Reflections on Zechariah 10

 Zechariah 10  (Contemporary English Version)

1. I, the LORD, am the one who sends storm clouds and showers of rain to make fields produce. So when the crops need rain, you should pray to me.
2. You can't believe idols and fortunetellers, or depend on the hope you receive from witchcraft and interpreters of dreams. But you have tried all of these, and now you are like sheep without a shepherd.
3. I, the LORD All-Powerful, am fiercely angry with you leaders, and I will punish you. I care for my people, the nation of Judah, and I will change this flock of sheep into charging war horses.
4. From this flock will come leaders who will be strong like cornerstones and tent pegs and weapons of war.
5. They will join in the fighting, and together they will trample their enemies like mud. They will fight, because I, the LORD, will be on their side. And they will crush the enemy cavalry.
6. I will strengthen the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. And I will show mercy because I am the LORD, their God. I will answer their prayers and bring them home. Then it will seem as though I had never rejected them.
7. Israel will be like a tribe of warriors celebrating with wine. When their children see this, they will also be happy because of me, the LORD.
8. I will give a signal for them to come together because I have rescued them. And there will be as many as ever before.
9. Although I scattered my people in distant countries, they won't forget me. Once their children are raised, they will return--
10. I will bring them home from Egypt and Assyria, then let them settle as far as Gilead and Lebanon, until the land overflows with them.
11. My people will go through an ocean of troubles, but I will overcome the waves and dry up the deepest part of the Nile. Assyria's great pride will be put down, and the power of Egypt will disappear.
12. I'll strengthen my people because of who I am, and they will follow me. I, the LORD, have spoken!

---

Israel is told in verse 1 to ask for the rain they need from the Lord and not from idols or diviners. He will provide the rain and the resulting crops. It was Israel's leaders who led the people to idols and diviners where they received only falsehood and illusions, providing empty dreams and empty comfort. They became a people who wandered like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord would punish the leaders and He would lead them. This is what the Lord intended for Israel in the first place, that He would be their leader with no need for a king. But the people insisted on a king like the other nations and God granted their wish. But in doing so they were led astray. We become upset with God when He does not grant us what we ask for, but we do so in ignorance. God is merciful when He does not grant what we ask for, saving us from what would be harmful to us rather than beneficial as we imagine.

The dispersion of Israel and return to Jerusalem in Zechariah's day was a picture of what will take place when Christ returns. Since her rejection of Christ as the Messiah with His first coming, Israel has been widely dispersed in the world and will continue to be dispersed. But in conjunction with Christ's return God will draw the dispersed Israel back to her homeland. He will "whistle" for the people and they will be gathered. Though God sowed "them among the nations," (V. 9) they will remember Him "in the distant lands" and they will return. He will remove all obstacles to their return as He did when leading them from Egypt to their promised land.