Zechariah 12:1–14

With chapter 12 begins the third part of the second book of Zechariah. The previous part, chapters 9-11, began with the words: "The burden of the word of Jehovah, in the land of Hadrach." It announced judgment over the nations around Israel. This third part begins with the same words: "The burden of the word of Jehovah." But now it is "concerning Israel," and it is not for judgment, but for deliverance.

In this "burden" upon Israel Jehovah appears as the Creator — the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and also of "the spirit of man." The prophets often speak this way... So Jehovah makes His proven power in creation the foundation for His people's faith, that His word about Jerusalem will be carried out. When Zechariah prophesied, the temple was not yet finished and the city still lay desolate. But by His word Jehovah tells the people to look forward to the time when Jerusalem will be restored once more in its beauty and strength.

These verbs, "stretches out," "lays" and "forms" have a continuing force. We are dealing with a God who has not only brought everything into being. He also keeps up His work of maintaining creation according to His own sovereign will. Some think that after God's first work of creation He retired from the scene and let everything evolve by itself. This is completely false! His power keeps upholding the heavens and the earth, and keeps forming man's spirit within him... Israel was indifferent to God's claims, and needed the reminder that God was still dealing with them.

Scripture speaks of the spirit of man as a separate thing in each individual, which the breath of life is not. It also speaks of it as formed within him, which again the breath of life is not... So the inspired writer sets this forming of the spirit of man beside the forming of the heavens and the earth, as equal in importance with them — and the body is passed over entirely. This overturns the materialistic theory. The spirit of man is formed within him. It is a separate thing, then, in each individual man, and not a common principle shared by all, as the breath of life is.

He has formed the heavens, the earth, and man himself — and in particular "the spirit of man." That is the highest part of man's whole being. It is the part where man's sinful rebellion against God shows most sadly. At the end of the prophecy we shall find man's spirit subdued and restored.

It is striking that the "burden" is for (or "upon") Israel, since its contents seem to concern almost entirely Judah and Jerusalem. Some argue from this that Israel — that is, the ten tribes — must have been restored before the siege of Jerusalem takes place... The reader must decide this question for himself as he weighs the words of the prophet. Only remember again that prophecy often uses language that may apply to different though connected events.

"The burden of the word of Jehovah for Israel, says Jehovah." Let it be noted here, that the whole people are before Him now. It is not merely Judah.

This word bewilderment has in it the thought of causing people to reel or stagger like a drunken person. When anyone meddles with Jerusalem, enemy or friend, God will make them act as if they had drunk a drug that leaves them unable to think or act straight.

When they besiege it, they will find it a cup of 'trembling', or 'bewilderment', because nothing will go the way they imagine it will. It will also be a 'burdensome' stone, far beyond their power to lift or to carry.

The burden of the word of the LORD here is for Israel. Notice that the whole people are before Him now. It is not just Judah… "Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples" — it is the nations again, of course not the Jews.

The term "round about" Jerusalem may include the armies that have come from far away, either to oppose or support the antichrist. It may also have in mind the nearby nations that are the long-standing enemies of Israel.

All nations will find in Jerusalem a cup that makes them lose their mind — not just Assyria and the nations around Palestine, but also the mighty armies of the west… The "beast" and the false prophet will think that by occupying Jerusalem they have found the way to stop the true King from setting up His government there.

The main point of this chapter, we judge, is the deliverance of Jerusalem and Judah, not the exact naming of the enemy who is destroyed. Even so, it is clear that at that time there will be an alliance of the Gentile nations against Judah and Jerusalem. The head of this alliance is not named.

The closing verses of Isaiah 51 tell the effect of these disciplinary dealings. They then declare how God will reverse the process and punish those who inflicted judgment on Israel… When the Arm of the Lord wakes up for them, the hour of their deliverance will strike. The "cup of trembling" will pass out of their hands and into the hands of those who oppressed them.

All the nations should be gathered round Jerusalem, but only to find it a burdensome stone that should crush them. God would judge the power of man, but would raise up His people in sovereign grace… This is sovereign grace to the chief of sinners: the weak but beloved Judah. To all her rebellion against God she had added the scorn and rejection of her King and Saviour.

God will defend the city and its people in a miraculous way, and He will destroy the nations (v. 9). He will pour out the spirit of grace and supplication on the remnant of Israel — "all the families that remain"; and "they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn."

Anyone who reads the Scriptures with a clear eye can see it: first Christ was despised, and at the last comes Antichrist. They refused the good Shepherd, and they accept the evil shepherd. God then repays His guilty people with judgment. In the next chapter (Zechariah 12) we see the nations gathering against Jerusalem. Receiving the Antichrist, after rejecting the Christ, is the ground of God's terrible judgments… If they gather themselves together, and God uses them to deal with Jerusalem, He will turn His hand and use Jerusalem to deal with the nations.

When they besiege the city, they will find it a cup of "trembling," or "bewilderment," because nothing will go the way they imagine. It will also be a "burdensome" stone, far beyond their power to lift or carry. At last God will be acting for His people and with them, and that will change everything. Verse 3 begins, "And in that day…" Another "day" is going to dawn, and the phrase "in that day" comes again in verses 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11. It is the "day of the Lord," which other prophets have spoken about.

The prophecy then goes on to show how the eyes of God take account of both the guilt of Jerusalem and the guilt of those nations who burden themselves with it. Jerusalem is God's centre on earth. He will not put up with the proud meddling of men, whether they attack the city or protect it in a patronising way. It is God who will deal with her and purge her.

All nations will find in Jerusalem a cup that drives them out of their minds — not only the Assyrian and the nations around Palestine, but also the mighty armies of the west: "All who lift it will surely hurt themselves" (v. 3)… The "beast" and the false prophet will think that by occupying Jerusalem they have found the way to stop the true King from setting up His government there.

I see no reason to identify the stone in Zechariah 12:3 with the stone in Matthew 21:44. The first clearly means Jerusalem itself. The second means the Lord Himself, in two positions that match His two comings. First, in His humiliation, He is like a stone lying in the ground, and "whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces"… Next, He is exalted to heaven, and when He comes again in power and great glory He will carry out destroying judgment — "when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." "A burdensome stone" is a different idea, and it will be true of Jerusalem in the last days.

All the nations will gather round Jerusalem, only to find it a burdensome stone that crushes them. God would judge the power of man, but would raise up His people in sovereign grace… This is sovereign grace shown to the worst of sinners — weak but beloved Judah. On top of all her rebellion against God, she had despised and rejected her King and Saviour.

All the nations would gather around Jerusalem, only to find it a heavy stone that would crush them. God would judge the power of man, but would raise up His people in sovereign grace. He would destroy the nations that had come up against Jerusalem. The rescue of the people by the power of the LORD comes first. This is sovereign grace to the chief of sinners — weak but beloved Judah, who had added to all her rebellion against God the despising and rejection of her King and Saviour.

Notice that this is an inward conviction worked in the hearts of the governors of Judah. No doubt the Lord Himself worked it. Even if they do not know it, it is the sign that His work of deliverance has begun.

To human eyes at such a moment the people of Jerusalem seem finished. The nations have them under siege in their own city. They look helpless, exposed to the full fury of the enemy. Yet it is to these doomed-looking people that the leaders of Judah look. They are led to feel that their strength lies in them — and if in them or through them, then only from the LORD their God.

At that time the governors or leaders of the surrounding area of Judah will recognise the value of Jerusalem as the centre of their nation. They will appreciate the faith of the people in the city, who came through such storms. Their faith becomes a strength for the leaders of Judah, "through the LORD of hosts, their God."

The very name of God matters here. It is the LORD of hosts, in contrast with the hosts of men who had gathered against His people. This name is tied to the people of Jerusalem, and it is used here to give confidence to the governors of Judah.

First the Lord works in the heart of these leaders. Then He shows their strength… As always, the Lord first prepares His instruments in secret. When the time comes to use them, He shows they are fit for the work. That is how He trained David. While David kept his father's sheep, his fights with the lion and the bear prepared him to defeat Goliath, the enemy of Israel.

I also do not think Zechariah 12:5-6 can carry that writer's reading, as if Judah were fighting against Jerusalem at that time.

Again, how unlike anything that has yet happened in Jewish history is a prophecy like this one, and how completely it fails to fit the Church. To apply it either to Israel's past history or to the Church is to turn prophecy into a mockery, and to strip the Word of God of all value.

But here we see that He keeps His eyes open over the house of Judah. How great is His grace! The house of Judah had rejected Him, yet He will take note of that same house first! After that He will begin to work through the leaders of Judah. They say in their hearts, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength through Jehovah of hosts their God." The remnant of Jerusalem that has remained faithful to God will be their moral support.

As always, the Lord first prepares His instruments in secret. Then, when the time comes to use them, He shows how fit they are for the work. So He trained David while he was tending his father's flocks. Through his fights with the lion and the bear, He made David ready to beat Goliath, the enemy of Israel. In the same way these princes of Judah have been trained. Now, when He launches them against the nations, nothing can stand before them. They are like a raging, devouring fire that consumes all that comes before it… into this one verse the Spirit of God has crowded the whole deliverance of Jerusalem, along with the restoration and blessing that follow.

Zechariah 10 shows how God will use Judah and Ephraim in that day. He will fight not only for them, but in them and by them. It is a great mistake to think that Jehovah will do it all single-handed.

The destruction of the Western armies described in Revelation 19:19-21, and the overthrow of the hordes of Russia and her allies in Ezekiel 39, will happen without any human help at all. But against other enemies God intends to use a delivered Israel. Zechariah 9:13, Zechariah 12:6 and other Scriptures make this plain.

God could not use the saints of the present age for this work, at least not while they are still on earth. The present age is one of pure, perfect grace. The Church's place is to walk in the steps of Him who suffered and took it patiently, and who cried from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But an age of righteousness will just as surely follow this present age of grace.

Verse 6 tells us that the Lord uses the governors of Judah as His devouring flame against the nations that have tried to destroy His people. He promises that Jerusalem will be lived in again as before. So that there should be no strife between the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Lord steps in to save "the tents of Judah" first… Whatever the instruments, it is the Lord Himself who has stepped in, for He says, "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (verse 9).

In Zechariah, the whole of chapter 10 describes the restoration of Israel in the last days. It speaks of each division of the people, Judah and Ephraim. Then chapter 11 tells of Christ's rejection. In chapter 12 judgment falls on all the nations gathered against Jerusalem, and she becomes a heavy stone for them. So it has no application to past events. Chapter 12 also gives a detailed account of how Jehovah will save the people.

God would judge the power of man, but would raise up His people in sovereign grace. He would destroy the nations that had come up against Jerusalem. The deliverance of the people by the power of Jehovah comes first. This is sovereign grace to the chief of sinners — feeble but beloved Judah. To all her rebellion against God she had added the contempt and rejection of her King and Saviour.

The expression "the tents of Judah" emphasises their weak position. They are outside the city walls, exposed to the fury of the enemy. Blood will have flooded the whole length of the land, figuratively "as high as a horse's bridle" (Rev. 14:20), and two thirds of the people will "be cut off and perish" during the tribulation (Zech. 13:8). The Lord shows His tender mercy to the weak first. He rescues Judah from the enemy, who will then concentrate on besieging Jerusalem. The Lord waits before delivering Jerusalem, however, for He must first do a complete work in those in the city, so they will be humbled rather than magnify themselves over Judah.

The deliverance of Jerusalem, Jehovah's dwelling within her, and the truth that the Messiah is the true Son of David — all of this could not fail to reflect glory on both the city and the house of the King. And knowing what man is, this might lead both the city and the family of David to exalt themselves over Judah. But Jehovah will prevent this by showing His love to Judah in appearing first on her behalf.

So that there should be no strife between the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Lord steps in to save "the tents of Judah" first (verse 7). But He also comes to defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He gives them surpassing strength as instruments of their deliverance (verse 8). Whatever the instruments, the Lord Himself is the one who has stepped in, for He says, "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (verse 9).

The grace shown in her deliverance had worked on her heart. The law we know was written in it, but much more. To be loved by a God against whom one has so deeply rebelled melts the heart. Grace then goes further, and presents to the people the Messiah whom they had pierced. The Rejected One is the Jehovah who delivers them.

In Zechariah 12 – 14 we are surely among the scenes and circumstances of the last days. One or two passages in these chapters may look back to events long since finished. But no one can reasonably doubt that the subject of the prophecy lies in events still to come.

When He appears to defend and rescue the city, He will also give its people, so it seems, superhuman strength. They have been reduced to helplessness, and that is the very place and condition where they can receive strength. For it is always true, in every age, that when God's people are weak then they are strong, because His strength is made perfect in weakness.

The feeble ones, literally the stumblers, among His people will be like David in that day when the Lord is revealed. What a hero David was! A man of war and strength, always conquering and never conquered. And now the stumbler in Israel, the weakest one, will have strength and courage like David.

This last part of Zechariah 12 beautifully shows the grace and power of the Lord Jesus as He deals with His own people, who have rejected Him for centuries… But what we see in verse 8 actually follows what verses 10-14 declare. Verse 8 shows the new strength and courage that will stir the people of Jerusalem. The following verses show the reason for it. The one who is feeble among the people will be as David, having found strength like the strength David showed in defeating Goliath.

Then even those who stumble among them will be dressed in royal robes, and "the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them" (v. 8). This means that the kingship itself will bear a divine character. It surely points to the One whom Ezekiel calls "the Prince," who will represent the King of Glory on earth.

In that day "the house of David" will truly be "like God." For the One who came "descended from David according to the flesh," by being born a man, is none other than the Son of God, as Romans 1:3 plainly states. And He will appear in glory.

The house of David will be like God — like the angel of the LORD, who stands at their head again as the commander of the LORD's army (Joshua 5), leading them out to battle.

It is also true that He can strengthen the feeble one so much that he becomes as David (Zech. 12:8). But the witness must not think of himself as indispensable, or disaster will follow at once.

When that hour arrives, God's dealings with Jerusalem will reach their high point, as the opening of Zechariah 14 shows. Here the point is that the nations will come under judgment. When they lay siege to it, they will find it a cup of 'trembling', or 'bewilderment'. Nothing will go the way they imagine. It will also be a 'burdensome' stone, far too heavy for them to lift or carry. At last God will act for His people and with them, and that changes everything. Verse 3 begins, 'And in that day … ' Another 'day' is going to dawn. The phrase 'in that day' comes again in verses 4, 6, 8, 9 and 11. It is the 'day of the Lord' that other prophets have spoken about.

The next verse simply states the fact, which chapter 14 later expands: in that day the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Here the point is not so much that He carries out His judgment, but that He declares His purpose to carry it out. He announces that when all nations come against Jerusalem, they come for their own entire and total destruction. In the prophetic picture they are certainly destroyed. But the words "I will seek to destroy" speak of the purpose in God's mind more than of the act itself.

Verse 6 tells us that the Lord uses the leaders of Judah as His burning flame against the nations that have tried to destroy His people. He promises that people will live in Jerusalem again, as they did before. So that there is no rivalry between the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, the Lord steps in to save "the tents of Judah" first (verse 7). But He also comes to defend the people of Jerusalem. He gives them extraordinary strength and uses them in their own deliverance (verse 8). Whatever instruments He uses, it is the Lord Himself who has stepped in, for He says, "I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (verse 9).

God will judge the power of man, but He will raise up His people in sovereign grace. He will destroy the nations that had come up against Jerusalem. His own power delivers His people first. This is sovereign grace to the worst of sinners — weak but beloved Judah. To all her rebellion against God she had added the scorn and rejection of her own King and Saviour.

Here the destruction — God seeking to destroy all nations that come against Jerusalem — is what brings about the conversion of the Jews. They come to recognise the One they had pierced. In short, this is the cutting off of the nations … described in the special circumstances that follow for the Jews. Suppose Jerusalem here means the church. Even then, what falls on the nations is destruction, not conversion. And if Jerusalem must in that case be the true church, why all this mourning as a fresh result of the destruction of their enemies?

The rejected Messiah is the Lord who delivers them. They look on Him whom they have pierced. There is great mourning in the land, as there once was in the valley of Megiddo. This reference to 2 Chronicles 35:22 is deeply moving. There, in the last days of their earlier history, their faithful king Josiah had fallen, and the nation mourned and wept loudly over their slain king. Here they learn to mourn in the dust, when they see that the king their nation crucified is the Lord of hosts Himself.

It was in Jerusalem that our Lord was rejected and condemned to be crucified. It was in Jerusalem that the gospel was first preached. And it is in Jerusalem that Jehovah will first begin the work of grace when He returns to Zion. Nothing could more magnify His grace and unchanging love. And nothing could more fully reveal the helpless condition of man than the fact recorded here: it is Jehovah who will pour out on His people the spirit of grace and pleas for mercy — the same Jehovah they had rejected in the person of Jesus. All things truly are of God; and so, as the apostle writes, "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."

Zechariah wrote this 500 years before the crucifixion. He speaks of a future time of trouble. The Gentiles will gather around Jerusalem, and God will appear on their behalf when all seems lost. They will then recognise in their deliverer God the One whom they pierced. The "I" of the passage is certainly God, Jehovah of Israel. Yet if they had once "pierced" Him, He must have taken a body and come in humiliation. In whom can all this meet but in Jesus of Nazareth, the Lord God of Israel?

Through John, the Spirit records in chapter 19 about Jesus, "one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear... These things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled... They will look on him whom they have pierced." Here we have God's own divinely given answer to our earlier question! And when Thomas (a picture of the favoured remnant of Israel in a future day) saw the wounds — looking on the Pierced One, risen from among the dead — he exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"

God seeks to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. That destruction is given here as the occasion of the conversion of the Jews — when they come to recognise Him whom they had pierced.

This grief has no equal. To deepen the sense of the sorrow, it is called bitterness for Him, like the bitterness of one grieving for a firstborn. Blessed grief, we may add. It shares in that sorrow according to God, which produces a repentance no one regrets, and its end will prove to be light, blessing, and joy. Such weeping may last for the night, but joy will come in the morning.

Their fathers' guilt and the nation's sin, which they are tied to, will become plain to them. Looking on Him whom they as part of Israel pierced, they will mourn. What an awakening there will be! Centuries of national unbelief judged in a moment... Their mourning is not the bitterness of despair, as if they had learned there is no hope. It is the sorrow of broken hearts at discovering the love He had shown them, and their rejection of it.

What a day it will be when the Spirit of grace and supplication comes on the remnant of His people, and they see Him appear in the clouds of heaven and know Him by the pierced side! The great vision Saul had on the road to Damascus will then be repeated. The young Pharisee saw Him as one "untimely born." In his own experience he was the pledge that the remnant of the nation Paul belonged to would one day pass through the same experience.

Revelation announces that all the tribes of the earth will wail because of Him — not in repentance, but because it seals their doom, and they realise it.

A place in the valley of Megiddo where there had been great mourning. The prophet quotes it as a picture of the great mourning there will be at Jerusalem. That mourning will come when Judah's sin comes home to their conscience — the sin of demanding the death of their Messiah. Most take the reference to be the time when Josiah was struck down in that same valley, though the histories do not speak of any mourning there.

This is the same mourning as the previous verse describes. It is the mourning that follows their discovery that the One they had pierced was none other than Jehovah. Now, to show how deep and strong it is, the prophet points to one of the most disastrous events that had ever happened to the nation: the death of Josiah, who was fatally wounded in battle with Necho, king of Egypt, in the valley of Megiddo. For in truth the death of this king was the sunset of the kingdom of Judah. A few gleams of light may have lingered afterwards in Jehovah's mercy. But they soon faded into utter night, for both kings and people were deaf to the pleading of the prophets.

King Josiah had been the instrument in God's hand to bring about the most exceptional revival in the last days of Judah's kingdom. In a war with Egypt, that same Josiah had been cut off in the prime of his life. In a lamentation, Jeremiah and many others with him expressed the mourning that this event had brought into the hearts of people and prophet.

Note the last proud assault of vast opposing armies before the Millennium is set up. Jerusalem is the prize in view. It is called the battle of Armageddon (the hill Megiddo). The place of repentance and restoration for Israel, by contrast, is likened to mourning in the valley of Megiddo.

Hadadrimmon means "sound of the pomegranate." The pomegranate is full of seeds, and it is often connected with the fruitful blessing of the Millennium. So the mourning of the Jews will be like the sound of promised blessing in store for them. True repentance is the sure sign of blessing to come.

We find here not only a sketch of what will take place in Jerusalem, but also the spiritual history of us all. We have completely separated ourselves from God. We cannot return to Him except by showing repentance. This repentance will not leave the people of Jerusalem in despair. Nor can it do so for the Christian. The sorrow of those who will find a Saviour in "Him whom they have pierced" will not be despair. It is like what Joseph's brothers felt when they recognised that their deliverer was the brother they had sold to the Gentiles.

In a time yet to come for the Jewish people, in Zechariah 12:10-14, this day will not be left out. Then there will be a great mourning at Jerusalem, "as the mourning of Hadad-rimmon, in the valley of Megiddon". It will then be time for this same people... to receive again, as the king of glory, the Messiah whom they had rejected and crucified. The remnant of the future will be unable to celebrate the feast of tabernacles (Zech. 14:16) until after this great day of atonement.

If it is a national sorrow, it is also a household sorrow — in fact an individual sorrow. It is sure proof of how thorough a work of repentance the Spirit of God will do in their hearts. Every family, and every individual in the family, will own the sin of having crucified the Lord... It is true that Christ died for the nation. The nation — that is, the remnant brought into that place before God — will own its sin in rejecting the Messiah. Yet every individual must own his sin "apart," alone in the presence of God, to come under the value and power of the sacrifice of Christ.

"Every family apart." The work is so close and so real that we even hear of "their wives apart." The nearest and closest relationships are cut off, so that there may be now, for the first time, "truth in the inward parts."... They go alone, each before God, so that everything may come out and be cleared. Surely this should warn us about the danger these days of huge meetings, revivals and the like. This is not said to weaken anyone's confidence, but so that all may see how serious it is for souls to be alone with God about their sins.

The house of David is mentioned for the reason given earlier in the chapter. The kings were held responsible for the state of the nation, and it was the sin of this house that brought the kingdom to its judicial end. Nathan is named perhaps as the representative of the prophets, since he was the prophet in David's days. The house of Levi stands here especially for the priestly family... And it was the chief priests who wanted Jesus condemned. They cried out, deliberately denying their national history and their national hopes: "We have no king but Caesar."

The work will go further back still; it will reach right up to the beginning... Levi and Simeon, or Shimei, were the very heads who conspired in revenge for their sister Dinah. They made the names of Jacob's sons stink in the earliest days. Now the descendants of these two, who were together in their cruel wickedness, are named together as they bow alone to confess each his own guilt before Jehovah.

The family of the reproving prophet is also there: Nathan's descendants are mourning too. Instead of reproving David now, they judge themselves without sparing, and each confesses his own sin... So there will be no question of David exposed before Nathan, or of Nathan dealing with David. Each will find his own sin. All will grieve over their common sin against the Messiah.

This repentance will not produce a condition of despair for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Nor can it do so for the Christian. The sorrow of those who will find a Saviour in "Him whom they have pierced" will not be despair. It is like what Joseph's brothers felt when they recognised that their deliverer was the brother they had sold to the Gentiles... The generations will not face God collectively as one nation, but house by house, with the men apart and the women apart.

The prophet tells us that "all other families" will mourn separately. This whole scene will be the final fulfilment of the great Day of Atonement. Only then will God's people understand the meaning of this type.

The house of Levi stands here especially for the priestly family. In setting out the causes of God's intervention in judgment in the reign of Zedekiah, the Holy Spirit says, "All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that He had made holy in Jerusalem" (2 Chronicles 36:14). And it was the chief priests who cried out, "We have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15), to secure the condemnation of Jesus. In saying it, they knowingly denied their national history and their national hopes.

A family who will mourn apart at the repentance of Jerusalem, Zechariah 12:13. Some connect this with another Shimei; but SIMEON is the reading in the margin, and in the Septuagint, the Arabic and the Syriac versions.

Levi and Simeon, or Shimei, were the very heads who conspired in revenge for their sister Dinah. In the earliest days they made the name of Jacob's sons a disgrace. Now the descendants of these two, who stood together in their cruel wickedness, are named together as they bow alone to confess each his own guilt before the LORD. There is no more beautiful picture of the power of divine grace searching the heart. It trusts the Lord fully, yet condemns one's own sins to the very end.

If it is a national sorrow, it is also a household sorrow — indeed an individual sorrow. This is sure proof of how thorough the work of repentance will be that the Spirit of God works in their hearts. Every family, and every individual in the family, will own the sin of having crucified the Lord. Each family, isolated by its own personal convictions, confesses apart the depth of its sin. No fear of judgment or punishment comes in to spoil the character and the truth of their sorrow. Their souls are restored according to the efficacy of the work of Christ.

The mourning and repentance of the people will be deep. Husband and wife will be apart in this. Their repentance will be so deep that it cannot be shared with another.

Repentance, as always, is an intensely individual matter. "The spirit of grace" will move them, and they will give up every thought of deserving anything under law. A century or so earlier they had mourned deeply in the valley of Megiddo over the early death of Josiah. But now there will be a mourning across the whole land. It will be so deep that everyone has to be alone before their God. Long ago Nathan had to come to David and convict him of grievous sin, saying, "You are the man!" But now the house of Nathan has to be apart in their own sorrowful self-judgment.

Deep and bitter as the mourning will be, it will be the prelude to the glorious reign of Christ for a thousand years. The Jewish nation will no longer be the tail but the head of the nations. This is because their King will be the Lord Jesus Christ — the very One they crucified. Yet His atoning death now brings them into these glorious blessings. The nation will keep the great day of atonement in knowledge and in truth as never before.

Finally, the family of the house of Shimei. Shimei was the subject who cursed David (2 Sam. 16:5-8). So the whole range of the population of Judah and Benjamin is represented. The phrase "all the families that remain" shows the same thing, after the Great Tribulation has terribly reduced the land. How wonderful it will be to see this formerly rebellious nation bowed in genuine repentance at the feet of the Lord Jesus! … This will be a truly national repentance, but wonderfully individual at the same time.

In the past Nathan had to come to David and convict him of grievous sin, saying, "You are the man!" Now the house of Nathan has to be apart in their own sorrowful self-judgment. Simeon and Levi were once brothers who acted together in an act of cruelty, as Genesis 49:5 shows. Now their families will be apart, bowed in self-judgment before their God.

"Every family apart." The work is so close, so real, that we even hear of "their wives apart." The nearest and closest relationships are broken off, so that there may be now, for the first time, "truth in the inward parts." … All are convicted. Each is so deeply filled with the sense of his own sins that he thoroughly feels the need to be alone with God. It is not only real but deep work; it is not the mere effect of feeling or sympathy fed by a weeping crowd. They go alone, each before God, so that everything may be out and clear. Surely this should be a warning about the danger in our own day of huge meetings, revivals and the like.

The closest relationship counts for nothing in the presence of sin and of God as its judge. Each must be alone: the husband apart and the wife apart. Each is shut out from every influence and every thought except what He is. That is true despite what each had been to Him whom they pierced, yet who died for them.

If it is national, it is also a household sorrow — even an individual one. It is a sure proof of how thoroughly the Spirit of God will work repentance in their hearts. Every family, and every individual in the family, will own the sin of having crucified the Lord. "Each family, isolated by its own personal convictions, confesses apart the depth of its sin. No fear of judgment or punishment comes in to spoil the character and the truth of their sorrow. Their souls are restored according to the efficacy of the work of Christ." … Christ died for the nation, and the nation will own its sin in rejecting the Messiah. But every individual must own his sin "apart," alone in the presence of God, to come under the value and efficacy of the sacrifice of Christ.

The sin of the nation, mourned over in this way by the remnant, is washed away. "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." The opening of this fountain "to the house of David" and "to Jerusalem" needs little explanation. It must mean that God applies the benefits of Christ's death to them. There is no other fountain for sin and uncleanness.