Zechariah 9:11

9:9-17 The prophet breaks forth into a joyful representation of the coming of the Messiah, of whom the ancient Jews explained this prophecy. He took the character of their King, when he entered Jerusalem amidst the hosannas of the multitude. But his kingdom is a spiritual kingdom. It shall not be advanced by outward force or carnal weapons. His gospel shall be preached to the world, and be received among the heathen. A sinful state is a state of bondage; it is a pit, or dungeon, in which there is no water, no comfort; and we are all by nature prisoners in this pit. Through the precious blood of Christ, many prisoners of Satan have been set at liberty from the horrible pit in which they must otherwise have perished, without hope or comfort. While we admire Him, let us seek that his holiness and truth may be shown in our own spirits and conduct. These promises have accomplishment in the spiritual blessings of the gospel which we enjoy by Jesus Christ. As the deliverance of the Jews was typical of redemption by Christ, so this invitation speaks to all the language of the gospel call. Sinners are prisoners, but prisoners of hope; their case is sad, but not desperate; for there is hope in Israel concerning them. Christ is a Strong-hold, a strong Tower, in whom believers are safe from the fear of the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the assaults of spiritual enemies.

To him we must turn with lively faith; to him we must flee, and trust in his name under all trials and sufferings. It is here promised that the Lord would deliver his people. This passage also refers to the apostles, and the preachers of the gospel in the early ages. God was evidently with them; his words from their lips pierced the hearts and consciences of the hearers. They were wondrously defended in persecution, and were filled with the influences of the Holy Spirit. They were saved by the Good Shepherd as his flock, and honoured as jewels of his crown. The gifts, graces, and consolations of the Spirit, poured forth on the day of Pentecost, Ac 2 and in succeeding times, are represented. Sharp have been, and still will be, the conflicts of Zion's sons, but their God will give them success. The more we are employed, and satisfied with his goodness, the more we shall admire the beauty revealed in the Redeemer. Whatever gifts God bestows on us, we must serve him cheerfully with them; and, when refreshed with blessings, we must say, How great is his goodness!

{r} As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy {s} prisoners out of the pit in which is no water. (r) Meaning Jerusalem, or the Church which is saved by the blood of Christ, of which the blood of the sacrifices was a figure. And it is here called the covenant of the Church, because God made it with his Church: and left it with them because of the love that he had for them. (s) God shows that he will deliver his Church out of all dangers, no matter how great they may seem.

Zechariah 9:11 . As for thee also — O Jerusalem, or church of God; for the prophet, speaking in the name of God, must be supposed to direct his discourse to her, the pronoun and the affixes, in the Hebrew, being in the feminine gender; by the blood of thy covenant — By the blood of the Messiah, in which thy covenant is confirmed: for though it is God’s covenant as made by him, and Christ’s as made in and through him, it is Zion’s covenant as made for her. I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, &c. — By the prison here, Blayney thinks the land of Egypt is metaphorically intended, in which Israel were heretofore detained as in a prison, until God delivered them out of it, and at the same time entered into covenant with them. But it seems more probable the deliverance from Babylon, so lately experienced, is referred to. So most interpreters understand the passage. Bishop Hall paraphrases it thus: “As for thee, O Zion, whose covenant with me is made, and confirmed by the precious blood of the Messiah. I do herein give thee a type of thy future deliverance from all thy spiritual miseries, in that I have brought forth thy captives out of the miserable captivity at Babylon.” Deep, dry pits, says Capellus, were frequently prisons in the East. Or by the pit here may be meant the lowest part of the prison, called the dungeon, (see Isaiah 51:14 ,) as the Hebrew word בור is translated; Jeremiah 37:16 ; Jeremiah 38:6 ; Lamentations 3:53-55 , where see the notes.

Into one of these prisons Jeremiah was cast. But something further, and more interesting to the human race than the deliverance of God’s ancient people either from Egypt or Babylon, is evidently here intended to be signified, even the deliverance of mankind in general from the bondage of sin and guilt, and of depravity, weakness, and wretchedness, that miserable prison in which all are naturally detained, into the glorious liberty of the children of God, by virtue of the covenant sealed with the blood of Christ the Mediator: see Isaiah 61:1-3 ; Hebrews 13:20 . Observe well, reader, a state of sin and guilt is a state of bondage; it is a spiritual prison; it is a pit, or a dungeon, in which there is no water, no comfort to be had: we are all by nature prisoners in this pit; the Scripture has concluded us all under sin, and bound us over to the justice of God. God has been pleased to deal with these prisoners upon new terms, to enter into another covenant with them; the blood of Christ is the blood of that covenant, having purchased it and all its benefits for us; and by that blood effectual provision is made for the sending forth of these prisoners upon easy and honourable terms: and a proclamation of liberty to the captives is issued from the court of heaven, followed by the opening of the prison to them that were bound, (like Cyrus’s proclamation to the Jews in Babylon,) which all those, whose spirits God stirreth up, ought to come and take the benefit of.

As for thee, O Zion, and Jerusalem, thou Jewish church: these words are Christ’s words to her, not the prophet’s words to Christ, though papists would have it so, to countenance a limbus patrum . By the blood, by my blood, saith Christ, of thy covenant, in which thy covenant is confirmed: it is God’s covenant as made by him, it is Zion’s covenant as made for her, it is Christ’s also as made in him. I have sent forth thy prisoners; I have delivered and released. Cyrus indeed by his edict sent the Jews home, but in this he was Christ’s servant, and Christ was mindful of the covenant, and, to perform this, brought them up. Out of the pit wherein is no water; Babylon, compared to a pit in which no water was, wherein the Jews must have perished, had not mercy from Christ visited them; here is no limbus patrum , though some say so among the popish commentators.

11 . As for thee also ] Lit. also thou, i.e. as regards thee (O daughter of Sion), I will also (in addition to all that has been promised, Zechariah 9:9-10 ) liberate thy captives.” So Maurer: “Gaude, Sionia! veniet rex tuus tibi, justus cet.; removebuntur instrumenta belli, alta pax erit; auctum erit imperium tuum mirum in modum; etiam captivos tuos , qui in terris exteris detinentur, tibi restituam memor fœderis facti cum majoribus.” by the blood of thy covenant ] because of , &c. R. V., i.e. the covenant which I have made with thee . Exodus 24:5-8 . Comp. for the higher reference, Matthew 26:28 ; Hebrews 9:15 . the pit wherein is no water ] The “pit,” Genesis 40:15 , or “house of the pit,” Exodus 12:29 ; Jeremiah 37:16 , as denoting the nature of its dungeons, which may in some cases have been actually empty wells (comp. Genesis 37:24 ), is a common name for a prison in the O. T. The expression, “wherein is no water,” is probably added to emphasize the horrors of such a dungeon. “The prisoner in the land of his enemies was left to perish in the pit ( Zechariah 9:11 ). The greatest of all deliverances is that the captive exile is released from the slow death of starvation in it ( Isaiah 51:14 ).

The history of Jeremiah, cast into the dungeon or pit ( Jeremiah 38:6 ; Jeremiah 38:9 ), let down into its depths with cords, sinking into the filth at the bottom (here also there is no water), with death by hunger staring him in the face, shews how terrible an instrument of punishment was such a pit. The condition of the Athenian prisoners in the stone-quarries of Syracuse ( Thuc . vii. 87), the Persian punishment of the σπόδος (Ctesias, Pers . 48), the oubliettes of mediæval prisons present instances of cruelty more or less analogous.” Bible Dict ., Art. “Pit.”

11. As for thee also—that is, the daughter of Zion," or "Jerusalem" (Zec 9:9): the theocracy. The "thee also," in contradistinction to Messiah spoken of in Zec 9:10, implies that besides cutting off the battle-bow and extending Messiah's "dominion to the ends of the earth," God would also deliver for her her exiled people from their foreign captivity. by the blood of thy covenant—that is, according to the covenant vouchsafed to thee on Sinai, and ratified by the blood of sacrifices (Ex 24:8; Heb 9:18-20). pit wherein … no water—Dungeons were often pits without water, miry at the bottom, such as Jeremiah sank in when confined (Ge 37:24; Jer 38:6). An image of the misery of the Jewish exiles in Egypt, Greece, &c., under the successors of Alexander, especially under Antiochus Epiphanes, who robbed and profaned the temple, slew thousands, and enslaved more. God delivered them by the Maccabees. A type of the future deliverance from their last great persecutor hereafter (Isa 51:14; 60:1).

Verses 11-17. - § 3. All Israel, united into one people, shall wage successful war against adversaries, and attain to high glory, and increase largely in numbers. Verse 11. - As for thee also. The prophet addresses the daughter of Zion, the covenant people (comp. vers. 10, 13). "Also" is inserted to intimate that this deliverance is given in addition to the blessings promised in the two preceding verses. All who are living far from their native Zion are invited to come to her and partake of her good things. By ( because of ) the blood of thy covenant. The covenant is that made at Sinai, sealed and ratified by blood ( Exodus 24:4-8 ), which still held good, and was the pledge to the nation of deliverance and help. This was a token of that everlasting covenant sealed with the blood of Christ, by which God's people are delivered from the bondage of sin (comp. Matthew 26:28 ; Hebrews 9:15 ; Hebrews 10:14-23 ; Hebrews 13:20 ). I have sent forth; I send forth - the prophetic perfect. The Greek and Latin Versions render, "thou sentest forth," not so correctly. Thy prisoners. Those members of the nation who were still oppressed or captives in foreign lands, as Babylon and Egypt (comp. Obadiah 1:20 ; Joel 3:6 , etc.; Amos 1:6, 9 , etc.). The pit wherein is no water. "Pit," or cistern, is a common name for a prison ( Genesis 40:15 ; Exodus 12:29 ; Jeremiah 37:16 ).

The absence of water may be notified either to imply that the tortures of thirst were added to the horror of the situation, or to intimate that the prisoners were not hopelessly drowned therein. We Christians see in this paragraph a figure of the redemption of a lost world by the blood of Christ. Zechariah 9:11

As for thee also - The prophet turns from the deliverance of the whole world to the former people, the sorrows which they should have in the way, and the protection which God would bestow upon them for the sake of Him, who, according to the flesh, was to be born of them. "Thou too;" he had spoken of the glories of the Church, such as her king, when He should come, should extend it, embracing earth's remotest bounds: he turns to her, Israel after the flesh, and assures her of the continued protection of God, even in her lowest estate. The deliverance under the Maccabees was, as those under the judges had been, an image of the salvation of Christ and a preparation for it. They were martyrs for the One God and for the faith in the Resurrection, and, whether by doing or by suffering, preserved the sacred line, until Christ should come. By the blood of thy covenant - Osorius: "Not by the blood of those victims of old, but by the blood of thy covenant, wilt thou be united to the empire of Christ, and so obtain salvation. As the Lord Himself says, This is the blood of covenant, which is shed for you." "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance" Romans 11:29. That symbolic blood, by which, fore-signifying the New Covenant, He made them His own people, "Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words," Exodus 24:8, endured still, amid all their unfaithfulness and breaches of it.