Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Post-exilic Prophets (3)
Pray Psalm 28.8, 9.
The LORD is their strength,
And He is the saving refuge of His anointed.
Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever
Sing Psalm 28.8, 9.
(Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised)
Our strength are You, O Savior, our strong defense and sure.
Anointed with Your favor, we rest in You secure.
Save us, and bless us, Jesus, upon us turn Your face.
With shepherd’s care, LORD, keep us forever in Your grace.
Read and meditate on Zechariah 9.9-17, 13.7-9..
Preparation
1. How do these two images point to Jesus?
2. What did God say about the one-third who are not cut off?
Meditation
Two persistent and powerful images come together in the book of Zechariah, each clearly pointing to Jesus. In Zechariah 9 the triumphal entry of Jesus is foreseen (Matt. 21.1-11) and with it, the coming of the Kingdom of God (v. 10). The King comes with salvation for His people, whom He will make as the jewel of His crown and a banner for all the world to see (v. 16). The salvation which Jesus has gained for His people brings goodness, beauty, and bounty to them (v. 17).
The mention, in verse 16, that those who are saved shall be like a flock points forward to chapter 13, where the image of Shepherd is applied to Him Who saves the remnant of God’s people (vv. 7-9). The King Who brings salvation is the Shepherd Who tends the LORD’s flocks.
We also see a reminder of the suffering of God’s Servant in that the Shepherd is to be struck, “and the sheep will be scattered” (v. 7). The judgment of the LORD falls upon the false sheep, but a remnant survives to become the true flock. These will be tested as through fire to prove their faith, as they call on the Name of the LORD through all their trials (vv. 8, 9).
We have seen both these images in various places in the Old Testament. They teach us how to think about the Messiah Who is to come and what He will accomplish, as well as how we must see ourselves in relation to Him. God has made us His people, His flock. His people call on Him as God and LORD, a status which is daily proved through trials of various sorts (cf. Acts 14.21, 22).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162The NKJV summary for the book of Zechariah states:
“The temple must be built, for one day the Messiah’s glory will inhabit it.
But future blessing is contingent upon present obedience.
The people are not merely building a building; they are building the future.
With that as their motivation, they can enter into the building project with wholehearted zeal,
for their Messiah is coming.” Ditto for us.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation…” (Zech. 9.9).
Our rejoicing, shouting, and excitement should resemble the noise that was made when Solomon was crowned king: “And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound” (1 Kgs. 1.40). Wholehearted zeal!
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4.4).
This is the joy and rejoicing that Peter wrote of when alluding to the genuineness of our faith—that it may be found to “praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Pet. 1.7-9). All the while building for the future.
Our joy in Jesus—living in the here and now, presently obeying Him and working in our Personal Mission Field, anticipating with eagerness His triumphant return to live eternally with Him there and then—should be noisy with excitement, for behold, our King is coming! We have now to prepare for the hubbub then. We have been warned by John: “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice:
‘Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’
And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all
that are in them, I heard saying:
‘Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him Who sits on the throne, and
To the Lamb, forever and ever!’” (Rev. 5.11-13)
It has already happened once, when He rode into Jerusalem, “lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Matt. 21.5; Zech. 9.9), and the multitudes cried out:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the LORD!
Hosanna in the highest!” (Matt. 21.9)
“And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’
So the multitudes said, ‘This is JESUS, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee’” (Matt. 21.10, 11).
In all our noise, splitting the earth with our sound, talking about Jesus, rejoicing in Him, having joy inexpressible, we have our script already written for us when asked: Why are you rejoicing? What are you rejoicing about? How can you have joy in the face of grim circumstances? Who is the cause of this joy? Simple answer. “It is JESUS the King—just and having salvation.” When? Here and now and there and then.
Reflection
1. Over what does Jesus rule as King? Over what is He the Good Shepherd?
2. What is our duty as servants of this King? How should His rule show up in our Personal Mission Field?
3. What is our duty as sheep in the flock of this Good Shepherd? What is our duty to one another?
Because of the sin of the Jews in rejecting and crucifying Christ, and in opposing his gospel, the Romans would destroy the greater part. But a remnant would be saved. And if we are his people, we shall be refined as gold; he will be God, and the end of all our trials and sufferings will be praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Zechariah 13.7-9
Pray Psalm 28.1-7.
All who believe in Jesus are the “one-third” remnant of the LORD, the flock of our Shepherd King. Give Him thanks and praise today and every day. Call on Him to help you as you go “through the fire” of daily temptations and trials, that you may stand firm in Him and be obedient to His Word.
Sing Psalm 28.1-7.
(Angel’s Story: O Jesus, I Have Promised)
I cry to You, our Savior, O, be not deaf to me!
LORD, speak to me with favor, lest I should dying be.
Hear now my supplications when for Your help I cry.
Receive these, my oblations, before Your throne on high.
LORD, count me not among those who walk in sinful ways.
With words of peace their tongue glows while evil fills their days.
Your works they disregard, LORD, while evil fills their hands.
Destroy them by Your Word, LORD, and let them no more stand.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus, for He will hear our prayer.
His strength protects and shields us with mercy and with care.
In You our heart rejoices; You help us by Your Word.
To You we raise our voices to praise and thank You, LORD.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: We continue reading excerpts from the book, Revived! in our Read Moore column. Why not listen in? Last week’s Crosfigell letter called us to make sure we have the right priorities. And in our ReVision series, “Pray for Your Church”, we pray for the work of one-anothering And new in our bookstore, our book, The Ongoing Work of Christ shows us how the book of Acts provides a template and footprint for all who take up the work of building Jesus’ Church.
Support for Scriptorium comes from our faithful and generous God, who moves our readers to share financially in our work. If this article was helpful, please give Him thanks and praise.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
