Zechariah ~ Chapter 12

This chapter contains prophecies of the last days. They are not necessarily in chronological order. Since God is eternal, He often expresses events without any relation to one another, as to the time of their occupancy.
V-1. Zech 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
A. Note that he refers to Israel instead of Judah, and yet the entire prophecy deals with Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the capitol of Judah in the past, but the world knows the present nation as Israel. This fixes the time as the present and the immediate future.
B. He reminds them that He is the creator, thus, is well able to see his plans through.

V-2. Zech 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
A. Now Judah and Jerusalem are mentioned. Though the present nation is called Israel, she is composed of the descendants of the people of the original Judah. Those of the old nation of Israel remain scattered among the nations of the earth.
B. Jerusalem is a 'cup of trembling' (This speaks of wine which causes an insane intoxication). to the people round about. This is how she is affecting her Arab neighbors. Their actions are those of one without reason.
C. The situation is like a siege. No one is safe.

V-3. Zech 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
A. Her friends and protectors will be attacked. This is why the Arab nations despise us now. Terrorist attacks will continue because of it.

V-4. Zech 12:4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
A. The horse and rider are symbols of military might; they were instruments of war.
B. The blindness is simply that which causes Jerusalem's enemies to panic and run when they come against her. Picture the rout of the Six Day War. Guns, tanks and other equipment abandoned, as the enemies panicked.
C. It was a manifestation of God's power, not Israel's prowess.

V-5. Zech 12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
A. The leaders of Jerusalem have total confidence in the ability of God to give them victory.

V-6. Zech 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
A. Every time their enemies attack, Israel gains territory
B. She now has Jerusalem, as her own city and will not give it up.

V-7. Zech 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
A. God brought home the people of Judah first, so that when the others are at last returned, they will be added to Judah, and not the other way around.

Vv 8,9. Zech 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
Zech 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
A. The scene shifts forward to the Battle of Armageddon.

Vv 9,10. Zech 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zech 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
A. As Jesus returns to the earth, the remnant of Israel will see him and finally acknowledge that He is the Christ.
B. They sorrow as they realize that they had crucified the only one who could have protected them through the centuries.

V-11. Zech 12:11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
A. There will have been a great slaughter of the Jews until only 144,000 will be left. Jesus will return just in time to save these. Mark 13:20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Vv 12-14. Zech 12:12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
Every family in Israel will have suffered loss, just as every family of the Egyptians had suffered in the plagues. Their grief will be a very personal grief.