Evening

January 18

Zechariah 12:1-3 ¹This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: ²"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. ³On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.

It is easy to see why the Jews got mixed up about Jesus first and second comings when you read the prophecies in Zechariah. In some cases a prediction of His first coming is followed by the second in the next verse. There would be only one more prophet, Malachi, between Zechariah and John the Baptist. No wonder he speaks so much of the coming Messiah and the ultimate restoration of Israel.

In our passage today we see the final great battle of Armageddon. The armies of the world surround Jerusalem. In these last three chapters of Zechariah's prophecy, we see the purging of Israel, their repentance and acceptance of the Messiah, and the Messiah's establishment of His reign over the earth. Look at your newspaper today. There is probably an article on the conflict over this tiny nation. It is not even 1% of the landmass of the Arab nations that surround it, and yet it has become an immovable rock. Time and time again the Arabs have tried to move it, only to injure themselves. It is the zeal or jealous love of the Lord that is accomplishing this. The Creator of heaven and earth made a covenant with Abraham, and He is keeping it. Yes, it has been kept in the spiritual sense, but reading these last three chapters of Zechariah, you can see that it will be fulfilled in the Messianic Israelites as they recognize Jesus as their Messiah.

Consider: The fulfillment of this prediction of the immovable rock should cause us to turn our eyes to the eastern skies. His return is close. Are you prepared to meet Him in the air?