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Scripture Reading: Zech. 10
In this message we will consider the prophecy of encouragement in Zechariah 10.
The prophecy in chapter ten of Zechariah concerns the Lord's loving visitation to Israel. As we will see, this loving visitation is actually Christ's coming to Israel.
"Ask rain of Jehovah / At the time of spring rain, / Of Jehovah who makes the lightning, / And He will give them showers of rain, / To everyone herbage in the field" (v. 1). The word rain here signifies blessing. To ask for more rain is to seek more blessing. Thus, in this verse the Lord is encouraging the children of Israel to seek more blessings while He would be favorable to them. While the Lord is so favorable to us, we should ask Him to send us even more favor. Since God is giving us showers of rain, we should ask Him for more rain. This indicates that we all need to pray for the Lord's abundant blessing.
Verses 2 and 3a say, "The teraphim have spoken vanity, / And the diviners have seen a lie / And have spoken false dreams; they comforted in vain. / Therefore the people have wandered like sheep; / They are afflicted because there is no shepherd. / My anger is kindled against the shepherds, / And I will punish the male goats." Among the Jews in the ancient time, many possessed teraphim, which were images or false gods kept in their homes. All those false gods and all the diviners spoke vanity and false dreams; they comforted in vain. Therefore, the people wandered like sheep. They were afflicted because there was no shepherd. Verse 3 tells us that the Lord's anger was kindled against the shepherds and that He would punish the male goats. The shepherds here are the male goats. The proper shepherds are the prophets, the proper ones who speak for God.
Today we have a wonderful practice in the church life. We encourage every saint to prophesy; we make every saint a prophet. In the Lord's move among His people today, the most important thing is to speak for Him. Paul encouraged all the saints to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1, 24, 31, 39a).
"Jehovah of hosts has visited His flock, the house of Judah, / And will make them like His horse of majesty in battle" (Zech. 10:3b). God came to His people in such a gracious way to visit them. His visiting them was Christ's coming to them. He came in the man, Jesus. Of course, chapter ten does not mention the name Jesus Christ or Messiah, but the word visited here should be understood as Christ's coming. Two thousand years ago He came in the form of a man.
This portion of the Word speaks about the Shepherd of God's flock. In the New Testament the Lord Jesus likened Himself to a shepherd. He came as the real Shepherd and blamed the other shepherds, who were the elders, the scribes, and the priests. They were the wrong shepherds, but the Lord Jesus was the unique Shepherd. He even told us that He was the good Shepherd who gave up His life for the sheep (John 10:11, 14-15). On the one hand, the Lord punished the false shepherds; on the other hand, He, the real Shepherd, has visited His flock.
By visiting His flock He makes them like a horse of majesty. Are you a sheep or a horse of majesty? We all need to progress so that we are no longer sheep but horses of majesty. After being touched by the Shepherd, every weak sheep will become a horse of majesty.
Zechariah 10:4 continues, "From him will come forth the cornerstone, from him the peg, / From him the battle bow, / From him every ruler together." The pronoun him used three times in this verse refers to Judah in the previous verse. Verse 4 indicates that when we become horses of majesty, we become a source of cornerstones, pegs, battle bows, and rulers. When we become horses, we produce these four kinds of things.
The house of Judah and the people of Ephraim will be as mighty men trampling their enemies, for Jehovah is with them (v. 5). Jehovah will strengthen the house of Judah and will save the house of Joseph. Jehovah will bring them back, for He has had compassion on them, and it will be as though Jehovah had not rejected them. Jehovah is their God, and He will answer them (v. 6). Their hearts will rejoice as if with wine, and their hearts will exult in Jehovah (v. 7). This should be our situation and condition in the church life today.
Verses 8 through 12 reveal further aspects of the Lord's loving visitation to Israel. Verse 8 says, "I will whistle for them and gather them, for I have redeemed them; / And they will multiply as they have multiplied." The Lord's whistling is not shrill but mild and gentle, somewhat like the singing of a bird. Often during our time of morning revival, the Lord whistles to us, calling us and gathering us to Him.
Verses 9 and 10 continue, "I will sow them among the peoples; and in distant lands they will remember Me; / And they will live with their children and return. / I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt / And gather them out of Assyria; / And to the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them; / And there will not be enough room found for them." The Lord's people will surely multiply. I believe that we will see many new ones in the local churches. That will be the real multiplication in the new way.
Verse 11 goes on to say, "He will pass through the sea of distress / And strike the waves in the sea, / And all the depths of the Nile will dry up; / And the pride of Assyria will be brought down." The sea mentioned here is the Red Sea which, along with the Nile, protects Egypt and keeps it separate. However, God will strike the waves in the Red Sea and dry up the Nile.
Verse 12 concludes, "I will strengthen them in Jehovah, / And they will walk about in His name, / Declares Jehovah." The I here is Jehovah, indicating that Jehovah will strengthen His people in Himself. They will then walk about in His name. To be in someone's name is to be one with the person who is the reality of that name. To be in God's name is to be one with God in our daily walk, living, walking, and having our being in God's name.
All of chapter ten talks about God's loving visitation. We need to realize and remember that this visitation is actually Christ's coming. I can testify from my experience that when we enjoy the Lord's loving visitation, our situation is exactly like that of God's people described in this chapter. Often after we enjoy such a loving visitation, our situation changes. In His visitation He encourages us to seek more blessings. We are little lambs, but after His loving visitation, we become horses. We are not that bold or strong, but after the Lord's visitation with His dear touch, we are strengthened to become horses of majesty in battle. Eventually, the Lord strengthens us in Himself so that we may walk about in His name.
