Zechariah 10:1

Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain,.... There was the former and the latter rain, of which see Hosea 6:3.

Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

CHAPTER 10 God is to be sought unto, and not idols, ,2. As he visited his flock for sin, so will he save and restore them, . Ask: it was a time of great scarcity with the Jews while the temple and city lay waste, and the prophets from God assure them it is for neglecting to rebuild the temple, to which work the Lord does earnestly call by Haggai and Zechariah, with promises of great blessings, which forthwith God would give to them, if they set to this work, and seek the Lord by prayer, to which duty he doth direct them in this chapter: to the building of city and temple they must add prayer, for the blessing is prepared, and shall be given when asked. Ye Jews, returned from Babylon, settled in your city, and returned to the worship of God, and to whom many excellent promises are made; you must pray. Rain in the time of the latter rain; which usually came about spring to fill the eared corn, and to bring forth the grass, to make the trees and plants with their fruit to be full and large: this latter rain made plenty of all provision, and is proverbially used to signify a great blessing, . The Lord shall make; by making the vapours ascend from the earth, he will cover the heavens with clouds: see how Job, , doth elegantly describe this work of God. Bright clouds; clouds which bring rain, and pour it out abundantly, when they are opened with thunders and lightnings, which do as it were broach the clouds; they unstop these bottles: and they are bright clouds through the lightnings which break from them, 38:25,26. And give them, the Jews, his people, showers of rain; plentiful showers of rain, that shall fatten the earth, and make it fruitful. To every one grass in the field; none shall miss it, nor the effect of it on corn or grass; corn for man, and grass for the beast.

Zechariah 10:1 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; [so] the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.Ver. 1. Ask you of the Lord rain] Ask it and have it; open your mouths wide, and he will fill them. "Seek ye the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you," Hosea 10:12. Surely as the sun draws up vapours from the earth and sea, not to retain them, but to return them; and as thin vapours come down again in thick showers of rain; so God calls for our prayers, for out profit; and does for us "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think," Ephesians 3:20. Ask we must, Ezekiel 36:37. Prayer is an indispensable duty. Our Saviour taught his disciples to pray. He himself was to ask of his Father, and then he should have the heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, Psalms 2:8. He could have had presently twelve legions of angels to rescue him; but then he was to send to heaven for them by prayer, Matthew 26:53 "I came for thy words," that is, for thy prayers’ sake, saith the angel to Daniel. As well as God loved him, he looked to hear from him, Daniel 10:11-12 for he will grace his own ordinances, and make his people know both their distance and dependence. Rain in the time of the latter rain] Rain is the flux of a moist cloud; which, being dissolved by little and little by the heat of the sun, lets down rain by drops out of the middle region of the air. This, if it come right in due time and measure, it maketh much for the fattening of the earth, Psalms 65:11, allaying the heat, nourishing the herb and tree, Isaiah 44:14, refreshing all creatures, grass, fruits, Leviticus 26:4 James 5:18 Isaiah 30:23. So, if otherwise, it proves a great punishment, Joe 1:10-11; Joe 1:17; Joe 1:19. Great expectation there was in Judaea and those Eastern parts of the former and the latter rain. That fell in the seedtime about autumn; this in the spring time, causing the grain to ear, and kernel before harvest. Both were to be sought of God alone. For are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heaven give showers? No, no; these come by a devine decree, Job 28:26. God prepares rain, Psalms 147:8, he dispenseth it in number weight, and measure, Job 28:25, not a drop falls in vain, or in a wrong place: he also withholds it when and where he thinks good, Amos 4:7. The Egyptians used, in a profane mockery, to tell other nations that if God should forget to rain they might all chance to starve for it.

(1) Bright clouds.—Better, lightnings, which precede the longed-for rain. (Comp. Jeremiah 10:13; Psalms 135:7.) Grass. . . .—Comp. Deuteronomy 11:15.

CHAPTER X The promise of prosperity and plenty in the close of the preceding chapter leads the prophet to suggest, next, the means of obtaining them; supplication to Jehovah, and not to idols, whose worship had already proved a fertile source of calamities, 1-3. The rest of the chapter (like the preceding) promises to the Jews a restoration to their own land under rulers and governors, victory over their enemies, and much increase and prosperity; and this in a manner so miraculous, that it is described, 4-12, by allusions to the deliverance from Egypt. NOTES ON CHAP. X Verse 1. Ask ye of the Lord rain] Rain in the due seasons - 1. To impregnate the seed when sown; and 2. To fill the ear near the time of harvest-was so essential to the fertility of the land, and the well-being of the people, that it stands well among the chief of God's mercies and the promise of it here shows that God designs to ensure the prosperity promised, by using those means by which it was promoted.

1. the latter rain] Would you have even now a measure at least of the promised abundance, seek it of Jehovah; look to Him for the rain that prepares (Psalms 65:9-10), as well as for the crowning gift itself (Ib. Zechariah 10:11) of “corn” and “wine.” The latter rain fell in March or April and served to swell the grain now coming to maturity. The former rain fell in the autumn. (Deuteronomy 11:14; Joe 2:23. Comp. Jeremiah 3:3.) so the Lord shall make bright clouds] Rather, it is the Lord who makes lightnings (as in the margin, or, even of the Lord that maketh lightnings, R. V.), which usher in and accompany rain: therefore of Him must you ask it. Comp. “He hath made lightnings for the rain,” Psalms 135:7. “For the rain; i.e. so that the rain follows the lightning; see Jeremiah 10:13; Jeremiah 51:16. The lightning is supposed to precede the rain. A common Arabic proverb says of a man who turns out other than was expected of him, that he lightens but does not rain.” Dean Perowne. grass] Rather, herb, including food for man, Genesis 1:29.

Ask ye of the Lord rain - “Ask and ye shall receive” our Lord says.

JEHOVAH THE SOURCE OF , 1, 2.Zechariah 10 is joined closely to Zechariah 9:17, by means of Zec 10:1-2.