For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Zech 12:1-14

1 A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel.

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’

6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

A. Find Out

1. What does this next prophecy convey? v.1,2
2. Who will come against Jerusalem but how will she appear? v.3
3. What will the Lord do with the invaders? v.4,5
4. What will Judah achieve and the Lord do? v.6-9
5. How will Israel respond? v.10
6. What will be going on in Israel? v.11-14

B. Think:

1. What do you see being conveyed about Israel’s existence?
2. How will the outcome affect the world do you think?
3. How is the heart of Israel changed?

C. Comment:

We move on in this next prophecy, which will continue on into the following chapters, to see what has the feel of a future, possibly ‘end time’ for Israel. It is declared as a clear prophecy (v.1a) from the sovereign Lord (v.1b) who will take and use Israel to bring the downfall of surrounding nations who will come against the Land and against Jerusalem (v.2).

When that happens – “on that day” – the Lord will do a number of things. First, when the world comes against Israel, He will make His people like an immovable rock (v.3) and, second, He will overthrow the invaders (v.4) and His people will realize it is Him acting on their behalf (v.5).

Third, He will make Israel a mighty destructive force against those surrounding nations (v.6) and the honor will return to the Land and to Jerusalem (v.7). Fourth, He will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem (v.8) and, fifth, destroy the attacking nations (v.9).

Then, sixth, comes one of the most significant changes: He will turn the hearts of His people back to Himself (v.10) and they will realize how awfully they have treated the Lord in the past and anguish over that. The depth of repentance, seventh, will be tremendous so there will be weeping and mourning in Jerusalem (v.11) and throughout the Land (v.12), throughout the priesthood (v.13) and indeed, throughout the rest of the people (v.14).

The word in the previous chapter and now this and the remaining chapters seems to lift the listeners above any present concerns to their wider history.

D. Application:

1. God WILL stand for His people when the world attacks.
2. He will use His people to chastise the unbelieving world.