horsemen, flying scrolls, and filthy priests; Messianic predictions; heavenly courtroom exchanges between God and Satan; apocalyptic prophecy; and the following verse that sounds as if it comes straight out of a zombie movie?

The LORD will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

The book of Zechariah, of course!

(By the way, that incredibly creepy verse above is Zechariah 14:12!)

Zechariah was a prophet and priest who (alongside Haggai) ministered to the Jewish exiles that had returned to Jerusalem after Persian King Cyrus’s favorable decree in 538 BC. Zechariah’s book is one of the most unique works in Scripture, combining angelically assisted visions and prophetic oracles of judgment and salvation into one massive tour de force. It doesn’t really have a unified theme, but rather bounces between important topics such as the returned exiles’ need to remain faithful to God, the Lord’s plan to bless Jerusalem in the future, the long-awaited coming of the Messiah, God’s judgment against Israel’s enemies, and his future reign over all nations.

So how could we summarize this wonderfully fascinating, diverse, and sometimes difficult book? Perhaps this way: the sovereign God of the universe loves and fights for his people.

What’s It Mean?

In chapter 3, Zechariah sees a vision of Satan accusing Joshua, the high priest at that time, because of Joshua’s “filthy clothes” (verse 4), a priestly disqualification. But God intervened, rebuking Satan and exchanging Joshua’s soiled garments for ”fine new clothes” (verse 4), signifying the imputation of God’s righteousness.

God also decreed judgment on the nations that destroyed Judah (1:18-21), the religious “shepherds” who harassed his people (11:4-17), and any future nations who arose against Jerusalem (chapter 14). These are just a few of the examples Zechariah provides of God personally advocating for his chosen people.

Today, God still fights for his people. Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Talk about a beautiful rhetorical question!

If you are a believer, aren’t you glad the Lord God Almighty goes to battle for you? His Son is your Advocate (1 John 2:1). The Divine Warrior is on your side!

Now What?

Read Romans 8:31-39 to glory in one of Scripture’s great passages on the God who loves and fights for his people.

Did You Know?

The New Testament authors heavily quoted Zechariah, referencing many of its Messianic prophecies, such as Zechariah 9:9 (Matthew 21:15 and John 12:15), Zechariah 12:10 (John 19:37), and Zechariah 13:7 (Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27).