Zechariah is often quoted in the gospels and verse 9 is one of the most well known, quoted in Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15. Jesus was righteous and came with salvation. He was also humble. When you think about it is amazing how humble God is! Jesus is the true king, having the characteristics of a godly king. He is righteous, He brings salvation to His people, He is humble and gentle (Matt 11:28,29).
The Lord promises to take away the instruments of war from Jerusalem. There is a lesson here for modern day Israel. She will never everlasting peace through military means. It is only when she turns to the Lord, turns to Jesus, that true peace will come to Israel. One day this will happen, and that will be a truly wonderful day.
See that this peace extends to the nations. It is never just about saving Israel, but it is about saving Israel.
There is a great promise of restoration. All of us have lost at least something in life, probably much. Israel had, and she had lost it because of her sin. Yet God would restore double. This is all grace.
Yet Israel would become a weapon in God’s hand. Verse 13 was possibly fulfilled by the Maccabees.
This is actually part of the previous section, despite the section heading in the NIV. Again Macabees records a partial fulfillment of verse 15. Apocalyptic language is used in verse 14, and Jesus teaching on the second coming (eg Matt 24) uses similar language.
Again in verse 16 we have the shepherd analogy. The Lord will save His people. They will sparkle in His hand. The people will be attractive and beautiful. Now remember the situation that Zechariah was actually prophesying into. It is true that this refers to later days, but we should remember the context. Jerusalem was a bedraggled city with a bedraggled people. The prophecy is saying this situation will not last forever. In our own lives there are times when things are tough and we may feel very battered, but the Lord’s destiny for us is is a rich salvation.
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