Zechariah 12:8
On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Zechariah 12:1-9
As a prelude to Zechariah 12:10, we will cover the first nine verses of Zechariah 12 so we can understand the context of this chapter. Zechariah begins the chapter by telling us that what he is going to say is a prophecy – “the word of the Lord concerning Israel”. So everything that follows is about Israel and what is to happen there.
The first five verses describe a time when all the nations gather against Jerusalem. Judah and Jerusalem will be “besieged” by the armies of the surrounding nations. However, Jerusalem will be an “immovable rock” and anyone who tries to move it will only bring harm on themselves.
God will defend Jerusalem and Judah. He will strike every horse with panic, blind the horses and strike their riders with madness. It’s clear that God saves Judah but maybe not in a supernatural way. It seems that He uses the inhabitants of Jerusalem to defend it. The clans of Judah say, “The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.” It appears that God empowers the people to mount a defense and it is their trust in God that gives them strength.
This is the setting when we approach verse eight. The nations have come against Jerusalem and Judah and have been unsuccessful. The people of Jerusalem have defended their land and “consumed all the surrounding peoples right and left”. Judah was spared first and then Jerusalem. Zechariah tells us in verse 8:
“On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them” (NIV).
“On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them!” (NLT)
I’ve stumbled across three different interpretations for this verse. I think there is truth in all three and some encouragement here for us as followers of Jesus.
First, in context, verse 8 is describing the empowerment of God on His people to defend Judah and Jerusalem. “The weakest among them will be as mighty as King David!” Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, we have seen this occur many times particularly in the six-day war of 1967. God is even today empowering Israel to defend itself despite being grossly outnumbered by their enemies.
There seems to be a particular day coming when God will clearly give each person in Jerusalem the strength of King David. David was a mighty warrior who was responsible for immense casualties throughout his life. The women of Israel at one point even chanted:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands” (1 Sam 18:7).
Zechariah says in verse 8 that “on that day” this will happen. So whether that day is the great battle of Armageddon that is to come or some other battle, the people of Jerusalem will fight many times above their weight class.
Second, this prophecy may also be about Jesus. This interpretation hinges on the phrase “the weakest among them” being specifically about Jesus. If so, then Jesus will be “like David”. The NKJV says:
“the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them.”
This certainly defines Jesus the way the NKJV translates this verse. Psalm 38 is written from the perspective of Jesus on the cross and Jesus says:
“I am feeble and utterly crushed;
I groan in anguish of heart” (Ps 38:8).
Jesus became the weakest among them on the cross. He was the one who is feeble among them as he sacrificed himself for our sins. He was in fact like David because Jesus is the King of kings. He descended from the house of David and was God in the flesh. He is said to be the Angel of the Lord as well. So this verse certainly could describe Jesus and even hint that Jesus will have come back again at this time.
Third, this prophecy could be about us – the Church. The NLT says that “the royal descendants will be like God”. We are in fact royal descendants because all who follow Jesus are children of God:
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13).
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Rom 8:14).
“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Gal 3:26-27).
As children of God, we are like God because we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit who makes us righteous and holy like God.
“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph 4:20-24).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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