CHAPTER 8

(518 B.C.)

GOD PROMISES TO RESTORE HIS PEOPLE (ISRAEL)

¹Again the Word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,

²Thus says the LORD of Hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. (Thus says the LORD of Hosts, occurs ten times in this Chapter and proclaims the certitude of the coming action. I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, carries, in its verb, the force of: I was, I am, and I will be jealous.

The entirety of this Passage portrays Gods great Love for Israel and that love being shown in the punishment of her enemies.)

³Thus says 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. (I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, only had a limited fulfillment with the restoration of Israel from Babylon. Its greater fulfillment awaits a Coming Day, when Jesus Christ will Personally return to this Earth. It will be the coming Kingdom Age.

And Jerusalem shall be called a city of Truth, means that it will be a faithful city [Isa. 1:26], in which all that is true and real shall flourish. The phrase, And the mountain of the LORD of Hosts the Holy Mountain, refers to the Temple site, which is outlined in Ezek., Chpts. 40-48.)

⁴Thus sa ys 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. (Even though this had a partial fulfillment at the time of Zechariah and thereafter, still, its complete and future glorious fulfillment awaits the coming Kingdom Age. Consequently, this Passage does not speak of those who are decrepit in years, but instead of vitality and zest of life, despite being old or for very age.)

⁵And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. (This Passage continues to speak of the coming Kingdom Age and notes a city free of crime, which also speaks of the entirety of the world of that day.

Incidentally, marrying and having children does not include those who are a part of the First Resurrection, who, consequently, have Glorified Bodies. They [we] will be like Christ [Mat. 22:30; I Jn. 3:2].)

⁶Thus sa ys the LORD of Hosts; If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in My Eyes? says the LORD of Hosts. (If the restoration from Babylon was wonderful, how much more wonderful will be Israels future Restoration! The former was marvelous in mens eyes; should the latter be marvelous in Gods Eyes?)

⁷Thus says the LORD of Hosts; Behold, I will save My People from the east country, and from the west country (to some degree, this Passage began to be fulfilled in 1948, when Israel, and for the first time in 1,900 years, became a sovereign State. From that time, Jews have continued to be gathered to Israel, with the latest incursion being from the former Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the plenary fulfillment of this Passage awaits the beginning of the Kingdom Age, when every single Jew on the face of the Earth will then gladly return to Israel.

Behold, I will save My People, proclaims the greatest Salvation the world has ever known, which will take place immediately after the Second Coming [13:1]);

⁸And 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. (And I will bring them, denotes the certitude of the action, because it is performed by Jehovah Himself. And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, will, once and for all, proclaim the ownership of this city. It does not belong to the Arabs, as presently claimed, but to these ancient people, the Jews, the seed of Abraham, the seed of Isaac, and, above all, your Seed, which is Christ [Gal. 3:16].

The phrase, And I will be their God, in Truth and in Righteousness, means that as He deals truly and righteously with them, they, and for the first time, will deal truly and righteously with Him. In actuality, God cannot deal with anyone, except in Truth and Righteousness, which is the very essence of His Nature. Then these twin attributes will prevail in the world, whereas presently the lie and unrighteousness prevail!)

RESTORED JUDAH WILL BE BLESSED IF THE CONDITIONS ARE MET

⁹Thus says the LORD of Hosts; Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words by the mouth of the Prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the House of the LORD of Hosts was laid, that the Temple might be built. (Thus says the LORD of Hosts; Let your hands be strong, simply means to believe God and to not allow hindrances to deter one from carrying out their duly appointed mission.)

¹⁰For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him who went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. (The idea of this Verse is that the state of affairs during the cessation of the work on the Temple was sad indeed! Due to the people not obeying God by not forging ahead with what He had told them to do, which was the construction of the Temple, the Lord allowed certain detriments to take place.

Neglect of their duty caused the three judgments of this Verse, with its obedience securing the four Blessings of Verse 12.)

¹¹But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, says the LORD of Hosts. (The phrase, speaking of the Lord, But now I will not be..., refers to the Lords Attitude changing for the better toward the people, because of their obedience.)

¹²For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. (He said, I will cause..., referring to Him manipulating the ground, the heavens, the enemies, etc. He does no less presently, at least for those who will believe and obey Him!)

¹³And it shall come to pass, that as you were a curse among the heathen, O House of Judah, and House of Israel; so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong. (Gods People in harmony with Him are a blessing to all! Gods People out of harmony with Him are a curse to all!)

¹⁴For thus says the LORD of Hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked Me to wrath, says the LORD of Hosts, and I repented not (this Verse portrays the past disobedience of Israel, with the words, I repented not, speaking of the Lord not altering His Purpose, but actually banishing Israel for seventy years. With equal fixity of purpose, He will now do them good and restore them, even as the next verse proclaims. Disobedience was the cause of the judgment, while obedience is the cause of the Blessing):

¹⁵So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the House of Judah: fear you not. (Even though Israel had been disobedient in the past 16 years in not finishing the Temple, still, upon proper heartfelt Repentance, the Lord turns His Attitude toward Israel from mild judgment to blessing. Consequently, He tells them, fear you not.)

¹⁶These are the things that you shall do; Speak you every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates (very clearly the Holy Spirit says, These are the things that you shall do. Consequently, as the Prophet spells it out, the people have no excuse. They know exactly what is expected of them):

¹⁷And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, says the LORD. (This shows that the prevalent sins of this time were not idolatry but rather cheating, lying, and injustice, vices which they may have learned in exile, when they turned their energies to the traffic of commerce instead of serving the Lord. In other words, the ways of Babylon had become their ways.)

GODS ANSWER CONCERNING FASTS (7:1-3)

¹⁸And the Word of the LORD of Hosts came unto me, saying,

¹⁹Thus says the LORD of Hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the House of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace. (Religious men, bent on self-will, invent fasts, which only exacerbate their self-righteousness; God appoints feasts, which are the very opposite! These feasts might then, and ever since, have been enjoyed, had the Commands of Verses 16 and 17 been obeyed. They were not obeyed, though mans fasts and traditions were rigidly observed.

As a result, the Lord tells them to cease their fasts on these particular days, and, in turn, convert these days into times of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts.)

JERUSALEM TO BE THE SPIRITUAL CENTER OF THE EARTH

²⁰Thus says the LORD of Hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities (this pertains to the coming Kingdom Age, because it has not happened in the past, at least in this capacity, which is a capacity of peace of prosperity):

²¹And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of Hosts: I will go also. (During the Kingdom Age, Israel will then eagerly seek the Lord, because they have accepted the Lord. I will go also, refers to the Gentiles and their eagerness to also worship the Lord, exactly as the Jews.)

²²Yes, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. (At this time, the coming Kingdom Age, the greatest nations in the world will constantly be sending emissaries to Jerusalem in order to seek the LORD of Hosts and to pray before the LORD.)

JEWS WILL EVANGELIZE OTHER NATIONS

²³Thus says the LORD of Hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. (Whereas for centuries men have spoken of the Jew as being cursed, then they will speak of the Jew as being blessed, and will strongly desire to be associated.)