We see in verse 10 the importance of God’s grace. God’s grace does not overlook sin. It does not whitewash sin either. God’s grace is necessary to be forgiven. Supplications are intreaty. There is a day coming where Israel, the house of David, will turn to God in repentance and God will hear their cry and will restore them to the promised place.
We read that the Jews of that day will look upon “me whom they have pierced”. The Jews of Jesus’ day were anxious to get rid of Him. They crucified Him and they were concerned that the disciples might come and steal His body. They rejected the fact that He would rise again. When His body was not in the tomb, they made up a lie as to what happened to Him. Jesus appeared to many people publicly after His resurrection. However, to this day the Jews reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. That will change one day and that generation of Jews will take full responsibility for what they had done. It is now almost 2,000 years since Jesus’ crucifixion. The Jews that will repent and acknowledge their sin will be just as guilty as the Jews that actually cried out “crucify Him, crucify Him.” They too will have rejected Him as their Messiah in the past. However, due to God’s grace and Jesus’ supplications on behalf of the nation, they will finally humble themselves and repent and be saved.
There will be a mourning taking place. When a person truly repents toward God, there is a genuine mourning that takes place. There is a recognition of sin and sorrow for sin that leads to a turning to God for His forgiveness. God changes the heart of the repentant sinner. He or she no longer wants to walk in sin.
God tells us this mourning will be as one that mourns for the loss of his only son. It is a tragedy any time a parent loses a child. To lose an only son is certainly sad. In a Godly family, the parents can look for help from their children when they get older. There is a certainly a joy when a child repents and is saved. A couple that has only one son and then loses that son is at a loss for that help that they were counting on. There is also that friendship that they can enjoy as their child grows up and gets involved in productive work.
In verse 11, God further described the mourning that will take place at that time. God referenced important events from the past to illustrate the nature of the mourning that will take place. The one was from the time when the tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out due to their sin of sodomy. That wickedness needed to be exterminated. It was sad that the Benjamites were so stubborn and unwilling to acknowledge their sin of harbouring sodomites. The other event appears to be when King Josiah was killed at Megiddo (II Chronicles 35:22-25). Josiah had unnecessarily interfered in a battle he could not win and should not have been involved in. He had made some good reforms in Judah, but now he was suddenly gone. The nation would sorely miss him.
In verse 12 we see this mourning would be a corporate mourning, but it would also be a sincere mourning. Every family would mourn apart. They would not mourn just because others were doing so. They would truly be mourning their part in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is always important to acknowledge personal responsibility.
We often hear of people who get involved in doing something because they see others doing it. It becomes a massive event, but some people just get swept up in it without really knowing what they are doing.
Here there would be a nationwide mourning, but it would be sincere from every family and every person. God broke things down to show this. The family of the house of David would mourn apart from others. The house of David would be Judah. Their wives would also mourn separately from the men.
Nathan was a prophet at the time of David. His family would also mourn due to their guilt in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. They would acknowledge the pain and suffering they had endured due to their sin.
The house of Levi would represent the priesthood. It was the high priest who led in the call to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ. The priests were to teach the law, not ignore it and make their own. They were to be the type of Jesus Christ Who provides access to the throne of God. Yet they had chosen to keep people from God. Their wives would also mourn apart from their husbands.
Shimei was one of the men who had cursed king David when he fled from his son Absalom. Shimei was later killed by king Solomon for not obeying the orders given to him. His family also would acknowledge their part in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their wives also would mourn separate from their husbands.
Verse 14 continues this fact of a nation wide repentance and mourning. No one would command the people to mourn. This would be a genuine move of repentance seeking God’s forgiveness. Of course God would be willing to forgive them. He is a gracious God. Israel would finally discover that fact. They had accepted lies for many centuries. They had witnessed the wickedness of the antichrist. The antichrist will have defiled the temple and declared himself to be God. When Jesus Christ would appear, the nation of Israel would finally see how they had been duped into believing a lie. They would recognize the love and holiness of the true Jesus. They would see that He was their Messiah. That will be an important time.
This event has not taken place at this time or at any time in history. This event will happen at the end of the Tribulation. It will be a welcome event by God. It will change the course of history for the nation of Israel from that time forward. They will enter into the Millennium and be blessed in serving the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus Christ will establish His throne and His rule will be a blessing to all who enter the Millennium.
Zechariah wrote this at a time when Israel was not serving God faithfully. It was prior to Jesus’ crucifixion; however, the nation was not seeking to know God’s peace then already. Many generations have had the opportunity to read this prophecy. A few people have recognized the truth of this prophecy but many have ignored its truthfulness. This will change. This is God’s Word and better days will come one day for Israel. God is ready to bless them. They need to be ready to receive the blessings of the Lord.
It is sad that we have to witness their continued struggle due to their wilful sin against the only true God. We, those who are born again, need to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We know it will be a few years away yet for the nation, but individual Jews need to be saved now. God is not forcing them to remain in sin. He is simply showing us the stubbornness that still resides in many of their hearts and how that will be broken some day.
We, as Gentiles, can also look in the mirror and see how stubborn we have been. Many Gentiles are just as stubborn as the Jews are. They are not interested in the truth and would rather party their way straight into hell. Not a wise move. The wise move is to humbly submit to the truth and be saved today and know God’s peace in your heart. If you are reading this and not saved, why not turn to God in repentance now and ask Him to forgive you and save you through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you are genuinely saved, your life will be different. It will begin to look like what the Bible speaks of with regard to a true child of God. Find a good church to attend and talk to the pastor about the blessing you received. Purchase a good King James Bible and begin to read it. Attend a good church faithfully and grow in the Lord. You will never regret it if you are truly saved.
Pastor Bartel