Zechariah 10:1

The Bible says in Zechariah 10:1, “Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.” We can find a similar message in Ezekiel 34:26, “And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26 has a well-known phrase that describes this promise from God. It says, “there shall be showers of blessing.” An old hymn was written based upon this theme. Some of the words from the old hymn written by Daniel W. Whittle, who died in 1901, are as follows:

There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.

Chorus
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need:
Mercy drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.

There shall be showers of blessing,
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.

There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord;
Grant to us now a refreshing,
Come, and now honor Thy Word.

There shall be showers of blessing:
Oh, that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!

One of the purposes of rain is to teach us about God’s blessings. The blessings of God are similar to rain. You can have a little bit of rain or a whole lot of rain. Zechariah 10:1 tells us that the primary requirement to get a whole lot of blessing is prayer. It says, “Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain.” The key word in this verse is the word “ask.” Prayer opens up the channels of blessings from God. If you want more blessings, then pray more. Jesus said in John 16:24, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” It also says in James 4:2, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.”

The Bible says in Zechariah 10:2-3, “For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.” One of the problems that these people had was all of the lies that were told to them. Does that sound familiar? The same thing is happening today. Those who do not make a habit of learning from the Word of God are going to be bombarded with lies from false teachers. Notice the words “lie” and “false dreams” in Zechariah 10:2. Also notice the result of all those lies being told: the words “vain,” “troubled,” and “there was no shepherd.”

Zechariah 10:2 says that there was no shepherd, but Zechariah 10:3 says, “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds.” There were shepherds, but they were not doing the true work of shepherds, and therefore they were not real shepherds. The example of how to be a shepherd comes from Jesus. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and the Great Shepherd. Jesus said in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” The New Testament also says in Hebrews 13:20, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.” A shepherd gives himself for the sheep. In other words the shepherd has the best interests of the sheep in mind, even beyond his own interests. Of course, the good shepherd also leads the sheep and feeds the sheep.

The good shepherd feeds the sheep the Word of God. The shepherd is the teacher. The word “pastor” means shepherd. The pastor of a group of believers is given the responsibility of leading the flock and feeding the flock under the direction of the Great Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said in Acts 20:28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the flock of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” The Apostle Peter wrote in First Peter 5:1-4, “The elders which are among you I exhort, who also am an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” The word “overseer” in Acts 20:8 is another word for pastor and refers to the pastor’s leadership responsibility. The word “elder” in First Peter 5:1 refers to the pastor’s position of respect and dignity. Older should mean wiser. A Christian church is as much a family as it is anything else, and the oldest individuals have the most authority and should be given the greatest respect. Because a pastor should be wiser, he should always have words of wisdom that only come from the Word of God. The pastor has both the authority and the responsibility to feed the flock the Word of God. This is the pastor’s most important duty. If he does not do it, then who will? If he does not feed the flock the Word of God, then he is an absolute failure. These are the last days. Many have failed in this regard, just as they had failed in the days of Zechariah. God said in Zechariah 10:3, “Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds.” A pastor should also be a teacher. If you do not have the gift to be a teacher, I would question that God wants you to be a pastor. As it says in Ephesians 4:11, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers.”

The Bible says in Zechariah 10:4, “Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.” The word that is translated “corner” means “cornerstone” and therefore, also means “chief.” The cornerstone is the most important stone in a building, and all the rest of the stones are aligned according to the cornerstone. This is a prophecy about the Messiah. A very similar Messianic verse is found in Psalms 118:22 which says, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” This verse is quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, and Luke 20:17. It is also quoted in Acts 4:11 and in First Peter 2:7. Jesus was rejected by the majority of the Jewish people and by the Jewish leaders. Today Jesus is still rejected by the majority of people whether Jew or Gentile. But of course, this rejection is only temporary and is futile. Jesus is the Head of the Corner. We will all be judged based upon what Jesus said and what Jesus did when He was on the earth. And after the judgment, the only ones left standing will be those who believe in Jesus. All the others will go to the destiny that they have chosen.

The Bible says in Zechariah 10:5-6, “And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.” These two verses go closely with the verses that came just before them, especially the truths that have to do with the battle that the believers would be involved with. Jesus is the cornerstone, and He is the basis for a great building that will take place. After calling Jesus the cornerstone, He is then called the nail, meaning that building will commence and be accomplished. The purpose for the building is given in the third phrase in Zechariah 10:4 that says, “out of him the battle bow.” Zechariah 10:5-6 is telling us more about the battle. First we are reminded that there will be a battle. Don’t ever forget that. It might be nice if you could just plant a rose garden, and spend the rest of your days smelling the roses and enjoying the fruits of your labors. The problem is that God did not design it that way for the Christian. This life is a war, a war in which there will be many battles. The battles are spiritual battles. Watch out. Be prepared. One of the main reasons that people fail is that they are not prepared for what is coming. The enemies of your soul are coming to fight against you.

Let’s look at some of the Bible passages that remind us that this life is a war, a spiritual war. At the end of the Apostle Paul’s life he said, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” By the Holy Spirit, Paul referred to life as being a “fight.” The word that is translated “fight” comes from a word that was used in reference to the great athletic contests that the Greeks would have. We base our Olympic competitions on these contests. Because the competition was so great, an athlete would only prevail if he put forth a maximum effort in the struggle. The effort would be so great, and so intense, that it would cause agony for the athlete. We need to look at other verses in the New Testament where this concept of life being a struggle, or a battle, or a fight is given. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 9:24-27, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 7:5, “For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears.” Paul wrote to Timothy and said in First Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” It says in Hebrews 1:32, “But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions.”

It is such an important truth that it must be repeated many times. Life is a battle. Life is a contest between good and evil, and between the power of the devil and the power of God. It is a spiritual battle, and not a battle of flesh and blood. You are not going to get along with everyone. You are going to have some hard times. You are going to be tempted and tried. You can win the battle if you trust in the Lord. It says in Ephesians 6:12-13, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” First you must recognize that there is a battle, and then you must realize that you win the battle by trusting in the Lord. You are not strong enough or wise enough, but Jesus is. That is why Zechariah 10:4 says, “out of him the battle bow;” not out of you.

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