| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| @December 26, 2023 | ESV (2016) | ESV Prophets Plan 2023 |
Pericopes
- The Coming Day of the Lord
Notes/Application
Zechariah announced a day coming where spoil will be taken from Jerusalem and divided among the conquering army. The nations will go to battle against Jerusalem and half of the city will go into exile while the other half remains in the city. The LORD will go out and fight against these nations and the faithful remnant among Israel will escape through a “a very wide valley” (Zech. 14:4). It will be an otherworldly day of no light, cold and frost and the LORD will be “king over all the earth” (Zech. 14:9). The land will be turned into a plain with Jerusalem elevated above the rest, dwelling securely. The LORD will strike Jerusalem’s enemies with a plague, causing panic and infighting and their wealth to be gathered, a reversal of Zech. 14:1. Those remaining among the nations will bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh and be expected to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths every year. Failure to do so will result in punishment of drought and plague. On that day, all common things will be consecrated to God’s glory and the distinctions between sacred and secular will no longer exist.
Zech. 14:9 beautifully captures the overarching theme of the chapter: “And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.” The wielding of the nations to purify His people and His subsequent judgment on these nations conveys a grand, sweeping narrative of God’s all-surpassing dominion. You get a sense for the sheer scale of God’s control, mission and breadth of grace in fostering reverent worship of Himself. All of this done entirely apart from anything inherently redeemable within ourselves, of which there is none. And yet, in the end, He will make everything “holy to the LORD of hosts” (Zech. 14:21), from the most valuable to the most common. This is One to whom we look, the Lord of all creation, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” (Rom. 11:36).
Scripture Journal Notes
Commentaries & Resources Used
- ESV Study Bible. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008)
- Faithlife Study Bible (Lexham Press, 2016)
- Believer’s Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson, 2016)
- CSB Study Bible Notes (Holman Bible Publishers, 2017)
- Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Guardian Press, 1976)
- The Bible: A Reader’s Guide (Sterling Publishing, 2011)
- The Infographic Bible (Zondervan, 2018)
- ESV Digital Scripture Journal (Crossway, 2019)