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Tuesday 9 September 2014

Zechariah 13 - Sin dealt with

2 Corinthians 7:10 speaks of a mourning that leads to repentance, and that is what we see here. A fountain will be opened up in Israel that cleanses the people from sin and impurity. Isaiah 12:3 speaks of a well of salvation. So there is a cleansing of the nation.
This will include the banishing of all idol worship. The prophets and the spirit of impurity are linked together. Now note that the prophets here refers to the false prophets, who seemed to constitute the majority! The prophets were meant to speak the word of God and keep people in line with God. Instead they prophesied what the people wanted to hear, and so the role as a means of self fulfilment, a way of making a living rather than of serving God. The people and the rulers liked the false prophets because they spoke nice things, but all that would change. I don’t think we need to take verse 3 as literally implying the parents would stab their children, but the use of hyperbole, stressing the change in attitude that would take place. People would detest false prophets. And instead of being a prophet being seen as a badge of honour, a prophet would do all he could to deny actually being a prophet. The wounds in verse 6 refer to self-inflicted wounds that prophets felt somehow added to their supposed authenticity.
Verse 7 is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 26:31 in reference to his disciples fleeing when He was captured and crucified. In the times of Assyria and Babylon the Lord had used them as a sword against His own people. Now the sword would be against His own shepherd, against His own Son. 
Massive destruction would happen. This did occur in AD66-70. Note that Revelation speaks of thirds. But out of this one third would be purified, refined, Then they would truly be His people and He would be their God. This is the refrain of the Old Testament, in Christ is is fulfilled.

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