Zechariah Eight
by Dr. Henry M. Morris
(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)
Navigate to Verse
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21,
22,
23
Zechariah 8:1 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,
Zechariah 8:2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
Zechariah 8:3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.
city of truth. The name “Jerusalem” means “City of Peace.” It will also be the “City of Truth,” as well as peace, but only when He who is “the Truth” (John 14:6) is dwelling there.
Zechariah 8:4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
very age. In the coming kingdom age, when the Lord Jesus “will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem” (Zechariah 8:3), the longevity of the antediluvians will be restored. “There shall be no more ... an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old” (Isaiah 65:20).
Zechariah 8:5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
boys and girls. At the end of the tribulation period, there will be “few men left” (Isaiah 24:6) who are allowed to remain on the earth after the judgment of those still living (Matthew 25:31-46). However, in view of the idyllic environmental and political conditions that will prevail during the following millennium, the population will multiply so rapidly that people will become “as the sand of the sea” (Revelation 20:8) by the end of that age.
Zechariah 8:6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 8:7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
Zechariah 8:8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
Zechariah 8:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.
Zechariah 8:10 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour.
Zechariah 8:11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.
Zechariah 8:12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
the remnant of this people. Here again is the doctrine of the remnant (see Micah 2:12; 5:7; Romans 9:27). These promises will be literally fulfilled in the future kingdom age, after Christ (that is, Messiah) comes again.
Zechariah 8:13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.
Zechariah 8:14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:
Zechariah 8:15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
Zechariah 8:16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:
Zechariah 8:17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
Zechariah 8:18 And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,
Zechariah 8:19 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.
cheerful feasts. The various fasts which the Jews had been observing during their exile (strictly on their own, more out of self-pity than love for God—Zechariah 7:4-6), will be gladly observed in the millennial kingdom as “cheerful feasts,” rather than mournful fasts.
Zechariah 8:20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:
Zechariah 8:21 And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.
Zechariah 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
Zechariah 8:23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
languages of the nations. In that day, the Lord has said: “I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory” (Isaiah 66:18). Not only will men of all languages come to Jerusalem, but even their separate languages will be forgotten, for God has also said: “Then will I turn to the people a pure language [almost certainly the Hebrew language, in which He first gave forth His Word], that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent” (Zephaniah 3:9). The number ten undoubtedly is merely representative of all still living—perhaps the remaining Gentile population will be only ten times the Jewish population.
