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Zechariah 13 (ESV)

1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Idolatry Cut Off

² “And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. ³ And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

⁴ “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, ⁵ but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ ⁶ And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

The Shepherd Struck

⁷ “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who stands next to me,”
declares the Lord of hosts.

“Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;
I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸ In the whole land, declares the Lord,
two thirds shall be cut off and perish,
and one third shall be left alive.
⁹ And I will put this third into the fire,
and refine them as one refines silver,
and test them as gold is tested.
They will call upon my name,
and I will answer them.
I will say, ‘They are my people’;
and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

 

REFLECTION:

• Continuing the promises in Chapter 12, this chapter states what will be accomplished “on that day” which can be divided into two aspects:

1. Sin is to be completely eradicated among the people (2-6) – this includes the spirit of uncleanness (2) and false prophecies of false prophets (3-6). Note the words “I will cut off” and “I will remove” in verse 2, which shows that the cleansing of sin is an act of God’s own involvement and accomplishment.
2. The Good Shepherd will be rejected (7), and the chosen people will suffer the judgment of God for this sin. Those holy remnants will experience trials as if they were scorched by fire (9).

• Before His arrest, Jesus quoted verse 7 “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (cf. Matthew 26:31-32), referring to Himself and His disciples. Jesus knew early on that the disciples would be scattered when He was arrested. That “sword” refers to the military force that put Christ to death.
• The remaining third of the people is a small part of the whole (9), and whenever the nation was against God in Israel’s history, there were always some who still trusted and followed Him. These “remnants” have been tempered in adversity, just as gold and silver are refined by fire. To be the few “remnants” who obey God, we must obey Him wholeheartedly, regardless of others. There may be frequent trials and disasters, but we will be like gold and silver refined by fire, and become pure like Christ.

 

PRAYER:

May the Lord examine and test me, completely remove the filth in my heart, and guide me on the path of eternal life. Lord please give me faith and patience in trials, for I know that after the trial of fire, I will be like pure gold.

 

HYMN:

Blessings – youtu.be/ICnct8THNag