Zechariah 14

1 the day. Rather, “a day,” as R.V.

thy spoil. i.e., the spoil of Jerusalem, portioned out by the enemy in the very midst of the city; so complete was its subjugation.

3 as when He fought in the day of battle. As He formerly fought against the enemies of Israel—the Egyptians, Canaanites, and others. Cp. Exod. xiv. 14.

4 half the mountain shall remove, etc. The marvellous salvation of God’s true people from the punishment of the nation appears to be here figuratively represented by the opening of a way through the mountain, as God anciently opened one through the sea.

5 ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains. Or, “Ye shall flee by the valley of My mountains” (R.V.); i.e., those which I make by cleaving the Mount of Olives.

Azal. Probably the name of a place close to Jerusalem.

the earthquake. See Amos i. 1. An event so terrible that it abode in memory even after the Captivity.

the saints. Or, “holy ones,” as R.V.; perhaps angels, as in Deut. xxxiii. 2.

with thee. Rather, “with him.”

6 it shall come to pass in that day, etc. A slightly different reading is rendered in R.V.: “the light shall not be with brightness and with gloom.” i.e., there shall be no variation.

7 one day. Unlike any other.

not day, nor night. “And there shall be one day—it is known to Jehovah—not day and night (i.e., day succeeded by night), but at evening there shall be light”: referring to an eternal “day” of glory, which shall arrive at a time known only to Jehovah: see Matt. xxiv. 36.

8. Half of them toward the former (eastern) sea, etc. Half toward the Dead Sea, and half toward the Mediterranean. No permanent stream flows by Jerusalem; but it is to be the source of living waters flowing in all directions: cp. Ezek. xlvii. 1.

9 one Lord, and His name one. The Eternal alone shall be everywhere acknowledged and worshipped.

10 turned as a plain. “Turned into a plain” (like the Arabah).

From Geba to Rimmon. i.e., from the northern frontier of the land (2 Kings xxiii. 8) to the southern (Josh. xv. 32). The whole territory is to be depressed that Jerusalem may appear exalted: cp. Isa. ii. 2; Micah iv. 1.

10. And it shall be lifted up. Jerusalem, thus exalted, and conspicuous from afar, shall “abide” in her place, “compact together” (Psa. cxxii. 3, from east to west and from north to south. For “the tower of Hananeel” see note on Jer. xxxi. 38. “The king’s winepresses” were in the royal gardens on the south of the city (Neh. iii. 15).

11 there shall be no more utter destruction. Or, “there shall be no more curse”; see Rev. xxii. 3.

shall be safely inhabited. Rather, “shall abide in safety.”

14. Judah also. The country districts rallying to the defence of the metropolis. Cp. xii. 2.

at Jerusalem. Or, “in Jerusalem,” against those who in ver. 12 are said to fight “against Jerusalem.”

16 to keep the feast of tabernacles. They shall join as God’s people in His worship. Cp. Isa. lxvi. 23; Micah iv. 1, 2.

17 shall be no rain. One of the heaviest national calamities, entailing famine and lingering death: see 1 Kings xvii.

that [have] no [rain]. Rather, as R.V., “neither [shall it be] upon them.” That is, a like deprivation shall be theirs. As it is, Egypt has no rain; and the judgement would be in the withholding of the annual inundation.

20. Holiness (“Holy,” R.V.) unto the Lord. This was formerly inscribed only on the tiara of the high priest. What has hitherto been common shall now be sacred, and what has been sacred shall be more holy still. And this shall extend to all, even the meanest things in the City of God.

21 and take of them. i.e., of the common vessels in Jerusalem. This intimates (1) that the distinction between sacred and secular is now superseded by the common sanctity of all, and (2) that the number of worshippers is so vast as to press everything into service.

no more the Canaanite. Whom the Israelites were commanded to exterminate. But some render “trafficker” (R.V. marg.). See note on xi. 11.

The imagery and the expressions used in the latter part of this chapter are derived from the Jewish ritual and polity; the rewards and punishments of the New Dispensation being described, as they often are in the prophetic writings, under figures borrowed from the Old.

THE Bible begins with the account of how light dawned upon the natural world (Gen. i. 1–3). The Old Testament closes with the announcement of the coming of the spiritual light, “the Sun of Righteousness” (Mal. iv. 2). It is interesting to note that the New Testament, whose Gospel narratives begin with the star in the East (Matt. ii. 2, 10, 11), the Dayspring from on high (Luke i. 18), and the coming of “the Light of men” (John i. 4–9), ends with the prediction of the time when neither lamp nor sun shall be needed any more, for “the Lord God giveth them light” and “the bright and morning Star” shall for ever shine upon His people (Rev. xxii. 5, 16). So from Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is the messenger of light, scattering the darkness of sorrow and of sin, and bringing to the hearts of men peace, hope, and joy.

Malachi’s prophecy was written in a time when the clouds had again gathered over the life of Israel. It was after the Exile, somewhere between 460 and 432 B.C. and was either contemporaneous with the earlier work of Ezra and Nehemiah in Jerusalem or with Nehemiah’s second visit. The internal evidence, especially his reference to the Temple as already built (i. 10; iii. 1, 10), seems to indicate the later date. That Malachi’s name is not mentioned by any other writer of the period has suggested to some commentators that it was a title expressive of his mission, Malachi meaning “My messenger,” or, if it is an abbreviation for “Malachiyah,” “the messenger of the Lord.” In any case it was a time of many abuses and corruptions.

Against these the earlier chapters of the Book are directed. The prophet denounces the carelessness of priests and people in offering unworthy sacrifices, contrasting their ingratitude with the favour which they had received from God in comparison with Edom (i. 6–10; cp. verses 2 and 3). But even then he sees the vision of a coming day when God’s name shall be universally honoured—another Old Testament forecast of foreign missions (i. 11).

He attaches special blame to the priests, who should have been teachers and examples to the people (ii. 1–9). He speaks strongly against intermarriage with the heathen, and particularly where it has led to divorcing of Jewish wives (ii. 11–16). And then come his great predictions of the coming of the Messiah, preluded by the messenger who should “prepare the way before Him” (iii. 1), a prediction applied to John the Baptist in Matt. xi. 10, 14; Mark i. 2; ix. 11, 12; Luke i. 17, 76; vii. 27; John i. 23.