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Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 23

The fall of Tyre at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, completed by Alexander the Great, was to affect the land of the Philistines as well as Judah. Zechariah 9:5, 6 says,

⁵ Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza too will writhe in great pain; also Ekron, for her expectation has been confounded. Moreover, the king will perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon will not be inhabited. ⁶ And a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.

There were five main cities of the Philistines. Four of them are mentioned in the verses above. Not mentioned is the city of Gath, the southernmost of the five. Ashdod was destroyed (711 B.C.) about the time that the Israelites were taken to Assyria. Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron were destroyed by the Babylonians around the time that Jerusalem was taken (604 B.C.).

Yet Zechariah prophesied many years later (about 450 B.C.). He foresaw a later destruction that would come after the cities had been rebuilt. Ashkelon and Ashdod were rebuilt and resettled under the rule of the Persians. Gaza was destroyed by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. In later years, the entire area came under foreign rule. In Jesus’ day these were Roman cities.

It is hard to know how many of the original Philistines remained in these cities. Ashdod became a Roman city. Is this what is meant by “a mongrel race will dwell in Ashdod”? With so many foreigners coming to live in those cities, this view seems most likely. Ashkelon and Ashdod today are major Israeli cities. Ekron is now Tel Miqne, a mound, but a town named Kiryat Ekron was established in 1948, as a transit point for Bulgarian Jews immigrating to Israel.

Of the five Philistine cities, only Gaza City was located within the territory of modern Gaza. It is possible that the Israeli destruction of Gaza City in 2023-2025 may be another fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy: “Gaza too will writhe in great pain.”

When Isaiah 29:1-6 is fulfilled, and Jerusalem is destroyed by nuclear means, it would mean that the entire land of Israel and Philistia will become uninhabitable. It appears that this will be the final fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Both the Israelis and the Palestinians lay claim to the land, but Isaiah 29:7, 8 suggests that neither of them will inherit it in the end.

No More Sacrifices

Zechariah 9:7 says,

⁷ And I will remove their blood from their mouth and their detestable things from between their teeth. Then they also will be a remnant for our God and be like a clan in Judah.

Sacrifices used to be eaten. The Israelites, however, were forbidden to eat the meat with the blood (Leviticus 17:10). Likewise, Israel was forbidden to offer babies as sacrifices. But the Philistines and many others sacrificed babies, ate them, and drank their blood (with adrenochrome). This is where we get the word cannibal. It is from the Hebrew kohen (“priest”) and bal (“Baal”). A priest of Baal was a cannibal.

Zechariah’s prophecy says that God will end this practice, and then “they also will be a remnant for our God and be like a clan in Judah.” It suggests the end of human sacrifice, yet it falls just short of revealing the end of the biblical sacrificial system under the Old Covenant. Most remarkably, it reflects the heart of God in incorporating the Philistines into His Kingdom. They are to “be like a clan in Judah.” This is God’s Statement of Intent.

Zechariah 9:8 continues,

⁸ But I will camp around My house because of an army, because of him who passes by and returns; and no oppressor will pass over them anymore, for now I have seen with My eyes.

God will camp around His house—the “house of prayer for all the people” (Isaiah 56:7). This appears to say that God will intervene on account of “an army” that prevents the Philistines from worshiping at God’s house. Zechariah refers to this army as an “oppressor,” telling us that God will not allow this anymore. God’s house, or temple, is no longer a building made of wood and stone, yet it is pictured in Old Covenant terms.

Zechariah’s revelation agrees perfectly with the revelation in Isaiah 56, which in turn agrees with Solomon’s prayer of dedication (1 Kings 8:61-63). Not only were the Israelites instructed to invite foreigners to worship at the temple in Jerusalem, but that they could also become part of the tribe of Judah.

Zechariah 9:9 says,

⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you. He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

This messianic prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, mounted on a donkey (Matthew 21:4). Yet at that time, Jesus was rejected by the chief priests controlling the temple, and they convinced the people to support their rejection. Yet Zechariah speaks of an end-time coming of the King. The “daughter of Zion” is a later generation of rulers. The “daughter of Jerusalem” is a later generation, that is, the New Jerusalem. Hence, Zechariah’s prophecy was not completely fulfilled in Matthew 21:4 but awaits a greater fulfillment that fulfills God’s original intent to include foreigners as well as Israelites and Judahites.

The true temple, then, is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:20-22) and is built of “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5). It is open to all on an equal basis, having no dividing wall to keep foreign converts and women at arm’s length from the presence of God. When Jesus comes to this temple, the house of prayer for all the peoples of the world, then and only then can it be said that Zechariah’s prophecy has been satisfied.

Zechariah 9:10 concludes,

¹⁰ I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be cut off, and He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

The prophet pictures Ephraim and Judah as being in a state of war with the nations. The Messiah-King, however, who comes to His house in a humble manner, reverses this. To “speak peace to the nations” is done first by abolishing the dividing wall that presented to the world a God who would accept them as second-class citizens of the Kingdom. So Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:13-16,

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our Peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall… ¹⁵ so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

The idea that “the Jews are God’s chosen people” by reason of their fleshly genealogy creates enmity (war) between the two groups of people that God intends to unite as “one new man.” Peace on earth is God’s intent, and those who support the “one new man” concept of equality and God’s impartiality are those who have the mind of Christ.