The type and curse of A. M. cir. 3417. B. C. cir. 587. OI. XLVIII. 2. I ZECHARIAH. W foolish shepherd. B. C. cir. 587. cut it asunder, that I might Bands, that I might break the bro- A. M. eir. 3417. 11 And it was broken in that day and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. therhood between Judah and Israel. O1. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. 16 For lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. 14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even darkened. Or, the poor of the flock, &c., certainly knew. Zeph. iii. 12; ver. 7. If it be good in your eyes." Matt, xxvi. 15; see Exod. xxi. 32. asunder] And thus I showed that I determined no longer to preserve them in their free and glorious state. And thus I brake my covenant with them, which they had broken on their part already. Verse 11. So the poor of the flock] The pious, who attended to my teaching, saw that this was the word the design, of God. Verse 12. If ye think good, give me my price] "Give me my hire." And we find they rated it contemptuously; thirty pieces of silver being the price of a slave, Exod. xxi. 32. Verse 13. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter] Jehovah calls the price of his prophet his own price; and commands that it should not be accepted, but given to a potter, to foreshadow the transaction related Matt. xxvii. 7. “Earthen vessels were used in the temple; and we may suppose that some Levites were employed within the sacred precincts to furnish them. To these, the humblest of his ministers in the temple, God commands that the degrading price should be cast." This is the substance of the notes on these two verses, given by Apb. Newcome. We may look at it in another light, Give me my price! 17 habu sichri, bring my price, or give him my price; that is, Give the money to Judas which you have agreed to give him; for he can neither betray me nor you crucify me, but by my own permission. But if not, forbear; take time to consider this bloody business, and in time forbear. For though I permit you to do it, yet remember that the permission does not necessitate you to do it; and the salvation of the world may be effected without this treachery and murder. cannot, says Newcome, explain this passage, without supposing that the kingdom of Israel subsisted when the prophet wrote it; and that either the wars between Judah and Israel are referred to, (see 2 Kings xvi. 5,) or the captivity of the ten tribes, when the brotherly connection between these kingdoms ceased. Verse 15. The instruments of a foolish shepherd.] Such as a bag without bread, a scrip without measure, and a staff without a hook, &c.; things that were needless or of no use; to point out to the Jewish pastors, who took no care of the flock, but devoured them, or ruled them with force and with cruelty. Verse 16. I will raise up a shepherd in the land] Some wicked king; and Newcome supposes Hoshea may be meant. See 2 Kings xvii. 1, 2, and to such abominable sovereign the prophecy may well an apply. Verse 17. Wo to the idol shepherd any ro haelil, "the worthless," or 66 good for nothing shepherd." The shepherd in name and office, but not performing the work of one. See John x. 11. The sword shall be upon his arm] Punishment shall be executed upon the wicked Jews, and especially their wicked kings and priests. See ver. 16. Arm-the secular power; right eye-the ecclesiastical state. His arm shall be clean dried up] The secular power shall be broken, and become utterly inefficient. His right eye shall be utterly darkened] Prophecy shall be restrained; and the whole state, ecclesiastical and civil, shall be so completely eclipsed, that none of their functions shall be performed. This may refer to the worthless and wicked governor mentioned in the preceding verse. See my notes on this place, Matt. xxvii. 9, where There are several things in this chapter that are very obscure, and we can hardly say what opinion is right; nor is it at all clear whether they refer to a very The burden of the word CHAP. XII. CHAPTER XII. of the Lord for Israel. The first part of this chapter, with several passages in chap. xiv., relates to an invasion that shall be made on the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem in the latter ages of the world, some time after the restoration and settlement of the Jews in their own land. It also describes, in very magnificent terms, the signal interposition of God in their favour. From this the prophet proceeds in the latter part of the chapter, 10-14, to describe the spiritual mercies of God in converting his people; and gives a very pathetic and affecting account of the deep sorrow of that people, when brought to a sense of their great sin in crucifying the Messiah, comparing it to the sorrow of a parent for his first-born and only son, or to the lamentations made for Josiah in the valley of Megiddon, 2 Chron. xxxv. 24, 25. A deep, retired sorrow, which will render the mourners for a season insensible to all the comforts and enjoyments of the most endearing society. horse of the people with blind- A. M. cir. 3477 ness. A. M. 3417. 587. B. C. cir: 3977 OI. XLVIII. 2.'Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., THE burden of the word of .a the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the cir. annum 30. heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. b 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of a trembling unto all the people round about, • when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3f And in that day will I make Jerusalem g a burdensome stone for all people all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. h 4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every a Isa. xlii. 5; xliv. 24; xlv. 12, 18; xlviii. 13. Num. xvi. 22; Eccles. xii. 7; Isa. Ìvii. 16; Heb. xii. 9. Isa. li. 17, 22, 23. Or, slumber, or poison.- Or, and also against Judah shall he be which shall be in siege against Jerusrlem. Ver. 4, NOTES ON CHAP. XII. Verse 1. The burden of the word of the Lord] This is a new prophecy. It is directed both to Israel and Judah, though Israel alone is mentioned in this verse. Which stretcheth forth the heavens] See on Isa. xlii. 5. Formeth the spirit of man within him.] Then it is not the same substance with his body. It is a SPIRIT within HIM. Verse 2. Jerusalem a cup of trembling] The Babylonians, who captivated and ruined the Jews, shall in their turn be ruined. I incline to think that what is spoken in this chapter about the Jews and Jerusalem, belongs to the "glory of the latter times." Shall be in the siege] This may refer to some war against the Church of Christ, such as that mentioned Rev. xx. 9. Verse 3. A burdensome stone] Probably referring to that stone which was thrown on the breast of a culprit adjudged to lose his life by stoning, by which the whole region of the thorax, heart, lungs, liver, &c., was broken to pieces. B. C. cir. 587. Ol. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman.,' 5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The cir. annum 30.inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. 6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. 7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8 In that day shall the LORD defend the 6, 8, 9, 11; chap. xiii. 1; xiv. 4, 6, 8, 9, 13. - Matt. xxi. 44.- Psa. lxxvi. 6; Ezek. xxxviii. 4.-Or, There is strength to me and to the inhabitants, &c.; Joel iii. 16. k Obad. 18. Verse 4. I will smite every horse] Some apply this to the wars of the Maccabees with the Syrians; but it is more likely to be a prophecy not yet accomplished. The terms are too strong for such petty and evanescent victories as those of the Maccabees. Verse 5. The governors of Judah] This supposes a union between the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Verse 6. Jerusalem shall be inhabited again] This seems to refer to the future conversion of the Jews, and their "return to their own land." Verse 7. The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first] This, I suppose, refers to the same thing. The Gospel of Christ shall go from the least to the greatest. Eminent men are not the first that are called; the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And this is done in the wise providence of God, that the "glory of the house of David," &c., that secular influence may appear to have no hand in the matter; and that God does not send his Gospel to a great man, because he is such. Verse 8. He that is feeble among them—shall be as David] Here is a marked difference between Judaism The spirit of grace shall be ZECHARIAH. poured out on the house of David. A. M. cir. 3417 inhabitants of Jerusalem; and in bitterness for him, as one that shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD be- and Christianity. So clear, full, and efficient shall be the salvation of believers under the Gospel, that the feeblest among them shall be as strong, as full of courage, and as successful as David when he went against Goliath. The least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist. And the house of David-as the angel of the Lord] The family, the Church of the true David, the Lord Jesus, shall be as the angel of the Lord; shall stand in the Divine presence like Gabriel; for Christ hath said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So "we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed from glory into glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." Thus the house of David, the true Christians, shall here walk with, after, and before God. Verse 9. I will seek to destroy all the nations] When this time shall arrive, all nations that "will not receive the faith of our Lord Jesus" shall be destroyed, when the longsuffering of God shall no longer wait upon them. This seems to belong to a period yet very remote. Verse 10. I will pour upon the house of David] This is the way in which the Jews themselves shall be brought into the Christian Church. 1. They shall have the spirit of grace;" God will show them that S A. M. cir. 3417. O1. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. B. C. cir. 587. as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. u 12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14 All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. he yet bears favour to them. 2. They shall be excited to fervent and continual prayer for the restoration of the Divine favour. 3. Christ shall be preached unto them; and they shall look upon and believe in him whom they pierced, whom they crucified at Jerusalem, 4. This shall produce deep and sincere repentance ; they shall mourn, and be in bitterness of soul, to think that they had crucified the Lord of life and glory, and so long continued to contradict and blaspheme, since that time. Verse 11. A great mourning] A universal repent ance. As the mourning of Hadadrimmon] They shall mourn as deeply for the crucified Christ as their forefathers did for the death of Josiah, who was slain at Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. See 2 Chron. xxxv. 24, 25. Verse 12. Every family apart] The meaning of the word apart, which recurs here so often, may be this: Their sorrow shall be so deep and distressing, that every one will endeavour to avoid another, and vent his grief and distress of soul in private. And even husbands and wives shall separate from each other in this general mourning, as they were obliged to do by law in certain circumstances. See 1 Cor. vii. 5, and the note there. CHAPTER XIII. After the humiliation and conversion of the Jews, foretold in the preceding chapter, they are here promised the full pardon of their sins, and a deliverance from idolatry and false prophets, 1-6. Prophecy concerning the death of the Messiah, and the persecution of his disciples, 7. The remaining verses may refer to those Jewish converts to Christianity who survived the calamities which their country suffered from the Romans, 8, 9. 794 The destruction of A. M. cir. 3417. a CHAP. XIII. Jerusalem foretold. B. C. cir. 587. B. C. cir. 597. IN that day there shall be a ther that begat him shall thrust A. M. cir. 3417. fountain opened to the house OI. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. cleanness. of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for un 2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. 3. And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD and his father and his mo Chap. xii. 3. - Heb. ix. 14; 1 Pet. i. 19; Rev. i. 5. Heb. separation for uncleanness. d Exod. xxiii. 13; Josh. xxiii. 7; Psa. xvi. 4; Ezek. xxx. 13; Hos..ii. 17; Mic. v. 12, 13.- 2 Pet. ii. 1. NOTES ON CHAP. XIII. Verse 1. In that day there shall be a fountain opened] This chapter is a continuation of the preceding, and should not have been separated from it. A fountain] The source of mercy in Christ Jesus; perhaps referring to the death he should die, and the piercing of his side, when blood and water issued out. To the house of David] To David's family, and such like persons as it included. See the history of David and his sons, and then learn for whom Christ shed his blood. Inhabitants of Jerusalem] Such like persons as the Jews were in every part of their history, and in their last times, when they clamoured for the blood of Christ, and pursued him unto death! Learn from this also for whom Christ died! These were the worst of the human race; and if he died for them, none need despair. They rejected, betrayed, crucified, slew, and blasphemed Christ, and afterwards persecuted his followers. For these he died! Yes and he tasted death for EVERY MAN. : For sin and for uncleanness.] For the removal of the guilt of sin, and for the purification of the soul from the uncleanness or pollution of sin. O1. XLVIII. 2. Tarquinii Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. him through when he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear ha rough garment to deceive: k 5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. 6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. 7-Awake, O sword, against m my Shepherd, and against the man n that is my Fellow, shall be no toleration of it. Itself, and they who practise it, shall be everywhere destroyed. Verse 4. Neither shall they wear a rough garment]. A rough garment made of goats' hair, coarse wool, or the coarse pile of the camel, was the ordinary garb of God's prophets. And the false prophets wore the same; for they pretended to the same gifts, and the same spirit, and therefore they wore the same kind of garments. John Baptist had a garment of this kind. Verse 5. But he shall say, I am no prophet] This must be the case of a false prophet or diviner, who had been obliged to give up his infamous practice, and become even a labourer in the land. But having been known to be such, he is questioned by the people to see if he still were addicted in heart to the same practices. He declares he is no prophet, neither true nor false; that he is now a husbandman, and was brought up a herdsman. Verse 6. What are these wounds in thine hands?] Marks which he had received in honour of his idols. But he shall excuse himself by stating that he had received these marks in his own family; when, most probably, they had been dedicated to some of those idols. See the note on Isa. xliv. 5. I do not think that these words are spoken at all concerning Jesus Christ. I have heard them quoted in this way; but Verse 2. I will cut off the names of the idols] There shall not only be no idolatry, but the very names of the idols shall be forgotten, or be held in such abhorrence I cannot hear such an application of them without that no person shall mention them. This prophecy seems to be ancient, and to have been delivered while idolatry had prevalence in Israel and Judah. I will cause the prophets] All false teachers. And the unclean spirit] That which leads to impurity, the spirit of divination; the lust of the flesh, and of the eye, and the pride of life. Satan shall have neither a being in, nor power over, the hearts of sincere believers in Christ. Verse 3. When any shall yet prophesy] Falsely; such shall be the horror of such an evil, that there horror. In quoting from the Old Testament in reference to the New, we cannot be too cautious. We may wound the truth instead of honouring it. Verse 7. Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd] This is generally understood of Jesus Christ. The sword is that of Divine justice, which seemed to have been long asleep, and should long ago have struck either MAN, or his SUBSTITUTE, the Messiah. Jesus is here called God's Shepherd, because he had appointed him to feed and govern, as well as to save, the whole lost world. This is a prosopopœia, and the address The desolations ZECHARIAH. r 9 And I will bring the third A. M. cir. 3417. saith the LORD of hosts: ° smite Ol. XLVIII. 2. Tarquini. Prisci, R. Roman., cir. annum 30. t of Jerusalem. A. M. cir. 3417. B. C. cir. 587. oi. XLVIN. 2 Tarquinii Prisci R. Roman. cir. annum 30. mine hand upon the little ones. refined, and will try them as 8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the gold is tried: they shall call on my name, land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall and I will hear them: "I will say, It is my be cut off and die; but the third shall be people; and they shall say, The LORD is my left therein. God. - Matt. xviii. 10, 14; Luke Isa. xlviii. 10.1 Pet. i. 6, 7. • Matt. xxvi. 31; Mark xiv. 27.xii. 32. - Rom. xi. 5. Psa. 1. 15; xci. 15; chap. x. 6, Lu Psa. cxliv. 15; Jer. xxx. 22; Ezek. xi. 20; Hos. ii. 23; chap. viii. 3. to the sword is very poetic. There is a fine passage This is quoted by our Lord, Matt. xxvi. 31, in relation in Eschylus to the same effect: Ξενος δε κλήροις επίνωμα, Χαλυβος Σκυθών άποικος, ESCHYL. Sept. cont. Theb. 733. "The rude barbarian, from the mines Of Scythia, o'er the lots presides; Ruthless to each his share assigns, And the contested realm divides: Than, on the cold earth as they lie, Regardless of an ampler reign: Such narrow compass does the swordA cruel umpire-their high claims afford." to his disciples, who should be scattered on his crucifixion and they were so; for every one, giving up all for lost, went to his own house. And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.] I will take care of the little flock, and preserve them from Jewish malice and Gentile persecution. And so this little flock was most wondrously preserved, and has been increasing from year to year from that time to the present day. Verse 8. Two parts therein shall be cut off] In the war with the Romans. But the third shall be left] Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ shall be preserved alive; and not one of these perished in the siege, or afterwards, by those wars. Verse 9. I will bring the third part through the fire] The Christian Church shall endure a great fight of afflictions, by which they shall be refined-not consumed. They shall call on my name] In this way shall they offer all their prayers and supplications to God. I will say, It is my people] The Church that I have chosen in the place of the Jews who have filled up the measure of their iniquity. And they shall say, The Lord is my God] And thus communion shall be established between me and them for ever. Thus there shall be a general Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered] restoration. CHAPTER XIV. The commencement of this chapter relates to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and to the calamities consequent on that event. From this great Jewish tragedy the prophet immediately passes to the utter extermination of the enemies of Christianity in the latter days. God will display his power in behalf of his people in a manner so astonishing and miraculous, that even they themselves, and much more their enemies, shall be struck with terror, 4, 5. The national prosperity of the Jews shall then be permanent and unmixed, 6, 7; and these people shall be made the instruments of converting many to the faith of the Messiah, 8, 9. The great increase and prosperity of the Christian Church, the New Jerusalem, is then described in terms accommodated to Jewish ideas; and the most signal vengeance denounced against all her enemies, 10-19. From that happy period God's name will be honoured in every thing, and his worship everywhere most reverently observed, 20, 21. 796 |