ZECHARIAH 8-10 LET YOUR HANDS BE STRONG2011 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Zechariah 8-10 Let Your Hands Be Strong

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2011.

Well, this evening we're looking at Zechariah. We're starting in chapter 8. Lord willing, we'll be going through chapter 10 this evening. And as we look at these chapters this evening, I want to remind you about Zechariah's ministry. Zechariah was a prophet of God to the people of Israel who had returned after their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. And the people returned back to the land of Israel. And they were

to rebuild the temple. And they had begun the work right away as they came back, but then they got discouraged. There were some difficulties and obstacles that they faced. And so they gave up the work for about 16 years.

Then God brought Haggai as well as Zechariah to the people. He raised them up and they began to speak forth the words of God to the people to encourage them to get back to work and to finish the temple which had laid there in ruins for such a long time. And so Zechariah is ministering to a group of people who are engaged now in rebuilding the temple.

And they're engaged in it, but it's a difficult work. There's a big pile of rubble that is there from the destruction that Babylon left. And so we looked at that last week in chapter 4, where God described this mountain, this task ahead of them, the task at hand, the rebuilding of the temple, the destruction that has...

was left it was like a mountain and God says before Zerubbabel the governor of Jerusalem it will become a plain and so that work is going to be accomplished but they needed the encouragement and so Zechariah is really giving words of encouragement to the people to continue on the work that God had called them to and one of the ways that he's giving encouragement from the Lord is by focusing on the future

He's not just saying, you know, get to work and God's going to bless you, but he's giving them a picture of what is in store for the nation of Israel. Looking forward, much of what we'll see tonight is looking forward to what we would call the Millennial Kingdom, where Jesus comes back and rules and reigns upon the earth for a thousand years.

As we're looking prophetically into what is to come, you and I as believers in Jesus today are looking forward to the rapture of the church. Once the rapture has taken place, then the earth is going to go through seven years of tribulation and trouble like it's never seen before.

And then that tribulation period ends when Jesus returns at the battle of Armageddon and there He sets up His kingdom for a thousand years on the earth. And He regathers His people back to the land of Israel. He rules and reigns. He blesses Israel. It's a time of peace for the whole world during that thousand year reign of Christ.

And so Zechariah is reminding them or pointing them to those things that are yet future. The plans that God has for them to let them know, Hey guys, God has not given up on you. He's not done with the work here in your midst and for this place. He still has plans for Israel. And it was encouraging to them because as they looked around,

The walls of Jerusalem were not built. There was just rubble there. The temple was not yet built. It was a lot of work that had to be done. There was still opposition all around them. And so they were very discouraged. It was a really bleak task that they had before them. And so Zechariah is encouraging them and reminding them

Listen, God's not done with you. He's still got plans for you. And so He's pointing them. He's looking at those future plans that God has for the nation.

And so that's the context as we jump now into chapter 8 and let's look at verses 1 through 8 together. It says, "...again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I am zealous for Zion with great zeal, with great fervor I am zealous for her. Thus says the Lord, I will return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem."

Verse 1.

Verse 2.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will save my people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God in truth and righteousness.

And so Zechariah now is announcing or pronouncing the word that God had given to him. And he has a couple of emphases, or emphasi, or however you say that, as he's proclaiming this message from the Lord. Over and over again he says, "...thus says the Lord of hosts."

The Lord of hosts is an expression which means the Lord of armies. He's the commander of the heavenly armies. And that appears over and over again in this chapter. And so he says, thus says the Lord. And now as he's saying that, he's looking forward to

The things that are to come for the nation of Israel. Here's what God says. The God of the heavenly hosts, the armies of heaven, here's what He says, Zechariah is saying, over and over again. And what is He saying? Well, we see there in verse 2, God says, I am zealous for Zion with great zeal. He wants the people to know, I am zealous for Zion.

Now again, you can imagine the people as they're there and they've got this hard work. I don't know if you've ever been involved in a task, a work that is difficult, that just seems never ending and just seems like it's might as well give up because it's too difficult of a task. It's too hard of a work.

I remember as a young kid, I was, I don't know, maybe 11 or 12 years old, and I was hired by one of my parents' friends to clear out, I think it was a half acre of tumbleweeds, you know, like six feet high. And I remember sitting down in the middle of the field after like six hours of work, and I was just like, this is just impossible. It's just, it's never going to get done. It's too difficult to do. It just makes you want to give up.

And that's how these people could have easily felt. And it's probably how they did feel as Zechariah is encouraging them. But he says, look, God wants you to know, he says, I'm zealous for Zion. I'm passionate about this place. Zion is that region there of Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem. Mount Zion, Mount Moriah, that area that Jerusalem is built on. He says, I'm zealous, I'm passionate.

For Zion. I'm passionate for this place, for this people. He has a burning passion, a burning zeal for Jerusalem. Not just a little bit. He says, I'm zealous for Zion with great zeal and with great fervor I'm zealous for her.

And so God wants them to know, listen, I'm for you. Not a little bit, not partially, not passively, but aggressively. I'm zealous, I'm passionate for you. Now as we've often seen, the promises that God gives to Israel, the things that pertain to the millennium, they're great and wonderful promises that will be fulfilled during that thousand year reign of Christ and pertain specifically to the nation of Israel.

But there's also many parallels to these promises for you and I as believers today that occur right now spiritually. And so in the same way as God would tell them, I'm zealous for you with great zeal, He also would speak to us today and say, I'm zealous for you. I have a great passion, a fervor for you. I'm zealous for who you are and my plans for you.

And as Paul said in Romans chapter 8, if God is for us, who can be against us, right? God is for you. He's zealous for you. He's excited about you. He's passionate for you. And He would encourage anybody who's discouraged. He would encourage you with these words, I'm zealous for you with a great zeal and with great fervor, I'm zealous for you.

Well, he goes on in verse 3 to say, I'm going to return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.

Again, looking forward to this millennial kingdom where Jesus physically rules and reigns there in Jerusalem. He's going to dwell right in the midst of them. There's going to be a great work as He comes and sets up His kingdom there in Israel. The mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain where He dwells. In verse 4 and 5, we see that there's going to be longevity again. The old men and old women shall be there.

Now in this time, life was difficult there in Jerusalem. And so there probably was not many who were elderly because it was a difficult life. It was a difficult work. But God's reminding them, hey, in those days, the streets, the city, they're going to be full of the elderly. And we know that during that millennial kingdom, that the longevity of life will be restored. And so He says, look, there's going to be...

a lot of old people, which is a blessing. It's not, you know, a burden or a curse like we sometimes think today. But he's talking about this blessing of those aged who will be there in Jerusalem. But he also says, along with the elderly, there's going to be the young. The boys and the girls will be playing in the streets. It's going to be

full, he says, of boys and girls playing in the streets. And so, there's going to be this abundance of children and elderly. These are pictures of prosperity, of blessing, of peace, of joy.

And this is His plan for the nation. He says, look, I know things are hard now and it's tough, but look at what I have in store for you, these plans that I have for you. In verse 6 He says, if it's marvelous in your eyes, does that mean it's marvelous in my eyes? Now what He means by that is, if this seems impossible to you, does that mean it's impossible for me? No. God's saying, look, I can do this. This is my plans. And you think it's marvelous or wonderful or impossible for me.

But this is what I'm going to do. This is my plan for the nation. And so he says in verse 7, I'm going to save my people from the land of the east and the land of the west. I'm going to bring them back from everywhere that they've been scattered and I'm going to bring them back to Jerusalem and they shall be my people and I will be their God.

And so God is encouraging. He's strengthening the people. He says, look, I'm zealous for you. I have plans for you. There's great peace. There's great blessing. There's great prosperity ahead for you. I'm gathering you to be my people and I am your God. Great words of comfort through the prophet Zechariah to the people.

Well, he continues on in verse 9. It says, "...thus says the Lord of hosts, Let your hands be strong, you who have been hearing in these days the words by the mouth of the prophets, who spoke in the day the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord of hosts, that the temple might be built."

For before these days there were no wages for man, nor any hire for beast. There was no peace from the enemy, for whoever went out or came in. For I set all men everywhere against his neighbor. But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of Hosts.

Verse 1.

Verse 14, Verse 14,

Verse 2.

And do not love a false oath, for all these are things that I hate, says the Lord. As he continues on with this message of comfort and encouragement, again he says, Thus says the Lord of hosts.

He's reminding the people, I am in charge of all the armies of heaven. I am the Lord of hosts. This is what I say, this is my plans. In other words, God is saying, look, I am all powerful, there's nothing I can't do, and this is what I plan for you. This are my plans for the nation of Israel. And so he says in verse 9,

Something I'll probably be referring to very often this evening, and that is, let your hands be strong. He says it again at the end of verse 13. Let your hands be strong. You see, the purpose of this message from the Lord is that the people would be strong, that they would be strengthened, that they would be encouraged.

No matter how difficult the work is, no matter how gloomy the future seems, no matter how bleak the situation is, God says, I am the Lord of hosts.

I command all the armies of heaven. I'm the creator of the heavens and the earth. So let your hands be strong because I'm zealous for you with great zeal. I mean, this is powerful stuff. I'm encouraged as I read this and I remember. This is who God is. This is what He says to us today as believers. He says, I'm for you. And I'm the creator of the heavens and the earth. So let your hands be strong. Man, so many times we...

Get discouraged. We get distracted. And our hands are really not that strong when it comes to the things of God. And God would be speaking to those who are in that condition this evening. He would say, let your hands be strong.

Now is not the time to be weak and to be wishy-washy and to be kind of half devoted to the work or want to give up in the things of God. Now is the time to let your hands be strong. Because God is for you. He has all power, all wisdom, all knowledge and He's for you with great zeal, with passion, with intensity. So let your hands be strong. Yes, the work is hard. The outlook is bleak.

But let your hands be strong because God is on your side. He reminds them in verse 11, He says, Look, I'm not going to be treating you as I did your forefathers in the former days. He says, The remnant of this people, I'm going to treat them differently. I was dealing with their rebellion and disobedience before. But I'm not continuing on that pattern. I'm not still angry and just looking to beat down on you guys.

That's been taken care of. They've returned from captivity as a result of that rebellion. And God says, I'm for you. I'm not against you. I'm not trying to wipe you out anymore. I'm not bringing nations against you any longer. That's done. You know, for you and I as believers, all that was done at the cross. And so God is not against us. He's not designing things to take us down. He's for you. Don't fear.

Let your hands be strong. He says in verse 15, I am determined to do good to Jerusalem. He says in verse 14, Just as I determined to punish you when your forefathers provoked me to wrath. He says in the same way, I am determined to do good to Jerusalem. Now let me ask you a question. Did Israel experience judgment from God

as a result of their rebellion? And were they carried away captive by the nation of Babylon? And you should all say, yes. Now God said, look, in the same way that I was determined to make that happen, and that happened, so it's guaranteed, it's for sure. In the same way, I am determined to do good for Jerusalem.

He's saying, look, this is guaranteed. That came to pass. That was what I determined at that time. That was what I wanted to accomplish. That's what I accomplished. Now, God says, here's what I'm looking to accomplish. I am going to do good to Jerusalem. And so he's saying, look, with the same surety, you can know that that happened. You can know that this will happen. And I will do good to Jerusalem. Again, for you and I as believers, I like what Paul says.

In Romans chapter 8, he says, look, if God did not spare His only Son, how much more, how much easier, how much more quickly will He give us everything that we need for this life? In other words, look back at what God did. The punishment, the...

The judgment for sin. For us, we're looking at the cross. For them, they were looking at what God did through Babylon and the captivity. But for us, we look at the cross and we realize what Christ did for us received the full penalty for our sin. And God would say, look, if I did that to take care of your sin, in the same way, I'm determined to do good for you, to bless you.

to make you more like me, to transform your life, to fill you with the Spirit, to give you the hope of eternity. God says, I'm determined to do good. In the same way, again, as Paul says in Romans chapter 8, God works all things together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. God is determined to do good for you.

As you walk with Him. He's determined. It's going to happen. It's guaranteed. But He also gives them some things to do. So first of all, He said, let your hands be strong. But then also in verse 16, He says, these are the things that you should do. And He goes on to give them some instruction. Now they needed this instruction because even though they were back in the land, they weren't being very diligent in their faithfulness to God.

Which is also encouraging. Because these guys, they hadn't been doing the work that God had called them to for a while. They've been messing up in their personal lives. And God is still saying, I'm for you. And I'm determined to do good for you. So be strong and engage in the work that I've called you to. But He encourages them to speak the truth. To be honest.

to speak the truth to their neighbor, not to lie, not to deceive, not to manipulate or try to take advantage. He also encourages them to do right judgments, that is to judge based on the truth, to bring forth justice and to do what's best for peace, to bring peace among them. He also tells them, don't think evil in your heart.

Don't be conspiring and thinking these evil things in your heart. And don't love these false oaths, these false promises. And so what He's calling them to do is to turn away from the things of the world and sin and the flesh. These were things that they were holding on to. But He says, what I want you to do is let those things go and love the truth. Pursue Me. Seek after Me. So He says, look, I'm going to do this good for Jerusalem.

Here's what you need to do. Walk with me. Follow my word. Follow my instruction. We continue on in verse 18. Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.

Thus says the Lord of Hosts,

Again he says, Again he's reminding them, These things are not spoken to you by some weak, wimpy God.

This is the all-powerful God of the universe who is speaking these things. And you know what He says? He says, I'm preparing for, there's going to be a time when people will seek after the things of God and will seek after the things of Jerusalem. They'll flock to Jerusalem to hear about God. They'll grasp hold of the nearest Jewish man in their midst and say, we've heard God's with you.

Teach us, take us to learn of God. He's looking forward to this time where people will be passionately pursuing, not just a few people, but globally. Everyone on the planet will be seeking and pursuing this knowledge of God. He says in verse 19 that these different fasts shall become feasts.

These different fasts that he's making mention of here, they're four different fasts that God didn't command in his scriptures. He never commanded the people to observe these fasts, but they began to observe them in Babylon. And each one of them reminds them of different aspects of their being conquered by Babylon. And so they had the fast in the fourth month, which reminded them of the walls that were breached,

because the walls were breached in the fourth month. And then the temple was burned in the fifth month, and so they would have a fast in the fifth month to remember that. And then the seventh month, Gedaliah, the governor that Babylon left in charge of the area, he was murdered, and so they have a fast for that. And then the tenth month, kind of goes back to the beginning, when Babylon began the siege at Jerusalem.

And so they had these fasts where they would remember their defeat, the conquering of Babylon. And they've been observing these fasts while they were in captivity in Babylon. And God says, those fasts you won't practice anymore. Those will be feasts. Those will be times of celebration. It's hard to imagine, but the things that we look back at and we think, man, what a failure.

I need to fast to remember that so I don't practice that again, so I don't go there again. I need to fast. God says, it's going to be a feast one day. You're going to celebrate during that time. Instead of fasting, it's not going to be time to fast anymore. But you're going to feast at the work that I've done and what I've accomplished. Again, He's reminding the people, look, I've got great plans for you.

I'm going to do a great work. He describes there in verse 20 through the end of the chapter this worldwide mentality, this worldwide hunger for the things of God. As the inhabitants of the earth will come together and say, hey, let's continue to go and pray before the Lord. Let's go pray. Can you imagine?

What kind of world we would be living in if universally the people were gathering together and saying, let's go pray. We can't wait. We got to get there. We need to go spend time with God and seek the Lord of hosts. I'm going too. Yeah, me too. I'm in. Can you imagine what kind of world that would be? Listen, God says, that's what I have planned. That's what's going to happen. Many people, strong nations...

will go to Jerusalem to seek the Lord and to pray before Him. And people from all language, people from all nations, all backgrounds, all nationalities, he says they're going to grab the sleeve of the nearest Jewish person. He said, we've heard. God's with you. Let us go with you. Please show us the way. We want to know more of God. We want to seek Him.

I mean, this is going to be an incredible time, this thousand year reign of Christ. So, God is reminding them, He's painting this picture, He says, look, this is what I have planned. Now again, remember what the message is. Let your hands be strong. Be strengthened. Be encouraged in the work that you're doing now because of the future that God has in store for you. These promises that God has made

sharing with them these plans that He's revealing to them. They're not fulfilled immediately, but they're still reason for them to be strong and work hard right now. You know, you and I can get a little bit discouraged in our lives as well. And we can begin to have the wrong mentality that, well, I know God has good plans for me in eternity, but

But in between now and then, there's not much reason to really be diligent in the things of God, in my walk with the Lord. Hey, I'm saved. You know, I profess Christ as my Savior and Lord. But eternity is great and I'm looking forward to that. But in between now and then, I'm just going to do what I want to do or just get by.

And we can be discouraged in the things of God because then we try to do the things of God and then there comes all these attacks and we go, oh, let me back up a little bit. That was too hard. I wasn't anticipating. I wasn't expecting that. It's difficult to serve the Lord. It's difficult to fulfill your call, to work on the temple, to build the house of God. There's some opposition. There's some attacks. And you look around and you say, oh, this is bleak. This is hard. It's difficult.

But just as He spoke to the nation at that time, He would speak to you and I and He would say, let your hands be strong. Don't think that your work today does not have an important part of the rest of eternity. That's what's interesting about this. See, they were building the temple, the house of God, right?

The future that God is talking about, there's going to be a temple and the Lord's going to be there. It's not the same temple. The temple that they were building in this day, in Zechariah's day, well, that's been destroyed. And so you and I could look at that and go, well, what's the difference? Why does it matter? Because that temple is not even the temple that's going to be in existence. They're going to build another temple, so why even bother building this temple? Why work so hard in this life? Why work so hard on these things?

But you see, that temple was also important because that's the temple that Jesus visited. It was modified a little bit and made prettier by, you know, Herod and throughout time, but the temple that they're working on is the temple that Jesus visited. Sometimes we kind of, well, we don't see the connection. We think, what I'm working on right now, what God's called me to, it really doesn't matter. But we don't see the whole picture.

God promises us eternity and so we look at that and go, "Okay, eternity is great, but I don't understand why do I have to go through this? Why do I have to work on this? Why do I have to do this? Why do I have to love my enemy? I know where they're going to end up. Why do I have to love them? Why do I have to forgive? Why do I have to work and battle through these things? Why do I have to engage in this outreach or this missionary work or this ministry or pray for this person?"

We look at eternity, we see the promises, oh those are great, but we don't see the connection between right now and then. But you see, that's what faith is all about. Faith is really living out what you believe. Even stuff that won't be fulfilled for many years from now. You have to believe God that loving your enemy...

is important because He said so. You have to believe God that forgiving is what's best for you and for them and for everybody else. You have to believe God that you ministering to that child has an important part in His kingdom and you might not see it. But that's faith. You're living out your inobedience doing what God has called you to. So let your hands be strong because He's the Lord of hosts. He's got great plans.

But as you look at those great plans that God has in store for you, it should never cause you to say, so what I'm doing right now doesn't matter. It's not a big deal. No, instead it should cause you to say, my hands are strong and I'm going to engage. I'm going to do with all my heart what God has called me to, what He has commanded, what He has declared in His Word. I'm going to practice it because this is what He has said and those are the plans that He has for me.

But we continue on in chapter 9, verse 1, it says, "...the burden of the word of the Lord against the land of Hadrach and Damascus, its resting place. For the eyes of men and the tribes of Israel are on the Lord. Also against Hamath, which borders on it, and against Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. For Tyre built herself a tower, heaped up silver like the dust, and gold like the mire of the streets."

Behold, the Lord will cast her out. He will destroy her power in the sea and she will be devoured by fire.

Ashkelon shall see it and fear. Gaza also shall be very sorrowful. And Ekron, for he dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. Verse 6. A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

I will take away the blood from his mouth and the abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God and shall be like a leader in Judah and Ekron like a Jebusite.

I will camp around my house because of the army, because of him who passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, for now I have seen with my eyes. Here in verses 1-8 of chapter 9, we have a very interesting portion because this portion describes for us the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Which would happen a couple hundred years after this is being written. So, Zechariah is prophesying about Alexander the Great and the things that he will accomplish there in the region of Israel.

And so he describes the very path that Alexander the Great will later on take. And he does this in around 331-332 BC. He goes, first of all, through Syria, Damascus, those...

Places mentioned in verse 1, Hadrach and Damascus and Hamath. Those are all areas right there in Assyria and that's where he went through. He conquered those areas. Then he came to Tyre. And Tyre is an interesting city. We've talked about it before quite a while back. But it was attempted, the Assyrians attempted to conquer Tyre but they were unable to.

The Babylonians attempted to conquer Tyre and they were unable to. They were partially successful and Tyre moved themselves off of the coast onto an island and fortified themselves on the island. So it was a really strong nation. It was a strong place.

And Alexander the Great comes and even though those other nations had tried for many years to conquer Tyre, Alexander the Great does it in seven months. He has a genius plan. He makes a causeway out with the rubble from the city and builds basically a little path to the island that they established themselves on and was able to conquer the city.

And so this describes it there in verse 3, you have the mention of Tyre. Then verse 5, the mention of the region of the Philistines. Ashkelon and Gaza and Ekron, these are all Philistine cities. And Alexander the Great kept going down the coast of the Mediterranean and conquered those cities.

But then what's interesting is verse 8. Because then God says, I will camp around my house. So here comes Alexander the Great, starting in the north in Syria. He comes down the coast. He conquers Tyre. He conquers the Philistines. Next in his sights is Israel, Jerusalem.

But God says, I will camp around my house. And you know what? Alexander the Great did not attack Jerusalem. Amazing. He did not attack Israel. In fact, there's a whole thing that you can look into if you want to look at the works of Josephus and see how Alexander the Great met with the high priest and heard the words of God and went into Jerusalem and sacrificed to the Lord there.

God says, I'm going to protect my people from this invading army. I'm going to camp around my house. I'm going to take care of my people. And that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what history records for us. Verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.

Verse 1.

Here in verse 9, I'm sure you have something familiar there, right? He's just, having salvation, lowly, riding on a donkey. This is foretelling the coming of Jesus. What we celebrate today is the triumphal entry when He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Now, riding in on a donkey was a symbol of peace. When a king would ride in on a donkey, it was a time of peace. It was a symbol of peace. When he rode in on a horse, that would be a time where he was rejoicing over his victory. He was coming as a conquering king. But Jesus came...

in lowliness, in peace during His first coming. But it's interesting because He says, Rejoice, your King is coming, right? And there in verse 9 He talks about the first coming. And then verse 10 is talking about the second coming.

And so, Zechariah is referring to, he's talking about both the first coming of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus right here, you know, one sentence after the other. And so, in verse 10, I'll cut off the chariot and the horse, the battle bow, and I'll speak peace to the nations when...

Jesus returns, He will bring peace. And during that millennial kingdom when He rules and reigns, there will be peace. There won't be any need for armor, for weapons, or anything like that.

His dominion shall be from sea to sea, He says. He shall rule and reign over the entire earth, from the river to the ends of the earth. Jesus will rule and reign. And so behold, rejoice, He says, your King is coming. This is what I planned, this is why you should rejoice. Jesus is coming, the Savior is coming. He's coming, first of all, in peace and lowliness to deal with sin, to be the sacrifice for sin. But then He's coming again,

As the conquering king. To bring peace. To rule and reign the whole earth. Verse 11. As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope.

Verse 14, Verse 14,

Verse 2.

grain shall make the young men thrive and new wine the young women. Here God declares, I'm going to save my people. I'm going to protect them. I'm going to bring them back to the land.

He says in verse 12, return to the stronghold. That's return to Jerusalem. Come back. And He says, I'll restore double to you. As He gathers His people back to the land, He says, I'm going to restore double to you. I'm going to provide for you. I'm going to bless you abundantly. And He describes there in verse 14 through 17, the Lord being seen over them, the protector of Israel. Again,

For the people in Zechariah's day, they're looking around, they don't even have walls around the city. They have no protection. But here God says, I'm going to be your protector. Not walls, but I will be, in verse 14, the Lord will be seen over them. And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The world will know, nations will know, they will see me protecting you. God's giving them this future, this hope,

What He has planned for them, the glorious things that He has in store, His mighty arm protecting them from any who would come against them. Now we head into chapter 10, verse 1 says, "...ask the Lord for rain, and the time of the latter rain. The Lord will make flashing clouds. He will give them showers of rain, grass in the field for everyone."

For the idols speak delusion. The diviners envision lies and tell false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore the people win their way like sheep. They are in trouble because there is no shepherd. My anger is kindled against the shepherds and I will punish the goat herds.

Verse 2.

Here we continue on with these great promises of that millennial kingdom. The great promises of the return of Jesus Christ and what God has in store. It's going to be a time of blessing. He says, when you ask the Lord for rain, the Lord will bring rain. Right now, it's pretty amazing that Israel is incredibly fruitful.

And what they grow, what they're able to produce is a lot, especially when you consider that the whole land is roughly the same size as the county of San Bernardino. It's not a whole lot of territory. It's not a big place. And yet they're able to produce and export. It's plentiful. And yet...

What God has declared in His Word and what He has planned for Israel has not yet been fully fulfilled. Now, we've been talking about the gathering when God will gather the people back to Israel. And partially that has taken place. There are

You know, the Jews are back in the land. There's a nation there once again. There wasn't for a long time, for 2,000 years almost. There wasn't a nation of Israel. But now they're gathered back. But it's not the full fulfillment of what God is declaring. And the land is productive and it's fruitful.

To an amazing extent. And yet it's still not the fullness of what God has promised and what God is declaring. And so He's saying in that day, in that time, there's going to be plenty of water. The land is going to be able to produce. There's going to be life throughout all of Israel. And He's going to give them showers of rain and grass in the field for everyone. He says in verse 2 that the nation is in trouble because there is no shepherd.

The reason why Israel is in the condition that it's in, then and still even today, is because there's no shepherd. But He's saying, I'm going to come and I'm going to be their shepherd. Jesus Christ is going to come and be their shepherd. He says He's angry at the shepherds, the leaders.

They've led his flock astray. They've led Israel astray. But there in verse 3, notice, for the Lord of hosts will visit his flock. Jesus is coming. The Savior is coming. Who is the Lord of hosts? He is God. He's coming. He will visit his flock. He'll visit the house of Judah specifically and will make them as a royal horse in the battle.

He's going to enable them and equip them. And in verse 5 it says, They shall fight because the Lord is with them. He's coming. He's going to strengthen His people. And they're going to become a mighty, mighty people. Verse 6,

I will strengthen the house of Judah and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back, notice, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside for I am the Lord their God and I will hear them.

Verse 1.

Verse 1.

He shall pass through the sea with affliction and strike the waves of the sea. All the depths of the river shall dry up. Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down and the scepter of Egypt shall depart. Verse 12. So I will strengthen them in the Lord and they shall walk up and down in His name, says the Lord. Again, God is pointing them to the incredible future that He has in store for them.

And he says, I will strengthen Judah and save the house of Joseph. This reference to Judah and Joseph is a reference to the whole of the nation of Israel. The northern and the southern kingdoms that were both taken away captive because of their rebellion. But he says, look, I'm going to do this because I have mercy on them.

The whole reason for this is not because they've earned it or deserve it or because they're worthy or because of any other thing except that God says, "I will have mercy on them because I've chosen to be merciful towards them." God says, "That's why I'm doing this. I'm going to bring them back." He says, "I'm going to whistle. I'm going to call them all back and they're going to keep coming back until there's no more room." I mean, this regathering of Israel is going to be incredible.

Because I have mercy on them. I've not cast them aside. He says, actually in verse 6, they shall be as though I had not cast them aside. God's not done with Israel. He's not given up on Israel. Not in Zechariah's day and not today. And when He restores them, it's going to be as if they had never been cast aside. Now that's pretty incredible. God is able to do such a great work.

That even when we've been carried away into captivity because of our own rebellion, when God shows His mercy and restores us, it's as if we were never cast off to begin with. I mean, that is mercy. That is grace. That is the God that we serve. So He says, I'm going to bring them back. They're going to be blessed. They're going to be restored.

And then in verse 12, I will strengthen them in the Lord. And they shall walk up and down in His name. They're going to walk everywhere they go in the name of the Lord. And so God is reminding the people, I have great plans for you. I have incredible things in store for you. So let your hands be strong.

Look to this future that I have set aside for you. Look at what I've accomplished. Look at what I've determined to do. And just as the things I've determined to do in the past have been fulfilled exactly the way I determined to do them, the things that I determined to do now will be fulfilled exactly the way that I've determined to do them. So let your hands be strong. What incredible encouraging words to the people of Israel in Zechariah's day.

Well, the worship team is going to come up and lead us in some worship. And as they do, I want to encourage you. Again, consider. The temple that they were working on was not the final temple. That temple will be built during the millennium, during the reign of Christ. But it was still an important temple. It was still an important work. Because it was the one that Jesus would visit.

Very often we can look around, we can look at the current situation and kind of come to the conclusion, what's the point? We can look at all the work that needs to be done. We can look at the difficulty of doing the work or obeying God in these different aspects and commands that He's given to us. We can be discouraged and say, what's the point?

You know, it's kind of, I was thinking about like, you know, when you're in school, you know, and you're working on geometry and you're frustrated and you're like, when am I ever going to use this again? What's the point? We get that way sometimes with the things of God, with the calling of God. This is the way that the people felt in Zechariah's day. And God says, no, be strong. You know, God doesn't have you involved in anything that's meaningless, that's pointless, that's worthless and that has no eternal value.

Where you are in life, the things that you face, the job that you have, the family that you have, the struggles that you have. He has you in those as part of His plans for you for eternity. So let your hands be strong. You might not see the connection and you don't see the value. But trust God, believe God at His word.

You know, on Sunday we talked about great faith is faith that rests in the authority of God. And this evening I would encourage you as we worship the Lord together, really rest in the authority of God. Rest in the reality that you are right now where you are in life because He's on the throne. Really rest and trust. He knows where you are.

Sometimes we feel like Noah, you know, and there's just this flood and we're just lost somewhere out in the water. But even then, God says, He knew. His eyes were on Noah. He knows where you are. It's not useless. It's not pointless. Even if you got there by rebelling against Him, it's not without purpose. So let your hands be strong. He's not given up on you. He still has a future and a hope for you.

Let your hands be strong. Engage in the work of God. Engage in obedience to the Word of God. Even when the circumstances do not seem favorable, rest in His authority. Rest in the reality that He's on the throne and you're right where He wants you to be. Not necessarily right where He wants you to stay, but right where He wants you to be. So look to Him. Walk with Him. Be strong in the things of God. Rest in His authority.

As you trust in Him to work out His plans. And I think a great example of this is Joseph. He was where he was for no wrongdoing of his own, but he let his hands be strong. He didn't let the situations, the selling into slavery, the false accusations, the imprisonment for many years, he didn't let those things discourage him and cause him to give up on God. He was diligent. He was faithful in the same way.

Let your hands be strong. So let God encourage you with that as we worship Him together. Be strengthened this evening in His plans for you. And engage in His calling. Obey His word. And go forward in the things that He has laid before you. Let's worship Him together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.