Zechariah 8:1

of hosts came to me, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 3 Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain. 4 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts. 7 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.

8:1-8 The sins of Zion were her worst enemies. God will take away her sins, and then no other enemies shall hurt her. Those who profess religion must adorn their profession by godliness and honesty. When become a city of truth and a mountain of holiness, Jerusalem is peaceable and prosperous. Verses 4,5, beautifully describe a state of great outward peace, attended with plenty, temperance, and contentment. The scattered Israelites shall be brought together from all parts. God will never leave nor forsake them in a way of mercy, for this he has promised them; and they shall never leave nor forsake him in a way of duty, as they have promised him. These promises were partly fulfilled in the Jewish church, betwixt the captivity and the time of Christ's coming; and they had fuller accomplishment in the gospel church; but the full import must be as to the future times of the Christian church, or the future restoration of the Jews. With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible; so far are God's thoughts and ways above ours. In the present low state of vital godliness, we can hardly conceive that so complete a change can be made; but a change thus extensive and glorious, can be brought to pass by the almighty power of the new-creating Spirit, in less time than he was pleased to employ in creating the world. Let the hands of all who labour in the cause of the gospel be strong, serving the Lord in true holiness, assured that their labour shall not be in vain.

Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me saying. The phrase, "to me", is wanting in the Hebrew text; and is the only place it is wanting in, as the Masora observes; though undoubtedly it is to be understood; and therefore is rightly supplied, as it is by the Targum, "with me". Mention being made in the latter part of the preceding chapter Zechariah 7:8 of the desolations of the earth, comfort is here administered, as Aben Ezra notes.

CHAPTER 8 Zec 8:1-23. Continuation of the Subject in the Seventh Chapter. After urging them to obedience by the fate of their fathers, he urges them to it by promises of coming prosperity.The restoration of Jerusalem, Zechariah 8:1-8. The people are encouraged to build the temple by a promise of God’s blessing, Zechariah 8:9-15. Truth and justice required of them, Zechariah 8:16,17. Joy and enlargement of the church promised, Zechariah 8:18-23. Again, or And, Heb.; as the word of reproof in the former chapter, so the word of consolation in this chapter, was from God. The Lord of hosts: hereby God assureth the Jews that what he promiseth he can perform, and therefore in this chapter, where so many things, so great, are promised, this name is very many times repeated, viz. eighteen.

Dionysius: "After the Lord had, in the preceding chapter, manifoldly rebuked the Jewish people, He now comforts it with renewed promises, as a good physician, who after a bitter draught employs sweet and soothing remedies; as that most loving Samaritan poured in wine and oil." The chapter falls into two portions, each marked by the words, The Word of the Lord of hosts came or came unto me, the first Zechariah 8:1-17 declaring the reversal of the former judgments, and the complete, though conditional, restoration of God's favor; the 2nd Zechariah 8:18-23 containing the answer to the original question as to those fasts, in the declaration of the joy and the spread of the Gospel. The first portion has, again, a sevenfold, the second, a threefold subordinate division; marked by the beginning, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts."

Restoration and completion of the covenant relation. - Zechariah 8:1 . "And the word of Jehovah of hosts came, saying, Zechariah 8:2 . Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and with great fury I am jealous for her." The promise commences with the declaration of the Lord, that He has resolved to give active expression once more to the warmth of His love to Zion. The perfects are used prophetically of that which God had resolved to do, and was now about to accomplish. For the fact itself, compare Zechariah 1:14-15 . This warmth of the love of God towards Zion, and of His wrath towards the nations that were hostile to Zion, will manifest itself in the facts described in Zechariah 8:3 : "Thus saith Jehovah, I return to Zion, and shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be called city of truth, and the mountain of Jehovah of hosts the holy mountain." When Jerusalem was given up into the power of its foes, the Lord had forsaken His dwelling-place in the temple. Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord depart from the temple (Ezeliel Ezekiel 9:3 ; Ezekiel 10:4 , Ezekiel 10:18 ; Ezekiel 11:22-23 ). Now He is about to resume His abode in Jerusalem once more.

The difference between this promise and the similar promise in Zechariah 2:10-13 , is not that in the latter passage Jehovah's dwelling in the midst of His people is to be understood in an ideal and absolute sense, whereas here it simply denotes such a dwelling as had taken place before, as Koehler supposes. This is not implied in שׁבתּי, nor is it in harmony with the statement that Jerusalem is to be called a city of truth, and the temple hill the holy mountain. ‛Ir 'ĕmeth does not mean "city of security," but city of truth or fidelity, i.e., in which truth and fidelity towards the Lord have their home. The temple mountain will be called the holy mountain, i.e., will be so, and will be recognised and known as being so, from the fact that Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, will sanctify it by His dwelling there. Jerusalem did not acquire this character in the period after the captivity, in which, though not defiled by gross idolatry, as in the times before the captivity, it was polluted by other moral abominations no less than it had been before. Jerusalem becomes a faithful city for the first time through the Messiah, and it is through Him that the temple mountain first really becomes the holy mountain.

[Bible] 7:8. And the word of the Lord came to Zacharias, saying: 7:9. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying: Judge ye true judgment, and shew ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother. 7:10. And oppress not the widow, and the fatherless, and the stranger, and the poor: and let not a man devise evil in his heart against his brother. 7:11. But they would not hearken, and they turned away the shoulder to depart: and they stopped their ears, not to hear. 7:12. And they made their heart as the adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts sent in his spirit by the hand of the former prophets: so a great indignation came from Lord of hosts. 7:13. And it came to pass that as he spoke, and they heard not: so shall they cry, and I will not hear, saith the Lord of hosts. 7:14. And I dispersed them throughout all kingdoms, which they know not: and the land was left desolate behind them, so that no man passed through or returned: and they changed the delightful land into a wilderness. Zacharias Chapter 8 Joyful promises to Jerusalem: fully verified in the church of Christ. 8:1. And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying: 8:2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I have been jealous for Sion with a great jealousy, and with a great indignation have I been jealous for her. 8:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: I am returned to Sion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, The sanctified mountain. 8:4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem: and every man with his staff in his hand through multitude of days. 8:5. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls, playing in the streets thereof. 8:6. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: If it seem hard in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days: shall it be hard in my eyes, saith the Lord of hosts?