Shalom, everyone. I would like you please to open your Bible to the prophet Zechariah or Zechariah. In English, Zechariah is his Hebrew name. And I would like today to continue with the topic that we have been dealing with already in the last few months right now. We have been dealing with the prophecy of Zechariah. And Zechariah was a prophet that spoke to the remnant of Israel that returned from Babel and find themselves as a small group of people, about 50,000 Jewish people who returned from Babylon. Zechariah received certain visions concerning the restoration of Israel. And today we are going to speak about Zechariah chapter 9. This chapter has 17 verses.

And before I'm going to read the text, Zechariah from chapter 9 to the end of the prophecy to chapter 14 is really the third section of the Bible. Zechariah is really the third section of the book of Zechariah. And from here on Zechariah now no longer sees visions. Zechariah is really the third section of Zechariah. But from here on we see the burdens that the Lord has, that Jehovah has concerning Zion or Zion and the city of Jerusalem. And in those chapters 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, we have two burdens that the God of Israel has concerning our nation Israel, the people of Israel, the city of Jerusalem. And in those two burdens he presents before Israel, before Judah, and also before you and I, the fact that there is coming a day that the Messiah will come, that he will come once and he will be rejected, and he will come again the second time and he will be accepted.

And you notice, as we're going to read the text today, that Zechariah received this burden, in Hebrew we call it Massah, from Jehovah concerning Zion and Jerusalem in the coming days. And I would like today to read chapter 9. If you just follow with me, if you have a Bible, please turn to Zechariah chapter 9. Let me read those 17 verses and listen to this. 1. The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, in Damascus, shall be the rest thereof, when the eyes of men, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be towards the Lord. 2. And Hamath also shall border there by Tyre and Sidon, though it be very wise.

3. And Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 4. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea. 5. And she shall be devoured with fire. Ashkelon shall see it, and fear. Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful. 6. And a cron for her expectation shall be ashamed, and a king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 7. And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistine, and I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abomination from between his teeth.

7. But he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and a cron as a Jebusite. 8. And I will encamp about mine house, because of the army, because of him that passes by, and because of him that returneth. 9. And no oppressor shall pass through them any more, for now have I seen with mine eyes. 10. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! 11. Behold thy king cometh unto thee! He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. 11. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, 12.

And he shall speak peace unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the end of the earth. 12. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners, out of the pit wherein is no water. 12. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope, even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee. 13. When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, 14. And made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 14. And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning.

15. And the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwind of the south. 15. And the Lord of hosts shall defend them, and they shall devour and subdue with sling stones. 16. And they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine, and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 16. And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people, for they shall be as the stones of a crown, 17. Lifted up as an enzyme, lifted up as an enzyme upon his land. 17. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty.

17. Corn shall make the young man cheerful, and new wine the maids. 18. And I'm going to stop here with the 17th verse of this chapter. 18. When we read such a chapter, and especially those of us that don't often study the prophecy, the prophetic messages of the word of God, 18. Specifically, Old Testament messages that God had given our people Israel through the prophets, 18. We can see, even by reading the text, that it seemed to be very complicated and very difficult. 18. But the Lord, by the Spirit of God, is able to help us to understand this passage in Zechariah chapter 9. 19. You notice how the chapter began? 19. It says, the burden of the word of Jehovah in the land, and he gives us now the lands that Jehovah is going to deal with 19.

In the days from which he gave this burden to Zechariah. 19. But let me just set things in order a little bit for all of us here, so we can understand where we are. 19. About 50,000 Jewish people returned from Bavell, and as they came back to the land of Israel, to the city of Jerusalem, 19. What they have seen, that the temple obviously was destroyed, the wall around the city of Jerusalem was totally broken to pieces, 19. And God had encouraged this Jewish remnant who came from Bavell after 70 years' captivity that the Jewish people had been taken to Babylon. 19. 70 years have passed by. They have now returned to the city of Jerusalem, and they began to rebuild the temple.

19. And as they were building the temple in Jerusalem, enemies came from around them, 19. And they hinder them to build the second temple in Jerusalem. 19. They were so discouraged, these Jewish remnant, that they had stopped to build the temple. 19. Fifteen years have passed by, and the temple was not finished. 19. In fact, only the foundation of the temple was still laying there. 19. Fifteen years passed by. 21. Everyone went to his own home. Everyone built his own home. 21. But the house of God was still in ruins. 21. So God raised men. 21. One of them was Haggai, a prophet. 21. Secondly, was a man by the name of Zechariah. 21. Zechariah, in Hebrew's name, is Jehovah-remembered.

21. And he raised this man, Zechariah, and Haggai, these two prophets, 22. Post-exilic prophets, to present to the people of Judah the need of building the temple, building the house of the Lord. 22. So after Haggai preached, then Zechariah came. 22. And Zechariah received eight visions from chapter 1 to chapter 6 of the promises of God to the people of Israel, 22. That he is going to restore the people of Israel to himself. 23. So as Zechariah was speaking to the remnant, they began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. 23. About 520 BC, they again began to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. 23. It took them about four years to about 516 BC, and the temple had been completed.

23. And we are now finding ourselves in chapter 9, some years later. 23. Some suggest that around 487 BC, about 30 years have passed by since the temple had been rebuilt. 24. And now, God is coming again to the Jewish remnant through the prophet Zechariah, 24. And he gives them an additional promises concerning the future of the people of Israel. 24. In chapter 9, 10, and 11, we have the first burden. 25. In chapter 12, 13, and 14, we have the second burden. 25. The Hebrew word for burden is massa. 26. It is something heavy that you carry. 26. And God's heart, if you will, was heavy in concern for the nation of Israel. 27. And he's presenting those two burdens. 27. In chapter 9, he's giving the remnant some prophetic message concerning the soon events that are going to occur.

27. And then he takes them a bit further to the period of time where the Messiah will appeal 28. So, he began in chapter 9. 28. You notice that in the first seven verses, Jehovah is now showing to the remnant of Israel 28. That he's going to discipline, to judge the enemies of Israel in the immediate future. 29. Not yet in the far future. He's not yet talking about the kingdom age here. 29. But in the first seven verses, he's talking about events that were going to occur some 150 years later 29. And I want you to notice, brothers and sisters, because in this passage, you know, there are those people who say to us that God does not know the end from the beginning.

29. And I want to suggest to you that this holy and righteous God of ours, he knows the beginning from the end, and the end from the beginning. 29. He actually oversees all the affairs that are going on here in this world. 29. 487 BC. Zechariah received his burden from the Lord, and he began here in verses 1 to 7 to speak about the judgment that will occur against the nations that surround the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. 29. He began, by the way, in verses 1 and 2a, speaking about the judgment that will occur to Syria, the northern kingdom, and its regions. 29. And he's telling us about someone that is going to come by the name of Alexander the Great, the Grecian king, this warrior that will be raised in a future day from their perspective, and he's going to come to deal with those nations.

30. And look at this, in verse 1 and 2a, the burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach. 31. Hadrach is the region of Syria, around the city of Damascus, the capital city of Syria, shall be the rest thereof, when the eyes of men, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be towards the Lord. 31. And Hamat also shall border thereby. 31. Here is the burden that God has, as it says here, concerning Hadrach, Damascus, and Hamat. 32. These three areas, we know that they are in present-day Syria. 32. And those nations are the nations that constantly fought against the people of Judah and the people of Israel.

32. And now he is talking about a certain event that will occur in the future day. 33. Let me read to you something here for a moment that I have here before me about Alexander the Great. 33. Alexander III of Macedon, known as Alexander the Great, was born on the 21st of July, 356 B.C. He died on the 10th of June, 323 B.C. 33. At the age of 32 or 33, he died. And he died about the same age as Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, have died. 33. Now this man, Alexander, we find out that he was the son of King Philip II of Macedon. And he became king after his father's death in 336 B.C.

At about the age of 20, he became a king. Can you imagine? To become a king of Macedon, the king of Greece, at the age of about 20 years of age. Alexander went and he conquered most of the known world in his day. He is known as the Great both for his military genius and for his diplomatic skills in handling the various people of the regions that he conquered. He was such a man that had been conquering nation after nation and defeating them thoroughly, not leaving much behind because he didn't have really a large military, a large army. He is further recognized for spreading Greek culture, language, and thought.

From Greece throughout Asia Minor, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, Alexander initiated the era of the Hellenistic world. In 334 B.C., with an army of 32,000 infantry and 5,100 cavalry, Alexander crossed over to Asia Minor, conquering a city of Baalbek and renaming it Hellopolis. He then liberated the Greek city of Ephesus from Persian rule, and in 333 B.C., Alexander and his troops defeated the larger force of King Darius III of Persia at the battle of Issus. Darius fled the field, leaving his family behind, and here where we come to the chapter in which we are reading today. In 332 B.C., Alexander conquered Syria. We just read about Damascus, Hadrat, and Hamat in Zechariah chapter 9 and verses 1 and 2.

Then easily conquered the land of Phoenicia, except for the island city that is called Tyre, which he placed under siege. The city of Tyre was powerful and rich, very powerful, very rich. Its king presumed himself to be the personification of the Phoenician god, the ruler of the seas. This has angered Jehovah that he declared the destruction of Tyre, mentioned in the book of Ezekiel chapter 28, verses 1 to 10. He chose the Greeks as an instrument, and Alexander was so determined to conquer Tyre that he built a causeway, a bridge, from the mainland all the way to the city of Tyre, on which to mount his siege engine to take the city of Tyre.

Within seven months, he had completed his bridge and defeated the fortress in fulfillment of Zechariah chapter 9 and the verses that we are reading here this Shabbat meeting. For their stubborn resistance, the inhabitants of the city of Tyre was slaughtered and the survivors sold to slavery. Alexander's policy regarding the cities of Tyre is a prime example of his ruthlessness. He was a ruthless man. And all these events were already mentioned to us here in Zechariah chapter 9. Now look with me, please, again in the text now. And you notice now from verse 2b to verse 4, we have the judgment of Phoenicia. It says here in verse 2b to Tyre is a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.

And as I read here in this commentary about the history of Alexander the Great, he apparently built a long bridge, they call it causeway, just above the water. Tyre was a city that was an island city that today is in present-day Lebanon, and he connected the city with the main lane, with a bridge that was about half a mile long. And within seven months, according to history, and the Bible gives us prophetic messages, that here we have this city of Tyre that exalted herself, and thought that because they had the wealth and power and huge walls surrounding the city of Tyre, they thought that no one going to be able to take over that city.

Their king exalted himself, claimed to be a god, and Jehovah, the god of Israel, told Zechariah that in a certain time in human history, he is going to have the defeat of the city of Tyre. So Tyre and Sidon, though it be very wise, ultimately were judged by Jehovah, using this man by the name of Alexander the Great. Now what is so interesting here, is because as we continue to read the text, you notice again from history, that Alexander went further down south, he was getting closer to Jerusalem. It says now in verses 5, 6, and 7, not only that we have the judgment of Syria, and the judgment of Phoenicia, we also have the judgment of the Philistines, and we have here the names of four cities, out of the five cities of the Philistines.

Look at this, and I'm reading verse 5 now. Ashkelon shall see it and fear. Gaza, it's present-day Gaza, in Hebrew we call it Aza, where today Hamas find themselves there. Israel have a lot of opposition from Gaza. It says Gaza shall also see it and be very sorrowful. A Kron, for her expectation, shall be a shame, and the king shall perish from Gaza and Ashkelon. Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. Verse 6, it says, And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. Notice what God says about the Philistines' cities. Actually, Philistines had five kings that rule over five cities.

We find it in Joshua chapter 13. One of the cities that is missing here, the name of the city is Gat. This city is not mentioned here, apparently, that by the time that Alexander the Great went to conquer the cities of the Philistines, Gat already connected itself with the nation of Israel, with the people of Israel. So we have Ashkelon. We have Gaza. We have Ekron. We have Ashdod. These are all the cities of the Philistines that God had promised Israel through the prophet Zechariah that they will be dealt with immediately in a soon coming day. And all this happened in about 332 BC when Alexander the Great conquered Syria, conquered the Phoenician cities, and ultimately conquered the Philistines, as it's mentioned here in verse 6.

If you notice, it says here also in verse 7, I will take away his blood out of his mouth. Apparently, there was paganism existed there by the Philistines. The eating and drinking of the blood of the sacrifice was very common in a pagan world. So, he said, I will take away the blood out of his mouth and his abomination from between his teeth. But he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. Now, this is a little bit difficult to grasp and understand, but what we really learned from the second half of verse 7, that in the future day, the Philistines ultimately will end up to acknowledge the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

So, these 7 verses are very interesting, and in history, it did happen. When Zechariah gave the prophecy, it was going to be 150 years later. And sure enough, it did happen. God used this man by the name of Alexander the Great at 332 BC. Now, listen, brothers and sisters, how interesting, because immediately the next verse, he is now dealing with the city of Jerusalem. In verse 8, we find that Jehovah will watch over the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Now, remember, those Jewish remnant built this little temple. It was the second temple. We call it Beit HaMikdash in Hebrew. This temple, this house of God, is now built.

And now Alexander, the same man that conquered Syria, Phoenicia, and the Philistines, his eyes were now directed towards the city of Jerusalem. And here God made a promise to that little remnant there that were in Jerusalem. He said to them in verse 8, Now, let me do a little bit of more reading concerning Alexander. Now that Alexander took over Syria, Phoenicia, Philistia, the Philistine, now Alexander set his eyes on the city of Jerusalem. The high priest that served in Judah was a man by the name of Yaduah. Yaduah is Hebrew name. He refused Alexander's earlier demand for provision and men to help him to conquer Tyre, claiming that a treaty with Persia prevented Israel from helping the Greeks.

So Alexander was now intent upon showing the Jews who they should have made treaties with. In terror, Yaduah, this is the high priest, and all Jerusalem sought the Lord in prayer and in sacrifices. When they found out that Alexander is on his way, they turned to Jehovah, to the God of Israel, in prayer. Then the Lord told them not to worry, but to get dressed in all their finery, open the gates of Jerusalem and go out to greet Alexander. When he arrived, they did just this. In all their white linen, purple robes, and golden headdresses, the priest gathered behind the high priest Yaduah, threw open the gates of the city of Jerusalem, and went to meet Alexander the Great.

Stunned by this greeting, Alexander dismounted and he bowed down before Yaduah. The Jews couldn't believe their eyes. When they asked him about it, Alexander replied, I didn't pay homage to Yaduah, to the high priest, but to the God who made him his high priest. Then Alexander went up to the temple and he made sacrifice to Jehovah, the God of Israel, sparing the city of Jerusalem. And then at the temple, Alexander told them the reason for his actions. He says, One night, several years ago, when I couldn't sleep for thinking about how I might defeat the Persian, I had a vision in which I saw this man pointing to Yaduah and all his priests dressed, gathered before me just as I saw them today.

In my vision, Yaduah told me that the Lord would guide my armies and would lead me to victory against all my enemies, including the Persian. He told me not to delay, but to proceed immediately. A short time later, I defeated the Persian and today outside Jerusalem, the vision became reality. Then Yaduah brought out the scroll of the book of Daniel, written about 200 years earlier, and he pointed to the portion that we would call today Daniel chapter 8, in which Daniel saw a vision and one of the horns of the goat defeating a ram represented a king from Greece, defeating the Persian. The angel Gabriel had personally explained this to Daniel in Daniel chapter 8, verses 20 and 21.

And Alexander then understood that he was that king. From that time forward, Alexander gave the Jewish people great privilege in his kingdom, and he often appointed them to be administrators over cities that he conquered. As for these cities, many of them flung open their gates, just as the Lord had commended Yaduah, hoping for similar favor. And so Alexander conquered many of them without a fight. Alexander the Great died in Babylon. Listen to these brothers and sisters in the context of our chapter. Alexander the Great died in Babylon at the age of 32 or 33 years of age on the 10th or 11th day of June 323 B.C.

after suffering 10 days of high fever. Theories concerning his cause of death have ranged from poisoning to malaria, to bacterial infection from drinking contaminant water among others. Some 14 days before his death, Alexander entertained his fleet with much drinking, after which he fell into a fever from which he never recovered. After Alexander's death, four of his generals became the leaders of the country of Greece and they are the four leaders that have divided themselves the kingdom of Alexander. The reason that I read this beloved brothers and sisters it's because God knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning. Zechariah received here a clear information concerning what was going to happen some 150 years later.

And so he says in verse 8 God says I will encamp around my house because of the army because of him he's speaking about Alexander the Great the one that will pass by and because of him that returneth and no oppressors shall pass through them anymore for now have I seen it with mine eyes. And of course the second half of verse 8 takes us to the messianic kingdom when Israel no longer no more will see any sorrow no one will conquer anymore the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. It takes us all the way to the messianic age here in verse 8.

So verses 1 to 8 really deal with an event that occurred about 332 BC where a young man a king of Grisha have conquered so many countries he conquered all the then known world but this man when he died he was only 32 33 years of age he died out of alcohol drinking he got sick and he died in a shameful way and when he died his kingdom was given to those four commanders of his military so those Jewish people who are now in Jerusalem they are looking forward and they can see wow this thing is going to happen some 150 years before us and now in the next verses in contrast to the king

of Greece he put the king of Israel the king of the Jews our blessed Lord Jesus the Messiah in verses 9 and 10 we have the promise of the king of Israel no longer the king of Greece who was ruthless who was the one that was drunken at his death here we see another king totally different he is not coming in power he is not coming in authority at his first coming he is coming in humility he is coming in holiness in purity and he is coming in a simple way to present himself before his people the people of Israel notice verse 9 and 10 the promise of Israel's king Messiah is presented before us

in those next verses notice first of all verse 9 he speaks of his first coming and verse 10 speaks of his second coming rejoice greatly o daughter of Zion shout o daughter of Jerusalem behold thy king cometh unto thee he is just and having salvation lowly and riding upon a donkey upon an ass upon a colt the fall of an ass verse 10 and I will cut off the chariot from a flying and a horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off and he shall speak shalom peace unto the heathen and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea and from river even to the end of the earth in the

next verses beloved brothers and sisters verses 9 and 10 Zechariah received this from the lord concerning the coming of the messiah and when the messiah would come notice how he said he called Zion and Jerusalem saying shout for joy he says rejoice ye daughters of Zion shout ye daughters of Jerusalem he's speaking now to Jerusalem to Judah to Zion and he's saying you should be rejoicing why because your king is coming how is the king going to come it says he is just he has salvation but he's lowly he's riding upon an ass upon a colt the fall of an ass Zechariah is now receiving from the lord a message concerning the first coming of

the messiah that when he's going to come he's the just king in contrast to the unjust king he brings salvation in contrast to the one who brought destruction he's the one that does not ride on a horse which symbolically speaks of power and war but he's riding on a donkey on a colt as it says here called a fall of an ass and he's lowly he's coming in humility you know this is amazing this prophecy that was spoken by the lord through Zechariah at about 487 BC takes us all the way beyond the coming of the Grecian king to the time where our lord jesus the messiah came some two thousand years ago and when

he came beloved brothers and sisters he didn't come on a horse in power because he didn't come to rule the world he came to deal with the question of sin and in order for him to deal with sin he had to come and to give his life on the cross as the lowly man the suffering messiah who is going to die on the cross so he presented himself before the people of Israel before the city of Jerusalem and Matthew recorded it as we have read earlier in Matthew chapter 21 when he recorded the triumphant entrance of Yeshua the Messiah to the city of Jerusalem and let me just read that in Matthew chapter 21 it

says when they drew nigh this is verse 1 to Jerusalem and they were come to Beth Peg to Mount Olives then sent Yeshua two of his disciples go into the village over against you and straightway ye shall find an ass tied and a colt with her loose them and bring them unto me and if any man say anything unto you you shall say the Lord has need of them and straightway he will send them and it says all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet which prophet is the very prophet that we are reading in our reading today in a ministry meeting today tell ye the daughter of

Zion behold your king is coming he is coming unto thee he is meek and he is sitting upon an ass and a colt and fall of an ass and the disciple went and did as Jesus commended them and they brought the ass and the colt and they put on them their clothes and they set him their own and a very great multitude spread their garment in the way others cut down branches from the tree and strawed them in the way and a multitude that went before and they followed they cried saying Hoshanna to the son of David blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord here we see the prophetic message concerning

the coming of the Messiah and this is so important for all of us to understand you know we as Jewish people have been taught that when the Messiah will come he will come in power he will come with authority he will deliver our people Israel from the bondage which we were under for so many years by many many nations but we don't realize beloved brothers and sisters that the Hebrew prophets when they spoke about the first coming of the Messiah they were prophesying that he will come first of all to deal with a greater problem that Israel have and the human race have what is the problem the problem is sin we have a disease

called sin the Bible say that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God nobody need to tell us this we know that every one of us know very well that we as human beings we fail somehow we are not rising up to the requirement of God and that's why God sent the Messiah to provide salvation he's the one that is just he's the one that has salvation he's the one that is lowly riding upon an ass upon a cult the fall of an ass and indeed beloved brothers and sisters when our Lord Messiah came he came as a king but he was rejected at his first coming let me just highlight some

things here because again he says behold your king coming if if a king is coming everyone should acknowledge him and accept him but apparently he was not accepted at his first coming you remember the Magi we have just been in the season where people are celebrating the birth of Christ the birth of the Messiah you remember the Magi or the wise men who came from the east and the first question that they ask when they arrived to Jerusalem they say where is he that was born the king of the Jews and of course they were speaking about the baby that was born his name was Yeshua Jesus and he was born in Bethlehem and they

wanted to know where was he that was born already the king of Israel the king of the Jewish people but Israel as a nation didn't realize that and Herod beloved brothers and sisters who was then and there that king you know what he did in order to seek to eliminate the king of the Jews by the name of Yeshua he killed many of the Jewish boys from two years and under because last one of them will be that king that was born the king of the Jews and if you remember it was the mother Miriam and Yosef that they fled because of this out of the land away they went out of the land to

Egypt and for a while they remained there until they came back but the king of the Jews is none else but Yeshua the Messiah but in his birth in his first coming he was rejected the Bible tells us about him and his first coming he declared himself he says foxes of holes the birds of the air have nests but the son of man have nowhere to lay his head he did not receive the kingdom that he was going to establish for the nation of Israel at his first coming and he was that promised king of the Jews that the Bible is telling us so clearly you know before he went to the cross Pilate let

me show you something in John chapter 18 Pilate says in verse 33 Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and he called Yeshua and he said to him are you the king of the Jews and Yeshua answered him he says you say it he said you say this thing of yourself or do others tell you concerning me Pilate answered he said am I a Jew thine own nation and the chief priest have delivered thee unto me what have you done he said and Jesus listen what he said my kingdom is not of this world if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the nation

to the Jewish people but now is my kingdom is not from hands Pilate therefore said unto him are you a king and Jesus answered he said you said it you said it that I am a king to this end was I born and for this cause came I into this world that I should bear witness unto the truth everyone that is of the truth he hears my voice beautiful to see how Yeshua the Messiah as the king of the Jewish people have ultimately came in his first coming to suffer and to die for us on the cross now I don't want to read more in the gospel but you know they mocked him at his

first coming they laughed at him and said hey you are the king of the Jews if you are the king of Israel save yourself come down from the cross but he didn't come down from the cross because had he come down for the cross he would not die and if he would not die for the sin of this world there will not be any hope for any one of us and that's why beloved friends beloved brothers and sisters the prediction of Zechariah is when the Messiah will come and his first coming he will come providing salvation when he will die for us on the cross on the tree he will be lowly riding on a

donkey not for war but a servant of the Lord who came to give his life a ransom for many and I hope today that as we are reading this text that every one of us will search his heart or her heart today and ask ourselves this Jesus to Yeshua did I realize that he is truly the promised king that was prophesied by Zechariah in chapter 9 and verse 9 now notice verse 10 immediately following verse 9 is verse 10 verse 10 deals with his second coming and this is sometimes in the Bible it's so hard to understand it says immediately in verse 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from

Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off and he shall speak shalom peace unto the heathen and his dominion here is the king who is reigning shall be from sea even to sea and from the river even to the end of the earth now beloved brothers and sisters Zechariah received the revelation from the Lord to give to the Jewish remnant at that time in Israel and to you and I that the Messiah is not only coming once as a lowly suffering king suffering Messiah but he is coming once again and he's going to be the one that he's going to rule and to reign in the future day it says it says three things

in verse 10 the first thing it says that Israel will not fight anymore notice that verse 10 I will cut off the chariot from a fly and the horse from Jerusalem and the battle shall be cut off there is coming a day when Israel will no longer need the ammunition in order to fight either between themselves or against the nations that are constantly fighting against our people the people of Israel I don't have to tell you this just turn on your television turn on the radio turn on your internet and you will see that Israel today just the same like many years ago constantly on the defense against enemies that constantly want to fight and

destroy the people of Israel that takes us to the millennial age where Israel will no longer need ammunition for a war against their enemies secondly notice verse 10 not only that Israel will not fight anymore but the nations of the world will have shalom will have peace it says in verse 10 he shall speak peace unto the heathen he shall speak peace unto the nations the word for heathen he is the nations of the world you know the Messiah did not only come to die and to be resurrected for Israel the nation but he came to provide shalom for all the nations of the world just look around us today look what's going on today

in the world in which we live in everybody's getting ready for another war people people are accumulating missiles and we are dealing right now with what's going on in Iran in the past in Iraq some ammunition that are enough to kill multitude of people with only one bomb that they will shoot and here we can see that in the future day the Messiah will speak peace unto the nations of the world they will not need anymore to develop mass destruction ammunition they do not need anymore to build all sort of factories to prepare for the atom bomb it will be totally over with because he will speak shalom he will speak peace unto the nations

of the world and look at the third thing that we find here in this passage in verse 10 it says here that his dominion his kingship shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the river even to the end of the earth that means that the Messiah who once came as lowly to the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey he is going to come in a second coming he is going to rule as it says here so beautifully it says he is going to rule he will have dominion from sea to sea from river to river even unto the end of this earth it was the psalmist who said in psalm

72 and verse 8 speaking about the righteous king of Israel he shall have dominion from sea to sea and from river to the end of the earth and therefore there will be a day when we will have finally a king that will reign in righteousness over this world what a day is prophesied here in our chapter Zechariah chapter 9 and verses 9 and 10 I have a verse that I still want to read turn with me to Isaiah chapter 2 verse 3 concerning the future day many people shall go and say come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob and he will teach us

of his ways and we will walk in his path for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem verse 4 and he shall judge among the nations and he shall rebuke many people and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war anymore can you imagine beloved brothers and sisters what does that mean for us with regard to the future when the Messiah will come in his second coming there will be no longer need for instruments of war when a Messiah will come in his second coming so in verses 9

and 10 we have the two comings of the Messiah just a point to mention here the rabbis had a problem with so you know what they said well they didn't grasp the truth of Messiah coming twice so they see verse 9 and they say here is Mashiach ben Yosef Messiah son of Joseph a suffering Messiah Messiah then they read verse 10 and they say here is Mashiach ben David Messiah son of David coming as a reigning and ruling king and so they introduce this teaching of two Messiahs son of Joseph son of David ben Yosef ben David but we don't have two Messiahs the Bible doesn't talk about two Messiahs it talks about one Messiah

who will come twice once to suffer and to deal with sin a second time to reign and to rule over Israel and the nations of the world one Mashiach son of David son of God who became a man who will reign in the future day but he came some 2000 years ago to suffer for us on the tree and to made provision for our salvation now quickly please bear with me let's conclude here with the last verses here verses 11 to 17 here's the promise for Israel's salvation based upon the blood covenant that God had made with Israel look at verse 11 first of all in verse 11 Israel's salvation is based upon the blood

covenant here it says in verse 11 as for thee speaking about Israel as for thee by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water he's speaking to Israel he says for you how can Israel will be saved and redeemed it's only on the basis of the blood covenant and what does that mean blood covenant that means that someone shed his blood that the other will never need to suffer and die that is the covenant that God made with the people of Israel God made five covenants with our Jewish people with the people of Israel he made eight covenants with mankind at large but five

of them with the nation of Israel covenants were never made with the church the church came under the blessings of the covenant but the covenant were made with the people of Israel we have the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis chapter 12 chapter 13 chapter 15 chapter 17 this is the covenant that God made with Abraham he promised him a blessing and a seed and a nation that will come in the future Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 31 we have the new covenant that God had made with the house of Judah and the house of Israel covenants only were made with the people of Israel and the church came under the blessings of of the covenant that

were made with the people of Israel if you remember Jesus the Messiah just before he died in Luke chapter 22 in verse 20 it says likewise also after supper this is the Passover he took the cup and he said in verse 20 this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you when he was sitting at Passover with our own people with the disciples he took the cup of wine and he says this symbolically speaks of my blood that I will shed when I will die for you on the cross so the blood covenant is necessary in order for Israel the nation to be saved now notice in verse 12 Israel

is God's firstborn Israel will receive double from God turn you to the stronghold ye prisoners of hope even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee now this is also a very important point to mention here in our teaching today why does Israel receive double Israel receive you read in Isaiah chapter 40 you'll notice that Israel received double punishment but Israel also received double blessings why because Israel is God's firstborn it was in Exodus chapter 4 when Moses said to Pharaoh let Israel is my firstborn let my son go so Israel as the firstborn receive a double portion double portion in punishment but also double portion in blessings and here we find

out that God said to Israel you go to your stronghold ye the one that used to be prisoners of hope now he said to them in verse 12 even today I declare that I will render unto you double I will render double unto thee Israel as the firstborn will receive double portion in a future day in verse 13 Israel will defeat its enemies you notice that verse 13 when I have bent Judah for me filled the bow with a flame raise up thy sons or Zion against thy sons or Greece and made thee as the sword of a mighty man so Israel will end up as a bow an arrow a flame and Judah will

be united together in the future day and they will end up to be able to defeat their enemies and notice who will be the one that will help them in the next verses notice verse 14 now it is the Lord Jehovah himself that will defeat the nations and represent Israel he will be the one who will assist them verse 14 says and the Lord shall be seen over them his arrow shall go Lord God shall blow the trumpet and shall go with whirlwind of the south it is the Lord that will assist his people Israel in the future day to defeat their enemies and he concluding now in the last three verses notice verse 15

it says here that the Lord of hosts shall defend Israel and they shall devour and subdue with a sling stones and they shall drink and make a noise as though through wine and they shall be filled with bowls as the corners of the altar in verse 16 said the Lord their God shall save them in that day tribulation day takes them now to the future tribulation day as the flock of his people and they shall be as the stones of a crown lifted up as an ensign upon his land in other word Israel in the future day as a restored nation in that day of the tribulation at the end of the tribulation they will

be like stones that upon a crown they will be like jewels upon a crown lifted up as an ensign as a flag to show everyone in the land that Israel is finally going to be a restored nation to the Lord and Israel at the end listen to these brothers and sisters that I'm going to conclude with this Israel will say and I hope you and I can say it today verse 17 how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty corn shall make the young man cheerful and new wine the maids listen to these two expressions how great is God's goodness and how great is God's beauty in the context it speaks about

the Messiah the goodness of the Lord Jesus the Messiah the beauty that is found in Yeshua Hamashiach there is some beauty in the person of the Lord that finally in the future day in Israel restoration they will say to him how great is the goodness of God and the goodness of the Messiah and how great is his beauty and today as in conclusion I really want to challenge us to search the scripture just open your Bible Old Testament New Testament and you will read the text from the Bible read the history that God had given our people Israel read of the coming of the Messiah in the four gospels and you will see the goodness

of God in providing his son for us and you will see the beauty that is found in the person of our Lord Jesus the Messiah when he first came Isaiah said we have found no beauty in him and I hope that you can say today that you find beauty in Yeshua the Messiah people outside today don't look to the Lord and see beauty in Yeshua they look at him they despise him they reject him they still if he would come again today they will not acknowledge him but those of us that have accepted him into our hearts know very well that the Lord is good and there is beauty in Yeshua that is beyond all

other beauties that are found here in this world may the Lord touch our hearts and encourage us to listen to his word to find his goodness and beauty in the person of Yeshua the Messiah