Zechariah 8

The Restoration of Jerusalem// Micah 4:6–13

¹Again the word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me, saying: ²This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “I am jealous for Zion with great zeal; I am jealous for her with great fervor.”

³This is what Yahweh says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of Yahweh of Hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.”

• ZECH 8:3[PROPHECY]I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM

⁴This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age. ⁵And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing there.”

• ZECH 8:4[NOTABLE]God's picture of a city at peace is simple: grandparents on the benches and kids playing in the street.
• ZECH 8:4[NOTE]OLD MEN AND OLD WOMEN. A city at peace has old people and children in the streets.

⁶This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “If this is impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be impossible in My eyes?” declares Yahweh of Hosts.

⁷This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “I will save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west. ⁸I will bring them back to dwell in Jerusalem, where they will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”

⁹This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were present when the foundations were laid to rebuild the temple, the house of Yahweh of Hosts. ¹⁰For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor. ¹¹But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did in the past,” declares Yahweh of Hosts.

¹²“For the seed will be prosperous, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will yield its produce, and the skies will give their dew. To the remnant of this people I will give all these things as an inheritance. ¹³As you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid; let your hands be strong.”

¹⁴For this is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “Just as I resolved to bring disaster upon you when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says Yahweh of Hosts, ¹⁵“so now I have resolved to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid. ¹⁶These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound judgments in your gates, ¹⁷do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares Yahweh.

• ZECH 8:16[QUOTED]Quoted in the New Testament → EPH 4:25
• ZECH 8:16[NOTE]SPEAK TRUTH. Ephesians 4:25 quotes this line, so it prints in italics.

¹⁸Then the word of Yahweh of Hosts came to me, saying, ¹⁹“This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: The fasts of the fourth, the fifth, the seventh, and the tenth months will become times of joy and gladness, cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore you are to love both truth and peace.”

• ZECH 8:19[NOTE]FOUR FASTS. For the walls broken, the temple burned, Gedaliah killed and the siege begun, Jeremiah 52:6 to 7 and 2 Kings 25. All four become parties.

²⁰This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities— ²¹and the residents of one city will go to another, saying: ‘Let us go at once to plead before Yahweh and to seek Yahweh of Hosts. I myself am going.’ ²²And many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Yahweh of Hosts in Jerusalem and to plead before Yahweh.”

²³This is what Yahweh of Hosts says: “In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will tightly grasp the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

• ZECH 8:23[PROPHECY]In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying 'Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you' → STILL TO COMEMEDIUM
• ZECH 8:23[NOTE]TEN MEN. Many see Gentiles coming to Israel's God through Jesus.