Sabbath, March 29 – Zechariah 13, 14

1. What is the fountain’s purpose that God promises to open for His people? (Zechariah 13:1)

2. What is the enemy’s strategy as described in Zechariah 13:7?

3. Where will the Lord set His feet when He comes to establish His kingdom on earth? (Zechariah 14:4)

Zechariah 12 ended with Israel turning back to the Lord through the Messiah, who was once rejected but now accepted. Through the Messiah, they now enjoy a fountain that brings purification from sin and uncleanness.

This fountain will not only be open but also remain open. The idea of God being a fountain for His people is frequently found in the Old Testament. According to Zechariah 13:1, this provision is inexhaustible; it is not a cistern or a reservoir but a flowing fountain. Similarly, God’s mercy, forgiveness, and justification constantly overflow to cleanse and renew His people.

Only God’s fountain can cleanse sin and impurity. Nothing else, not our works, restitution, past actions, or future efforts, can purify us. Only His fountain can wash away our sins.

Idolatry and false prophecy were the two main ways Israel strayed from God. However, God not only provides a fountain for purification, but He also promises to remove the source of impurity, idolatry, and false prophecy. God even promises to erase the memory of our sins.

Zechariah 13:6 states: “And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’”

The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary explains: “In its context the question concerning these wounds seems to be addressed to the converted false prophet (Zech. 13:5, 6). Some interpreters have applied this text to Christ as predictive of His scourging and wounds received at the hands of those who should have been His friends (see Matt. 27:26; Mark 14:65; 15:15; Luke 22:63; John 19:1, 17, 18). This must be done by secondary application or by making a break after Zech. 13:5 and by connecting v. 6 with v. 7, which is clearly predictive of Christ (Matt. 26:31).” (SDA Bible Commentary, Zechariah 13:6)

In verse 7, the enemy strikes the Shepherd, and the nation is scattered.

From the context, and especially considering Jesus’ reference to this verse in Matthew 26:31, we understand that the Shepherd is Jesus, the Messiah, and that God the Father Himself calls for the Shepherd to be struck.

Zechariah also expresses a thought in Isaiah 53:10: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.”

Both Isaiah and Zechariah emphatically declare that God ordained the suffering of the Lord’s Servant for salvation.

Jesus was not a victim of circumstances, nor was He merely at the mercy of political or military power. His death was the planned and ordained work of the Lord, prophesied hundreds of years before it happened. This was God’s victory, not Satan’s triumph or man’s.

As Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:19: “That is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” The Father and the Son worked together at the cross.

Even though Jesus was treated as if He were God’s enemy, He was not. Even though He was punished like a sinner, He served the Father, fulfilling His divine purpose.

The Hebrew word for “My Companion” in Zechariah 13:7 is the same word used in Leviticus 6:2 and 18:20, referring to “someone close”. This describes someone more than a friend of the Lord; this Shepherd dwells alongside the Lord as His equal.

Chapter 14 describes the events related to the Second Coming of the Messiah. It presents how this event would have unfolded spectacularly if the Israelites who returned from captivity had fulfilled their destiny. However, because they turned away from God repeatedly and ultimately rejected the Messiah (Acts 3:13-15), God departed from them. Now, He fulfills His purposes through the Church.

God’s blessing upon Israel demonstrated His willingness to do the same for all nations. Intimidated by events and convinced of God’s willingness to accept the worship of all people, the survivors of the enemy nations would seek the God of Israel and come year after year to worship in Jerusalem.

This chapter also contains the remarkable prophecy of Zechariah 14:4: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.”

This prophecy points forward to when Jesus will return in glory and establish His everlasting kingdom.

May we hold on to these promises and be ready for Christ’s triumphant return.

Blessings to all.