Zechariah & The Creator Lord Jesus Christ
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ZEC 10:5 And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
10:5 "They" in verse 5 is divinely-empowered Israel now looking back to the various oppressors of all of time of verse 4 who were always merely the LORD’s instruments of their chastening in this unregenerate earth. But the word "shall" points forward to a future instrument of "the LORD" who "shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle." It is not until the next verse that this future army of "the LORD" is revealed to be the re-gathered nation of Israel after another scattering of Israel (70 AD) that was yet future to Zechariah’s day.
Old Testament prophets could not see the church age. Verse 5 jumps all the way from Christ’s coming to the Jews’ re-gathering in the land of Palestine in 1948. There is no mention of Israel’s faithfulness to "the LORD" in verses 5 and 6. However, there is plenty about the LORD’s faithfulness to Israel in these verses. Israel is a tiny nation surrounded by enemies who are bent on their annihilation to the point of sending suicide bombers against her innocent citizens. But Israel has now been divinely made into a mighty force that time and time again has trodden down her "enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle." "Riders on horses," speaking of the countless armored tanks and vehicles that were mainly sent against Israel in wars since 1948, have been repeatedly "confounded" by Israel’s small army and air force and apparently-inferior geographical location for defense. In the first half of the coming 7-year Tribulation, they will confound even Russia’s extremely superior army as indicated by Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39. Israelites "shall (continue to) fight (and) tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle - - because the LORD is (still) with them." Enemy "riders on horses shall (continue to) be confounded" when they come against God’s chosen, re-gathered people either during this end of the church age or during the 7-year Tribulation. For the Jews will not be removed from Palestine again until the LORD "raptures" the faithful among them to heaven three and a half days after the mid-point of the 7-year Tribulation. [see chapter R-11 of "Way Truth:Life" by Dale M. Presley]
ZEC 10:6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
10:6 This verse seven times refers to "the LORD" and it over and over stresses that returning Israel to the land and strengthening them to stay there against all opposition was something that "the LORD" Himself would do. Furthermore, "the LORD" had determined to do this regardless of what re-scattered, individual Jews had done for or against God before or after the final dispersion of 70 AD. That final dispersion, that did come five centuries after Zechariah’s prophecy, was foretold by the words "I will bring them again to place them" in verse 6. For, they couldn’t be placed "again" unless they were first dispersed "again" after Zechariah’s day, as we now know that they were by the Romans in 70 AD. "They shall be as though (the LORD) had not cast them off" of their land.
"Judah" represents the two southern tribes while "Joseph," the father of the patriarchs of the northern, largest tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, here represents the ten northern tribes. Therefore, all tribes of Israel are now represented in modern Israel. It took two world wars and the deaths of scores of millions to convince the Gentile nations in this century that it was time to return Israel to her homeland as a nation in 1948. But "the LORD - - God" had never completely "cast - - off" His beloved people and He is determined to have mercy upon them yet one more time in this unregenerate earth.
The name "LORD" is "JEHOVAH," God’s covenant-keeping name. For, "I am the LORD their God" was their Saviour’s only reason for hearing their prayers of desperation. It was purely a matter of God’s sovereign choice and unmerited grace. "The LORD" has covenanted that Israel will be His special nation of blessing, and they will be regardless of what they have done or of what they will do in all of history. This includes even their killing of "the (incarnated) LORD" when He came in human flesh (Acts 2:36). Now that’s love!
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About the Book
Zechariah & the Creator LORD Jesus Christ is the third verse-by-verse commentary that the author has published on a Bible book. The first book, Way Truth:Life, is a complete commentary on the book of Revelation. Way Truth:Life contains an introduction and four chapters that very simply explain the most complex theological issues and has a scripture-indexed Chronology Chart of the 7-year Tribulation. The second book, Daniel & the Creator LORD Jesus Christ, is a complete commentary on the book of Daniel. All of the author’s interpretations of scripture are based upon the most literal meaning of all passages of scripture that can be made without violating the true meaning of other scriptures contained elsewhere in the sixty-six books of God’s Holy Word. All of the author’s books are liberally-supplied with scripture references so that the reader can verify the truthfulness of the commentary as he or she proceeds. The book of Zechariah deals with what is happening in our own day perhaps more than any other Old Testament book. However, because the book of Zechariah is written in highly apocalyptic language, much like the book of Revelation, it is little understood by most Bible students. The author has therefore taken great care to include commentary on related passages of scripture in order to explain the meaning of every verse of this magnificent book in the simplest, most-understandable terms possible. In addition, a table is included that shows the time being referred to by every verse of the book of Zechariah. Since so much of Israel’s history was accurately predicted by this sixth-century BC prophet, the actual history of Israel that has come to pass during their first-century Roman wars and during the period since the nation was reestablished in the promised land in 1948, is particularly described in detail. No study of eschatological (end-time) events is complete without a clear understanding of what God is doing through Israel today as explained in this book.
About the Author
The author has been and is a Licensed Engineer in the State of Texas since 1980 (BS-EE Lamar University 1969), but understanding Bible prophecy has been and is his passion. After studying/teaching through the Bible twice and writing commentary on all but a few chapters, the author has published verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation in 1997 (Way Truth: Life) and on Daniel in 2000 (Daniel). The author believes the sixty-six books of the Bible to be the complete Word of God to mankind and that it must be interpreted most literally and with a penitent heart to understand it.