And this shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
Zechariah 14 describes the day when the Lord reigns as King over all the earth. Verse 12 names the blow that ends the armies who came against Jerusalem: a plague that rots them while they are still standing.
One writer points to the timing of the blow, and to its effect on everyone who sees it.
The prophet has traced out the blessed results of the coming of the Messiah. Now he speaks of the special judgment the Lord will bring on the nations that have fought against Jerusalem… It is not clearly stated whether this awful plague will fall on them during the siege. What follows suggests that it probably will. The fact itself is what we are to notice. It shows the Lord's indignation against those who have fought against His beloved city. And notice this: the plague is of such a kind that it will compel every onlooker to own the punishing hand of God. The most hardened unbeliever could not explain such a terrible blow on any other ground than a stroke of judgment from God.
The verse names three parts of the body in turn. One commentator links each one to the way the nations had used it.
How striking the judgment is! Their whole body comes under God's judgment. Their feet carried them to fight against the Lord. Their eyes directed their weapons of war. Their tongues blasphemed God's Christ. All of these will be affected.
The plague is not the whole of it. One writer traces what else falls on these armies, and on their animals.
Judgment will fall on them in the battle, and the remnant of Judah will at least in part be the instrument in God's hand. Beyond that, the Lord will strike all the nations who have fought against Jerusalem with a plague. Their flesh will waste away, their eyes will sink in their sockets, their tongues will dry up in their mouths. Besides this, they will rise up against each other to destroy one another. We find the same thing in Ezekiel in connection with the destruction of Gog, the King of the North (Ezek. 38:21-22). Even the animals will be struck down, and their plague will be the same as the plague on man. Man had forgotten God and no longer had any spiritual link with Him. In the judgment he is put on the level of the animal — the level to which he had lowered himself.
Flesh, eyes and tongue wasting away sounds to some readers like the effects of a nuclear blast. One commentator weighs that idea and turns it down.
But we should not be quick to conclude that nuclear war will be the means of this affliction. The Jews in Jerusalem would not likely drop a nuclear bomb near their own city… Then verse 14 says, "Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem." Would they be able to fight at all if nuclear bombs had been dropped nearby?
The judgment has a purpose here. One writer reads verses 12-15 as what makes order and peace possible.
Then in verses 12-15 we learn the provision for keeping order and honour in the earth. These verses set out the awful judgment of the nations that fought against Jerusalem. We see the last sample of this stroke in Ezekiel 38, 39 before peace flows like a river.
Not everyone in those armies dies. One writer follows the chapter on to the survivors and the yearly feast they must keep in Jerusalem — the Feast of Booths, called the feast of tabernacles in older translations.
The Lord in His sovereign mercy spares some of those who came against Jerusalem. They are to go up from year to year to worship "the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths." If they do not come, the Lord will withhold His rain. Egypt relies on the Nile for water; if Egypt does not come, they will get the plague (verses 16-19).
- Cause. The Lord strikes the peoples that "wage war against Jerusalem." The judgment answers what they did to His city.
- Fit. The plague strikes feet, eyes and tongue in turn — the very parts used to march, to aim, and to blaspheme.
- Unmistakable. Its character forces every onlooker to own it as a divine stroke, not an accident of war.
- Reach. The armies also turn on each other, and even their animals share the plague.
- Result. The blow clears the ground for order and peace. Survivors from those armies go up to Jerusalem to worship the King.
And it shall come to pass in that day [that] a great panic from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
The closing chapter of Zechariah shows the armies of the nations gathered against Jerusalem. Verse 13 tells of a panic that sweeps through them, and the prophet traces it to one source.
Older translations read "tumult" where the ESV has "panic." Edward Dennett explains the force of the word and points to two earlier battles:
A panic — for that is the force of the word "tumult" — will seize the nations besieging Jerusalem. It will be like the panic that fell on the Midianites when Gideon attacked them with his three hundred men. It will be like the one that came into the army of the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites as they advanced against Judah in the days of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20). So the huge army will melt away and destroy itself.
Gideon was a judge of Israel. Jehoshaphat was a king of Judah. In both battles a huge army fell apart on its own.
The verse does not present the confusion as an accident of war. It comes "from the LORD." That one phrase changes the whole scene:
A tumult — a panic — from the Lord will trouble them, so that in their blind fear they will destroy each other.
Each attacker seizes the hand of the man next to him and turns on him. One writer draws a conclusion from this about the weapons used:
The Lord will cause panic to overtake the attackers, so they will fight among themselves, not realizing what they are doing. This is true. So is the Lord going out, Judah fighting, and the plague inflicted on the enemy. It is plain that nuclear warfare is not involved. Still, it will be an awesome climax to the time of trouble such as the world has never seen before.
Commentators differ here. Another writer compares the bodily effects in verse 12 to the aftermath of an atom bomb. He still treats verse 13 as a separate blow:
Verse 12 gives the terrible effects of judgment on the bodies of men. In our day people have likened these to the effects produced on the survivors after the fall and explosion of an atom bomb. But in addition to this there will be the mutual destruction that verse 13 speaks of. And further, Judah will enter the conflict, and much wealth will be laid up for the coming day.
This judgment is not for its own sake. One writer gives the reason God steps in at such moments:
The motive for such intervention is generally the deliverance of His own people. "When God arose to judgment to save all the meek of the earth" (Ps. 76:9). It takes very little reflection to see how good a reason that must be for Him to step in. Here it is a question of His heart being engaged. We can hardly imagine our God standing still or doing nothing while His people meet suffering and persecution in this scene.
Writers have also used verse 13 to settle a disputed reading of the next verse. The point turns on whose side Judah fights on:
There is another reason against the marginal translation, which is no doubt a very good rendering of the Hebrew. The verse before speaks of the judgment that falls on the Gentiles for fighting against Jerusalem — "a great tumult from the Lord of hosts." Now this would seem a strange moment to bring in "Judah also shall fight, as being leagued with the Gentiles."
This verse sits inside a block of judgment that serves a larger purpose:
In verses 12-15 we learn what keeps order and honour in the earth. Here we see the awful judgment of the nations that fought against Jerusalem.
What follows the judgment is blessing, reaching even to some of the attackers:
Great blessing will come to God's chosen city when the Lord is there. Blessing will flow out even to the nations that came against Jerusalem — to all who have escaped the judgments that came from the Lord.
- Panic. The word behind "panic" (older translations: "tumult") means a terror that breaks an army apart from the inside. It did the same to Midian under Gideon and to the invaders in Jehoshaphat's day.
- From the Lord. The panic does not just happen. It comes from the Lord, and in blind fear the attackers destroy each other.
- By their own hands. Each man seizes the hand of the one beside him and turns on him. A huge army melts away without modern weapons.
- For His people. God steps in because His heart is engaged with His own. Their rescue is the motive behind the judgment.
- Toward blessing. The judgment clears the way for order and honour in the earth. Blessing then reaches even survivors of the armies that came against the city.
And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together -- gold, and silver, and garments, in great abundance.
Zechariah 14 describes the day when the nations gather against Jerusalem. Verse 14 tells what Judah does in that battle, and what Judah carries home from it.
Verse 14 follows the verse where the Lord sends panic among the attackers. That panic has a pattern in Israel's past.
A panic — that is the force of the word "tumult" — will seize the nations besieging Jerusalem. It will be like the panic that fell on the Midianites when Gideon and his three hundred men attacked them. It will be like the one that came into the army of the Ammonites, Moabites and Edomites as they advanced against Judah in the days of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20). So the huge army will melt away and destroy itself. In this way the Lord will enrich His beloved Judah, until now oppressed and persecuted, but now delivered and blessed.
Older English Bibles print a margin reading that would have Judah fighting against the city. Some have even read the verse as putting part of Judah with the invaders.
Zechariah 14:14 may be translated as in the English margin. But I prefer the common translation, because of what chapter 12 teaches. Chapter 12 certainly does not suppose Judah to be fighting against Jerusalem; it says the opposite. Nor is that writer justified in saying that part of Judah joined the invading Gentiles, simply because the verse says Judah too will fight.
Judah does not fight alone, and the strength for it is not their own.
This looks on to the end of the tribulation. First the Lord Jesus suddenly appears on the Mount of Olives, and Israel is broken down in true repentance and faith to receive their once-rejected Messiah. Then "Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem" (Zechariah 14:14) under the leadership of the Lord Jesus, "because the Lord is with them." The joy of the Lord's presence with them will give them unusual courage and strength. Their enemies, though riding on imposing war horses, will be put to shame.
The chapter opens with spoil divided in Jerusalem. Verse 14 shows whose spoil it is.
The "spoil" spoken of is probably the spoil taken from the nations (see verse 14), which the prophet says will be divided in the middle of Jerusalem. So in one sentence the prophet sets the full result before the reader, before he gives any details. It is the result of the nations gathering against Jerusalem. They will come to plunder it, but they will be plundered. The people who were on the very edge of destruction will divide the spoil of their enemies.
The same thing happened at the start of Israel's story, when they left Egypt loaded with their oppressors' goods.
Long ago, when Israel left Egypt, they took with them "silver and gold jewelry, and … clothing," and they "plundered the Egyptians" (Exodus 12:35-36); and it will be the same at the end.
The gold, silver and clothing come from the supplies the invading armies bring with them.
The armies invading Israel will bring so many supplies with them that Israel will grow wealthy from the gold, silver and clothing they take as spoil. God not only enables His people to gain the victory, He enriches them as well. It is a lesson for us. When we give the Lord Jesus His true place, as Israel will then, He gives us strength to defeat the power of the enemy. He will also use the occasion to enrich us — not materially, but spiritually.
Judah takes up weapons here. Christians have no such orders.
The people of Judah will be broken down in true repentance before the Lord, and born again. Then they will fight with an energy given by God. Christians today have no such commission to fight physically. They are to bear the oppression of evil men rather than fight against them. We have a heavenly inheritance. But Judah will be fighting for their own earthly inheritance, and at that time this will be perfectly right. The warfare of Christians is not carnal (of the flesh), but spiritual.
- Panic first. Before Judah lifts a hand, the Lord throws the besieging army into confusion. It destroys itself, as Gideon's enemies and Jehoshaphat's did.
- Then Judah. They fight at Jerusalem, not against it. Chapter 12 puts Judah on the Lord's side, which rules out the margin reading.
- Borrowed strength. Their courage comes from the presence of the Messiah they had once rejected, now received in repentance.
- Reversal. The nations came to plunder the city. Instead they are plundered, and the people they nearly destroyed divide their wealth.
- Enrichment, not orders to fight. God gives victory and riches together. For us the riches are spiritual, because a Christian's warfare is not physical.
And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as this plague.
A plague strikes the armies that came against Jerusalem, and verse 15 adds that the same blow falls on every animal in their camps. Why should horses, mules, camels and donkeys share the fate of the men who brought them there?
The verse sweeps up every living thing inside the invaders' lines. One commentator draws out how far the stroke reaches:
From this verse we learn that even the animals will be struck with the same terrible plague that destroys their owners. That includes the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the beasts that may be in those camps. It is a fearful thing to stand on the side of the Lord's enemies. Once He rises up in judgment, no one can escape His arm.
The verse points back to "this plague" already described a few lines earlier. Dennett looks at the effect it has on everyone who sees it:
The plague is of such a kind that every onlooker will have to admit the punishing hand of God. The hardest unbelieving heart could find only one explanation for such a terrible blow: a divine stroke of judgment.
Animals did not choose this war, but men harnessed them to it. L. M. Grant links the verse to an older command and to a wider principle:
Verse 15 tells us that the same plague of verse 12 will affect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys and any other animals of the enemy. This reminds us of God's instructions to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:3, that not only was Amalek to be destroyed, but all their animals also. Since man's sin has badly affected all living creation, that creation suffers with him (Rom. 8:20). On this smaller scale, the animals that people have identified with their own rebellion against God will suffer the same judgment as the rebels.
There is a second way to read the shared plague. One writer sees in it what man had already made of himself:
Even the animals will be killed, and their plague will be the same as that of man, who had forgotten God and no longer had any spiritual link with Him. In the judgment he will be put on the level of the brute beast — the level to which he had lowered himself.
Commentators differ on the emphasis. One sees creation dragged down with rebellious man. The other sees man sunk to the level of the beasts. Both are reading the same fact: one plague covers them all.
The plague that ruins the invaders leaves their wealth to Judah. That double outcome serves a purpose:
Judah is to enrich herself with the spoil of the Lord's enemies. Meanwhile the same plague that strikes their owners will strike even the horses, mules, camels, and beasts the enemy used. In this striking way the Lord will vindicate His name.
Readers ask where this plague falls in the order of events. H. L. Rossier warns against pressing the sequence too hard:
Verses 12-20 speak about the plagues that will fall on the nations, either before or after the setting up of Christ's thousand-year kingdom. The last three chapters of Zechariah treat "the last day" as one whole, and for that reason we should not look for a chronological order in it.
The plague on Jerusalem's attackers is not where the chapter stops. It opens onto worship:
A deadly plague will strike all those who have fought against her. They will destroy one another. Judah will also fight against them, and their riches will be her spoil. The remnant that are spared among the nations will come up to Jerusalem, to the feast that celebrates the entry of God's people into their rest. And all will be holiness; everything in Jerusalem will be set apart to Jehovah.
- Rebellion. Men chose this war. The animals came only because men brought them. The whole camp stood against the Lord.
- Reach. The plague does not stop at the soldiers. Horse, mule, camel and donkey fall under it too. No one escapes His arm once He rises in judgment.
- Reason. Man's sin has damaged all living creation, and creation suffers with him. Animals tied to man's rebellion share the judgment of the rebels.
- Reversal. Man forgot God and sank to the level of the brute beast. God judges him on that level.
- Result. The enemy's wealth passes to Judah. The Lord vindicates His name. The nations left alive come up to Jerusalem, where everything is holy to the Lord.
And it shall come to pass, that all that are left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
Zechariah's last chapter moves from armies closing in on Jerusalem to the Lord Himself reigning as King over all the earth. This verse asks who is left alive when that is over, who this King is, and why the nations must keep one Israelite feast.
Left over from what? One writer says the number will be small, because the fighting earlier in the chapter reaches every nation:
The king of the north may have a special part in this attack on Jerusalem. But all the nations will be involved, as verse 2 says. So these huge judgments of war will be felt far and wide, in every direction. That is why verse 16 uses the words "every one that is left." We believe this means that only a very small part of mankind will be left.
These survivors come from the nations that attacked the city. Another writer names what they are spared for:
The remnant spared among the nations will come up to Jerusalem, to the feast that celebrates God's people entering into their rest.
The verse gives two titles to one person. He holds the throne promised to David's line, and He bears the name of God Himself:
The King is no one other than Jesus of Nazareth. When the angel announced His birth, he said that the Lord God would give Him the throne of His father David (Luke 1). And yet, as the Spirit of God loves to show, He is also Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts. He was once here as a root out of dry ground, with no beauty that the natural eye could see, the lowly man of Nazareth. In the coming age, exalted and glorified as King over all the earth, He will be the One all nations adore and worship.
The ESV calls it the Feast of Booths; older translations, and the writers here, call it the Feast of Tabernacles. It closed the farming year, and it pointed forward:
They lived in booths for seven days and kept the feast after they had gathered in their grain, wine, and oil. They rested and rejoiced when the year's work was over. It was a picture of the rest that is still to come, and of the joy that will come when all their troubles on earth are over and Messiah is reigning over them... Passover concerns the redeemed of the Lord, and Pentecost concerns in a special way those who are called out for heaven. But Tabernacles will concern everyone on earth who has had dealings with Jerusalem in the past.
This feast is not the first thing to happen. One writer points to what must come before it:
The true feast of tabernacles, the final feast, will not be kept until a time still future, as Zechariah 14:16 shows. And when it comes, the great day of atonement will come first (Zech. 12:10-14). We do not find that day in Ezra, or in Nehemiah, or in the gospels.
Worship here is not left to choice, and only one of Israel's feasts is named:
The Lord does not force anyone to worship Him. Many people in this world have great material wealth and still refuse to worship the Lord. Right now He sends rain on the just and on the unjust (Matt. 5:45). In the time that is coming, if the nations do not obey and go up to worship the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles, they will get no rain. How remarkable that they are not told to keep the Feast of the Passover or Pentecost, but only the Feast of Tabernacles.
Commentators differ on what that silence proves. One holds that Passover will still be kept then:
The Passover is missing here, but we have no right to conclude that it will not be kept then. The end of Ezekiel plainly speaks of the same time and the same circumstances, and it shows that the Passover will be kept as well as the feast of Tabernacles — but not Pentecost.
Some read all of this as picture language only. One writer objects:
What a scene! Who would want to rob it of its own beauty by a vague way of interpreting that is wrongly called spiritualizing? Surely Jerusalem means Jerusalem, nations mean nations, and the feast of tabernacles means the feast of tabernacles.
- Left — the worshippers are survivors of the nations that attacked Jerusalem; only a small part of mankind will remain.
- Spared — those spared come up to Jerusalem, to the feast that celebrates God's people entering their rest.
- King — the One they worship is Jesus of Nazareth, who receives David's throne and is also the Lord of hosts.
- Feast — Booths marked rest after the harvest was gathered in. It concerns everyone on earth, and it follows the great day of atonement.
- Year by year — worship becomes a yearly duty for the nations, and those who refuse get no rain. Commentators differ on whether the other feasts are kept too.
And it shall be, that whoso goeth not up of the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them shall be no rain.
Zechariah's last chapter looks past every battle to a coming day. Then the nations will go up to Jerusalem year after year to worship the King. This verse names the cost of staying home: rain now depends on whether a people will bow.
The verse turns on the worship of one Person, named both as King and as the LORD of hosts. One commentator links both titles to one Person, and recalls how plain He once looked.
The King, as we know, is none other than Jesus of Nazareth. When the angel announced His birth, he said that the Lord God would give Him the throne of His father David (Luke 1). And yet, as the Spirit of God loves to show, He is also Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts. He was once here below as the Root out of dry ground, with no form or beauty to the natural eye — the lowly Nazarene. In the coming age He will be the exalted and glorified One, King over all the earth, and the object of the worship and adoration of all nations.
The command names a place. What it sets up is not church life but a kingdom on earth, with one capital city.
This is plainly God ruling on earth, and too unlike the nature of Christianity to need any argument. Jerusalem, as the city of the great King, is the religious capital of the earth, and all must be at least represented there year by year. We have no ground for concluding that the absence of the Passover here means it will not be kept then. The end of Ezekiel speaks of the same time and circumstances, and from it we know the Passover will be observed as well as the feast of Tabernacles. Pentecost will not, for it is the characteristic feast whose full meaning is already met in the church.
Commentators differ here. Kelly holds that the Passover will still be kept, though Zechariah does not name it. Others point out that Zechariah calls the nations to the Feast of Tabernacles alone.
The Lord asks for worship. He does not force it. So refusal is possible, and it has a cost.
The nations must come up to worship. Now, the Lord does not compel anyone to worship Him. Many people in this world have great wealth and still refuse to worship the Lord. Now, He "sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5:45). In the time that is coming, the nations must obey. If they do not go up to worship the King and keep the Feast of Tabernacles, they will get no rain. How remarkable that they are not asked to keep the Feast of the Passover or Pentecost, but only the Feast of Tabernacles. Passover and Pentecost have to do especially with the Church. The Feast of Tabernacles has to do with the Kingdom.
No rain sounds mild until you picture it. One writer describes what a shut heaven looks like.
What barrenness and desolation there must be when heaven is shut up! No refreshing showers coming down, no dewdrops falling, no contact between heaven and earth.
The punishment fits the refusal. One writer adds that these nations are not saved as nations, and that refusal costs them more than rain.
The nations will share in the feast of booths. A large crowd from among them will be saved (Rev. 7:9-12), but they will not be saved as whole nations. They will have to submit to the iron sceptre of the Messiah, or be dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel (Ps. 2:9). Here we see that those who will not go up to Jerusalem to the feast of booths to bow before the King will be struck with a plague. The blessing that should have made their land fertile will be kept from them.
The verse assumes some will refuse. That corrects a common picture of the coming age of Christ's reign, the millennial age.
What makes this so hard to understand is that many have a false idea of the millennial age. They picture "righteousness dwelling" on the earth instead of "righteousness reigning" over it. … Isaiah, speaking of the great length of life then, says, "the young man shall die a hundred years old," but adds, "and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed" (Isa. 65:20). So Zechariah declares the punishment of those who do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the glorious King.
- King. All nations must come to worship one Person: Jesus of Nazareth. He is King over all the earth, and He is the LORD of hosts.
- Feast. Zechariah names only the Feast of Tabernacles. That feast belongs to the Kingdom; Passover and Pentecost have to do with the Church.
- Choice. The Lord calls every nation to worship, but He forces no one to bow.
- Rain. Refusal shuts heaven over that land: no showers, no dew, and no fruitful ground.
- Reign. The threat shows what that age is like. Righteousness reigns over the earth; it does not yet dwell in every heart.
And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither [shall it be] upon them; [there] shall be the plague, wherewith Jehovah will smite the nations that go not up to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
Zechariah 14 ends with the King reigning in Jerusalem and the surviving nations coming each year to worship Him. Verse 18 names Egypt on its own, because the usual penalty — no rain — would mean nothing to a land that does not live on rain.
The threat only makes sense once the King is on His throne.
The rest of the chapter assumes Messiah's throne is already set up, since He is called the King. So Jerusalem has been delivered from the hand of her enemies. Judgment has fallen on those who fought against her. The Redeemer has come to Zion, and He has arranged everything according to His own mind in setting up His righteous throne. This having been done, Zechariah now speaks of the consequences for the nations.
Verse 17 says drought will fall on any people who refuse to come. Egypt is the obvious exception to that rule.
So if a nation refuses to go up to Jerusalem to pay homage to the Lord of glory, the King over all the earth, rain will be withheld from that country. But we know that Egypt is not watered by rain from heaven, so there is to be a special judgment on that people.
Older translations read "that have no rain" here — a note on Egypt's climate, not a threat to it.
Egypt of all nations knows what a plague from God can do.
Egypt does not depend on rain. Irrigation from the Nile River waters it. So if she sends no representatives to Jerusalem, a plague will strike her. Which plague is not said. But Egypt has learned in the past that God knows how to send plagues that leave the nation in great distress (Ex. 7:19 to Ex. 12:30).
This is not how God deals with the world now.
While God is calling the church, He is not stepping in that way at all. He is proclaiming salvation to the world that rejected and murdered His Son... But the time is fast coming when the way God openly deals with the world will change. Now He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust alike. Instead of that, "if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them."
The nations' yearly journey will not be an option they can take or leave.
This coming up of the nations year by year is not to be a matter of choice or privilege, great as the privilege will be. They will be put under the obligation and necessity of making this annual journey... Now it is the attraction of grace that draws believers to worship their God and Father; but in the kingdom it will be the compulsion of righteousness.
Two of Israel's feasts have already found their fulfilment. This one has not.
The Passover and Pentecost, as many have noted, have had their fulfilment in Christianity. But the Feast of Tabernacles still waits to be fulfilled, because it was a picture of millennial joy. It was held on the eighth day (Lev. 23), and that also showed that the saints in resurrection will share this joy. Above all it is Israel's feast of joy. By then they will have ended their wanderings in the wilderness and will hold the land.
Egypt is not only a target here. It has a real place in that coming order — but a place at a distance.
Egypt's position alongside Israel is blessed. Yet as a nation they are still at a distance from Jerusalem. Like the other nations, they must "go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths"... Egypt lies close to Israel, and it once sheltered God's people during a famine in the days of Joseph. So God remembers Egypt and gives them special blessings. But the place nearest to Himself and to His King belongs to Israel.
- Throne first. The King already reigns in Jerusalem. Everything in the verse orders a kingdom; it is not a warning to an old one.
- Worship required. Under that throne, worship is law, not choice. Refusing it costs a nation its rain.
- Egypt excepted. Egypt lives off the Nile, not rain, so drought would cost it nothing; the plague is the penalty fitted to it.
- Plague remembered. Egypt above all nations has already learned what God's plagues can do to a country that will not listen.
- Feast awaited. The Feast of Booths is the one festival still unfulfilled. It pictures the joy of that reign, kept by a world that must honour the King it once fought.
This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that go not up to celebrate the feast of tabernacles.
Zechariah 14 ends with the nations that once attacked Jerusalem going up to worship there year by year. This verse names the penalty for those who stay away — and it names Egypt on its own.
By this point in the chapter Messiah reigns as King. The verses that follow set out what the surviving nations must do:
From verse 16 we have the rule for the honour that the rest of those hostile nations must pay during the kingdom… Jerusalem, then, as the city of the great King, is the religious centre of the earth. All must be at least represented there year by year.
The penalty announced in the previous verses is drought. That threat means little in a land the Nile waters, so Egypt gets its own penalty:
Having no rain would be no punishment to Egypt. The overflowing of the Nile waters that land. So this special judgment will fall on that people if they do not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The staying away is not only met with a penalty; it is itself the offence. One writer reads the refusal as a Gentile unwillingness to accept the position God has given Israel:
Now in Zechariah 14:19, the Gentiles are to go up and keep the feast of tabernacles. The sin of the Jews was that they would not acknowledge God's mercy to Gentiles. Gentiles must bow and share in the joy of mercy shown to Jews. If they do not, this shall be their sin. They will be dealt with in judgment about it: they would not submit to Israel's grace.
The verse names one feast in particular — the ESV calls it the Feast of Booths, and the writers use its older name, the Feast of Tabernacles. Its place in the calendar explains the choice:
The Feast of Tabernacles is chosen because it is the last of "the feasts of Jehovah" listed in Leviticus 23. It stands for the full carrying out of God's purposes for Israel. It looks forward to the day of millennial blessing that Israel will have entered by then… That feast of seven days was a time of great rejoicing after the harvest was gathered in.
So staying away means refusing to share in the joy of a harvest safely gathered in.
This penalty is not the same as the judgment on nations that openly rebel:
This will actually take place, just as all the facts mentioned in this chapter will. But it is also a picture of the spiritual blessings that those who will not obey the Lord will lose. That will be the punishment for their sin. It is a plague very different from the one that will fall on the nations who openly rebel against God and His Anointed.
Even under Messiah's rule, some will refuse to obey:
But, as shown before, it will not be a perfect scene. So there is also the announcement of penalties for those who refuse to obey the King's laws… On the family of Egypt, who do not depend on rain, there shall be the plague — that is, we think, the pestilence. In these ways the King will uphold His authority and punish those who break His laws.
God does not deal with nations this way today:
While God is calling the church, He is not stepping in this way. He is proclaiming salvation to the world that rejected and murdered His Son… So suffering is her portion meanwhile, and her cry to God about her enemies is grace, not judgment. But the time is fast coming when God's ways will change. Instead of making His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sending rain on the just and on the unjust alike, He will withhold rain from the families of the earth who will not come up to worship the King.
- Ordinance — A standing law in Messiah's kingdom sends every nation to Jerusalem year by year. This verse is its penalty clause.
- Egypt — Drought means nothing to a land the Nile waters, so Egypt gets a plague instead. The punishment fits the offender.
- Sin — Staying away is not a missed formality. It is a refusal to bow and share the joy of God's mercy to Israel, and judgment will follow.
- Loss — The plague takes blessing away instead of destroying. It pictures the spiritual good that disobedient nations lose, and it is not the judgment that falls on open rebels.
- Contrast — Now God sends sun and rain on the just and unjust alike, and grace is the answer to enemies. The verse marks the point where that changes.