In The Word
Read: Zechariah 12-13
12 The pronouncement of the word of the Lord concerning Israel:
The Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: 2 “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 It will come about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 On that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with insanity. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are a strong support for us through the Lord of armies, their God.’
6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again live on their own sites in Jerusalem. 7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than Judah.8 On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of pleading, so that they will look at Me whom they pierced; and they will mourn for Him, like one mourning for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be great, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that are left, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
False Prophets Ashamed
13 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for defilement.
2 “And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord of armies, “that I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 Also it will come about on that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive; 5 but he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a cultivator of the ground, because a man sold me as a slave in my youth.’ 6 And someonewill say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded at the house of my friends.’
7 “Awake, sword, against My Shepherd,
And against the Man, My Associate,”
Declares the Lord of armies.
“Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered;
And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8 And it will come about in all the land,”
Declares the Lord,
“That two parts in it will be cut off and perish;
But the third will be left in it.
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire,
Refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are My people,’
And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Zechariah 12 talks about what happened in Acts 2. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and declared a prophecy from Joel that parallels Zechariah 12:10. The crowd remembered Him whom they pierced and mourned (Zechariah 12:10). They remembered that a fountain of Jesus’ blood was opened for sin and impurity. We remember the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood as we take communion and lift up the cup of His new covenant.
Zechariah 13 talks about the Shepherd being struck with the idea that the sheep may be scattered. Yahshua quotes this in Matthew 26:31. He said that all His disciples would fall away the night of His betrayal. Peter said that he would never fall away from Jesus even though all the rest would, but Yahshua told him that he would deny Him three times. Peter said, “Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you.” Just a short time later Peter denied Jesus and could not even stay awake for one hour to pray for Jesus.
The same man that couldn’t stay awake and then later denied Christ three times is seen in Acts 2 publicly proclaiming the new covenant to all that would listen. What was the difference? The Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit moved in a mighty way that day. The people said, “What shall we do?” Peter said to repent and be baptized. The change in those people was real; they continually devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, to fellowship, and to prayer. Have you experienced that difference? Ask Him for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit today and allow Him to empower and guide you.