THE PRESENT DISCUSSION is the third of this series dealing with Zechariah 9. In the first one we studied the conquests of Alexander the Great as set forth by the prophet. In last month's issue the theme was the two comings of the one Messiah, followed by an appeal to Israel to accept this One as her King, Messiah, and Deliverer. In the present installment we are to study the two deliverances promised by the prophet.

For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, 0 Zion, against thy sons, 0 Greece, and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man (Zech. 9:13).

The language of this verse is indeed pictorial. The Lord presents Himself here as a warrior in whose hands is a bow and arrow with which He will fight against His enemies. According to the first statement Judah was the bow and Ephraim (the northern kingdom consisting of the ten tribes) was the arrow. The enemy is none other than the Grecian kingdom. This imagery is changed in the latter part of the verse and the entire nation of Israel is compared to the sword of a mighty man. Joel, one of the earliest writing prophets of Israel, was the first one to foretell anything relative to the Greeks in their connection with Israel, the Chosen People of God (Joel 3:6-8). Daniel, likewise, in his vision of the four wild beasts foretold the great Grecian kingdom and presented it under the symbolism of the third beast of the series. Again, he spoke of the same kingdom under the figure of the he-goat in chapter 8 of his prophecy. Zechariah in the beginning of this chapter (verses 1-8), as we have already seen, likewise foretold this mighty empire and in the verse quoted above referred to it again.

In the days of the prophets of Israel the Greeks did not constitute a unified kingdom. On the contrary, they lived in city-states that were constantly at war one with the other. Moreover, they were not interested in world-aggression; on the other hand, they devoted their energies to colonization. From the human standpoint none of these prophets could have foreseen Greece as a mighty world-power. Nevertheless they, by the Spirit of God, foretold things in connection with this aggressive kingdom.

As stated above, in our verse Judah is thought of as the bow in the hands of the warrior, whereas the northern kingdom is thought of as the arrow which is placed upon the bow by him who is ready to let it fly at the enemy, Greece. Such bold imagery was characteristic of the Hebrew prophets. For instance, in Isaiah 41:15 the Lord compared the Jewish nation as she will be in the Tribulation to a threshing instrument having teeth, with which He will thresh the nations. Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, compared Israel to the ox that treads out the sheaves of grain in the threshing floor--the nations gathered against Jerusalem by the Almighty in the "day of the Lord" (Micah 4:11-13). Again, He compared the entire nation of Israel to a sword with which He will fight against the enemy.

Has this prophecy ever been fulfilled? There can be little doubt about it. Expositors are, in the main, agreed that this verse foretold the heroic, mighty struggle that Zion with her sons did wage against the Grecians when the latter attempted to Hellenize the Jews in the second century before Christ. Moreover, according to the commentators, this prediction found its complete fulfillment in this struggle between the Greco-Syrian rulers of Antioch and the Maccabean patriots (168-165 B.C.). According to the prediction the Lord Almighty uses Israel to fight against the aggressor. Nothing is said about her triumphing over her enemy but simply her being used of the Almighty in this capacity.

And Jehovah shall be seen over them; and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning; and the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirlwinds of the south. Jehovah of hosts will defend them; and they shall devour, and shall tread down the slingstones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar (vs. 14,15).

If we are willing to allow these words to give their message to our hearts, we must acknowledge that these verses have never been fulfilled. Since no word from God is without power, and since the Lord is watching over His Word to perform it, we may be certain that this prediction will yet find its perfect and complete fulfillment in the future.

The facts stated in these verses give abundant proof of this position. According to the first statement Jehovah will be seen over the Jews, the sons of Zion. No such vision as that occurred at the time of the Maccabean resistance to the Greco-Syrian aggression. Isaiah the prophet was speaking of the same future event in the following passage:

For thus saith Jehovah unto me, As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds be called forth against him will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so will Jehovah of Hosts come down to fight upon mount Zion, and upon the hill thereof. As birds hovering, so will Jehovah of hosts protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver it, he will pass over and preserve it (Isa. 31:4,5).

According to this prediction Jehovah of hosts Himself will descend from heaven and will come to earth. He will pass over Zion and will protect it and finally come down and fight upon it. This prediction will be fulfilled literally at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Unfortunately some have seen in this passage a prediction of the airplanes of General Allenby in World War I. According to this interpretation the Lord in the form of the airplanes hovered over Jerusalem and protected it, but the prediction says nothing like that. Isaiah foretold that the Lord himself would descend, would protect it, and fight on Mount Zion. These words mean exactly what they say and, as suggested above, will be fulfilled at the second coming of Christ, which occurs at the end of the Tribulation.)

Without a doubt Habakkuk the prophet was speaking about this same event in the third chapter of his prophecy, verses 1-15. This passage is the classical one in the Old Testament descriptive of the second coming of our Lord at the end of the Tribulation, when He appears in all of His glory and brings deliverance to Israel. Another vivid description of His coming and bringing this deliverance is found in Zechariah 14:1-4.

Asaph, in Psalm 77:16-20, spoke of the Lord's delivering Israel from Egyptian bondage in a similar manner. When we read the Exodus account, we see that it was the Angel of Jehovah, who was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ in His prenatal state, leading her from bondage to liberty. But before Israel came to Sinai it was He, the Angel of His presence, who brought her out of her bondage, led her through the Red Sea, and guided her to Sinai where He gave her His holy Law.

David in Psalm 144:5-8 prayed that the Lord might descend from heaven and bring deliverance to him as he was being oppressed by aliens. The release for which he made request blends with the future rescue of the nation at the end of the Tribulation; for, in verses 12-15, the Psalmist describes Israel in the Millennial Age. This graphic, bold imagery of the coming of the Lord as a warrior in this manner was familiar to the Hebrew people. Moses, the great lawgiver, foretold, in Deuteronomy 32:39-43, the coming of Jehovah as Israel's Messiah and Deliverer. Once again, Isaiah predicted the same glorious event in 30:27-33. We see a similar prophecy once more in Isaiah 66:15-17.

When Israel will be in the throes of her greatest sorrow, Jehovah will appear upon the scene and will defend her according to verse 15 of the Zechariah passage. He will empower His people so that "they shall devour, and shall tread down the sling stones." The prophet, seeing the armies of Israel rolling forward like a steam road roller and crushing all opposition before them, spoke of the enemy as throwing his sling stones down and fleeing before the onrushing conquerors. In thinking of Israel's future conquest Zechariah, like Balaam (Num. 23,24), compared her to a lion who slays his prey and eats thereof. Being flushed with victory they will shout and make a noise as men under the influence of wine. The victory will be so very complete that the blood of their enemies will be like that of sacrificial animals filling the bowls of the altar. Jehovah will thus appear on the scene at the critical moment and save His people as the flock of His choice. This language is suggestive of Isaiah 40:11. From the facts which we have just seen, it becomes quite evident that the prediction found in verses 14-16 has never been fulfilled but will be brought to its fullest realization at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, when Israel will have accepted Him and pleaded for Him to return.

The nations that send their armies into Palestine to overthrow Israel will be trodden down like the sling stones by the advancing triumphant warriors. Thus those nations who hate the Jews will go down in utter defeat. But saved Israel shall be as "stones of a crown, lifted on high over his land" (vs. 16). Doubtless this language is an echo of that found in Isaiah 62:2,3: "And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jehovah and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." Israel at the present time, as Moses said, is the tail of the nations; but, when she accepts her Messiah, she will become the head of the families of the earth (Deut. 28:13). There is indeed a wonderful and marvelous future awaiting the remnant of the Chosen People. Zechariah, seeing this wonderful vision of Israel delivered, saved, and in fellowship with God, exclaimed, "How great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty!"

It is impossible for us to comprehend at the present time the wonderful heights and marvelous depths of God's goodness and beauty. These, however, will be demonstrated before the eyes of the world at that time when God fulfills His promise, "Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins" (vs. 17). The present distress will eventually pass away and a new order introduced by the Lord Jesus Christ himself at His second coming will supplant the chaotic conditions which now exist. 0 Lord, hasten that time!