Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future
“Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; with great fervor I am zealous for her.’ “Thus says the Lord: ‘I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain.’
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.’ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’ says the Lord of hosts.
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.’
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who have been hearing in these days
these words by the mouth of the prophets, who spoke in the day the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord of hosts, that the temple might be built. For before these days there were no wages for man nor any hire for beast; there was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in; for I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.
But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase,
And the heavens shall give their dew—I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these.
And it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, let your hands be strong.’
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I would not relent, so again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear. These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”
Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace.’
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet come, inhabitants of many cities; the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, “Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord, and seek the Lord of hosts. I myself will go also.” Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.’ “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
WOW! Remember that Zechariah is sharing these prophecies with people who are under threat of attack. The citizens of Judah and Jerusalem have already watched the conquest of the Northern Kingdom by the Assyrians. Zechariah’s previous prophecies have been anything but encouraging as he has decried the corruption and hypocrisy of the Judeans. But now God is promising incredible things.
- God promises to live in the middle of Jerusalem. “‘I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the Lord of hosts, the Holy Mountain.’
- God promises that both the elderly and the young, the two most vulnerable people groups, will safely live in Jerusalem. “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.’
- God promises to return Jewish exiles from all over the world. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; I will bring them back, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people and I will be their God, in truth and righteousness.’
- God promises incredible prosperity to the future citizens of Jerusalem. “But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘For the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew—I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these. And it shall come to pass that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you shall be a blessing. Do not fear, let your hands be strong.’
- God promises to do good to Judah if its citizens will follow His commandments. “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I would not relent, so again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.”
- The prescribed feasts will be days of great joy and celebration.
People from all over the world will flock to Jerusalem. In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
APPLICATION: We read these promises and think, “Great! But I don’t live in Jerusalem.” But God does not play favorites. God will live with anybody anywhere at any time who will honor Him and who will follow His commands. “These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’ says the Lord.”
Another thing to notice is the peace that will overtake Jerusalem when God lives in the midst of her. These days, parents fear to allow their children to walk to school or to play outside their homes in case of kidnapping, drive – by shooting, and the like. But in the new Jerusalem children will play safely in the streets while the elderly watch them.
Violent video games, violent war games on the internet, even violent cartoons are now the norm. Internet pornography sites have proliferated and beautiful kidnapped children are sold to the highest bidder on the dark web; yet, there are those who are certain that disarming the population will automatically eliminate violence in public places. The only Person who can turn our society around is the Creator of the Universe, the One True Living God.
As long as we refuse to play by His rules and ignore Him, rebelling against Him, society will continue to disintegrate. Our situation is very similar to that of the citizens of Jerusalem in Zechariah’s time. But God’s promises apply to us as much as to Zechariah’s listeners. When we speak truth, support just judges, justice, and peace, and when we refuse to think evil against our neighbors or loving false oaths, God will be with us.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help everyone who reads these words to follow Your tenets. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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