Zechariah 2:10
“Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Zechariah 2:1-13
We will spend the bulk of the remaining days in the book of Zechariah. Zechariah was one of the last prophets. His ministry began in 520 BC around the same time as Haggai began his ministry. The exiles had returned to Jerusalem and were rebuilding the temple along with the rest of Judah.
Zechariah is likely the last martyr mentioned in the Old Testament. Jesus is likely speaking of the prophet Zechariah during his lecture of the seven woes to the Pharisees:
“‘You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation’” (Matt 23:33-36).
Zechariah is given a vision in chapter 2 where he sees and speaks with two angels. Although one of the angels doesn’t seem to be just any angel but rather the angel of the Lord or even Jesus himself. When this angel speaks, he is referred to in the Hebrew as YHWH – The LORD. So this angel speaks for God as God. Then we see in verse 11 that The LORD is both sent and doing the sending:
“Many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.”
So this appears to be a glimpse into the Trinity. The Lord says that he will live among us and also be sent by the Lord Almighty. So it makes sense that this angel is likely Jesus.
Jesus is being sent to live among the Daughter of Zion which refers to the Jewish people as a whole or specifically the city of Jerusalem. It almost always points to a future period in time when God will restore his people to Himself. Referring to the Jewish people as His daughter, God is highlighting the parental relationship He has with Israel but it also emphasizes how much He loves and cares for them.
So Jesus is being sent to live among his people. And he says that “many nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people.” This is another dual prophecy that was both fulfilled on Jesus’s first coming and will be fulfilled on Jesus’s second coming. We know in the end times that God will dwell with his people in the new Jerusalem. But if we read Zechariah 2:10-13 as if it refers to Jesus’s first coming, it makes total sense as well.
I love two aspects of this prophecy. Verse 13 says:
“Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”
All mankind is instructed to be still before the Lord. We are to stand in awe because “he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” The Almighty God has woken up and is on the move. It stirs up a mental image of being in the African wilderness and then you hear the sound of the lion in the near distance. Instinctually, you freeze and become very still. The lion has been roused from his sleep and he commands your attention. This is not the time to carry on with your day. It’s time to be still.
The other aspect I love is found in verse 10:
“Shout and be glad, Daughter Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you.”
Jesus is coming to live with us. Our response to this is the opposite of verse 13. We are to shout and be glad. He is not coming as the prowling lion. He is coming as the sacrificial lamb. He is coming to live among us and to save us. This is not the time to be afraid. This is good news of great joy!
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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