BLOG

Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 28

After giving promises to Judah, God then gives promises to Ephraim. Zechariah 10:7 says,

⁷ Ephraim will be like a mighty man, and their heart will be glad as if from wine; indeed, their children will see it and be glad. Their heart will rejoice in the Lord.

Ephraim was the primary holder of the birthright that was given to his father Joseph (1 Chronicles 5:1, 2). Ephraim later became the leading tribe of the house of Israel, who had revolted from the house of Judah after the death of Solomon. Israel was also called “the house of Joseph” (Zechariah 10:6).

Zechariah tells us that Ephraim, like Judah, would “be like a mighty man.” Most define this in terms of physical strength, or military prowess, but God has always prioritized spiritual strength over physical strength. The house of Joseph had been cast out and exiled to Assyria about two centuries before Zechariah prophesied.

Ephraim-Israel did not return to the old land as did Judah after their Babylonian captivity, because God had divorced Israel (Jeremiah 3:8), putting the Israelites on par with the rest of the nations. The legal effect of this was to suspend the birthright itself. Yet the promise of God still extended to them as well as to the people of Judah. In the end, Israel and Judah were to reunite under the Messiah through the New Covenant at the end of the age.

Comfort to Ephraim

So Zechariah gives words of comfort to Ephraim, saying, “their heart will be glad” and “their heart will rejoice in the Lord.” Zechariah 10:8, 9 continues,

⁸ I will whistle for them to gather them together, for I have redeemed them; and they will be as numerous as they were before. ⁹ When I scatter them among the peoples, they will remember [zakar] Me in far countries, and they with their children will live and come back.

Zechariah does not take the time to tell us how God was to “gather them.” The redemption of Israel is explained more extensively by the prophet Hosea. Recall that God told Hosea to marry a harlot named Gomer in order to illustrate how God had married a harlot named Israel. Gomer then had children whose father was in doubt. Then Hosea divorced her (Hosea 2:2), even as God had divorced Israel. She soon found herself in bondage, and then the prophet redeemed her (Hosea 3:2).

Zechariah thus refers to this redemption without going into detail. It is important to note, however, that the modern state of Israel is a Jewish state, not a true state of Ephraim-Israel. Zionism has pretended to fulfill the prophecies given to Israel, and most Christians were deceived when the Jewish Zionists adopted the name Israel. They adopted the name Israel in order to lay claim, not only to the land of Judah but also to the original territories that the tribes of Israel had occupied long ago.

The key is to understand that Judah and Ephraim-Israel were two distinct nations during the time of the prophets, and each had a distinct calling and path to follow. Neither Judah nor Israel can become a “mighty man” apart from repentance, turning to Jesus Christ, and adopting the New Covenant.

Ephraim will “remember” God, not after returning to the old land in a Zionistic way, but by repentance while yet in foreign lands. To remember is to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and agree with His judgment in sending them into the Assyrian captivity. In other words, they must acknowledge that they were wrong in violating His first covenant by casting aside His laws. Further, the only way to return to a covenant relationship with God is to adopt the New Covenant, because the first covenant failed and is now “obsolete” (Hebrews 8:13).

Return to Gilead

Zechariah 10:10 says,

¹⁰ I will bring them back from the land of Egypt and gather them from Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon until no room can be found for them.

Egypt and Assyria were the two nations where the Israelites had been in bondage and captivity. The prophet uses them not in a literal sense but as metaphors for bondage itself. The original land of Gilead had been settled by the tribe of Manasseh in the days of Moses. It is now part of Jordan. Gilead (“rocky”) symbolically represents the “rock” that was struck and that gave water to the Israelites in the days of Moses. Paul says that it represented Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4). In other words, to go to Gilead in a New Covenant sense is to gather around Christ.

This view is reinforced by the next verse, Zechariah 10:11, which refers to Israel’s deliverance from Egypt in the days of Moses:

¹¹ And they will pass through the sea of distress [i.e., the Red Sea] and He will strike the waves in the sea, so that all the depths of the Nile will dry up, and the pride of Assyria will be brought down, and the scepter of Egypt will depart.

Return to Lebanon

As for Lebanon in verse 10, the name means “whiteness,” which describes the snow-capped mountains that include Mount Hermon, or “Sion” (Deuteronomy 4:48), where Christ was transfigured. The “return” from exile is perhaps explained most thoroughly by the prophet Isaiah, who makes multiple appeals to “return” to God. Any unbeliever can immigrate to the old land of Gilead, but this does not put him into a covenant relationship with God.

The same can be said of immigrating to Lebanon. In my view, the reference to Lebanon suggests gathering around Jesus Christ at Mount Sion (Hebrews 12:22 KJV), where the voice from heaven pronounced Him to be “My beloved Son” (Matthew 17:5). It is a symbolic place for the gathering for all of the sons of God as they come into a New Covenant relationship with Him.

Zechariah 10:12 concludes,

¹² “And I will strengthen them in the Lord, and in His name they will walk,” declares the Lord.

This is the prophet’s clearest definition of a “mighty man.” Ephraim was to be strengthened “in the Lord” so that they may “walk” in His name. The “return” from exile is not a matter of walking to a new land but of walking in His name. To be so strengthened is not a matter of physical strength or endurance. When God strengthens someone, He exercises His sovereignty and fulfills His New Covenant vow by opening their eyes and ears to hear and obey His word. By gathering around Christ, they become sons of God.