King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, September 22, 2024
Chapters: Zechariah Chapters 10-14
Message: A Better Resurrection
Hello My Friend,
It does not matter if we are reading through the Old or New Testament, the entire Bible is based on one person, Jesus Christ. In fact, He is actually found through more Scripture in the Old than in the New. Why did God do this? To show all believers who were here before Christ’s passion and after they had the same faith in the Saviour, whether they know Him as the LORD, Messiah or Christ.
[Hebrews 11:1-2,13,16,35 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:]
When Christ returns, we who are saved will all be united as one, and all the false prophets, false church leaders, which God calls shepherds, will have the shock of their lives when they find themselves in hell for leading so many people to hell. When the Jews were in Babylon, many died before seeing an end to their captivity, but they had a promise awaiting them, God would restore Israel. As we come to the end of the reading of Zechariah, God, foretells of the day that He will restore Israel and place judgment upon the shepherds that sent His sheep right to the slaughter.
[Zechariah 10:1-4 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. 2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. 3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. 4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.]
[the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain,] Why would God want us to ask Him for things that have already been given to us? He wants us completely dependent on Him at all times, not just when we do not have what we are in need of or get lax about it when we do have it. If there is one thing that I have learned about trusting in what we have it is that eventually it runs out, gets lost, or breaks, and if we are not asking God for them regularly we will end up in these famines. Oddly, the more we ask Him for, even when we have what we need at the time, He will bless us with so much more, [John 14:12-13 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.]
[Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail,] The great cornerstone, the One on which the entire Church is built upon, became not only the sure foundation for the soul that receives Him, He also became nail upon which mercy and grace are fastened to forever, [2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.]
When we have no one to turn to to help us, that is when we find Jesus, and truly understand that we are sinners, who need the Saviour from more than just hell. God, goes on to describe the glorious day when He will gather all of Israel together.
[Zechariah 10:6,10-12 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them. 10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away. 12 And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.]
[I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt,] It is funny how we are so prone to return to the bondage that we were once in before we received Christ as our Saviour and or chose to give our lives completely over to Him. I am not going to lie, when affliction starts to seem like there is no end the first thing I want to do is go back to when things were easier, even if it was not something sinful. Those whom Christ redeemed by His blood will be gathered together by His grace and since He is their strength, everything they do ought to be in His name, [Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.]
God, often sees people as sheep. Why? Sheep, are lovable, meek, and kind, but are also absent minded, often getting lost and walking into danger, and that is why they need a shepherd to guide them. The Shepherd to all of God’s sheep is of course the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ Himself, and believe it or not, Christ’s sheep are counted as sheep headed for the slaughter. Well, God explains this through Zechariah.
[Zechariah 11:1-5,7 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. 4 Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter; 5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not. 7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.]
[Feed the flock of the slaughter;] Christ, was sent as a Shepherd to the lost sheep to teach and instruct them in the understanding of Scriptures, who were appointed and given up to ruin on account of their sins and transgressions. Once they understand, believe in, and receive Him based on the Scriptures, they become exposed to the wolves and are accounted as sheep for the slaughter, [Romans 8:36-37 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.]
[one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands;] Beauty, represents the privileges of the Jewish nation in their national covenant with God, and Bands, represents the harmony that united them as the flock of God. They chose to cleave to false teachers, which followed the breaking of the covenant between God and them. In fact, God goes on to reveal a very interesting prophecy.
[Zechariah 11:9-14 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. Zechariah 11:10-14 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD. 14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.]
[that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off;] It is clear, one can choose to believe in Christ and receive Him as their Saviour, and God will save them, but if they do not, then it will be to their own soul that they will end up in hell, [2 Timothy 2:11-13 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: 13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.]
[So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.] God gives us some amazing insight into the coming of Christ, including His life being bought for thirty pieces of silver, [Matthew 26:14-16 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.] God also reveals something else, His crucifixion, and it will actually be a day that will bring mourning to all nations.
[Zechariah 12:2-3,8,10-11 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. 8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.]
[I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people] It is promised that God will make foolish the wise, and weaken the strength of the enemies of His Church. God, often begins by calling the poor and despised to His Son, even the feeblest will resemble David, and be wise as serpents, harmless as doves, and as strong as Christ can carry them, [Matthew 10:16,19-20 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 19 But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.]
[and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,] All who look to the One they pierced will be saved. Let me tell you, the burdens of life make us weak, they literally drain every bit of strength that is in not only our physical body, but mental and spiritual as well, but when we are weak, that is when Christ is strong in us, [2 Timothy 4:17 Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.]
When the Lamb of God shall be offered up as a sacrifice for all mankind, and the Gospel shall be preached, that is when the foolish shepherds will be exposed, one in particular, the false prophet. God, goes on to describe this liar who even had his own hands wounded in order to mimic Christ.
[Zechariah 13:1,3-6 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. 3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: 5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. 6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.]
[a fountain opened to the house of David] The fountain that opened is the side of Jesus that was pierced when He was on the cross, [John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.]. We are all unclean from the sin that covers our body, but the fountain of Christ’s blood and water, in which all believers plunge into by their faith, cleans us and makes us as though we never sin, [Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.]
[What are these wounds in thine hands?] This is actually not Jesus, this is referring to the false prophet, referencing verse 3. However, Jesus was wounded for our transgressions, He suffered and died on the cross because He loves us too much to let us end up in hell. Praise God! There is one reminder, one sign to show what Jesus did for us that we will see when we meet Him face to face, and that is the scars in His hands and feet where the nails were driven into them, [John 20:27-29 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.]
Christ, was indeed wounded for our transgressions, He suffered and died on the cross because He loves us too much to let us end up in hell. Praise God! All who look to the One they truly pierced will be saved. Let me tell you, the burdens of life make us weak, they literally drain every bit of strength that is in not only our physical body, but mental and spiritual as well, but when we are weak, that is when Christ is strong in us. God, speaks of the glorious day when Israel will finally recognize Christ as the Messiah, but also gives details of why we suffer as Christians.
[Zechariah 13:7-9 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. 8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And 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.]
[And I will bring the third part through the fire,] Sometimes is seems like no matter what we do we who are faithful are the ones being chastened or punished by God. Well, God uses affliction to refine us, to make us not only depend on Him for everything, but that we might endure it through the strength that only Christ can bring us. One day all the suffering will be over and we will all unite as one nation with our King, and He will get vengeance on all those whom afflicted us. God goes on to reveal the glorious day when Christ will return for us.
[Zechariah 14:1-3,5 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.]
[and all the saints with thee.] God’s saints are the saved, born again Christians who receive Him as their Saviour. And what about those who were here before Christ gave His life? Well, their faith saved them as well. You see, they too died, not having received this promise, but having faith in it, [Hebrews 11:13-16 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. 16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.]
Yes, we who are faithful, saved, and born again, actually do desire a better country and are not ashamed to proclaim Christ. Many have died and most of us too will probably die before Christ returns for us, but we who remain in our faith until we take our last breath in the flesh all die having not seen the promise, but having faith in it. In the final chapter of Zechariah, God reveals the day that all His saints will come rise up together and join Him in Jerusalem where Christ will reign as KING.
[Zechariah 14:8-9,16-17,20 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. 16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. 20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.]
[that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem;] The living waters is none other than Christ Himself, and His living water is ever lasting life to our soul, [John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.]
[and to keep the feast of tabernacles.] Gospel worship is represented by the keeping of the feast of tabernacles. Every day of a Christian’s life is a day to keep the feast of tabernacles. It is just for God to withhold the blessings of grace from those who do not attend the feast. In fact, it is a sin that is its own punishment for those who forsake the duty, forfeit the privilege of communion with God, [1 Corinthians 11:26-30 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. 27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. 29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Zechariah 10:3-4 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. 4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Saved or not, we all have burdens in life, thankfully, we who know Your Son as our Saviour can overcome them through Him. He is not only the living water that sustains our soul, He is what gives us the strength to deal with every burden. Lord, Help us not to resent the trials and afflictions of life or be fearful of their effects, for they are meant to purify our hearts and minds and make them as gold. Fill us with Your power, mercy, and grace, let it overflow us as a fountain, and cover us with Your protective wings so that we can endure all things through His strength. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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