The burden of the word of Jehovah, in the land of Hadrach, and [on] Damascus shall it rest; (for Jehovah hath an eye upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel;)
Zechariah's book turns a corner here: the dated visions stop, and a heavy word falls on Israel's neighbours — Hadrach, Damascus, and the cities beyond. Two questions follow: where are these places, and when does this word land?
The verse opens with a heading word. Some translations call it an oracle, others a burden. That one word sets the tone for the rest of the book.
From this chapter on, the book of Zechariah has a clearly different character. It gives no dates, as the first section did (chapters 1 to 8), and it holds no more visions. Zechariah 9:1 sets the emphasis for all the remaining chapters: "the burden of the Word of the Lord." The word burden carries the thought of a weight that is heavy to bear. God is bringing His displeasure to bear on mankind, and He intends people to feel it.
The name Hadrach turns up only here, and no one has pinned the place down.
A district in Syria. Zechariah 9:1. Not identified. Some think it appears on the Assyrian monuments under the names Hatarakka and Hatarika, where it stands next to Damascus and Hamath, just as it does in Zechariah.
Another writer sets Hadrach beside Damascus and shows how the verse pairs the two places.
The land of Hadrach is mentioned first, though this is the only time the name occurs in Scripture. Hadrach was a city near Damascus, the capital of Syria. The land of Hadrach was to come under God's displeasure, but Damascus was the place where that displeasure would rest.
Two things about this opening line are debated: how to read the small word "in," and when the prophecy comes true.
Instead of reading the burden of the word of the Lord "in" the land of Hadrach, it should probably be "concerning" or "upon." ... Then comes the question of when the prophecy is fulfilled. Some hold that the prophet is foretelling the judgment that fell on these places through Alexander, the king of Greece. Others hold that the events described here belong to the future, to the time when the Lord Himself will have returned to set up His kingdom. We cannot question that these ... are right. At the same time, there is no doubt that the march of Alexander through these regions was, if not the fulfilment, yet a fulfilment of Zechariah's predictions.
Where this word comes to rest, it rests as judgment.
The phrase in verse 1 — "And Damascus shall be the rest thereof" (or "its resting-place") — seems to mean that the word of the Lord would rest on Damascus, in the sense of bringing judgment on it. Hadrach was probably near Damascus, and, according to this prophecy, it will one day reappear — and reappear for judgment.
Writers often point to Alexander the Great's campaign as the moment this word came down. Yet one line in the passage did not come true then.
These predictions came true to the letter when the third empire, under Alexander the Great, destroyed the Persian empire. ... Damascus is named as the first "dwelling place" on which the burden of the Lord "rested." It "rested" because the word spoken against Damascus reached its final fulfilment. ... Most of this came true then, yet one thing the prophet added did not happen at all: "The exactor shall not pass through them any more" (v. 8). Ever since Alexander, oppressors have ruled Jerusalem without a break, from the Roman Empire down to the rulers of today.
Read one way, the last part of the verse is about God's eyes on everyone. Nothing escapes them.
The best translation of the last part of verse 1 is the one in J. N. Darby's version: "For Jehovah has an eye upon men, and upon all the tribes of Israel." "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3). When judgment must fall, those eyes will be "like a flame of fire" (Rev. 1:14). They examine and discern everything exactly as it is.
Read the other way, the clause speaks of men's eyes turned toward the Lord. That fixes the prophecy in a day still ahead.
The prophecy applies to the time "when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord." That is, it applies to a time still future, when the glory and rule of the Lord will be fully established.
- Word. The section opens not with a vision but with "the burden of the word of the Lord" — a weight God means people to feel.
- Weight. That weight falls on Israel's neighbours — Hadrach, a district in Syria named only here, and Damascus next to it.
- Landing. Damascus is where the word comes to rest, and resting means judgment settling on the city.
- Reach. Alexander's campaign fulfilled much of this. Yet the promise that no oppressor would pass through again is still waiting. Commentators differ on whether the verse looks back to Alexander or forward to the Lord's return.
- Eyes. Everything hangs on the last line. It is either the Lord's eye on all men and all Israel, or all eyes turned to Him at last, in the day His rule is established.
and also [on] Hamath [which] bordereth thereon; on Tyre and Zidon, though she be very wise.
The word of the Lord does not stop at Damascus. It reaches Hamath on Israel's northern border, then turns to the Phoenician ports of Tyre and Sidon. Their famous wisdom is the very thing the verse names before their fall.
The verse names Hamath, Tyre and Sidon inside a longer list. One writer groups that list by region:
The first burden in chapter 9 begins against the land of Hadrach. No one can locate that land with certainty. Its close connection with Damascus and Hamath shows that Hadrach must have been a province of the Syrian kingdom of that time. The Phoenician cities Tyre and Sidon come next, and then the prophet names four Philistine cities. Zechariah prophesies a great calamity and overthrow against them all: Syria, Phoenicia and the cities of the Philistines.
Hamath lay north, in Syria. It also marked the edge of Israel's own land:
A district and a well-known city in the north of Syria… The district lay north of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. It perhaps extended southward, since older translations describe the northern border of Israel as "the entering in of Hamath."
Another writer shows why this region has its own account to settle with God:
Hamath also (v. 2), a district bordering on Damascus, will suffer the same judgment. Nebuzaradan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's guard, took a large number of Judah's officials captive from Jerusalem. He executed them "at Riblah in the land of Hamath" (2 Kings 25:18-21). This cold-blooded murder would still be in the memory of the people, and surely also in God's memory.
Wisdom is the first of three defences this chapter takes away from Tyre and Sidon:
The prophet describes Tyre and Sidon in more detail. He teaches us that neither wisdom (v. 2), nor strength, nor riches can prevent the sure judgments of God (vv. 3, 4). Those three are what man trusts in and boasts about. The language about Tyre (compare Ezekiel 28) is both striking and majestic. She "built for herself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets. But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire." Truly man and all his resources are nothing in the day of the Lord's anger.
What that wisdom had actually built, another writer describes:
"Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise," will not escape the judgment of God. These cities were in Phoenicia (present-day Lebanon), south of Hamath. Tyre was famous for building a stronghold that the nations could not conquer — not even Nebuchadnezzar, who besieged it for many years. This verse refers to what is called the new Tyre, built on an island and strongly fortified, with a surrounding wall 150 feet (46 metres) high.
Commentators point to one campaign that traced this list city by city:
These predictions came true to the letter when the third empire, under Alexander the Great, destroyed the Persian empire. The battle at Issos (333 BC) opened the land of Hadrach; it probably refers to Syria. The prophet named Damascus as the first "dwelling place" on which the burden of the Lord "rested." It "rested" there because the word spoken against Damascus reached its final fulfilment. Tyre resisted with all its might, but it was finally conquered, destroyed and burned.
One writer looks past that fulfilment to another still ahead, and draws the lesson for anyone building a life on defences of their own:
However secure or wealthy people make themselves, God will break it down to nothing. There is no true security and no true wealth except in a genuine, dependent faith in the living God. These cities have been rebuilt in part today. Yet the future judgments of the tribulation will fulfil the prophecy of their destruction in full.
These judgments on the neighbouring nations open into something larger:
A "burden" begins in Zechariah 9. In it God promises to subdue the surrounding enemy peoples. He also gives a direct prophecy of the anointed King coming to Zion, lowly and riding on a donkey (Zech. 9:9). Yet Messiah will be just and will bring salvation, and it is in this character that He will deliver His people from their oppressors.
- Border. Hamath stood at Israel's northern edge. The word of the Lord reaches right up to the frontier of His people's land.
- Boast. Tyre and Sidon were famous for their wisdom. That wisdom is the very thing that fails them.
- Three props. Wisdom, strength and riches are the three things people lean on, and the chapter removes all three in turn.
- Twice over. Alexander's armies took these cities one by one. Commentators hold that a fuller fulfilment still lies ahead.
- Then the King. Into this same scene comes Zion's King — just, bringing salvation, lowly on a donkey — to deliver His people from their oppressors.
And Tyre hath built herself a stronghold, and hath heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
Zechariah 9 opens a new section of the book. It begins with a weight of judgment on the cities north and west of Israel — Damascus, Hamath, Tyre, Sidon, and the Philistine towns. Verse 3 stops at Tyre, the richest of them. It weighs what her walls and her treasure are worth in God's sight.
One writer explains the word that heads this whole section:
Zechariah 9:1 gives the emphasis of all the remaining chapters: "the burden of the Word of the Lord." The word burden carries the thought of a weight that is heavy to bear. God is bringing His displeasure to bear on mankind, and He intends people to feel it.
Tyre's two defences stand together — what she built, and what she piled up. Both show up earlier in Scripture:
God watched Tyre not only building a secure stronghold, but making herself wealthy. Joshua 19:29 calls her "the fortified city of Tyre," and Isaiah 23 shows both Tyre and Sidon as centers of trade and commerce.
The city's name matched what she stood on. Another writer traces that name through to God's verdict:
Tyre means "a rock." This island city was built on a rock. What it needed for its own purposes was not the power to produce in the place where it stood, but a good gathering point where the products of other places could come and be traded. With such vast resources, Tyre could well see itself as a rock that could not be shaken. The greater the needs of others, the more the streams of supply from every quarter served it. But God takes up what its character comes to in the end, and declares that it will be a rock — a rock and nothing more. The word He uses means "a bare rock," or "cliff."
Verse 2 credits Tyre with wisdom; verse 3 adds her fortress and her hoard. One commentator places this judgment in a larger story, then weighs all three:
What we have here is God's judgment on these cities, tied to the final deliverance of Jerusalem and Israel from their enemies... Tyre and Sidon are described in more detail. We are taught that neither wisdom (v. 2), nor strength, nor riches can turn aside the sure judgments of God (vv. 3, 4). These are the three things in which man puts his confidence and boasts. The language about Tyre (compare Ezekiel 28) is both striking and majestic... Truly man and all his resources are only vanity in the day of the Lord's anger.
One writer reads Tyre's trading empire as Satan's move to hide the ground God had cursed:
As the civilized world came up out of the mire of image-worship, it was caught in the net of trade, and became aware of the riches commerce would pile up. Satan uses Tyre — at first envious of Jerusalem, later her rival — to display the glory and riches of the world, so she becomes an instrument against God. Through commerce Satan tries to make the curse ineffective. The earth was to bring forth thorns and thistles, and man was to eat bread by the sweat of his brow. Satan would set that sentence aside by gathering the different products of the earth and filling the eye and mind with them. He would try to hide the thorns by spreading a carpet of Tyre's goods over them... Trade in itself was not sin, for we read that in the coming day the Lord will use her merchandise (Isaiah 23:17-18).
Two writers point to the same conqueror. Zechariah spoke after one siege had already driven Tyre offshore:
This was after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Tyre on the mainland, and she had become the great island city... Alexander did it: he laid proud Tyre in ashes. What proof that all these words are divine!
Another writer adds what Alexander's siege cost, and where the prophecy still points:
His armies besieged the city for seven months, then took it and slaughtered ten thousand of its people. However secure or wealthy people make themselves, God will break it down to nothing. There is no true security and no true wealth except in a genuine, dependent faith in the living God. These cities have been partly rebuilt today, but the future judgments of the tribulation will fulfill the prophecy of their destruction in full.
- Burden — The chapter opens with a word that means weight. God brings His displeasure to bear, and He means people to feel it.
- Rock — Tyre's name meant "rock," and her island fortress felt unshakeable. God's verdict: she will be a bare rock and nothing more.
- Heap — Silver like dust and gold like street mud picture wealth beyond counting. One writer sees a carpet spread to hide the curse on the ground.
- Vanity — Wisdom, strength, and riches are the three things people boast in. Not one of them can turn aside the judgment of God.
- Faith — Tyre fell to Nebuchadnezzar and then to Alexander. The only real security and the only real wealth is dependent faith in the living God.
Behold, the Lord will take possession of her, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
Zechariah's opening burden moves across the nations around Israel, and here it stops at Tyre. Tyre was a rich trading city with a stronghold and silver piled up like dust, and this verse asks whether such wealth can hold when God moves against it.
Verse 3 listed Tyre's wealth and her stronghold. This verse takes both away, and history records how:
This devastating judgment was later carried out on Tyre by Alexander the Great. His armies besieged the city for seven months before finally taking it and massacring ten thousand inhabitants. However secure or wealthy people make themselves, God will break it down to nothing. There is no true security and no true wealth except in a genuine, dependent faith in the living God. These cities have been partly rebuilt today, but the future judgments of the tribulation will completely fulfil the prophecy of their destruction.
Tyre's power lay in the sea because an earlier enemy had driven her off the mainland. Here are both blows, the first and the last:
This was after Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Tyre on the mainland, and she had become the great island city. So Zechariah said: "But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire." Alexander did this: he laid proud Tyre in ashes. What an evidence that all these words are divine!
The order of events in the campaign matches the order of the prophecy:
The battle at Issos (333 BC) opened the land of Hadrach, it probably refers to Syria. The city of Damascus was mentioned as the first "dwelling place" on which the burden of the Lord "rested." It "rested" because the word pronounced against Damascus received its final fulfilment. Tyre resisted with might and main, but it was finally conquered, destroyed and burned.
Riches were not Tyre's only problem. Her heart rose with them:
"By your great wisdom and by your trade you have increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches."… The prince was the head and centre of the pride and wealth found in Tyre as a whole. He was that pride in person. No kind of pride is lower, more blinding, or more corrupting. It lives on selfishness, appeals to selfishness, and selfishness lifts it up in its crudest form. No wonder the New Testament calls greed idolatry, and calls the love of money a root of all evil.
Tyre also stands for something bigger than herself:
In Scripture, Tyre is a picture of the world with all its riches and all the things people want… Everything the human heart could want on earth could be found there.
So the warning reaches our own cities too:
The trade that made that city famous has spread its wings over the cities of our own day. They follow in the steps of Tyre. With the same unrighteousness, they wait for the same doom… The spirit of money rules this age. Under its influence the truth is twisted. It becomes the religion of greedy men who suppose that gain is godliness. We turn away from such people. We look at the testimony of our Lord, and we find that the cares and riches of this world, which trade increases, are weeds that choke the good seed.
The fall of Tyre is not the end of the story. Judgment on the nearby nations leads on to the coming of the King:
So we find the judgment of the nations that were close at hand. But there is more. Tyre and Sidon would be overthrown. Ashkelon and Gaza would grieve because of it. And it is written that Judah would be in confusion. But Jehovah would take up the cause of the people… This brings in the Messiah. "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion… behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey."
- Boast. Tyre answered danger with a stronghold and heaped-up silver. God breaks that answer down to nothing.
- Blow. Nebuchadnezzar drove Tyre onto her island. Alexander burned the island. The words came true exactly, which shows they are divine.
- Cause. The root was a heart lifted up because of riches — and greed, the New Testament says, is idolatry.
- Reach. Tyre pictures the world with everything the human heart could want. Cities that follow her steps wait for the same doom.
- Result. The burden is not the last word. God takes up His people's cause, and judgment on the nations opens the way for the King who is righteous and has salvation.
Ashkelon shall see [it], and fear; Gazah also, and she shall be greatly pained; Ekron also, for her expectation shall be put to shame and the king shall perish from Gazah, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
These words belong to a "burden" — a word of judgment that runs down the coast from Syria to Philistia. Readers ask when it fell, and why God names these small Philistine towns one by one.
The places listed in this chapter are not random. They map out Israel's long-standing enemies. Commentators note that the Philistines held that place longer than anyone.
The places named, as the reader will see, lie to the north of Israel's territory. They also take in that stretch of land west of Judea, known all through Scripture history as the home of the Philistines. Every one of them was an enemy of the people of God at some time, and the Philistines always were. Perhaps this was because they sat right next to the borders of Israel's territory, if not inside them.
The prophet does not name every Philistine city.
Somewhat further south, the prophet turns to the land of the Philistines. Four of its chief cities are named (Gath is left out).
Ashkelon is afraid because of what it has just seen. Commentators point to one campaign that struck these places in this order.
From there the conquest moves on quickly to the Philistine cities, and the king of Gaza perishes. The question arises: what conquest and disaster is this? Has it happened, or is it still future? History records one great conqueror who quickly overthrew the countries and cities named in this burden. Alexander the Great and his campaign, carried out so successfully, is surely meant here… After the battle of Issus, the young king besieged Damascus and captured it quickly. He took Sidon with ease. Tyre held out against him for about seven months and was then burned to the ground. Gaza and the other cities came next.
Commentators do not stop at Alexander's campaign. They read the chapter as reaching much further.
There seems no reason to question that the early verses of the chapter apply to the march of Alexander's army. They describe the heavy blows struck north and south of Judea after the battle of Issus… Even sceptics admit the exact parallel between the list of his captures and the places that gave him special trouble to besiege, such as Tyre and Gaza… This is plain, and important in its measure. But it is far more important to see that the prophecy as a whole, like others, is not to be read on its own. It joins all the rest in converging on the great events of the last days.
One line a few verses later shows this prophecy still has a future. It promises survivors, not only ruin.
The careful reader will notice that the whole prophecy has not yet come true. It speaks of a spared remnant from the Philistines who shall be "for our God." This must be future. It points to a clear conclusion: when these cities rise again, judgment will fall on them again. The Lord, by His chosen instruments, will stain all the pride of their glory. At the same time He will restore a remnant for blessing.
Ekron falls because its hope fails. The ESV says "its hopes are confounded"; older translations read that God "dried up her expectation." The judgment has a target, and it is not just the city walls.
The evils that come down on these cities will cut off Philistine pride. When God does this, He also says He will take away the blood from his mouth (v. 7). The word his suggests that the Philistines are viewed as one person. The blood taken from his mouth is the blood of his idolatrous sacrifices. No longer will his mouth speak lies… So God's judgments accomplish good.
Other prophets end the Philistine story the same way, and this verse stands among them.
Their last end is utter destruction, and their pride cut off (Amos 1:7-8; Zeph. 2:5; Zech. 9:5).
Commentators also read this people as a picture, one that shows up again in the history of the Church.
They are a picture of those who have come into Christian profession without facing the truth of the death of Christ for them — not redeemed, but religious… They have always been a thorn in Israel's side. In the history of the Church this same evil has always opposed the simple truth of the gospel of grace, and only faith can overcome it.
- Named. God names the old neighbours who became Israel's enemies. He judges them one by one, not in the abstract.
- Fulfilled. Alexander's march hit these places in this order — Damascus, Tyre, then Gaza and the other Philistine towns. History has already confirmed the words.
- Unfinished. No one has yet seen the spared remnant who will be "for our God." So commentators read the whole chapter as converging on the last days.
- Purposeful. The blow aims at Philistine pride and at a mouth full of idolatrous blood. Commentators say God's judgments accomplish good.
- Personal. The Philistines picture religion without redemption — profession that never faced the death of Christ. Commentators say that same evil still opposes the simple gospel, and only faith overcomes it.
And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines;
Zechariah 9 opens with a "burden" — a sweep of judgment through the lands north of Israel, down the coast to Tyre, and on into the Philistine cities. Ashdod is one of them. Who is the "mixed people" who settles there? What is the pride God cuts off? Has any of this happened yet?
The places named form a ring of old enemies around Israel's land. One of them stayed hostile longest.
The places named lie north of Israel's territory, and in that stretch of land west of Judea. All through Scripture that stretch is the home of the Philistines. Every one of these peoples was an enemy of the people of God at some time, and the Philistines always were. Perhaps this was because they lived right next to Israel's borders, if not inside them.
Older translations render the Hebrew word here as "bastard." It is a rare word, used in only one other place in the Bible.
The word for "bastard" means "one born of corruption." It appears only once more, in Zechariah 9:6. Jewish teachers explain it as "one born of incest or adultery," and commentators in general accept that. As a picture, a person born this way is not just a child of nature. He is someone brought in among the people of God by corrupt means.
The judgment does more than flatten cities. In verse 7 the same blow takes something out of the Philistine's mouth.
These judgments have already been partly fulfilled, but the full fulfillment will come at the time of the end. The evils that fall on these cities will cut off Philistine pride. When God does this, He also says He will take away the blood from his mouth (v. 7)… It is the blood of his idol sacrifices. His mouth will no longer speak falsely… So God's judgments accomplish good.
Commentators point to one conqueror whose route matches the prophecy line for line.
These predictions came true to the letter when the third empire, under Alexander the Great, destroyed the Persian empire… Tyre resisted with all its might, but in the end it fell, destroyed and burned. Then, before he tried to conquer Egypt, Alexander took one Philistine city after another — above all Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod.
Writers look beyond Alexander for a reason: part of the passage has never yet come true.
The careful reader will notice that the whole prophecy has not come true. It speaks of a spared remnant of the Philistines who will be "for [or to] our God." That must still be future. It points plainly to a day when these cities rise again and judgment falls on them once more. The Lord will use His chosen instruments to stain all the pride of their glory. At the same time He will restore a remnant for blessing.
Another writer notes that translations of the word differ, and still sees a remnant:
Darby's New Translation tells us that another way to render "bastard" is one "of a foreign race." But even so, it seems there will still be a rest, a remnant, who will be for God and belong to Him.
This verse is where the Philistines drop out of the Bible's story. One writer reads that last line as a picture of a state in the church that the Lord threatens to reject.
The Old Testament says more about them than about any nation but Israel. The last time Scripture mentions them is here: "I will cut off the pride of Philistia" (Zechariah 9:6). About the matching state of things in our own day, the Lord has said, "I will spit you out of My mouth." In the church at Laodicea we see the Philistines in full force.
The same picture reaches a person. What marks a Philistine is what he never went through:
A Philistine has slipped in by the easy way, the way of profession… He has known no unbearable slavery in Egypt. He has never felt God's anger against sin, and never seen that anger met by the sacrifice God appointed. He has not seen a Substitute who, in love for his soul, went down into the dark waters of death and judgment for him.
- Pride is the target. God names one thing He will cut off in Philistia: its pride. No nation stayed hostile to Israel longer.
- Mixture breaks the pride. A foreign people, corruptly born, settles in Ashdod, and the proud city's boasting ends.
- The judgment cleanses. The same blow takes the blood of idol sacrifices out of the Philistine's mouth. God's judgments accomplish good.
- The judgment has begun. Tyre, Gaza, Ashkelon and Ashdod all fell as Alexander advanced — a literal down-payment on this word.
- The judgment ends in mercy. What is still future is the remnant: Philistines left over who will be "for our God," pride gone and belonging to Him.
and I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth; but he that remaineth, he also shall belong to our God, and shall be as a leader in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
Zechariah 9 opens with a "burden" — a word of judgment against the nations around Israel — and verse 7 sits inside it, speaking of Philistia. The turn in it is startling: God strips this old enemy of its idol-feasts, then keeps a survivor for Himself and gives him a place inside Judah.
The cities named in this chapter — Damascus, Tyre, then the Philistine towns — were not far-off powers. One writer shows how close they sat, and how constant their hostility was:
The places named lie north of Israel's territory. They also take in the strip of country west of Judea, known all through Scripture as the home of the Philistines. All of them were enemies of the people of God at one time or another, and the Philistines never stopped. Perhaps this was because they lived right next to, if not inside, the borders of Israel's territory... We are taught that neither wisdom, nor strength, nor riches can turn aside the sure judgments of God. These are the three things in which man puts his confidence and boasts.
Much of this word has already come true. One writer traces Alexander the Great's march through these very places:
The prophet names the city of Damascus as the first "dwelling place" on which the burden of the Lord "rested."... Tyre resisted with all its might, but it was finally conquered, destroyed and burned. Afterwards Alexander conquered one Philistine city after another, especially Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod. He did this before he tried to conquer Egypt.
The verse pictures a mouth with blood still in it. One writer uses a translation that reads "his" rather than "its". He explains why that one word matters:
When God cuts off the pride of the Philistines, He also says He will take away the blood from his mouth (v. 7). The word his suggests that the Philistines are looked at as one person. It is the blood of his idolatrous sacrifices that is taken from his mouth. No longer will his mouth speak falsely. "Abominations" is another word for idols, and the Philistines will no longer be taking in the evil teachings of idolatry. So there is good accomplished by God's judgments.
So the judgment does something for the Philistine, not only to him.
The verse also promises a survivor who belongs to God. No past event has matched that part, so some writers look ahead:
The careful reader will notice that the whole prophecy has not been fulfilled. It speaks of a spared remnant from the Philistines that shall be "for [or to] our God." This must be future... Ekron shall be as a Jebusite. This most likely points to what we read in Joshua 15:63. The children of Judah did not drive the Jebusites out, so the Jebusites lived with them at Jerusalem. In the same way, the spared Philistines will be mingled with Israel in a future day, in the time of the kingdom.
Not every writer presses the timing so firmly; some treat the Philistine judgments as largely past while still expecting a spared remainder. But the survivor's status is agreed: he is not merely left alive, he is owned.
Even so there will apparently be a remainder, or a remnant, who will be for God and belong to Him.
The place given to the spared enemy is a low one. One writer, looking at the Philistines' future, shows how much mercy a low place can hold:
The Philistines will be burden-bearers. In early days they treated the Israelites with the greatest insult; now they will have to serve them. A very good thing, then, that they are even allowed to be servants. God in strict righteousness might have cut them off; but He is good.
- Judgment. Philistia lived next door to God's people and fought them without let-up. Wisdom, strength and riches cannot turn aside God's sure judgment.
- Cleansing. God takes the blood and the idols out of the mouth. His judgment strips away what the Philistine fed on, and one writer calls that good.
- Sparing. Alexander's campaign did not finish the prophecy. It promises a spared remnant from the Philistines, and some say that part still waits.
- Belonging. The survivor is not just left alive. He is "for our God" — a remnant that belongs to Him.
- Placing. The Jebusites stayed on in Jerusalem beside Judah. In the same way the spared Philistine is mixed in with Israel — a servant's place, and God is good to give it.
And I will encamp about my house because of the army, because of those that pass by and that return; and the exactor shall not pass through them any more for now have I seen [it] with mine eyes.
Judgment sweeps down the coast and through the nations around Israel, and in the middle of that storm God promises to camp around His own house as a guard. But which invasion is in view — one already past, or one still ahead?
The armies of the earlier verses did come. One writer traces the campaign city by city:
These predictions came true to the letter when the third empire, under Alexander the Great, destroyed the Persian empire. The battle at Issos (333 BC) opened the land of Hadrach; it probably refers to Syria. … Tyre resisted with all its might, but Alexander conquered it in the end, destroyed it and burned it. Then, before trying to conquer Egypt, he took one Philistine city after another — especially Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ashdod. Philistia was spared, particularly Jerusalem.
"My house" is not a figure. It is a real building in Jerusalem, and no one drew a sword to defend it:
God would also camp about His house because of the army (v. 8). His house is the literal temple in Jerusalem. He would protect it by His sovereign power when the oppressing army invades the land. This was partly fulfilled when Alexander the Great came to Jerusalem, intending to destroy it. But the Jews did not fortify the city to fight him. According to Josephus, they prayed earnestly to God. Then the high priest led a procession of robed priests out of the city to meet Alexander. He was so impressed by this action that he not only spared the city, but showed the Jews many favours.
One phrase in the verse has never yet come true. It points past Alexander's day to the last days:
In the first eight verses of this chapter we learn of God's dealings with the nations around the land of Israel. Part of this has already been fulfilled. But verse 8 shows that the last days are in view, for God says "no oppressor shall pass through them any more." Today the nations around the land would gladly destroy the Israelis, and they will yet join together to carry out the judgment God has appointed. But their oppression has a limit, and God has fixed the day when it will cease.
Commentators differ over how much of this verse is past and how much is future. Some read the whole scene as still ahead, placing it after Israel's restoration:
We gather then that, after Israel is restored to their own land and the temple has been rebuilt (see Zech. 6) by Messiah Himself, the land will be invaded, and Jerusalem will be the object of his attack. This is undoubtedly the last attack of the Assyrian, so often mentioned by the prophets. He comes as King of the North, and the king of the north is the same person as the Assyrian. He enters the land before the appearing of Christ… His plans succeed for a while. Then he will "stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without hand." (Daniel 8:25.)
The verse ends not with a weapon but with a look:
Meanwhile, the Lord knows how to encamp around the site of the temple and to keep His own interests safe among His people. "For," He says, "now I have seen with my eyes" (v. 8). The same eyes spoken of in verse 1 have taken full notice of all that concerns Israel, including the opposition of its oppressors. Israel may rest in the knowledge that the Lord sees all. This is a precious rest too for every believer today.
One writer presses who the guard is:
Not simply the angel of the Lord, but the Lord Himself will encamp around His house and His people, and deliver them once for all from their oppressors… It is as if the Lord had come down to see the state of His people, and, pitying their distress, He Himself undertakes their defence and secures their deliverance.
God's guard over the house leads straight on to the Messiah, and the Gospel writers used what follows:
But the Lord would undertake the cause of the people… This brings in the Messiah… We know how the Gospel writers apply this, just so far as was true then, and no farther, leaving for future fulfilment what did not then apply.
- Seen — the verse closes with God saying He now sees with His own eyes. His notice of every oppressor makes the promise sure.
- Guarded — because He sees, He camps around His house. The temple stood when Alexander swept through, and priests, not soldiers, met him.
- Partial — that rescue fulfilled part of the word, but not the promise that "no oppressor shall again march over them." That clause looks on to the last days.
- Limited — the hostility of the nations has a limit. God has fixed the day when it will cease.
- Answered — the guarded house leads on to the Messiah. The Gospel writers applied the promise only as far as it was true then, and left the rest for later.