CHAPTER 13

(487 B.C.)

THE FOUNTAIN OF CLEANSING FOR ISRAEL

¹In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. (In that day, occurs eighteen times from 9:16 through 14:21. This shows how precious that day is to the Messiahs Heart. In that day, His Victory over the enemies of His People will be great, but greater will be His Moral Victory over His People themselves.

The Christians true triumphs are Gods Triumphs over him, and Gods Triumphs over His People are their only victories. Such was Jacob of old, who represented Israel in that coming Glad Day. The conversion of the Apostle Paul illustrates the future conversion of Israel. He hated Jesus, but on the Damascus Road, he looked upon Him Whom he had pierced, mourned, and wept.

The phrase, In that day there shall be a fountain opened, does not mean that it is first opened there, but that Israel will only begin to partake of it in that day, i.e., the beginning of the Kingdom Age. This fountain was historically opened at Calvary, but will be consciously opened to repentant Jews in the future day of her Repentance. For the fact and function of that fountain only becomes conscious to the awakened sinner.

A true sense of sin and guilt in relationship to God awakens the sense of the need of cleansing, and so the shed and cleansing Blood of the Lamb of God becomes precious to convicted conscience. As well, the ever-living efficacy of Christs Atoning Work, with its power to cleanse the conscience and the life, is justly comparable to a fountain and not to a font. The sense of the Hebrew Text is that this Fountain shall be opened and shall remain open.

To the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness, portrays the possibility that, of all sinners, the Jerusalem sinners may be accounted the greatest. It was Jerusalem that stoned the Prophets and crucified the Messiah; therefore, great sinners may hope for pardon and cleansing in this Fountain opened for the House of David.

The entrance of Christ judges sin, unmasks its true character, and arouses a moral consciousness which approves that judgment. That entrance dominates, adjusts, disciplines, instructs, and cleanses mans affections, relationships, and desires. All of this must be cleansed, not only in Israel of a future day, but also in any and all of who come to Christ. That Fountain is open to all!)

²And it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of Hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. (Through sin, man has so degraded his emotions that God must cleanse and adjust them. When this is done, the effect is that mans moral consciousness is so harmonized with Gods Nature that man will not only abolish idolatry, but he will put to death his own child who tries to support it, as the next Verse proclaims.

Israels problems of the past had much to do with literal idols. Such will be so utterly abolished that their very names will perish. As well, false prophets, which once abounded in Israel, will be no more.

And the unclean spirit to pass out of the land, is, among other things, the lying spirit which works in false prophets [I Ki. 22:19-23]. In fact, Satan, along with all demon spirits and fallen angels, will be consigned to the bottomless pit [Rev. 20:1-3].)

FALSE PROPHETS EXECUTED

³And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy (prophesy falsely), then his father and his mother who begat him shall say unto him, You shall not live; for you speak lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother who begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesies. (The most dangerous form of idolatry is that which speaks lies in the Name of the Lord. Such is the part of Christendom that is corrupt.

This Verse does not mean that there actually will be false prophets in Israel during the time of the Kingdom Age, for there will not. The idea is: so zealous will be Israel for the Lord in that coming hour that even if a son would begin to prophesy falsely, he would be properly restrained by his parents, even to the place of execution, if necessary.

The Holy Spirit is impressing upon the Reader how different Israel will be in that coming Glad Day after their conversion.)

⁴And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he has prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive (the idea of this Verse is: in the coming Kingdom Age, so knowledgeable will most people be in the Word of God that those who are false will not dare attempt to propagate his false vision):

⁵But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. (In essence, this Verse proclaims that most preachers ought to simply quit, because they have not been called by God in the first place. The Truth is: they are no prophet, but instead an husbandman, i.e., a follower of secular employment.)

THE CRUCIFIED MESSIAH REVEALED

⁶And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Your Hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends. (In these Passages, the false prophets are placed beside the True Prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ. They, before the Coming of the Lord, too oftentimes were rewarded, while He, as each True Prophet, was greatly opposed, even crucified. The false prophets thrust themselves forward and claimed reverence and position; He Himself, the greatest of the Prophets, did not claim to be a professional Prophet that was not His Mission in coming to Earth but became a Bond-servant and a Shepherd; made and appointed such in the Divine Purpose of Redemption. For man having sold himself into slavery, it was necessary that Christ should take that position in order to redeem him.

And one shall say unto Him, refers to the moment of recognition, as outlined in 12:10, where it says, And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him. This will be immediately after the Second Coming, with the Antichrist now defeated and Christ standing before Israel. They will then know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that He is the Messiah; then will they ask, What are these wounds in Your Hands?

These wounds, which He will ever carry, will be an instant and constant reminder of Who He is and what was done to Him, which presents Him as the Sin-Bearer of the world. Even though He was the Redeemer of all mankind, still, this shows how He was treated by man, especially by His Own.

Then He shall answer, will be an answer that will cause their terrible mourning of 12:10-14. It will also be the cause of the Fountain opened to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness [13:1].

Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends, proclaims His Crucifixion and those who did it to Him. The words, My friends, are said in irony.)

ISRAELS REDEMPTION THROUGH THE SUFFERING OF THE MESSIAH

⁷Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man Who is My Fellow, says the LORD of Hosts: smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn My Hand upon the little ones. (Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, concerns the Crucifixion of Christ, because Christ was the Good Shepherd [Jn. 10:11], in effect, Gods Shepherd. And against the Man Who is My Fellow, says the LORD of Hosts, refers to Christ as the Fellow of Jehovah.

Smite the Shepherd, pertains to the fact that not only was sin upon the sinless Substitute at Calvary, but the Substitute Himself, Jehovahs equal. He Himself must die in order that man might live; for the curse that rested upon man was the doom of death [separation from God] because of sin. Christs Death was, therefore, necessary to satisfy that claim and to vindicate and magnify Divine Righteousness.

And the sheep shall be scattered, pertains to them scattered as a nation, but not finally lost, for His Hand, pierced by the flock, shall cause the little ones to return to Zion, which these Passages and many others proclaim! And I will turn My Hand upon the little ones, pertains to the Coming of the Lord and the Restoration of Israel, which will bring the little ones back.

In astronomy, a near planet and a distant fixed star may appear side-by-side in the heavens, though the one is millions of miles more distant than the others; so, in the Scriptures, often two Prophecies may be side-by-side in the Text but, as here, be separated by many hundreds, sometimes thousands, of years.)

ISRAEL PURGED AND PURIFIED DURING THE TRIBULATION

⁸And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, says the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. (This Verse pertains to the Great Tribulation, more particularly, the last half of that dreadful time. Zechariah predicts that two-thirds of the population of Israel will die during those last three and a half years, leaving one-third to fight the Antichrist at Armageddon and to make up the nation that will be brought into being at the Second Coming of Christ [Rom. 11:25-29].

There are approximately five million Jews in Israel presently. If there are six million at that time, this means that some four million will be killed. Very few times in history has such a large percentage of the population of a nation been destroyed, if ever!)

⁹And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on My Name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is My People: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. (The phrase, And I will bring the third part through the fire, refers to those who are left alive after the Battle of Armageddon, who will look upon Him Whom they pierced and repent [12:10-14]. The fire is the Great Tribulation, which Jesus mentioned [Mat. 24:21].

And will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried, proclaims the purpose of the coming Great Tribulation. They shall call on My Name, and I will hear them, refers to proper relationship being restored.

I will say, It is My People: and they shall say, The LORD is my God, pertains to the remnant who has been refined as silver and tried as gold. These will repent; as a result, they will once again be owned by the Lord, as He says, It is My People. He will do so because they shall say, The LORD is my God, i.e., Jesus Christ is Lord!

At that time, the Prophecy of Hosea will be fulfilled: You shall call Me Ishi; and shall call me no more Baali [Hos. 2:16]. Ishi means My Husband.)