The Redemption of Israel
Zechariah 10:1‑12
The tenth chapter of Zechariah is concerned with the redemption of Israel. This is a theme that is very common for the book of Zechariah, one which we've touched on in the past and we'll touch on again as we finish out the book in the remaining weeks. Let me come at it from another chapter in the Bible that talks about the redemption of Israel and that's the eleventh chapter of Romans. You don't need to turn to it, but let me remind you of what it says in the beginning of that chapter. The entire eleventh chapter of Romans deals with the question that is introduced in the first verse of that chapter and the question is: has God cast off His people Israel?
That's a very vital question. That's a question that theologians are still discussing today. That's a question that is highly debated and heatedly discussed in theological seminaries of colleges around America and around the world. Has God cast off His people Israel?
The next verse of the eleventh chapter of Romans answers the question and that is the second verse. And the second verse simply states the fact that God has not cast off His people Israel that that is the remotest possible thought. It says, "God hath not cast away His people whom He foreknew." In other words, by the time you get to the eleventh chapter of Romans, God is still dealing in the fulfillment of His promises to Israel, He has not set them aside. And from them as you progress through the eleventh chapter, Paul develops that particular thought...what is in fact God's plan for Israel? And it culminates in verse 26 of Romans 11 which says, "So all Israel shall be saved As it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." Why is God going to fulfill that? "For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." And verse 29 says, "And the gifts and callings of God are without repentance."
Should God cast away His people Israel? No, God will not cast away His people. On the contrary, verse 26 and following says, "God will save His People."
I've been in Israel a couple of times. And one of the most wonderful things that you're able to say to those people over there is the fact that there's a great future for you, God is going to redeem this entire nation. God has not cast you off. And one of the reasons that America has been such a great friend of Israel is because of the Christian testimony of America. The Israelis know that there are many of us who believe in the restoration of Israel. They know that. There are many evangelical Christians who have made friends with Israelis.
I was invited, and I don't know exactly the dates for it, but I was invited to be a part of a conference that is to take place in Jerusalem that is being sponsored by the country of Israel itself. And they are inviting at their own request key evangelical teachers and leaders from all around America to come to Israel to be hosted by the government of Israel to proclaim their message. That's quite interesting. They know of our great support. I'll let you know when that happens. But it's interesting that they are so immenible(?) to evangelical Christians. Now maybe they have political ends in mind, but that's all right, we'll go under any invitation to proclaim the truth of Christ.
So, this is a promise that has not be negated. God is going to redeem the nation of Israel. In Isaiah chapter 59 and verse 20 and 21, we read concerning this same fulfillment, this same prophecy, "And the redeemer shall come to Zion." That was quoted in Romans 11. "And unto those who turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says the Lord. My Spirit that is upon thee and My words which I have put in Thy mouth shall not depart out of Thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever."
In other words, God says there is a forever planned for Israel. There is a forever message that will abide in Israel that culminates when the redeemer comes to Zion. Now three things that stand out in that prophecy should be taken note of. One, the redeemer will come out of Zion. He will be Jewish. Two, He will turn ungodliness away from Jacob. Three, He will take away their sins. So there is coming the redeemer who will turn them away from their ungodliness and forgive their sins and that is salvation.
This all comes under what Jeremiah calls the new covenant. The old covenant was a covenant of death. The new covenant is a covenant of life. And Israel will experience the new covenant, according to Jeremiah 31 and verse 33...it says this, "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more."
The primary indication of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 is related to Israel. We have already participated in the new covenant, haven't we? We've already had the law of God written in our hearts. We've already had our iniquities removed. We've already had them remembered no more. God has already done graciously in our behalf, but yet shall do the same to Israel.
Now as we look at the future and we see that we believe that Jesus is going to return, we can add to that concept this reality, that when He returns it will be with the redemption of Israel in mind. When He comes, Israel will already have undergone a severe spiritual upheaval. They will have experienced political devastation under Antichrist. They will have experienced economic devastation under Antichrist. They will have gone through social devastation because of the wars that they will have been involved in. They will have been under a tremendous spiritual turmoil as the forces of hell and Satan will have grappled against the hundred and forty‑four thousand who will have proclaimed the gospel. There will be a final period of national holocaust as the war of Armageddon rages.
And no question about it in my mind that Armageddon, that great war that occurs in the land of Israel in the end of the times, times of the Gentiles, that great war that will occur will sweep away any Jewish delusion that they could possibly bring the kingdom on their own. It will make them reexamine their resources. Israel for the most part today is very proud because of what they've accomplished...and rightly so, in terms of military things and political ends. But all of that is going to be shattered in the holocaust of Antichrist and the wars of Armageddon. And I believe that all the delusions will be swept away and they will be stripped naked, realizing that they can't do anything for themselves. And in the midst of that monstrous reversal, in the midst of the abomination of desolations, as Daniel calls it and Jesus reiterates it in Matthew 24, when all of that is sacred to them has been desolated and desecrated, the whole nation is going to be brought to a place of really reexamining their spiritual priorities. I think they're going to be brought to the place where they will rethink spiritual truth and they will reflect back on the message of two marvelous witnesses, indicated in the eleventh chapter of Revelation. And they will think back to a hundred and forty‑four thousand of their own people who went about preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And no question about it, many will respond to that gospel, many will believe in Israel and there were all...there will be already beginning a great revival of faith in Israel directed toward none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
At that time, the nation will have been scattered. Multitudes will have fled into the wilderness under the protection of Michael, the great angel. Others will be stuck in Jerusalem and the surrounding area under the sentence of death at the hands of Antichrist. But whether they're in Jerusalem or whether they're being hidden and protected by Michael, there will be the surging of a revival of faith because everything else that they've known will be shattered and God will, by His Holy Spirit, begin to prepare their hearts for the arrival of their Messiah.
And when Christ comes back, somewhere in that time...and I don't know exactly all the chronological intervals...but somewhere when Jesus returns, there is going to be not only a great physical deliverance for Israel as we know when He comes riding on a white horse with all the armies of heaven following Him, He slaughters all the armies of the world, He judges all the ungodly and He delivers Israel and gives Israel the Kingdom, there will be a great physical deliverance. But in addition to that, there will be a salvation as well. There will be a spiritual deliverance. Zechariah chapter 10...pardon me...chapter 12 verse 10 says that. It is at that time when Christ returns, He says, "I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication. And they shall look on Me whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son and be in bitterness for Him as one is in bitterness for His firstborn. And there shall be great mourning.
In other words, in that day when Christ returns, God will pour out His Spirit on Israel. And the Spirit, as always, poured out will do initially the work of conviction and they'll look on Christ and they'll mourn for what they did to Him. And in that same day, verse 1 of 13 says, there will be a fountain opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for cleansing. And at the end of verse 9 of 13, it says, "I will say it is My people and they shall say, The Lord is my God."
When Jesus returns there will be a great revival in Israel. They will meet the Lord Jesus Christ. They will be redeemed. In fact, in 13:6 it says, "And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Your hands? And He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends." They'll recognize Him. And they'll be saved. Their souls, I believe, will literally be jolted into salvation by the vision of the returning Christ who once they crucified. What a day that will be.
In Isaiah 53:4, we have what I think they're going to recall. I think they're going to remember these words, "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, but He was wounded for our transgression, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed." They're going to remember that. They're going to focus on Christ. And at that point in the words of Paul in Romans 11:23, they will be grafted back into the stock of blessing, back into the place of blessing. And they'll enter into the Kingdom.
Now when Israel is saved, what happens? What all is involved in their redemption? That is the theme of chapter 10. Just exactly what occurs? What are the constituent benefits of salvation? Well, this morning I had eight points to my sermon and that's how many there are tonight. I must have been thinking in terms of eight this week, but that's the way this chapter broke down. It's a short chapter. It will go by quickly. Watch as we look at it.
These features are the features that will really come to Israel in the day of their salvation. This is what you can tell any Jew or any Gentile, for that matter, about what God is going to do for Israel in the day when Jesus comes. Feature number one, and I'm going to jump into verse 4 for number 1 and then backtrack....feature number one, the first thing Israel will receive is a divine redeemer...the divine redeemer. Verse 4, "Out of Him..." and the "Him" there refers back to its antecedent in verse 3 which is the house of Judah, so out of the Judah..."came forth the corner, out of Him the nail, out of Him the battle bow and out of Him every oppressor together."
Now let's go back and look at this verse. Zechariah reminds the people that the Messiah is coming and he identifies Him in this verse. Really this is one of the richest Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament and it's not one that's studied very often and yet it's just really loaded. I don't even think tonight I have time to cover all the things that are here in this one verse. In many of the former prophets...now you've heard of the former prophets and the latter prophets...you haven't heard of the former prophets and the latter prophets...okay? The former prophets are the prophets who prophesied prior to the Babylonian exile. The latter prophets are the prophets who prophesied after they came back from exile. Now the former prophets had many things to say about the Messiah, many things about what He would be and how He would look and how He would fulfill prophecy and so forth. Many of the things that were clearly stated in the former prophets are then picked up again by the latter prophets.
Now Zechariah, as a latter prophet, after the exile, picks up three things about the Messiah that are from the former prophets. He calls the Messiah a cornerstone, a nail and a battle bow. Now these three things gives us a tremendous insight into the Messiah. He will come from the house of Judah, because it says out of Him, and we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is called the lion of what tribe? The tribe of Judah. We know that is the source. He will come from the nation Israel. He will come from the tribe of Judah. He will come from the town of Bethlehem and we know that from Micah 5:2, "O thou Bethlehem, Ephratah, though thou be little among the sons of Judah, out of thee shall He come forth." So the nation Israel, the tribe Judah, the portion of land will be Judah's and the very village in Judah's portion will be Bethlehem. So out of Judah will He come.
How tremendous it is that Jesus fulfilled that prophecy, that He was from Israel, that He was from the tribe of Judah, and that when He was born, His people were in a portion of land belonging to Judah in a very obscure non‑descript village called Bethlehem, exactly as the prophet had said in Micah chapter 5 and verse 2.
Now having established that, the Spirit then gives Zechariah three pictures of the Messiah, three pictures of the divine redeemer, this great prophet who will come, this great deliverer. The first one is that He is called in Hebrew pazaz and that means the cornerstone, verse 4 calls Him simply the corner. That's a Messianic title and in the former prophets, such as Isaiah 28:16, it says, "Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation and he that believeth shall not be ashamed." So Isaiah prophesied that He would be a stone, a tested stone, a precious stone, a cornerstone, a foundation stone. That has to be Jesus Christ, none other than Jesus Christ. And as you look at the New Testament, you find that Jesus Christ repeatedly is stated to be the cornerstone.
In Romans 9 verse 32, it says they stumbled at the stumbling stone as it is written, Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever believe on Him shall not be ashamed...and it's clear that Paul is referring to Jesus Christ who is the stumbling stone over which is real stumble. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 23, we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling stone. In Ephesians, the stone takes a little bit of a different approach and in Ephesians 2:20 it says, "And you are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." So sometimes He is a stone of stumbling and sometimes He is a cornerstone. And sometimes He is a precious stone. But that is a common Old Testament designation.
Daniel chapter 2 verse 34 calls Him a stone. In fact, Daniel calls Him a stone cut out without hands, and He is the crushing stone that comes in judgment to destroy the Gentile world powers. So Jesus is a stone. The Messiah will be a stone.
Here it is not the crushing aspect that is emphasized, that's emphasized in other parts of the Bible that He is a smitting rock, Matthew 21:44, a crushing stone of judgment. That is not the emphasis here. Zechariah says He is a cornerstone. He is a stone that holds up the walls. He is a supporting stone. He will give support and He will give stability, that's the idea. For the safety and stability of a building, almost everything depends on the foundation. Anybody who builds knows that.
I was always interested, when they were building this building, to watch them lay the foundation. On the back wall where everyone of those pillars is, you can see a little wooden plate that's been painted over...if you haven't seen it you can turn your neck and look it now or see it when you go out, hard to see now. That little plate is a hole in that pillar. And that hole is there because when we put a balcony in, steel beams will slide through those holes and they'll hook with those huge pillars outside and those huge pillars are anchored in the ground, I think it's eight to ten feet deep full of steel and concrete. And that's what will hold that balcony up. The foundation is vitally important.
And what Zechariah is saying here is really the same thing. He is saying Christ is the one who will come and give stability to Israel. And that's the thing they've needed for so many centuries. Barron(?), David Barron in his great commentary on Zechariah, says, "The great architect of the universe has purposed for Himself from all eternity to raise out of frail imperfect human materials a glorious temple for His own eternal habitation through the Spirit, which when completed shall show forth even more than the material temple of the universe, to principalities and powers the infinite power and manifold wisdom of God. And in order to insure that temple's eternal safety, He has bestowed great care on the foundation. He Himself has laid it and the tried and precious cornerstone which He has laid as the basis of this mystical structure is His own Son who is perfected forever more against whom the gates of hell cannot prevail."
And so we can say, let the storms rage and let infidelity assail and let men and devils do their utmost. When God sets Jesus as the cornerstone, the foundation stands sure. And we know that now, don't we? Because Christ is the cornerstone of the foundation of the church. And we have seen the church stand and weather the storm. And some day, He'll become the cornerstone of Israel.
Now there's something else about this cornerstone concept that struck me as I was studying it and that is that a cornerstone holds up two walls in the corner. It holds up two walls. And without pushing the point too far, I think it's kind of interesting to realize that the cornerstone Christ holds up the t