Sunday
Morning Bible Study
November
2, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it
build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words
Communion: 2500 words
GRANT FUNDRAISER - Daniel & Laura Grant, our missionaries in South
Africa, are trying to raise money so they can come home for a visit next
summer. Laura made these wall hangings out of South African. Cost is $10 each.
The historical background to Zechariah, like that of Haggai, is found in the book of Ezra.
Zechariah lived during the time that the Jews had begun to return from
Babylon and rebuild their Temple.
After having been captive in
Babylon for seventy years, the Jews are given
permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem.
When the Temple construction is stopped, it was Haggai and Zechariah who began to
prophesy and encourage the people to finish the Temple. (Ezra 5:1-2)
After the people began to build,
opposition arose from their enemies, and for a period of 15 years, the Temple
construction was halted.
It was then that God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, who began to
encourage the people to get back to work and make God’s House a priority.
(Ezra 5:1–2 NKJV) —1 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in
Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over
them. 2 So Zerubbabel the
son of Shealtiel and Jeshua
the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the
house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the
prophets of God were with them, helping them.
It was under the ministry of Haggai
and Zechariah that the work got stirred up again.
The Temple won’t be complete until
March 12, 515 BC (Ezr 6:15-18)
The prophecies of Zechariah are given during the
years of 520-518 BC.
One of the key distinctions of the book of Zechariah is the amount of
prophecy about the coming Messiah.
Except for the prophet Isaiah,
there are more prophecies about the Messiah in this book than any other Old
Testament book.
We now begin a new section in Zechariah, when he gives a series of prophecies
that look far into the future.
The first “burden”, oracle, or
prophecy is in chapters 9-11, and covers how Israel finds victory over its
enemies.
The second “burden” is in chapters
12-14, and focuses more on how Israel will be tested and purged through these
conflicts.
Both sections will talk a lot about
the coming Messiah in His first and second coming.
9:1-8 Alexander the Great
This next section is kind of cool in light of the recent
archaeological discoveries in Greece where they’ve found a huge ancient
tomb that dates back to the time of Alexander the Great. I’m not sure they’ve
decided yet who was buried in the tomb.
The first part of this prophecy will be about the coming conquests of
Alexander the Great.
Video: Alexander’s Battles map video
In 336 BC after his father was assassinated,
Alexander is made king of Macedonia at Pella.
In 334 BC, he won his first battle against the Persians at Halicarnassus,
on the west coast of Turkey.
In 333 BC, he marched eastward to the northeast corner of the Mediterranean, and won a battle with Darius III at Issus.
In 332 BC, he marched south and conquered the Phoenician city of Tyre.
Over the next year he marched further south along the coast of Israel, into Egypt, where he
established the city of Alexandria.
By 331 BC he had marched north for his final victory over Darius III of Persia at Guagamela.
Over the next eight years, he marched his armies all the way to India and ended up back in Babylon, where he died in 323 BC of a
fever, just short of his 33rd birthday.
Everywhere Alexander went, he
spread the Greek culture. It was through his conquests that a simplified
version of Greek, known as koine (“common”), was taught and unified the world. It was
this language that the New Testament was written in, a language that was at
that time known around the world.
:1 The burden of the word of the Lord—
Against the land of Hadrach, And Damascus its resting
place (For the eyes of men And all the tribes of Israel Are on the Lord);
:2 Also against Hamath, which
borders on it, And against Tyre and Sidon,
though they are very wise.
:1 burden – massa’ – load,
burden; utterance
The term is generally used for a
prophecy that has something “heavy” to say.
There is going to be some bad news
for some of Israel’s enemies in this prophecy.
:1 the land of Hadrach
Or, Hattarika,
a city near Hamath.
:1 Damascus
The capital of Syria, the same as
Damascus today.
:1 the eyes of men …are on the
Lord
There are going to be some amazing
prophecies in these next three chapters about Jesus Christ.
I find it interesting that
Zechariah notes that as men’s eyes are on the Lord, God shows them Jesus.
:2 Hamath
A city in Syria north of Damascus.
:1-2 Hadrach… Tyre
and Sidon
These were cities that belonged to
the Phoenicians.
They were on the coast of modern
Lebanon, north of Israel.
What Zechariah is doing is actually tracing part of Alexander’s route from
Issus to Tyre.
:3 For Tyre built herself a tower, Heaped up
silver like the dust, And gold like the mire of the streets.
:4 Behold, the Lord will cast
her out; He will destroy her power in the sea, And she will be devoured by
fire.
:3 Tyre built herself a tower
Tyre had been considered an unconquerable city.
It was the capital of the Phoenicians, a people world famous for their ship
building, their international trade, and their great wealth.
The Assyrians had tried to lay siege to Tyre for
five years, but gave up.
Nebuchadnezzar tried to capture Tyre, but while he laid siege to
the city over 13 years, the people evacuated the city to an island off shore
about a ½ mile. Nebuchadnezzar wiped out the coastal city, but was unable to
conquer the island city.
Alexander came along and took the rubble of Nebuchadnezzar’s campaign,
pushed it all into the ocean, and built a land bridge out to the island where
he conquered the city. It took him seven months.
Lesson
Trusting the wrong things
The city of Tyre had thought it was invincible.
It had wealth.
It thought it could buy itself out of every problem.
It had smarts.
It thought it was wiser and smarter than everyone else.
If all else failed, it could think
itself out of every situation.
Seventy years before Zechariah, Ezekiel wrote about Tyre,
(Ezekiel 28:5–8 NKJV) —5 By your great wisdom in trade you have
increased your riches, And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),” 6 ‘Therefore
thus says the Lord God: “Because
you have set your heart as the heart of a god, 7 Behold, therefore, I will bring
strangers against you, The most terrible of the nations; And they shall draw their swords
against the beauty of your wisdom, And defile your splendor. 8 They shall throw you down into the Pit, And you
shall die the death of the slain In the midst of the seas.
The problem for Tyre was that it did not have
God.
If you think that being smart enough and rich enough is going to solve all
your problems, there will be a day when you will find out just how wrong you
are.
It may be in this lifetime.
It may be the moment after you die and stand before God.
Jesus told a story,
(Luke 12:16–21 NKJV) —16 …“The ground of a certain rich man yielded
plentifully. 17
And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I
have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build
greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will
say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your
ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This
night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which
you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich
toward God.”
It’s not wrong to have wealth. It’s
just wrong to trust your money or your brain instead of God.
Paul wrote,
(1 Timothy 6:17 NKJV) Command those who are rich in this present age not to be
haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us
richly all things to enjoy.
:5 Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very
sorrowful; And Ekron, for He dried up her
expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, And Ashkelon shall not be
inhabited.
:6 “A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, And I will cut off the pride of the
Philistines.
:5 Ashkelon shall see it and
fear
These are all cities of the Philistines.
These were three of the cities of
the Philistines, in the southern part of Israel near the coast.
The modern Gaza strip covers this
area now.
These cities would be terrified to see Alexander’s army marching right at
them.
:6 Ashdod
Ashdod was another of the main
Philistine cities.
It is in on the coast of southern
Israel.
:6 A mixed race
Ashdod will lose its original
inhabitants and be settled by foreigners.
:7 I will take away the blood from his mouth, And the abominations from
between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for our God, And
shall be like a leader in Judah, And Ekron like a Jebusite.
:7 take away the blood from his mouth
Jewish dietary law prohibits eating meat that has not been properly drained
of blood. (Lev. 7:26-27)
(Leviticus 7:26–27 NKJV) —26 Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your
dwellings, whether of bird or beast. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from
his people.’ ”
The Philistines would adopt Jewish dietary customs.
:7 like a Jebusite
The Jebusites were the original Canaanite inhabitants
of the city of Jerusalem, but were eventually absorbed into the nation of
Israel (2Sam. 24:18)
After David conquered Jerusalem,
the Jebusites eventually got absorbed into the nation
of Israel. (2Sam. 24:18)
(2 Samuel 24:18 NKJV) And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up,
erect an altar to the Lord on the
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
God is saying that the remaining Philistines would become followers of
Yahweh and be absorbed into Israel.
:8 I will camp around My house Because of the army, Because of him who
passes by and him who returns. No more shall an oppressor pass through them, For
now I have seen with My eyes.
:8 I will camp around My house
Lesson
God’s protection
You are His child. He knows how to protect you and provide for you.
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records that after Alexander had conquered
Tyre and the cities of Philistia, he headed to
Jerusalem. (Antiquities 11:325-339)
Alexander
threatened the city but never carried out his threats. Before the general
arrived, the Jewish high priest had a dream which he felt was from God, and in
the dream he was told to dress in his robes and meet Alexander outside the
city. With him went the priests in their white robes. The scene dazzled
Alexander. In fact, he claimed that he too had dreamed of this very scene.
Alexander entered Jerusalem peacefully and never harmed the people or the city
in any way.
In fact the people told Alexander about
Daniel’s prophecies and how he would conquer the Persians.
Apparently Alexander even offered
sacrifices to Yahweh.
David wrote,
(Psalm 46:1–3 NKJV) —1 God is our refuge and strength, A very
present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be
carried into the midst of the sea; 3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the
mountains shake with its swelling.
You can trust God. He’s bigger than
your problems.
Josephus, Anquituities
11.325-339
(325) but when the seven months of
the siege of Tyre were over, and the two months of
the siege of Gaza, Sanballat died. Now Alexander,
when he had taken Gaza, made haste to go up to Jerusalem; (326) and Jaddua the high priest, when he heard that, was in an
agony, and under terror, as not knowing how he should meet the Macedonians,
since the king was displeased at his foregoing disobedience. He therefore ordained
that the people should make supplications, and should join with him in offering
sacrifices to God, whom he besought to protect that nation, and to deliver them
from the perils that were coming upon them; (327) whereupon God warned him in a
dream, which came upon him after he had offered sacrifice, that he should take
courage, and adorn the city, and open the gates; that the rest appear in white
garments, but that he and the priests should meet the king in the habits proper
to their order, without the dread of any ill consequences, which the providence
of God would prevent. (328) Upon which, when he rose from his sleep, he greatly
rejoiced; and declared to all the warning he had received from God according to
which dream he acted entirely, and so waited for the coming of the king.
5. (329) And
when he understood that he was not far from the city, he went out in
procession, with the priests and the multitude of the citizens. The procession
was venerable, and the manner of it different from that of other nations. It
reached to a place called Sapha; which name,
translated into Greek, signifies a prospect, for you have thence a prospect
both of Jerusalem and of the temple; (330) and when the Phoenicians and the
Chaldeans that followed him, thought they should have liberty to plunder the city,
and torment the high priest to death, which the king’s displeasure fairly
promised them, the very reverse of it happened; (331) for Alexander, when he
saw the multitude at a distance, in white garments, while the priests stood
clothed with fine linen, and the high priest in purple and scarlet clothing,
with his mitre on his head having the golden plate on
which the name of God was engraved, he approached by himself, and adored that
name, and first saluted the high priest. (332) The Jews also did all together,
with one voice, salute Alexander, and encompass him about: whereupon the kings
of Syria and the rest were surprised at what Alexander had done, and supposed
him disordered in his mind. (333) However, Parmenio
alone went up to him, and asked him how it came to pass, that when all others
adored him, he should adore the high priest of the Jews? To whom he replied, “I
did not adore him, but that God who hath honored him with that high priesthood;
(334) for I saw this very person in a dream, in this very habit, when I was at
Dios, in Macedonia, who, when I was considering with myself how I might obtain
the dominion of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, but boldly to pass over the
sea thither, for that he would conduct my army, and would give me the dominion
over the Persians; (335) whence it is, that having seen no other in that habit,
and now seeing this person in it, and remembering that vision and the
exhortation which I had in my dream, I believe that I bring this army under the
divine conduct, and shall therewith conquer Darius, and destroy the power of
the Persians, and that all things will succeed according to what is in my own
mind.” (336) And when he had said this to Parmenio,
and had given the high priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and
he came into the city; and when he went up into the temple, he offered
sacrifice to God, according to the high priest’s direction, and magnificently
treated both the high priest and the priests. (337) And when the book of Daniel
was showed him, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy
the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended;
and as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present, but the
next day he called them to him, and bade them ask what favors they pleased of
him: (338) whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of
their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted all
they desired: and when they entreated him that he would permit the Jews in
Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, he willingly promised to do
hereafter what they desired: (339) and when he said to the multitude, that if
any of them would enlist themselves in his army on this condition, that they
should continue under the law of their forefathers, and live according to them,
he was willing to take them with him, many were ready to accompany him in his
wars. [1]
9:9-10 The Coming King
Prophetic Telescoping – a prophecy may hop, skip, and jump through
time without stopping to catch its breath. If you are waiting for something to
tell you that there’s a shift in time, you won’t find it. This is part of the
nature of prophecy.
:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
:9 your King is coming to you
This is not talking about Alexander the Great. He would be known for the
animal he rode on, but it would be a huge stallion named Bucephalus,
not a donkey colt.
We’ve just skipped 350 years past Alexander.
The picture is from an ancient
mosaic (100 BC), depicting Alexander and Bucephalus
in battle at Issus.
Bucephalus was a massive creature with a massive head.
He had a black coat with a large
white star on his brow.
:9 just and having salvation
just – tsaddiyq – just,
lawful, righteous
This coming King is not going to be a crooked, wicked tyrant.
He is “just”.
He always does what is right and good.
Even when Jesus forgives our sins, He is “just”.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Let’s say that the Islamic fellow beheading Americans on
those ISIS videos were to become a Christian and ask Jesus to forgive him.
Would it be “just” for Jesus to forgive him? Shouldn’t he have to pay for all the bad
things he’s done?
Jesus is “just” because He Himself has taken the
punishment that this man deserves when He died on the cross.
Do you think it’s not possible for God to forgive you? Think again.
This king has “salvation”.
He will not just give the Jews salvation from their enemies, He will save the
world from the penalty of their sin.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.
:9 Lowly and riding on a donkey
We see this prophecy fulfilled in Jesus (John 12:12-15)
(John 12:12–15 NKJV) —12 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast,
when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13
took branches of palm trees and went out
to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ The King of Israel!” 14 Then
Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:
15 “Fear not,
daughter of Zion; Behold,
your King is coming, Sitting
on a donkey’s colt.”
Lesson
Humility
There will be a day when He arrives on a white horse. But the first time He
came on a donkey colt.
One Bible scholar (Hengstenberg, Feinberg pg.165)
has noted that after the time of Solomon, there is not one record of a king or
any distinguished person riding on a donkey.
Jesus came to demonstrate humility and a servant’s heart.
(Mark 9:33–37 NKJV) —33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in
the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the
road?” 34 But they
kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be
the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone
desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He
took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him
in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives
Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
Jesus said that the greatest thing you can achieve is to be a “servant”.
One of the best ways to express true humility is in the way you treat children.
I was so blessed to see how so many people pitched in on Friday night to
pull off the Kids’ Harvest Party.
Some guys have this mistaken notion that it’s not “manly” to spend time
with kids.
I think the most “manly” thing a guy can do is to learn “How
To Dad”.
Video: How to Dad
:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His
dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of
the earth.’
:10 He shall speak peace
Zechariah now jumps far into the future to speak of the worldwide peace
that will come when the Messiah rules over the earth.
This doesn’t happen until Jesus comes the second time.
9:11-17 God will save
:11 “As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set
your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
:12 Return to the stronghold, You prisoners of hope. Even today I declare That
I will restore double to you.
:12 prisoners of hope
Literally, “prisoners of the hope”.
Even in while in prison, God is the
“hope” of His people.
:12 Return to the stronghold
Perhaps this is a word to those still in Babylon to encourage them to return
home to Jerusalem.
God promises to restore the nation.
:13 For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And
raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the
sword of a mighty man.”
:13 Against your sons, O Greece
Long after Alexander the Great, but while the Greeks still ruled the world,
the Jews would rise up in rebellion against Antiochus Epiphanes (175-164 BC).
This was the time of the Maccabean revolt (169-135 BC).
Keep in mind, Zechariah is writing this around 518 BC, about 350 years
before the Maccabees.
:14 Then the Lord will be
seen over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, And go with
whirlwinds from the south.
:15 The Lord of hosts will
defend them; They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine; They shall be filled with
blood like basins, Like the corners of the altar.
:16 The Lord their God will
save them in that day, As the flock of His people. For they shall be like
the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land—
:17 For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty! Grain shall
make the young men thrive, And new wine the young women.
:16 The Lord their God
will save them
It’s possible that this might be talking about the Maccabean revolt.
It might also be a picture of when Jesus returns and rescues the Jews from
the antichrist.
:11 “As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set
your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
:11 the waterless pit
pit – bowr – pit, well,
cistern
Cisterns were large underground reservoirs used to store up rain water.
When a cistern was emptied of water, it was sometimes used as a dungeon or
a prison.
God promises to set prisoners free.
:11 Because of the blood of your covenant
covenant – beriyth –
covenant, alliance, pledge
A covenant was a legal agreement between two individuals.
Sometimes, when a covenant was made between two individuals, the shedding
of blood was involved.
When a covenant was made between
two people, it seems that sometimes the use of blood seems to be implied.
One of the words used in “making a
covenant” was the Hebrew word karath, meaning “to cut”, and implied a sacrifice of
animals.
When God made a “covenant” with
Abraham (Gen. 15:18), animals were sacrificed, cut into pieces, and God showed
up to walk between the pieces.
I think you could imagine that it
was a bloody event.
(Genesis 15:18 NKJV) On the same day the Lord
made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your
descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river,
the River Euphrates—
God “cut” a
covenant with Abram.
When you make an
animal sacrifice, things get bloody.
After God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the “covenant” was ratified
between God and the people with blood.
(Exodus 24:8 NKJV) And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it
on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all
these words.”
Lesson
Saved by the blood
It may be that God is simply saying that He will honor His original
“covenant” with Israel, the blood that Moses sprinkled on them, and they can
count on God to rescue them from their “pit”, from their prison.
Yet Jeremiah prophesied that one day there would be a new covenant between
God and man (Jer. 31:31-34)
(Jeremiah 31:31–34 NKJV) —31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—32
not according to the covenant that I made
with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband
to them, says the Lord. 33
But this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds,
and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My
people. 34 No more shall every
man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from
the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more.”
Jesus came to establish that New Covenant between God and man.
It wasn’t an agreement that was based on man’s obedience to the Law, but it
was an agreement based on trusting the sacrifice, the blood of Jesus to pay for
our sins.
And this covenant was also ratified
with blood.
(Hebrews 9:12 NKJV) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own
blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal
redemption.
(Hebrews 9:18 NKJV) Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated
without blood.
It was at the Last Supper that Jesus took a cup of wine and said…
(Matthew
26:28 NKJV) For this is My blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
The Bible says that the life of an individual is “in the blood” (Lev.
17:11). When Jesus shed His blood, He
was giving His life for us.
We have a vague picture of this in the current news.
Nina is actually home now, cured of Ebola because she was
“saved by the blood” of someone who had conquered the disease.
We are “saved by the blood” of Jesus. He conquered death.
Do you need saving today?