Zechariah 8:18

The Bible says in Zechariah 8:18-19, “And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.” It is important in these verses to notice the result of the fasting: “joy and gladness.” Fasting is symbolic of making sure that the normal activities of life, including mealtimes, do not keep you from your relationship with the Lord. Unfortunately, many people think that the result of serving God can only be misery and suffering. There is some suffering as a result of walking with Jesus because as Jesus said in John 13:16, “the servant is not greater than his Lord.” But in reality, righteousness results in happiness. That is why it says about the Messiah in Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” It also says in Psalms 45:7 which is quoted in Hebrews 1:9, “Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.”

One of the great lies of the devil is that sin leads to pleasure and happiness. That is part of the temptation, but it is an absolute lie. The happiest person in this world is the person who is leading the most righteous life, and the most miserable person in this world is the greatest sinner. Sin always brings sorrow and regret and misery when it has come full circle and paid all of its dues. As it says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death…” And it says in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Zechariah 8:19 makes it very clear. The way to have joy, gladness, and to be cheerful is to “love the truth and peace.”

The Bible says in Zechariah 8:20-23, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.” God wants everyone to be saved by faith in Christ. When someone is saved, it is because the Lord has touched their heart and made them ready to accept Christ. Christians understand the power of the gospel. Jesus said in Mark 16:15, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” But as we live for Christ in this world, sometimes we come upon situations where it seems that hearts are so hard and that so few seem to want to hear the gospel and be saved. There are places in this world that are known for the hardness of hearts and that are known as places where very few accept Christ, such as the country of France and such as many Moslem countries. But God is saying to Zechariah that it will not always be this way. The day will come when hearts will easily be touched, and great numbers will come to the Lord and will want to serve Him and know more about Him. Sometimes it seems like not many people come to Christ or not many people are touched as a result of our witness, but never forget that God can still touch hearts. Many can come to know the Lord at once. We simply need God’s Spirit to work and to convict of sin. No wonder that Jesus said in John 4:35, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” The Bible also says in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Jesus is always planning to save souls. That is His plan and His purpose. Be ready. You never know when you might find yourself in a situation where He wants to use you to help Him reap a great harvest of souls.

The Bible says in Zechariah 9:1-8, “The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD. And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.” These verses remind us of the fact that not only does God have a plan for Israel, but He has a plan for every nation of the earth. All the people of the earth belong to Him. Every nation belongs to Him. And everyone is heading for their God-appointed destiny. The judgment is coming. There will be judgment both in this life and in the next. Concerning judgment in this life, it says in Galatians 6:7, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Concerning the final judgment for everyone, it says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Notice what God said about the city-state of Tyre in Zechariah 9:3-4, “And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.” The word “Tyrus” is the translation of the Hebrew word for Tyre. The city of Tyre did everything that was humanly possible to secure itself. Tyre had made “a strong hold,” which means that they had a very great fortress to protect them. And Tyre had “heaped up” silver and gold. People think that money gives them more security, but in reality it does not. God gives security, and all of the money in the world cannot be a substitute for what the Lord Jesus can do. Jesus promised to take care of those who seek him. He will take care of you whether He gives you a lot of money at one time, or gives you just enough to supply your needs one day at a time. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” In reality being rich is a greater responsibility and can be a curse for some people. You will be judged for the resources that God has placed into your hands. If God has given you extra money, He expects you to use it for His glory and to accomplish good in this life. Above all other things, money carries with it a greater responsibility. If you have money, you will give account for what you have done with your money. It says in James 5:1-4, “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure to gether for the last days. Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”

Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” We are told many truths about the Messiah in just this one verse. First we are told that He is King, and that the King is coming. Concerning the coming of the Messiah, we now know that His coming is divided into two separate appearances. Jesus came the first time when He was born of a woman, and He will come the second time riding upon a horse. As it says in Revelation 19:11-16, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” What a contrast between riding upon a donkey and riding upon a horse. A donkey is symbolic of a pastoral animal, and thus the peace and tranquility of a pastoral scene. But a horse is often symbolic of an animal of war. A great soldier rides upon his powerful horse into battle. And thus we see the difference between the first coming of Christ and His Second Coming. In the first coming Jesus rode into Jerusalem peacefully, “riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

One of the reasons that Jesus came peacefully in His first coming two thousand years ago is that His intention was to acquiesce to the cruelty and torture of the crucifixion. Jeremiah said about the Messiah, “he is just, and having salvation.” The Messiah has salvation to give to each of us because the Messiah purchased our salvation upon the cross of Calvary. He gave Himself for us, the just for the unjust. The Holy One died so that the unholy ones (you and me) could live forever. We certainly do need salvation. Telling us that Jesus is “just” reminds us that we are not “just.” Telling us that Jesus is “just” reminds us of other information about why Jesus had to die on the cross. God is just. This means that He must punish sin. An unjust judge would be one who did not give out the proper punishment for the crime committed, or who lets the guilty go free. But God is not unjust. He must and He will punish sin. How can God punish sin, and still let the guilty go free, and still be just? That is why Jesus suffered and died: to bear the punishment from a just God. That is what was happening when Jesus hung on the cross and He said, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” This doctrine is explained very clearly in Romans 3:23-26, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Once we are saved, then this principle continues to be in effect as long as we live. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” God is “just” to forgive our sins. Forgiveness is partly based upon God’s justice. If One (Jesus) has already been punished to satisfy the demands of justice, then it would be unjust to punish another (the believer) for his sins. How wonderful is the salvation that the infinite God has provided for us. The greatness of our salvation and what Jesus would do for us was described very clearly when Zechariah wrote in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

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