Zaccaria 14:15 Commento

Divers things were foretold, in the two foregoing chapters, which should come to pass "in that day;" this chapter speaks of a "day of the Lord that cometh," a day of his judgment, and ten times in the foregoing chapters, and seven times in this, it is repeated, "in that day;" but what that day is that is here meant is uncertain, and perhaps will be so (as the Jews speak) till Elias comes; whether it refer to the whole period of time from the prophet's days to the days of the Messiah, or to some particular events in that time, or to Christ's coming, and the setting up of his kingdom upon the ruins of the Jewish polity, we cannot determine, but divers passages here seem to look as far forward as gospel-times. Now the "day of the Lord" brings with it both judgment and mercy, mercy to his church, judgment to her enemies and persecutors. I. The gates of hell are here threatening the church (Zac 14:1, Zac 14:2) and yet not prevailing. II. The power of Heaven appears here for the church and against the enemies of it (Zac 14:3, Zac 14:5). III. The events concerning the church are here represented as mixed (Zac 14:6, Zac 14:7), but issuing well at last. IV. The spreading of the means of knowledge is here foretold, and the setting up of the gospel-kingdom in the world (Zac 14:8, Zac 14:9), which shall be the enlargement and establishment of another Jerusalem (Zac 14:10, Zac 14:11). V. Those shall be reckoned with that fought against Jerusalem (Zac 14:12-15) and those that neglect his worship there (Zac 14:17-19). VI. It is promised that there shall be great resort to the church, and great purity and piety in it (Zac 14:16, Zac 14:20, Zac 14:21).

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 14 This chapter treats of the coming of Christ with all his saints, and his personal appearance among them; and of the signs of the times before that; and of what shall befall the enemies of the church, both open and secret; and of the happy state and condition of the church itself. First there will be a time of great affliction to the people of God, Zac 14:1, when the Lord will appear and fight for them, and will appear to them, and with them, Zac 14:3 but before this time it will be an uncommon season, neither day nor night; at the close of which, light will break forth, Zac 14:6 the Gospel will be spread far and near, attended with the Spirit and grace of God in great plenty, Zac 14:8 which will bring on the spiritual reign of Christ over all the earth, Zac 14:9 particularly the land of Judea, and the city of Jerusalem, shall be inhabited by men with safety, Zac 14:10 and all those that oppose and fight against the Lord's people shall be destroyed, partly by an immediate plague from the Lord upon them, and partly by the hands of one another, and also by the saints of the most High; and the plague shall not only be upon their persons, but upon their cattle likewise, Zac 14:12 and as for those that profess the Christian name, and yet neglect or refuse to worship the Lord in a spiritual and evangelical manner, there shall be no rain upon them, Zac 14:17 and as for the church and people of God, there shall be universal holiness among them, and not a single Canaanite to be found in the midst of them, Zac 14:20.

And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass,.... The flesh of the horse is said to be eaten, Rev 19:18, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague, their beasts shall perish in like manner as themselves.

(Verse 15) And so there will be the destruction of horses, and mules, and camels, and donkeys, and all the livestock that were in those camps, just like this destruction. LXX: And this will be the destruction of horses and mules, camels and donkeys, and all the livestock that were in those camps, in accordance with this destruction. And the Jews strive to fulfill this, according to their carnal interpretation. Truly, the strength of the Lord is great, so that the horses, mules, camels, and donkeys, and all their livestock fall in the enemy camps, just as the men had fallen (or will fall). Great triumph, glorious victory, beasts are defeated by God fighting. Let us therefore say, according to the beginning of tropology: so that all the evils that previously fought against the Church may fall, so that the goods may suddenly arise. Finally, he who was previously a horse neighing after the wife of his neighbor (Jeremiah 5), and was carried away by lust, and lay in the filth of pleasures: when he begins to follow chastity, it will be said to him: Rise, let us go from here (John 14, 31). And: Arise, come, my love (Song of Solomon 2:10). And in the Apostle: Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Ephesians 5:14). And when those horses rise up that have fallen before, and have offered their soft backs to the Lord to sit upon, they shall say to God: Mount upon thy horses, and thy riding is salvation (Habakkuk 3:8). According to this sense, let us consider mules, which are barren and do not produce offspring; but they indulge in pleasure: of whom the Psalmist speaks: Be not like to horse and mule, which have no understanding (Psalm 31:9). So just as those who are inclined to lust are called horses, so we shall rightly call those who are virgins in the flesh and not in the spirit, mules. And those who are castrated not for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, but for the pleasure of men. Therefore, when these mules and eunuchs have been turned into offspring and have begotten spiritual children, they will hear through Isaiah: 'And let not the eunuch say: Behold I am a dry tree.' For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs, who keep my Sabbaths and choose the things that please me and hold fast to my covenant: I will give them a place in my house and within my walls, a name better than sons and daughters; an everlasting name will I give them, that shall never be cut off (Isaiah 56:3-5). The kings of Israel, especially David, are said to have had many male and female donkeys, which is related to Christ (2 Kings 13 and 1 Kings 3). If we understand what the running and rising horses and donkeys are, let us move on to camels, a ruminant animal that does not have a divided hoof (Leviticus 11). And let us say that all the sinners of the earth are like camels, who are weighed down by the heavy burden of sins, and they seem to read the holy Scriptures to themselves, but they do not have a divided hoof, rumination the divine words and neglecting what is written. But a camel can more rightly be called the people of the Jews, who themselves meditate upon the Law of God, and chew it over and turn it in their hearts, but do not split the hoof, so that they may believe in the Father and in the Son; and in this they are unclean, because they never separate the letter from the spirit, the shadow from the truth, and they bear the burden of the Law, and they hear through the prophet: Woe, sinful nation, people full of offenses (Isaiah 1:4). Concerning this kind of camel who chews and does not split the hoof, it is said in Proverbs as if to a son: Whoever forsakes the discipline of his father will meditate on evil speeches (Proverbs 21). Let us cross over to the donkey, who once was carried unbridled and unclean, and had many masters, and slid down the steep slopes, so that he would rise up suddenly when falling, and carry the Lord Savior, and enter into holy Jerusalem, and be received by a crowd of believing children triumphantly (Matt. XXI and John XII). It is said that the Savior tied this donkey to the vine and the vineyard (Gen. XLIX, 11), of which it is written in the Psalms: You brought the vine out of Egypt, and drove out the nations, and planted it (Ps. LXXIX, 9). To which the vinedresser himself says: I planted you a fruitful vineyard, a wholly true (Jer. II, 21). Likewise, all the beasts and animals, which the prophet comprehends under one name, are to be interpreted according to the nature of each one, and this is more fitting for the Son of God than for those things which the foolish people of the Jews presume to prophesy.

The commencement of this chapter relates to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and to the calamities consequent on that event. From this great Jewish tragedy the prophet immediately passes to the utter extermination of the enemies of Christianity in the latter days. God will display his power in behalf of his people in a manner so astonishing and miraculous, that even they themselves, and much more their enemies, shall be struck with terror, Zac 14:4, Zac 14:5. The national prosperity of the Jews shall then be permanent and unmixed, Zac 14:6, Zac 14:7; and these people shall be made the instruments of converting many to the faith of the Messiah, Zac 14:8, Zac 14:9. The great increase and prosperity of the Christian Church, the New Jerusalem, is then described in terms accommodated to Jewish ideas; and the most signal vengeance denounced against all her enemies, Zac 14:10-19. From that happy period God's name will be honored in every thing, and his worship every where most reverently observe, Zac 14:20, Zac 14:21.

So shall be the plague of the horse, and the mule - There shall be plagues on the substance of the enemies of the Church, as there were on the cattle and goods of the Egyptians.

LAST STRUGGLE WITH THE HOSTILE WORLD POWERS: MESSIAH-JEHOVAH SAVES JERUSALEM AND DESTROYS THE FOE, OF WHOM THE REMNANT TURNS TO THE LORD REIGNING AT JERUSALEM. (Zec. 14:1-21) day of the Lord--in which He shall vindicate His justice by punishing the wicked and then saving His elect people (Joe 2:31; Joe 3:14; Mal 4:1, Mal 4:5). thy spoil . . . divided in the midst of thee--by the foe; secure of victory, they shall not divide the spoil taken from thee in their camp outside, but "in the midst" of the city itself.

The plague shall affect the very beasts belonging to the foe. A typical foretaste of all this befell Antiochus Epiphanes and his host at Jerusalem (I Maccabees 13:49; II Maccabees 9:5).