Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20090802.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Zechariah: Paving The Path Toward A Blessed Future
Part IV: Informing God's People About The Messianic King And His Kingdom, Zechariah 9:1-14:21
F. Predicting The Final Arrival Of Messiah And His Kingdom, Zechariah 12:1-14:21
1. God's Final Deliverance Of Israel And Its Cause
(Zechariah 12:1-13:9)
  1. Introduction
    1. Elevating false idols, be it possessions or even people, in place of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives as believers, is an abomination to God that He addresses with great discipline. However, once we repent of this sin, the contrast in God's deliverance and blessing is enormous.
    2. This lesson appears most forcefully in God's prophecy of delivering Israel from her Great Tribulation woes due to her repentance in replacing false idols with her true God and Messiah, the Lord Jesus:
  2. God's Final Deliverance Of Israel And Its Cause, Zechariah 12:1-13:9.
    1. Zechariah 12:1-9 predicts God's coming great deliverance of Israel from her Great Tribulation woes under the terrible reign of the Zechariah 11:15-17 Antichrist (as follows):
      1. We learned in our previous lesson that Zechariah 11:15-17 foretells the arrival of the terrible reign of the Antichrist as God's permissive judgment on Israel for having rejected Christ in Zechariah 11:1-14.
      2. However, Zechariah 12:1-9 predicts a marvelous reversal of Israel's plight when God delivers her:
        1. God said He as Creator of the universe and of man will make Jerusalem a cause of fear and an unbearable burden to the Gentile nations that besiege Jerusalem, Zechariah 12:1-3.
        2. He will cause supernatural confusion and panic to overtake the men and horses attacking Israel (Zech. 12:4) while Israel's leaders trust in the Lord as their strength for victory, Zechariah 12:5.
        3. Consequently, God will make Israel's leaders empowered to overcome their foes (Zech. 12:6, 8), saving Judah before saving Jerusalem to keep the city's Davidic rulers humble before the people of Judah (Zech. 12:7; Bib. Know. Com., O. T., p. 1567) as He destroys all of Israel's enemy foes, 12:9.
    2. To understand why God will thus deliver and richly bless Israel, Zechariah 12:10-13:9 reveals its cause will be Israel's repentance toward God in replacing false idols with the Lord Jesus Christ (as follows):
      1. In that day, God will pour out a spirit of grace and supplications on Israel since she will realize and deeply grieve over the fact that the Lord Jesus she had crucified by piercing was her Messiah, 12:10-14.
      2. Accordingly, God will open a fountain of cleansing from sin for Israel, cleansing through the blood of the Lord Jesus that was shed on the cross for Israel as well as for the world, Zechariah 13:1; Isa. 53:4-6.
      3. Zechariah 13:2-5 reveals that the key sin that had led to Israel's problems was the replacement of faith in Christ as God with a variety of false gods, be it graven images or any other replacement for Him, so God will cut off the names of the idols out of the land of Israel, Zechariah 13:2a.
      4. Then, God will eradicate the memory of the false prophets who promoted idolatry, Zechariah 13:2b.
      5. Indeed, a false prophet will be slain by his parents (Zechariah 13:3), and false prophets will be ashamed of their false visions that led Israel into idolatry, and will claim to be only farmers, Zechariah 13:4-5.
      6. The Lord Jesus, the Cleanser from Israel's idolatry, is revealed in Zechariah 13:6-7 with the nail prints in his hands due to His crucifixion that paved the way for Israel's forgiveness, which crucifixion was allowed by God the Father in His smiting the Good Shepherd and judging Israel for rejecting Him.
      7. Nevertheless, through the Great Tribulation Period under the Antichrist, God will have brought a third of the nation through the fire refined from her idolatry to where Israel's repentant ones will call on God's name versus the names of false idols; God will respond that Israel is His people, and Israel will call Him her God, a climactic beginning to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, Zechariah 13:8-9.
Lesson: When Israel suffers greatly under the Antichrist who tries to set himself up as God, and she turns to the Lord in repentance, Christ will come and wonderfully deliver the nation from her foes, cleanse her from sin, especially the sin of idolatry, and renew His relationship with Israel in blessing.

Application: (1) May we keep ourselves from idols as believers (1 John 5:21), and repent of anything that is threatening to replace our dependence upon our Lord Jesus Christ for fulfillment! (2) May we also not exalt ourselves as little gods in line with God's work to keep Judah's rulers humble, Zec. 12:7.