7 And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the family of David and the glory of the people of Jerusalem may not be greater than that of Judah.
This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by force or by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of armies.
But he gives more grace. So that the Writings say, God is against the men of pride, but he gives grace to those who make themselves low before him.
But we have this wealth in vessels of earth, so that it may be seen that the power comes not from us but from God; Troubles are round us on every side, but we are not shut in; things are hard for us, but we see a way out of them; We are cruelly attacked, but not without hope; we are made low, but we are not without help; In our bodies there is ever the mark of the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be seen in our bodies. For, while living, we are still being given up to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be seen in our flesh, though it is under the power of death. So then, death is working in us, but life in you.
For you see God's design for you, my brothers, that he has not taken a great number of the wise after the flesh, not the strong, not the noble: But God made selection of the foolish things of this world so that he might put the wise to shame; and the feeble things that he might put to shame the strong; And the low things of the world, and the things without honour, did God make selection of, yes, even the things which are not, so that he might make as nothing the things which are: So that no flesh might have glory before God. But God has given you a place in Christ Jesus, through whom God has given us wisdom and righteousness and salvation, and made us holy: So that, as it is said in the holy Writings, Whoever has a desire for glory, let his glory be in the Lord.
Then the Pharisees said to them, Have you, like the others, been given false ideas? Have any of the rulers belief in him, or any one of the Pharisees? But these people who have no knowledge of the law are cursed.
With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts. He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree. Those who had no food he made full of good things; the men of wealth he sent away with nothing in their hands;
At that time Jesus made answer and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children. Yes, Father, for so it was pleasing in your eyes.
And it was broken on that day: and the sheep-traders, who were watching me, were certain that it was the word of the Lord.
In that day I will put up the tent of David which has come down, and make good its broken places; and I will put up again his damaged walls, building it up as in the past;
This is the word of the Lord: Let not the wise man take pride in his wisdom, or the strong man in his strength, or the man of wealth in his wealth: But if any man has pride, let it be in this, that he has the wisdom to have knowledge of me, that I am the Lord, working mercy, giving true decisions, and doing righteousness in the earth: for in these things I have delight, says the Lord.
It was the purpose of the Lord of armies to put pride to shame, to make sport of the glory of those who are honoured in the earth.
The high looks of man will be put to shame, and the pride of men will be made low, and only the Lord will be lifted up in that day. For the day of the Lord of armies is coming on all the pride of men, and on all who are high and lifted up; And on all the high trees of Lebanon, and on all the strong trees of Bashan; And on all the high mountains, and on all the hills which are lifted up; And on every high tower, and on every strong wall; And on all the ships of Tarshish, and on all the fair boats. And the high looks of man will be put to shame, and the pride of men will be made low: and only the Lord will be lifted up in that day.
For it was not my hater who said evil of me; that would have been no grief to me; it was not one outside the number of my friends who made himself strong against me, or I would have kept myself from him in a secret place;
I said, Let them not be glad over me; when my foot is moved, let them not be lifted up with pride against me.
If you make yourselves great against me, using my punishment as an argument against me,
In that same hour he was full of joy in the Holy Spirit and said, I give praise to you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have kept these things secret from the wise and the men of learning, and have made them clear to little children: for so, O Father, it was pleasing in your eyes.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Zechariah 12
Commentary on Zechariah 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
The apostle (Gal. 4:25, 26) distinguishes between "Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children'-the remaining carcase of the Jewish church that rejected Christ, and "Jerusalem that is from above, that is free, and is the mother of us all'-the Christian church, the spiritual Jerusalem, which God has chosen to put his name there; in the foregoing chapter we read the doom of the former, and left that carcase to be a prey to the eagles that should be gathered to it. Now, in this chapter, we have the blessings of the latter, many precious promises made to the gospel-Jerusalem by him who (v. 1) declares his power to make them good. It is promised,
These promises were of use then to the pious Jews that lived in the troublous times under Antiochus, and other persecutors and oppressors; and they are still to be improved in every age for the directing of our prayers and the encouraging of our hopes with reference to the gospel-church.
Zec 12:1-8
Here is,
Zec 12:9-14
The day here spoken of is the day of Jerusalem's defence and deliverance, that glorious day when God will appear for the salvation of his people, which, if it do refer to the successes which the Jews had against their enemies in the time of the Maccabees, yet certainly looks further, to the gospel-day, to Christ's victories over the powers of darkness and the great salvation he has wrought for his chosen. Now we have here an account of two remarkable works designed in that day.