Feb. 27, 2011 Zechariah 11-14

We had six for Wordlisteners tonight, and we finished up Zechariah. We discussed the notes for chapter 10, which we read last week. Then read and discussed Chapters 11-14. The blindness that occurs and confusion to the army that attacks Jerusalem can be quite plausibly explained by having technology currently not work. We all look forward to God being among us and on the throne in Jerusalem.

Our next meeting will be May 8th starting Leviticus.

Hearts on Fire will be from March 13- April 17- we hope many people will come out.


Zechariah 10

In Chapter ten it says ask the Lord for rain, and He will give it. Anything we
need we should ask of Him. After that is the example of asking teraphim
(household idols) and people which cause us to wander like sheep without
direction. The Lords anger is kindled against those who are supposed to be
leading the people because they have become to interested in their own selves.
The Lord Himself will visit Judah and from there will come what the flock needs
and He will be with them. He (the Lord) will call them together, and when He
the Lord scatters them they will remember Him, and He will bring them back.
After Jesus, the Jews did end up being scattered, and now again have their own
land.

He brings them back until no room can be found. A forecast of the return of
scattered people on a greater magnitude than what had returned in Zechariah's
day. A very crowded grouping of Jews - more than the nation of Israel can
literally hold?

Then they will pass through the sea of distress, but God will be with them, and
they will walk with Him.


Zechariah 11

Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter, some will be enslaved, the Lord will
allow some men to fall into another's power, and He will not deliver them. The
shepherd of the doomed flock (also called afflicted) took two staffs. Favor
and Union were the names of the staffs. To realize affliction is to know of
ones' condition before God.

This seems to be pointing back to the original selection of Israel by God, He
gave them His favor and unity (all twelve tribes). It could also apply to the
returning nation from exile a singleness of people and His favor required to
rebuild the temple.

Then the annihilation of three shepherds in one month, has this happened? Who
are the three? Could it be Jesus and the two witnesses at the end of the age?
They could all three die in the same month, they are all sent from God to give
a message to His people. God became impatient waiting, and His people did not
show any interest in truly following His ways.

What is to die -let die, what is to be annihilated (killed) -let that happen,
and those who are left will eat each other during famine. This is similar to
what was predicted for the fall of Jerusalem, but it was written after the
fall, and after the exile.

The Lord takes away his favor which allows the Jews (His people) to be put
under the control of kings- which appear to be end times. Although until the
UN decided to create them a nation, they had been under the rule of kings, so
maybe God's favor was taken away at the crucifixion of Jesus?

The afflicted of the flock - those that know they need God saw the crucifixion
and realized it was God's plan? 30 pieces of silver was the price Judas was
given to betray Jesus, the value of a woman of His age in Leviticus 27:3-4.
The price given for Jesus was given to the potter.

The Union staff is broken, the breaking up of the tribes, and particularly
Judah off from the kingdom. The initial kingdom under Soloman was ultimately
split after his death, and since they were considered one nation returning from
exile, it seems to say it will happen again.

Any people can have different factions, and since the next sentence talks about
a shepherd that does not care for the flock, but only himself. This could
point to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem after the Jesus crucifixion, and
also seems to point to the anti-christ (of a revived Roman empire). Blind and
with a withered arm? The physical imparities are not mentioned in Jeremiah.
The arm is a symbol of military might, and the eye is a symbol of intellect, so
the worthless shepherd will have a focus on his available military might and
his intellect.


Zechariah 12

The Lord will bring the focus of the world to Jerusalem, and it will cause it
to be sieged. All the nations will be gathered against it. When that happens
He will strike those attacking with blindness. Those in Judah will realize the
Lord is helping them.

A couple observations- a worldwide turning by Christians to Christ, and
proclaiming as Jesus did that He is the only way to the Father (Creator God)
will readily focus the world's attention on Jerusalem (His city). Those who
want their own way and not God's will then attack - because they deny the
truth, and don't want to hear truth.

Judah and not Israel is mentioned so it may be plausible to expect Jewish
factions. Striking the attackers with blindness, either physically each
soldier or in terms of not being informed of current battlefield information
would definitely even seemingly overwhelming odds. It points more toward
blindness, it could also be that even though the kings sent soldiers to
annihilate Judah, the soldiers question, and choose to look out for their own
interests. Technology is definitely an idol, and the "eyes" if you will of
those who depend on it. Rendering it useless in battle would make people blind.

Judah will recognize it as God's help and be saved, this is end times for sure.
They will mourn Jesus, and realize a poor choice was made by people at the time
Jesus first came. Back in Ch 11 the Lord grew impatient waiting on us (people)
to choose Him, and so He acted. He has been ready to act since the fall of
man, but longed for us to reach out to Him and welcome Him into our hearts.

The nations that attack Jerusalem will be destroyed, which may not be all
nations, but a significant force for sure. People from nations will be
destroyed, but not all the people from a nation as we will see later. Mourning
nationwide will happen as they accept the reality that we are fallen, and God's
ways are best in all cases.

The families mourning separate from the wives?? Husbands and wives support
each other, they are often a crutch we lean on to get us through difficult
times, maybe in this mourning each will have to face it completely alone, as
individuals internally contemplating their own choices. The only support is a
turning to and realizing God.

Zechariah 13

End times fountain opened in Jerusalem for sin and impurity- an end to sin.
The idols in the land will be cut off and remembered no more. The prophets and
unclean spirits will be removed too, there will be no need for a prophet of
God. Those that continue to prophesy (speak for God allegedly) will be pierced
through. Those that continue are false prophets, and these prophets will be
ashamed of their visions (because they won't happen), and when they are pierced
they will have a clear mark of their deeds.

Strike Jesus, and scatter the sheep. Happened at the crucifixion. Of the
scattered, two parts of the scattered sheep will be cut off and perish. The
third part He will refine them and bring to Himself. They will call on Him and
He will answer. These people will claim the Lord is their God.

6 million Jews in Israel currently, I wonder how many were scattered?


Zecharaiah 14

Spoil taken from the Jews will be divided among them. Nations gathered against
Jerusalem city captured, and houses plundered, and half the city into exile,
the other half not cut off. Could this have been Rome when the destroyed
Jerusalem or was that a foreshadow of what has yet to happen? The Lord will
fight against the nations that plundered Jerusalem and sent people to exile.

As part of this the Mount of Olives will be split in a such that part moves
north and another part south. It will be like a great earthquake and people
will flee. There will be no light, darkness as in Egypt. There will be light
in the evening, the Lord will be the light. Living water will flow from
Jerusalem to the east and the west.

The Lord will be king of all the earth, the only one. The land will be a plain
and people with live in it and there will be no curse, Jerusalem will be secure.

The plague of those that go to war against Jerusalem (prior to this it appears)
is that their flesh will rot while they stand, eyes rot in their sockets, and
tongue will rot in their mouths. This plague will also apply to the animals of
those who come up against Jerusalem.

In the end times there will be panic, and each will raise their hand against
another. Sounds like anarchy, and crisis brings anarchy really quick.

Judah will fight at Jerusalem and gather great wealth from the surrounding
nations.

The people who attack Jerusalem will not be everyone, and those that are left
when the Lord is reigning will go up for the Feast of Booths and to worship the
Lord. Those who don't face drought and the plague mentioned earlier.

The Feast of Booths commemorates the wandering of Israel after the Lord
delivered them from Egypt. All men are to bring an offering to the Lord. The
Lord delivered His people from the worthless shepherd. He saved them, redeemed
them, are the people grateful? When the Lord's kingdom does come, are you
ready to honor Him as King? Are you ready to sacrifice of yourself to honor
Him? Why not start now?

Jerusalem is His, and all the vessels are for our use in honoring Him. The
Canaanites will no longer be in the house of the Lord. In Judges 1:27 on the
Canaanites are recorded as still being in the land after the conquest by
Joshua. The Lord promised the land to the Israelis, and He brings it to pass.
He also promised to be their God, and He is. He also promised to dwell among
them (He is within us), and now physically among us as well.