Zechariah 9:9-13 Coming King

Here comes the HOPE we were speaking of last time in the form of the coming King! “Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey” (verse 9b).

This is one of my favorite prophecies because of the prep required and the steps of faith that had to take place for it to be fulfilled. ALL God’s prophecies had prep, steps, and faith to complete them but this one just thrills me! I imagine being the man in town who woke up that morning KNOWING his donkey would be required and where to place it. Or I imagine being one of the disciples that Jesus sent into the town to fetch the donkey. The had to trust Jesus with their lives in order to take someone else’s donkey.

God used specific names in some of His prophecies; like telling the people that Cyrus would set them free. This one, He doesn’t tell us the name of the owner of the donkey Jesus would ride. But He KNEW it as surely as He KNEW the exact donkey that would carry His Son into Jerusalem for His final Passover celebration; this side of the grave. God saw it down through the ages of man.

Another AMAZING thing Jesus will do in this prophecy is strip from His people THEIR battle implements and change them into His armament. “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off” (verse 10a). These were physical weapons that the people used to wage war on one another.

When Jesus rules, “He shall speak peace to the nations” (verse 10b). He will wage a different kind of ‘warfare’. From the time that Jesus began His ministry through today and on into His millennial reign, Jesus has waged “spiritual” warfare. He has given us NEW weapons. Not ones forged by man but forged by the Holy Spirit. These weapons will NEVER dull or lose their effectiveness. They cannot be broken or lost in battle. And they WILL BE VICTORIOUS in ALL situations!

Notice the ‘army’ and the weapons Jesus will fight with. The “prisoners of hope” will be set free from Satan’s bounds. I think the first ‘prisoners of hope’ were the disciples that Jesus called to carry His message to the people. And the weapons used employed are faith in Him. God also says that He will turn Judah into His bow and Ephraim into His arrows. Jesus was able to ‘shoot’ His arrows into the world of the Gentiles. These ‘arrows’ brought the message of Jesus’ work on the cross for our forgiveness and salvation. A spiritual battle that He won and will continue to win from now until ALLL eternity!

I was wondering about God’s use of the names “Judah” and “Ephraim”. He doesn’t say Israel here. What He does say is that HE put back together the two pieces of Israel and will use them each for their strengths. I’m wondering is there are 10 arrows in His quiver from Ephriam, whose name during Israel’s fall was interchangeable with Israel. Being that “arrow” is singular in verse 13b, I’m thinking that all the ‘lost ten tribes’ worked together as one. And a marksman only needs ONE arrow to make the crucial shot when he is facing a single enemy. God only needed ONE ‘Arrow’ the shoot Satan. Jesus is that ‘arrow’ and when Israel rejected Him, He was fired into the hearts of the gentiles to bring them salvation as well. And, YES, this He KNEW beforehand too.

Father God, I don’t see how ANYONE could doubt Jesus being the Messiah; Your Son. Your prophecies and His fulfillment of them leave NO DOUBT to those who are truly searching. It takes more work to remain skeptical than it does to believe what You have done in this world as well as what is still to come. How many “I told you so” times are still to come? I know there are many because of the prophecies You gave to us in Revelation.

I PRAY I don’t miss ANY of them! NOT that I want to shout “I told you so”, but because I want to see the look on Satan’s face when they do come to pass. I also want to see the look on the faces of those who don’t believe. One day ALL will believe. Until then, one day and one soul at a time.