November 03, 2023 – Friday
Zechariah 12:2-3 AKJV
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah andagainst Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Zechariah 12:2-3 NIV
2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
Comments
Please read the verses above closely and know the book of Zechariah was written about 520 B.C. We know the date as the book begins by stating it was the second year of Darius, the Persian king. This was the time when Zerubbabel was leading the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem and Nehemiah was the governor.
Now ask yourself if the words of the LORD ever came to be? Certainly not in the Old Testament and not even in the New Testament. However, if we move from first century Jerusalem when Isarel was destroyed as a nation by the Romans in 70 A.D and fast forward to May 1948. That’s when Israel was officially declared as an independent state with David Ben-Gurion as the prime minister.
Why all this history? So, let’s move even further until we reach 1967 when the population of Israel was then 2,776,000. The surrounding nations of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan with a combined population of 39.5 million. In June 1967 there was a ‘6 Day War’ between Israel and the combined forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan with Iraq contributing soldiers as well.
Then, only six years later in 1973, there was the Yon-Kipper War when Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack against Israel on the Holy Day of Yon-Kipper. Israel’s population had grown to 3.3 million. Syria and Egypt had a combined population of over 105 million. The cause of this war was the desire to regain lost territory as Israel’s victory in 1967 left the Jewish nation in control of territory four times its previous size. Egypt lost the 23,500-square-mile Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Syria lost the strategic Golan Heights.
Everything seemed on the side of Israel’s enemies. Surprise, size and the incredible desire to regain their lost territories six years earlier. But they did not have God on their side as our verses for today tell us, 2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.
Now, October 7-8 this year, 1400 Israeli’s were killed, the equivalent of over 42000 Americans percentage wise. I continue to stand with Israel.
Bottom Line: Let me say it again, God’s promises stand. Even when the rest of the world has forgotten them. I believe God’s promises from the Old Testament as well as from the Old Testament.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for all of Your promises through Your Son Jesus the Christ. I truly look forward to entering eternity knowing where I will be. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Still writing and working for the Glory of God