14:12
So the outlook for God’s people is rosy, but for the enemies of Jerusalem it is very bleak. This destruction that will come upon them is very grim indeed, and for us we can think of it in terms of the after effects of a nuclear war, or some deadly virus or nerve agent. In Zechariah’s time there was, of course, no nuclear weapons, but the flaying of the skin, the gouging out of eyes and cutting out of the tongue were all known of by victors over the vanquished. In this case it seems to happen by plague or some other means.
14:13-15
The enemies of Jerusalem will be seized with panic from the Lord and will start to attack one another. “Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem”. The text is ambiguous about whether or not Judah is fighting with or against Jerusalem. The wider context of Zechariah would seem to imply she must fight with, rather than against. The wealth of all the surrounding nations would come to Israel, this reverses the situation described in 14:1. The animals too would be stricken with plague, so no one could escape.
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