Bible History
Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information
5. ye shall flee to the valley--rather "through
the valley," as in
2Sa 2:29.
The valley made by the cleaving asunder of the Mount of Olives
(Zec 14:4)
is designed to be their way of escape, not their place of refuge
[MAURER].
JEROME
is on the side of English Version. If it be translated so, it
will mean, Ye shall flee "to" the valley, not to hide there, but as the
passage through which an escape may be effected. The same divinely sent
earthquake which swallows up the foe, opens out a way of escape to
God's people. The earthquake in Uzziah's days is mentioned
(Am 1:1)
as a recognized epoch in Jewish history. Compare also
Isa 6:1:
perhaps the same year that Jehovah held His heavenly court and gave
commission to Isaiah for the Jews, an earthquake in the physical world,
as often happens
(Mt 24:7),
marked momentous movements in the unseen spiritual world.
of the mountains--rather, "of My mountains," namely, Zion and
Moriah, peculiarly sacred to Jehovah
[MOORE]. Or, the mountains formed
by My cleaving Olivet into two [MAURER].
Azal--the name of a place near a gate east of the city. The
Hebrew means "adjoining"
[HENDERSON]. Others give the meaning,
"departed," "ceased." The valley reaches up to the city gates, so as to
enable the fleeing citizens to betake themselves immediately to it on
leaving the city.
Lord my God . . . with thee--The mention of the "Lord
my God" leads the prophet to pass suddenly to a direct address to
Jehovah. It is as if "lifting up his head"
(Lu 21:28),
he suddenly sees in vision the Lord coming, and joyfully exclaims, "All
the saints with Thee!" So
Isa 25:9.
saints--holy angels escorting the returning King
(Mt 24:30, 31;
Jude 14);
and redeemed men
(1Co 15:23;
1Th 3:13; 4:14).
Compare the similar mention of the "saints" and "angels" at His coming
on Sinai
(De 32:2, 3;
Ac 7:53;
Ga 3:19;
Heb 2:2).
PHILLIPS thinks Azal is Ascalon on the
Mediterranean. An earthquake beneath Messiah's tread will divide Syria,
making from Jerusalem to Azal a valley which will admit the ocean
waters from the west to the Dead Sea. The waters will rush down the
valley of Arabah, the old bed of the Jordan, clear away the sand-drift
of four thousand years, and cause the commerce of Petra and Tyre to
center in the holy city. The Dead Sea rising above its shores will
overflow by the valley of Edom, completing the straits of Azal into the
Red Sea. Thus will be formed the great pool of Jerusalem (compare
Zec 14:8;
Eze 47:1,
&c.; Joe 3:18).
Euphrates will be the north boundary, and the Red Sea the south.
Twenty-five miles north and twenty-five miles south of Jerusalem will
form one side of the fifty miles square of the Lord's Holy Oblation
(Eze 48:1-35).
There are seven spaces of fifty miles each from Jerusalem northward to
the Euphrates, and five spaces of fifty miles each southward to the Red
Sea. Thus there are thirteen equal distances on the breadth of the
future promised land, one for the oblation and twelve for the tribes,
according to
Eze 48:1-35.
That the Euphrates north, Mediterranean west, the Nile and Red Sea
south, are to be the future boundaries of the holy land, which will
include Syria and Arabia, is favored by
Ge 15:8;
Ex 23:31;
De 11:24;
Jos 1:4;
1Ki 4:21;
2Ch 9:26;
Isa 27:12;
all which was partially realized in Solomon's reign, shall be
antitypically so hereafter. The theory, if true, will clear away many
difficulties in the way of the literal interpretation of this chapter and
Eze 48:1-35.
JFB.
| Zechariah Images and
Notes The Book of Zechariah Zechariah 12:9-10 - And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 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. Zechariah 13:6-7 - And [one] shall say unto him, What [are] these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man [that is] my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. The Old Testament - A Brief Overview Bible Survey - Zechariah
Zechariah, like Haggai and Malachi, was a prophet of the Persian period. He prophesied to the Jews who had returned from exile around 520 BC when the Persian Empire was ruling the world. Each of these prophets encouraged the Jews to continue the work of God and rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah begins his message reminding the Jews that the captivity had been a result of their own disobedience, and God rebuked their fathers as well. Zechariah received a series of visions in which God revealed his plan for the history and future of the world, showing that he is ultimately in control and he will fulfill the promises that were made to their fathers and to Abraham. The city of Jerusalem is seen as a city so wonderful and prosperous that it needed to be enlarged in order to contain all the people (Zechariah 2). In the vision of Joshua the high priest Zechariah saw him in filthy rags, which was no doubt the nation of Israel repenting and receiving their Messiah and being cleansed of their sins (Zechariah 3). Other visions reveal the coming judgment of God, and his victory over sin, and everything is about the Messiah and his coming. Zechariah prophesied about the nations that oppressed Israel, there be a time of destruction and later they would come to worship the Lord in Jerusalem. The prophet Zechariah spoke more about the Messiah than any of the prophets, except the prophet Isaiah. There is one fabulous prophecies of Zechariah reveals about the Messiah's death: - The above text is © Rusty Russell - Bible History Online and must be sourced for use on a website. "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they have pierced; they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn." Zechariah 12:10Zechariah was the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo (Zechariah 1:1, 7). He was born in Babylon and had returned to Jerusalem in the group led by Zerubbabel sixteen years previous to the time of his ministry (Nehemiah 12:4, 16). He was a contemporary of Haggai and began to prophesy two months after Haggai in 520 BC. The work of rebuilding the temple was already in progress. Zechariah preached at least two years longer than Haggai (Zechariah 7:1) and possibly even longer. The situation was the same as described in the introduction to Haggai. The purpose of Zechariah's preaching was to strengthen the people in the reality of their calling, their history, and their future, as well as that of the nations. Zechariah also joined Haggai in the task of encouraging the construction of the temple and to see it through to its completion. Zechariah reproved the people, he gave them encouragement and exhortation, as well as the promises of God's blessing and spoke much about the Messiah and what would happen to the Jews and the nations when He comes. The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows : Outline of the Book of Zechariah The book is divided into two parts: Zechariah 1-8, concerned mainly with the rebuilding of the temple, and Zechariah 9-14, dealing with future events, notably the coming of Messiah and the glory of His reign. Zechariah begins his book (Zechariah 1) with a reminder that the captivity had been a result of disobedience. He continues by relating a series of visions designed to show that God is in control of history and will bring a glorious blessing to the faithful remnant of His people. Jerusalem is pictured as so prosperous it is having to be enlarged to hold the people (Zechariah 2). The vision of Joshua the high priest, clothed in filthy rags (Zechariah 3) seems to be a definite prevision of the atonement of Christ. Other visions in the book point to the certainty of God's judgment and ultimate victory over sin, culminating in the coming of the Messiah.
Zechariah Resources
The Divided Kingdom The Book of Zechariah
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