8:3One day Christ will reign in his Kingdom on earth. There all his people will live with him. This truth should encourage us to look forward to the Messiah's reign.
Life Application Study BibleZechariahChapter 8
Zechariah 8
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1509, 1510
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8Zechariah 8
Promised Blessings for Jerusalem
1Then another message came to me from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: 2“ This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem! 3“And now the LORD says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD of Heaven's Armies will be called the Holy Mountain. 4This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. 5And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play. 6“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. ? 7“This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west. 8I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God. 9“This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since the laying of the foundation of the Temple of the LORD of Heaven's Armies, you have heard what the prophets have been saying about completing the building. 10Before the work on the Temple began, there were no jobs and no money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone against each other. 11“But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. 12For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings. 'SAmong the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don't be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple! 14“For this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the Lor of Heaven's Armies. 15But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don't be afraid. 16But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace. 17Don't scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the LORD.” 18Here is another message that came to me from the LORD of Heaven's Armies. 19" This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter* are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace. 20“ This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem. 21The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lor» to bless us. Let’s worship the LORD of Heaven's Armies, I’m determined to go.’ 22Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing. 23"This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
B. MESSAGES AFTER COMPLETING THE TEMPLE (9:1—14:21)
After the Temple was completed, Zechariah gave several prophecies about Israel's future, which describe the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. This book contains more about the person, work, and glory of Christ than the other minor prophets combined. Israel’s King would come, but he would be rejected by his people. They would later repent and be restored to God. The King who is coming is our King. May we be found faithful and pure in his sight when we meet him tace to face.
Textual footnotes
- 8:19 Hebrew in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. The fourth month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar
Life Application Notes 9 notes
8:4,5In troubled times, the very old and very young are the first to suffer and die. But both groups are plentiful in this vision. filling the streets with their normal everyday activities. This is a sign of the complete peace and prosperity of God’s new earth.
8:6The remnant was the small group of exiles who had returned from Babylon to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. Struggling to survive in the land, they became discouraged over the opposition they often faced from hostile neighbors. It was hard to believe that one day God himself would reign from this city and that their land would enjoy great peace and prosperity. Our God is all-powerful; he can do anything! When confronting seemingly impossible tasks or situations, remember that “with God everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26).
8:8The covenant relationship will be renewed, and the whole community will be filled with the presence of God. This promise of forgiveness and restoration extends to all God’s people wherever they may be found. (For other references to this promise, see Exodus 6:6, 7; 19:5, 6; 29:45; Leviticus 26:12; Deuteronomy 7:6; Jeremiah 31:1, 33.)
8:9God had to give the Temple workers a little push to get them moving. They had heard the prophets’ words of encouragement; at this time they needed to stop just listening and get to work. We need to listen to what God says, but after he has made our course of action plain, we need to “be strong” and do what he wants.
8:13-15For more than 15 years, God and his prophets had been urging the people to finish building the Temple. Here again, God encouraged them with visions of the future. We may be tempted to slow down for many reasons: People aren’t responding; we feel physically or emotionally drained; the workers are uncooperative; the work is distasteful, too difficult, or not worth the effort. God's promises about the future should encourage us now. He knows what the results of our labors will be, and thus he can give us a perspective that will help us continue in our work for him.
8:14-17God promised to give his people rich rewards, reassuring them that despite the punishments they had endured, he would not change his mind to bless them. But he also said they had a job to do: “This is what you must do.” God will be faithful, but we also have responsibilities: to teli the truth, exercise justice, and live peacefully. If you expect God to do his part, be sure to do yours.
8:19-22There will come a time when fasting for sins will be replaced by feasting and joy. People from all nations will “seek the LORD of Heaven's Armies.” This was also promised in 2:11.
8:23In the past, Jerusalem had often borne the brunt of cruel jokes from other nations (8:13). The city was not respected; its citizens had sinned so much that God let them be kicked around by their enemies. But eventually, says Zechariah, Jerusalem will be a holy place—highly respected throughout the world because its people will have a change of heart toward God. People from other nations will see how God has rewarded his people for their faithfulness and want to be included in their great blessings.