Study – Grow – Know

Zechariah 8: Israel Restored

January 13, 2025 at 1:16 PM Leave a comment

Watch the video for this lesson here

Zechariah 8 reveals God’s jealously for Zion (Jerusalem and all of Israel), while Zechariah 7 reveals that God wanted Israel to live righteously to avoid God’s punishment. Zechariah 8 reveals that God wanted Israel to live righteously to receive God’s favor. In Zechariah 8:2, God explains that His jealousy for His people created great wrath within Him! Essentially, God, the perfect Father was dealing with recalcitrant and wayward children! God wanted their obedience…from the heart! He asks and expects the very same from all Christians as well.

Zechariah 8:3 speaks of the future time during the Millennial Kingdom over which Jesus Himself will rule! At that time, Jerusalem will be called the “city of truth” or the righteous city. There will not even be a hint of sin there and any problem that pops up will be quickly dealt with by Ruler Jesus Himself.

God’s holy mountain will be in Jerusalem where nations will come to worship Him there. Zechariah 8:4-5 speaks of the fact that the aged will feel very secure in Jerusalem. They will not live in fear as they do in the world today. Children will play in the streets in safety.

Jerusalem would become a place of tranquility, long life, peace, prosperity, and security for even the most defenseless of her citizens (cf. Isa. 65:20-25). This clearly waits for the physical return of our God, our King, our Savior and Israel’s Messiah. It cannot happen until that Day. Zechariah 8:6 informs us that while this may have seemed impossible to the people of Zechariah’s day, they were to know that it would happen eventually, according to God’s timetable.

In Zechariah 8:7-8 Yahweh promises to save His people, and they will be His people; He will be their God, right in their midst. Zechariah 8:9 is where God reminds the people to gain strength from:

• The words of the prophets!
• The Israelites were to bathe themselves in God’s Word!
• We are to do the exact same thing!

Zechariah 8:10 speaks of the terrible conditions sent by God:

• High unemployment
• Animals did not even earn their keep
• No money to pay people for work
• Societal unrest

God used these circumstances to punish Israel and get the nation’s attention so they would repent. Zechariah 8:11 speaks of God’s promise to undo what He did to Israel by reversing their fortunes. Verse 12 tells us there will be food enough. God will see to that. In verse 13 God promises to reverse the curse He placed on Israel because of the stubbornness of their hearts.

Zechariah 8:14-15 informs us that though God sent judgment because of His wrath, He will turn things around for Israel and judge them no more. Verse 16 paints a dramatic picture of what Israel will be during the Millennial Kingdom:

• Speak only the truth
• Execute true judgment
• Experience true peace

Zechariah 8:17 continues painting a dramatic picture of what Israel will be during the Millennial Kingdom where there will be the absence of evil thoughts or intentions. There will be no lying. The fasts that Israel observed will no longer be times of mourning but of joy and festivity (v19). Gentiles will also come and worship together with Israel (vv20-22). Gentiles will diligently seek out Jews to be with as they worship the Lord God!

Ultimately, what we begin to see during the coming Millennial Kingdom is a new face to humanity. Human beings will become more in line with what God had originally intended with His creation of Adam and then Eve. In essence, this is what God is recreating within each saved individual, bringing us back to the newness and innocence of what our first parents experienced and were meant to be until sin destroyed that.

We will talk about this in a separate short series coming up. Please join me then.

Entry filed under: Atheism and religion, christianity, israel, Judaism.