Zechariah 9:12

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!

Turn ye to the {t} strong hold, ye {u} prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render {x} double to thee; (t) That is, into the holy land where the city and the temple are, where God will defend you. (u) Meaning the faithful, who seemed to be in danger of their enemies on every side, and yet lived in hope that God would restore them to liberty. (x) That is, double benefits and prosperity, in respect of that which your fathers enjoyed from David's time to the captivity.

Zechariah 9:12 . Turn you to the strong hold — To Zion, to the church of God, the strong city, mentioned Isaiah 26:1 , which has salvation for walls and bulwarks; to the name of the Lord, which is a strong tower, his mercy, truth, and grace: ye that are under any bondage or oppression, any trouble or distress, do not despair, be not discouraged, but apply to and rely upon the blood of the new covenant; hasten to Christ, through whose blood alone you can have redemption, reconciliation, peace, and comfort. Ye prisoners of hope — Captives, yet not without hope. The Jews that were returned out of captivity into their own land were yet, in effect, but prisoners, servants, as they confess themselves to be, even in the land which God had given them, Nehemiah 9:36 ; yet prisoners of hope, or expectation, for God had given them a little reviving in their bondage, Ezra 9:8-9 . Those that continued still in Babylon, detained by their affairs there, yet lived in hope, some time or other, to see their own land again: now both these descriptions of Jews are here directed to turn their eyes to the Messiah, set before them in the promise, as their strong hold, to take shelter in him and stay themselves upon him, for the perfecting of the mercy which, by his grace, and for his sake, was so gloriously begun. But, as their deliverance was typical of our redemption by Christ, Zechariah 9:11 , so this invitation to the strong hold speaks the language of the gospel call.

Sinners are prisoners, but they are prisoners of hope; their case is sad, but it is not desperate; there is yet hope in Israel concerning them. Christ is a strong hold for them, a strong tower, in whom they may be safe and quiet from the fear of the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the assaults of their spiritual enemies: to him they must turn by a lively faith, to him they must flee, and in his name they must trust. Even to-day — In this day of lowest distress, when things appear to be at the worst, and you think your case deplorable to the last degree, I declare — I solemnly promise, that I will render double unto thee — To thee, O Jerusalem, to every one of you prisoners of hope; I will give you comforts double to the sorrows you have experienced; or blessings double to what I ever bestowed upon your fathers, even when their condition was at the best; the glory of your latter state, as well as of your latter house, shall be greater, yea, twice as great as that of your former. Now this it was no otherwise than by the coming of the Messiah, the preaching of the gospel, and the setting up of his kingdom. These spiritual blessings in heavenly things were double to what they had ever enjoyed in their most prosperous state.

Turn you: the prophet exhorts the Jews, both those in Babylon still, and those already in Canaan, to hasten up to the strong hold; to Jerusalem, say some, which had been a strong hold, and which was now to be built again, as the high places of the earth; or to Christ, who is the salvation and high tower of his church. Ye prisoners of hope; captives in Babylon, yet under a promise from God, and under an edict from Cyrus, that you shall return; this gives you hope, this maketh you prisoners of expectation. Even today, in this day of lowest distress, I declare that I will render double unto thee; either more than thy fathers ever received, or double, that is, twice as much, good enjoyed as ever was thy evil suffered, as Isaiah 40:2 . Turn you: the prophet exhorts the Jews, both those in Babylon still, and those already in Canaan, to hasten up to the strong hold; to Jerusalem, say some, which had been a strong hold, and which was now to be built again, as the high places of the earth; or to Christ, who is the salvation and high tower of his church. Ye prisoners of hope; captives in Babylon, yet under a promise from God, and under an edict from Cyrus, that you shall return; this gives you hope, this maketh you prisoners of expectation. Even today, in this day of lowest distress, I declare that I will render double unto thee; either more than thy fathers ever received, or double, that is, twice as much, good enjoyed as ever was thy evil suffered, as Isaiah 40:2 .

12 . This verse coheres closely with the verse which precedes it, and a full stop should be printed at the end of it, as in R. V. There is a sharp contrast between the stronghold here and the pit there. And the prisoners of hope in this verse are the prisoners to whom, while yet in the pit , the promise and hope of deliverance had been given in that verse. strong hold ] There may be a reference to the hill of Zion, or to the rocky fastnesses of Palestine, to which the exiles who had escaped from the pit or dungeon in Babylon were to turn , or return; but it may be merely a figurative expression (comp. Psalm 40:2 ), and certainly is so in its higher spiritual and Christian application ( Luke 4:18-21 ). prisoners of hope ] Comp. ἡ κτίσις ὑπετάγη ἐπ ʼ ἐλπίδι , κ . τ . λ ., Romans 8:20-21 . double ] Comp. Isaiah 61:7 . From Exodus 16:22 , Job 42:10 , it would appear that this means a very large and full measure (lit. twice as much as before) of blessing and prosperity.

12. stronghold—in contrast to the "pit" (Zec 9:11); literally, "a place cut off from access." Maurer thinks, "a height" (Ps 18:33). An image for the security which the returning Jews shall have in Messiah (Zec 9:8) encamped about His people (Ps 46:1, 5; compare Isa 49:9; Pr 18:10). prisoners of hope—that is, who in spite of afflictions (Job 13:15; Ps 42:5, 11) maintain hope in the covenant-keeping God; in contrast to unbelievers, who say, "There is no hope" (Jer 2:25; 18:12). Especially those Jews who believe God's word to Israel (Jer 31:17), "there is hope in the end, that thy children shall come again to their own border," and do not say, as in Eze 37:11, "Our hope is lost." Primarily, the Jews of Zechariah's time are encouraged not to be dispirited in building by their trials; secondarily, the Jews before the coming restoration are encouraged to look to Messiah for deliverance from their last oppressors. even to-day—when your circumstances seem so unpromising; in contrast with the "day of the Lord," when Zion's King shall come to her deliverance (Zec 9:9). I will render double—Great as has been thy adversity, thy prosperity shall be doubly greater (Isa 61:7).

Verse 12. - The prophet calls on the prisoners to avail themselves of the offered deliverance. Turn you to the stronghold . Return ye to Zion, the city defended by God ( Zechariah 2:5 ), and able to afford you a safe asylum. (For the spiritual meaning, see Luke 4:18-21 .) Ye prisoners of hope. Captives who have good hope of deliverance because they are still in covenant with God. Septuagint, δέσμιοι τῆς συναγωγῆς , "prisoners of the synagogue." Pusey remarks that "hope" here and nowhere else has the article, and that what is meant is "the Hope of Israel," that of which St. Paul spoke ( Acts 26:6, 7 and Acts 28:20). Even today . In spite of all contrary appearances. Septuagint, ἀντὶ μιᾶς ἡμέρας παροικεσίας σου , "for one day of thy sojourning." Double . A double measure of blessing in compensation for past suffering ( Isaiah 40:2 ; Isaiah 61:7 ). There ought to be a full stop at the end of this verse, as in the Revised Version. Zechariah 9:12

Turn ye to the stronghold - that is, Almighty God; as the Psalmists so often say, "The Lord is the defense of my life" ( Psalm 27:1 , add Psalm 31:5 ; Psalm 37:39 ; Psalm 43:2 ; Psalm 52:9 ); and Joel, "The Lord shall be a stronghold of the children, of Israel" ; and Nahum, "The Lord is a stronghold in the day of trouble" Nahum 1:7 ; And, David said, "Thou hast been a shelter for me, a strong tower against the enemy" Psalm 61:3 ; "the Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe" Proverbs 18:10 ; and again, "Be Thou to me a rock of strength, a house of defense to save me - Bring me forth out of the net that they have laid privily for me; for Thou art my stronghold" . The "stronghold," "cut off" from all approach from an enemy, stands in contrast with the deep dungeon of calamity. The "return" must be a willing return, one in their own power; "return to the stronghold," which is Almighty God, must be by conversion of heart and will.

Even a Jewish commentator Kimchi paraphrases, "Turn ye to God; for He is a stronghold and tower of strength." Ye prisoners of - (the) hope Not, accordingly, any hope, or generally, "hope," but the special hope of Israel, "the hope" which sustained them in all those years of patient expectations, as Paul speaks of "the hope of Israel," for which he says, "I am bound with this chain" Acts 28:20. "I stand to be judged for the hope of the promise made by God unto our fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes, serving God instantly day and night, hope to come; for which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews" Acts 26:6-7. And in his Epistles, "the hope laid up for you in heaven" Colossians 1:5; "the hope of the Gospel" Colossians 1:23; and, "looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" Titus 2:13. He writes also of "keeping the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end" Hebrews 3:6; of "the full assurance of the hope unto the end" Hebrews 6:11; of "fleeing to lay hold on the hope set before us; which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast" Hebrews 6:18-19. He does not speak of hope as a grace or theological virtue, but, objectively, as the thing hoped for.