Bible

In the Bible room today, we are concluding the book of Zechariah, reading the final session in the summaries of chapters 11 through 14.

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Zechariah

Session 4 of 4

Chapter 11. Wailing

There is the sound of wailing shepherds:

• The shepherds are guilty of feeding their flocks for slaughter;
• The Lord selects two staffs: one called Grace, one called Unity;
• He breaks the staff called Grace into two parts:
• It illustrates He is breaking His covenant with the people;
• He likens His help for His people as though he earned wages;
• So, He offers them a chance to pay Him what He has earned;
• But they have the choice whether to pay Him, or not;
• And they agree to pay Him the sum of thirty pieces of silver;
• Insulted by the perceived pittance, He gives it all to the potter;
• Then He breaks the staff called Unity into two parts;
• This illustrates the break between Judah and Israel;
• The Lord says He is going to bring them a foolish shepherd;
• This evil leader will be seriously wounded by the sword:
• His right arm will wither, his right eye will be blinded.

Chapter 12. Pierced

One day the Lord’s people will mourn for the One whom they have pierced:

• The Lord will make Jerusalem immovable, like a heavy stone;
• The nations of the earth will gather and threaten Jerusalem;
• But they will all be repelled by the strength of the Lord;
• The leaders of Judah will destroy every enemy neighbor;
• The Lord will protect Jerusalem from every attack;
• But one day there will be mourning throughout Jerusalem;
• They will see the Lord as the One whom they have pierced;
• And the Lord will give grace and supplication to Jerusalem;
• As every family grieves and weeps like the loss of a firstborn.

Chapter 13. Fountain

There will be a fountain opened in Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness:

• The Lord says in that day He will cut off all idolatry;
• And He will put a stop to false prophets and unclean spirits;
• Any false prophet shall be killed by his own parents;
• In that day there will be a shepherd having been wounded;
• He will be asked how, and where, he received his wounds;
• He will answer that he was wounded in his friend’s house;
• When the shepherd is wounded, the people will be scattered;
• The Lord says two-thirds of them will be cut off and die;
• Only one-third will survive and they shall be tested;
• They will be refined like silver and gold are refined;
• They will call on the name of the Lord;
• And the Lord will answer them, “This is My people”;
• And they will say “The Lord is my God.”

Chapter 14. Holiness

There is coming a day which will be ‘the day of the Lord’:

• In that day the Lord will gather many nations together;
• They will attack and destroy Jerusalem;
• Half of the city will be taken into captivity;
• But then the Lord will make war against those nations;
• He will take His stand on the Mount of Olives;
• The mountain shall split apart creating a great valley;
• The coming ‘day of the Lord’ will have no light or dark;
• It will be an unusual day of only evening;
• Living waters shall flow from Jerusalem all year round;
• These waters shall flow both to the east and the west;
• And the Lord will be King over all the earth;
• Jerusalem shall be fully inhabited and exalted;
• The Lord will cause a plague to strike the enemy nations;
• The plague shall cause bodies to dissolve where they stand;
• The wealth of all the nations shall be collected together;
• The survivors among the enemy nations will worship the Lord;
• All nations must go up to Jerusalem to worship the King;
• There will be no rain on any nation that refuses to worship;
• ‘HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD’ shall be the theme,
• And engraved on the bells of the horses, and all cooking pots;
• There will never be another Canaanite in the house of the Lord.

End of Session 4 of 4 of the book of Zechariah.

(This concludes the reading of Zechariah.)