It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. It will be so in summer and in winter.
Parallel Translations
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It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea. It will be so in summer and in winter.
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And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
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And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be.
Cross-references (14)
Passages linked to Zechariah 14:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 22:1-2 He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
- John 7:38 He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.”
- John 4:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
- John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
- Revelation 7:16-17 They will never be hungry or thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
- Joel 3:18 It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will flow out from Yahweh’s house, and will water the valley of Shittim.
- Isaiah 49:10 They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water.
- Isaiah 41:17-18 The poor and needy seek water, and there is none. Their tongue fails for thirst. I, Yahweh, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and springs in the middle of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
- Ezekiel 47:1-12 He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters flowed out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the front of the house faced toward the east. The waters came down from underneath, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar. Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me around by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east. Behold, waters ran out on the right side. When the man went out eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the waist. Afterward he measured one thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be walked through. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen?” Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, “These waters flow out toward the eastern region, and will go down into the Arabah. Then they will go toward the sea; and flow into the sea which will be made to flow out; and the waters will be healed. It will happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, will live. Then there will be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river comes. It will happen, that fishermen will stand by it. From En Gedi even to En Eglaim will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. But the miry places of it, and its marshes, will not be healed. They will be given up to salt. By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, will grow every tree for food, whose leaf won’t wither, neither will its fruit fail. It will produce new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary. Its fruit will be for food, and its leaf for healing.”
- Joel 2:20 But I will remove the northern army far away from you, and will drive it into a barren and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its back into the western sea; and its stench will come up, and its bad smell will rise.” Surely he has done great things.
- Isaiah 35:7 The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. Grass with reeds and rushes will be in the habitation of jackals, where they lay.
- Luke 24:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
- Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” He who hears, let him say, “Come!” He who is thirsty, let him come. He who desires, let him take the water of life freely.
- Isaiah 58:11 and Yahweh will guide you continually, satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones strong. You will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters don’t fail.
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain Here is subjoined a more cheering prophecy, — that…
Here is subjoined a more cheering prophecy, — that the grace of God would yet prevail. Whatever evils, and troubles, and dangers, and fears, and diseases awaited the faithful, he yet says that in such miseries they would still be made happy. And this ought to be carefully observed, for nothing can be more suitably found to alleviate our sorrows than to put in the balance God’s benefits on one side, and on the other the punishments and chastisements which he brings on us; for as God’s mercy and kindness always greatly preponderate, it cannot be but that we shall be able to say with holy Job,
“If good things have we received from the Lord’s hand, why should we refuse evil things?” (Job 2:10.)
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This then is what Zechariah sets before us, — that though the Church may be harassed by many cares, and subject to many fears, and terrified by many dangers, and be as it were in trepidation, yet the grace of God, if rightly viewed, is sufficient to administer invaluable comfort, for go forth shall living waters from Jerusalem
This prophecy no doubt refers to the kingdom of Christ, and this may be sufficiently proved by other passages. The Prophet then has hitherto spoken of the many afflictions, which were nigh at hand, in order that the Jews might not faint or entirely fail; but he now directs their minds to the kingdom of Christ, from whence they were to look for not only a deliverance from all evils, but also the full restitution of the Church, and as it were the renovation of the world.
There is here no doubt an implied contrast between living waters and those which soon dry up: hence he says, that they would flow continually summer and winter. Judea, we know, was subject to want of water, and there were no waters around Jerusalem, except the spring of Siloam, which had waters in abundance, and supplied the wants of the citizens. But the Prophet promises living waters, which would not be like occasional streams, but flow continually. At the same time he seems to regard something higher. As by living waters he understands those which are spiritual, so he compares these waters with all those streams which are earthly; as though he had said, “the fountain from which the two streams arise is inexhaustible, so that its exuberance shall never fail, but shall send forth streams from one sea to the opposite sea, and shall water the farthest regions of the earth.”
By the eastern sea many understand the Lake Asphaltes, but it seems to me more probable that the Prophet speaks of the Persian Sea; for if he had said that the waters would go forth to that lake, the distance would be very short; but he meant on the contrary to show, that the copiousness of the waters would be so large and abundant that though they would pass through the whole earth, yet their flow would never cease. By the hinder sea he no doubt meant the Mediterranean. The import of the whole is, — that thong the earth were previously dry, yet such would be the abundance of waters as to be sufficient for all, not only as in former times to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but also to all the Jews in whatever part of the country they might dwell.
Now, since the language is metaphorical, we must bear in mind what I have lately said, — that here is set forth the spiritual grace of God; nor is it a new thing to apply the word waters to the Spirit of God:
“I will pour forth waters on the dry land and rivers on the thirsty land” (Isaiah 44:3;)
and again,
“I will give clean waters.” (Ezekiel 36:25.)
There is a twofold reason why Scripture gives the name of waters to the Holy Spirit, — because he performs the two offices of cleansing and of watering: for we are like barren and dry land, except the Lord by his Spirit from heaven gives us new vigor and conveys moisture to us. As then the earth derives moisture from heaven, that it may produce fruit, so also we must have conferred on us by the hidden power of the Spirit whatever vigor we may possess. Since then Zechariah promises a fountain of living waters, he understands that God’s grace would be offered to all the Jews, so that they might drink and be satisfied, and no more be exposed as formerly to the want of water.
If any one objects and says, that this interpretation seems forced, the answer is ready at hand, which is this, — that as it is certain that the prophet here speaks of the kingdom of Christ, this rule is to be remembered, — That whatever is foretold of Christ’s kingdom, must correspond with its nature and character. Since then the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, there is no doubt but that when Scripture, as we have seen, promises a large produce of corn and wine, an abundance of all good things, tranquillity and peace, and bright days, it intends by all these things to set forth the character of Christ’s kingdom. We hence see what the prophet means by living waters; and then, why he says that they would go forth to the east and to the west; and lastly, why he adds, that they would flow in winter as well as in summer. It now follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, the spiritual graces of God, which should…
That is, the spiritual graces of God, which should ever continue in most abundance.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day,…
Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, [that] living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Ver. 8. Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem] i.e. Abundance of spiritual graces, frequently in Scripture compared to waters, for their cooling, cleansing, quickening property, Isa 44:3 Eze 36:25; Eze 47:1; Joh 7:38. And of these waters, without all doubt, our baptism, ordained of God, is a figure and sacrament. "Living waters" they are called; that is, running, as a spring, not standing, as a pool. The godly esteem of life by that stirring they find in their souls, Isa 38:15-16 "In all these things is the life of my spirit"; else they lament as over a dead soul. O live, live (saith a reverend man, Dr Harris), live quickly, live much, live long. Many live more in a day than others in a year; for life consisteth in action; and so much every man liveth as he acteth graciously. Up, therefore, and be doing something of worth; whereof ye may testify that ye have lived. And for this, get a principle of life, the spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus, and then, if ye live in the Spirit, ye shall also walk in the Spirit, Gal 5:25, and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, Zec 14:16. The waters of the sea, though by their natural course they follow the centre, yet, by obedience to the moon, they are subject to her motion; and so turn, and return, ebb and flow, and are kept in continual motion, to keep them from corruption; so those that are spiritual, though naturally they are carried downward, and the best that of themselves they can do is but dead work; yet, so far as they are spiritualized, heavenlized, they are acting for God, and all their deeds are wrought in him, Joh 3:21. It is their great care to wear out, not rust out; to burn out, not to be blown out; yea, to flame out, not to smother out; to serve out their generation, as David did, not to idle it out; to live their utmost, and not (as Job 27:15; Job 27:23) to be buried, before half dead.
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In summer and winter shall it be] Such is the perennity and perpetuity of true grace; it ever flows - more perennis aquae, perpetual waters. As it is not like the river Araris, of which Caesar saith that it cannot with eyes be discerned whether it flows forward or backward, so slow and still is its motion; so neither is it like the brook Cherith, that dried up before the prophet, because there had been no rain in the land, 1Ki 17:7; or like the river Novanus, in Lombardy, which (saith Pliny) at every midsummer solstice swelleth and runneth over the banks; but at midwinter is clean dry; but as the waters of the sanctuary, Eze 47:4-5, &c.; and as the pool of Siloam, which served all Jerusalem, and was for every use to the citizens; or Hezekiah’s water courses, 2Ki 20:20 Neh 3:15-16, whereunto some think that the prophet here alludeth. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this he spake," saith the evangelist, "of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive," Joh 7:38-39.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In that day; when the gospel shall be preached,…
In that day; when the gospel shall be preached, and the days of dark ceremonies among the Jews, and darker ignorance and idolatry among the heathen, shall end.
Living waters; not only such as springs and fountains afford, living waters in opposition to standing, muddy, and dead waters; but such as give life, Eze 47:1,6,7; the quickening, saving truths of the gospel, with all its ordinances in purity.
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Shall go out, spread themselves or flow down as currents from good springs,
from Jerusalem; the church of Christ, the true Jerusalem.
Toward the former sea, or eastern sea, so far eastward as the sea will give leave; and who knows that sea?
Toward the hinder sea, or western sea. Synecdochically it is both east, west, north, and south: so from Jerusalem, i.e. the church. the doctrine of the gospel is preached abroad, and runs down as doth living water.
In summer and in winter shall it be; perpetually, without intermission or interruption, these waters should never dry away, nor ever lose their healing virtue.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Here are, I. Blessings promised to Jerusalem, the gospel-Jerusalem,…
Here are, I. Blessings promised to Jerusalem, the gospel-Jerusalem, in the day of the Messiah, and to all the earth, by virtue of the blessings poured out on Jerusalem, especially to the land of Israel.
1. Jerusalem shall be a spring of living waters to the world; it was made so when there the Spirit was poured out upon the apostles, and thence the word of the Lord diffused itself to the nations about (Zac 14:8): Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; for there they began, and thence those set out who were to preach repentance and remission of sins unto all nations, Luk 24:47. Note, Where the gospel goes, and the graces of God's Spirit go along with it, there living waters go; those streams that make glad the city of our God make glad the country also, and make it like paradise, like the garden of the Lord, which was well watered. It was the honour of Jerusalem that thence the word of the Lord went forth (Isa 2:3); and thus far, even in its worst and most degenerate age, for old acquaintance-sake, it was made a blessing, and to be so is to be blessed. Half of these waters shall go towards the former sea and half towards the hinder sea, as all rivers bend their course towards some sea or other, some eastward, others westward. The gospel shall spread into all parts of the world, into some that lie remote from Jerusalem one way and others that lie as far off another way; for the dominion of the Redeemer, which was thereby to be set up, must be from sea to sea (Psa 72:8), and the earth must be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea, and as the waters that in various channels run to the sea. The knowledge of God shall diffuse itself, (1.) Every way. These living waters shall produce both eastern churches and western churches, that shall each of them in its turn be illustrious. (2.) Every day: In summer and in winter it shall be. Note, Those who are employed in spreading the gospel may find themselves work both winter and summer, and are to serve the Lord therein at all seasons, Act 20:18. And such a divine power goes along with these living waters that they shall not be dried up, nor the course of them be obstructed, either by the droughts in summer or by the frosts in winter.
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2. The kingdom of God among men shall be a universal and united kingdom, Zac 14:9. (1.) It shall be a universal kingdom: The Lord shall be King over all the earth. He is, and ever was, so of right, and in the sovereign disposals of his providence his kingdom does rule over all and none are exempt from his jurisdiction; but it is here promised that he shall be so by actual possession of the hearts of his subjects; he shall be acknowledged King by all in all places; his authority shall be owned and submitted to, and allegiance sworn to him. This will have its accomplishment with that word (Rev 11:15), The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. (2.) It shall be a united kingdom: There shall be one Lord, and his name one. All shall worship one God only, and not idols, and shall be unanimous in the worship of him. All false gods shall be abandoned, and all false ways of worship abolished; and as God shall be the centre of their unity, in whom they shall all meet, so the scripture shall be the rule of their unity, by which they shall all walk.
3. The land of Judea, and Jerusalem, its mother-city, shall be repaired and replenished, and taken under the special protection of Heaven, Zac 14:10, Zac 14:11. Some think this denotes particular favour to the people of the Jews, and points at their conversion and restoration in the latter days; but it is rather to be understood figuratively of the gospel-church, typified by Judah and Jerusalem, and it signifies the abundant graces with which the church shall be crowned, and the fruitfulness of its members, and the vast numbers of them. (1.) The church shall be like a fruitful country, abounding in all the rich products of the soil. The whole land of Judea, which is naturally uneven and hilly, shall be turned as a plain; it shall become a smooth level valley, from Geba, or Gibeah, its utmost border north, to Rimmon, which lay south of Jerusalem and was the utmost southern limit of Judea. The gospel of Christ, where it comes in its power, levels the ground; mountains and hills are brought low by it, that the Lord alone may be exalted. (2.) It shall be like a populous city. As the holy land shall be levelled, so the holy city shall be peopled, shall be rebuilt and replenished. Jerusalem shall be lifted up out of its low estate, shall be raised out of its ruins; when the land is turned as a plain, and not only the mount of Olives removed (Zac 14:4), but other mountains too, then Jerusalem shall be lifted up, that is, shall appear the more conspicuous; she shall be inhabited in her place, even in Jerusalem, Zac 12:6. The whole city shall be inhabited in the utmost extent of it, and no part of it left to lie waste. The utmost limits of it are here mentioned, between which there shall be no ground lost, but all built upon, from Benjamin's-gate north-east to the corner-gate north-west, and from the tower of Hananeel in the south to the king's wine-presses in the north; when the churches of Christ in all places are replenished with great numbers of holy, humble, serious Christians, and many such are daily added to it, then this promise is fulfilled. (3.) This country and this city shall both be safe, both the meat in the country and the mouths in the city: Those that dwell in it shall dwell securely, and there shall be none to make them afraid; there shall be no more of that utter destruction that has laid both town and country waste, no more anathema (as some read it), no more cutting off, no more curse, or separation from God to evil, no more such desolating judgments as you have been groaning under, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited; there shall be no danger, nor any apprehension of it; neither shall its friends be fearful to disquiet themselves nor its enemies formidable to disquiet them. That promise of Christ explains this - that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church; and so do the holy security and serenity of mind which believers enjoy in relying on the divine protection.
II. Here are judgments threatened against the enemies of the church, that have fought, or do fight, against Jerusalem; and the threatening of these judgments is in order to the preservation of the church in safety. Men that read and hear of these plagues will be afraid of fighting against Jerusalem, much more when these threatenings are fulfilled in some will others hear and fear. Those that fight against the city of God, and his people, will be found fighting against God, against whom none ever hardened his heart and prospered (Zac 14:12): This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; whoever they are, God will punish them for the affront done to him, and avenge Jerusalem upon them. 1. They shall waste away under grievous and languishing diseases: Their flesh shall consume away, and they shall be miserably emaciated, even while they stand on their feet, so that they shall be walking skeletons; nothing shall remain but skin and bones. The flesh which they pampered and indulged, and made provision for, when they were fed to the full with the spoils of God's people, shall now consume away, that it cannot be seen, and the bones that were not seen shall stick out, Job 33:21. They keep their feet, and hope to keep their ground, crawling about as long as they can; but they must yield at last. The organs of sight, the outlets of sin, their eyes, shall consume away in their holes, shall sink into their heads or perhaps start out of them; their envious malicious, adulterous eyes, the eyes they had so often fed with spectacles of misery, these shall consume, which shall make not only their countenances ghastly, but their lives wretched. The organs of speech, the outlets of sin, their tongue, shall consume away in their mouth, whereby God will reckon with them for all their blasphemies against himself and invectives against his people. Thus their own tongues shall fall upon them, and their punishment shall be legible in their sin, as his was whose tongue was tormented in hell-flames. Thus Antiochus and Herod consumed away. 2. They shall be dashed in pieces one against another (Zac 14:13): A great tumult from the Lord shall be among them. But are tumults from the Lord, who is the God of order, and not of confusion? As they are the sin of those that raise them they are not from the Lord, but from the wicked one, and from men's own lusts; but, as they are the punishment of those that suffer by them, they are from the Lord, who serves his own purposes, and carries on his intentions, by the sins, and follies, and restless spirits, of men. It is of themselves that they bite and devour one another, but it is of the Lord, the righteous Judge, that thus they are consumed one of another (Gal 5:15); as Ahab was deceived by a lying spirit from the Lord, so Abimelech and the men of Shechem were divided, and so destroyed, by an evil spirit from the Lord, Jdg 9:23. Note, Those that are confederate and combined against the church will justly be separated, and set against one another; and their tumults raised against God will be avenged in tumults among themselves. And they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, to hold him from striking, or to bind him as his prisoner; nay, his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour, to strike and wound him. Note, Those that aim to destroy the church are often made to destroy one another; and every man's sword is sometimes set against his fellow, by him whose sword they all are. Some think this was fulfilled in the factions and dissensions that were among the Jews, when the Romans were destroying them all; for they had fought against the spiritual Jerusalem, the gospel-church; and to that well enough agrees Zac 14:14, Thou also, O Judah! shalt fight against Jerusalem; the Jewish nation shall be ruined by itself, shall die by its own hands; the city and country shall be at war with each other, and so both shall be destroyed. Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit - Rome was urged into ruin by its very strength. 3. The plunder of their camp shall greatly enrich the people of God, or the spoils of their country (Zac 14:14): Judah also shall eat at Jerusalem (so one learned interpreter reads it); people shall come from all parts to share in the prey; as when Sennacherib's army was routed before Jerusalem there was the prey of a great spoil divided (Isa 33:23), so it shall be now; the wealth of all the heathen round about, that had spoiled Jerusalem, shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance, that an equal dividend may be made among all the parties entitled to a share of the prize. Note, The wealth of the sinner is often laid up for the just, and the Israel of God enriched with the spoil of the Egyptians. 4. The very cattle shall share in the plague with which the enemies of God's church shall be cut off, as they did in divers of the plagues of Egypt (Zac 14:15): All the beasts that shall be in the tents of these wicked men, when God comes to contend with them, shall perish with them, not only beasts used in war, as the horse, but those used for travel, or in the plough, as the mule, the camel, and the ass. Note, The inferior creatures often suffer for the sin of man and in his plagues. Thus God will show his indignation against sin, and will make the creature that is thus subject to vanity groan to be delivered into the glorious liberty of the children of God, Rom 8:21, Rom 8:22.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it shall be in that day, that living…
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem,.... When it shall be light; and this is one of the things which will make it so; for by "living waters" are meant the Gospel, and the doctrines of it; compared to running "waters" for the sound of them, which will then go into all the earth; for the swiftness in which they shall proceed; for their rapidity and force in bearing all before them; for the great spread of them; and for their virtue and efficacy in cooling those who are inflamed with the fiery law; refreshing thirsty souls; purifying the hearts and lives of sinners, and making those that are barren fruitful: and to "living" waters, because they are the means of quickening dead sinners, and of reviving drooping saints; and because they serve to support and maintain a spiritual life, and nourish up unto eternal life, and direct the way to it, as well as give the best account of it: and these will come out of Jerusalem; which may design Jerusalem literally, which will be rebuilt at the time of the Jews' conversion; or mystically the church, the spiritual and heavenly Jerusalem; see Heb 12:22 reference seems to be had to the first ministration of the Gospel, which, according to prophecy, came out of Jerusalem, Isa 2:3.
Half of them towards the former sea; or the eastern sea, as the Targum, the Persian sea; and may signify that the Gospel shall be carried into the eastern parts of the world, into Persia, Tartary, and China, and other nations; and those great kingdoms shall become the kingdoms of Christ:
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and half of them toward the hinder sea; or the western sea, as the Targum, the Mediterranean Sea; and may denote the progress and success of the Gospel in the European parts of the world: and the meaning of the whole is, that the Gospel shall be carried from east to west, and preached all the world over, to the conversion of Jews and Gentiles, who, some think, are designed by the two seas; when the abundance of the sea shall be converted by it, and the forces and fulness of the Gentiles brought in, and all Israel saved:
in summer and in winter shall it be; there will be no summer of persecution, nor winter of coldness and indifference to hinder the ministry of the word: the phrase denotes the constant ministry of the word, and the duration of it; it shall be constantly preached all the year long, and as long as summer and winter last.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain In that day - When the days of ignorance,…
In that day - When the days of ignorance, and idolatry shall end. Living waters - The quickening, saving truths of the gospel, with all its ordinances in purity. From Jerusalem - The church of Christ, the true Jerusalem. The former sea - Or eastern sea. The hinder sea - Or western sea. In summer and in winter - Perpetually, without intermission, these waters shall never dry away, or lose their healing virtue.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Living waters shall go out] There shall…
Verse 8. Living waters shall go out] There shall be a wide diffusion of Divine knowledge, and of the plan of human salvation, which shall go out by apostles and preachers, first from Jerusalem, then to Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, the isles of the sea, Britain, c.
The former sea, and - the hinder sea] The Dead Sea and the Mediterranean see on Joe 2:20. These are metaphors.
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In summer] In time of drought; or in the countries where there was no knowledge of God, there shall these waters flow. The stream shall never cease; it shall run in summer as well as winter. These are living waters - perennial, incessant, and waters that shall preserve life. See Joh 7:37.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Zec 14:8-9. And it shall be in that day…
Zec 14:8-9. And it shall be in that day — Spoken of Zec 14:6, when the light shall not be clear, nor dark, that is, during the whole of the forementioned period; living waters shall go out from Jerusalem — The enlightening, quickening, and saving truths of Christianity, accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, shall proceed from the church of Christ, the true spiritual Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea — The eastern sea; and half of them toward the hinder sea — The western sea. They shall spread themselves eastward and westward, and on all sides; and even the sea, whether on the east or west, shall not be able to obstruct their progress; but, having watered and refreshed, enlightened, renewed, and cheered the continent, they shall make their way into the islands, and diffuse their renovating and gladdening influence even over them. In summer and in winter shall it be — Perpetually, without intermission; these waters shall never dry up, be obstructed in their course, or lose their healing, fructifying, and refreshing virtue. In other words, “the gospel, attended by the influences of the Holy Spirit, having begun its progress from Jerusalem, shall continue its course on every side, amidst all those changes of which summer and winter are an emblem: so that nothing shall totally impede its progress, till the Lord shall become King over all the earth, not only in right but in fact; till neither idols, false religion, nor antichristian power, shall remain as his rivals; till all princes shall submit to and serve him; and all the earth shall agree in one object and way of worship, and unite in submission and obedience to one Lord.” — Scott.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And it shall be, that living waters - Kimchi:…
And it shall be, that living waters - Kimchi: “This is what is said in the prophecy of Joel, ‘A fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord’ Joe 3:18; and in that of Ezekiel, ‘And behold there ran out waters.’ Eze 47:2.” Zechariah leaves to the mind to supply what the former prophets had said of the fertilizing life-giving character of those waters. He adds that they should pervade the whole land, west as well as east; “to the former,” rather “the Eastern Sea” , into which they would by nature flow, and toward “the hinder,” that is, the Western Sea, the Mediterranean, which natural waters could not “reach.” This their flow, he adds, should be perpetual , “These streams shall not dry up and their waters shall not fail”; therefore drought shall not lessen them, nor winter-cold bind them. “From Jerusalem as from a fountain shall stream forth living waters of wisdom and grace to all nations” .
Cyril: “Again he tells us, under a figure, that exceeding great and large shall be that outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the saints, especially when they shall be removed to that holy eternal life in the world to come. For now through faith in Christ we are enriched, as with an earnest, with the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. But after the Resurrection, sin being wholly taken away, the Holy Spirit will be in us, not as an earnest or in a measure; but richly bounteously and perfectly shall we enjoy the grace through Christ. He calleth, then, ‘living water,’ the Spirit which, he says, will come forth from the Jerusalem which is from above. But that the Holy Scripture is accustomed to liken the Divine Spirit to ‘water,’ the Giver thereof, the Son, accredits, saying, ‘he that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water’ Joh 7:38. This the Evangelist explains, ‘This spake He of the Spirit, which they who believe in Him should receive’ Joh 7:39. Since then the Spirit is life-giving, rightly does he liken it to that, which is life-giving to the frame.”
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Living waters; viz., the gospel of Christ. (Challoner) ---…
Living waters; viz., the gospel of Christ. (Challoner) --- Last: Mediterranean. (Haydock) --- The prophet now turns to the figurative Jerusalem. The earthly city was not well supplied with water. (Calmet) --- It was in the most dry and barren part of the country. (St. Jerome in Isaias xlix.) --- As much as the Mediterranean excels the Dead Sea, so much do the Gentiles surpass the Jewish converts in numbers. See chap. xiii 1. (Calmet) --- The true faith is Catholic in all places, and at all times. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain living waters-- (Eze 47:1; Joe 3:18).
living waters-- (Eze 47:1; Joe 3:18).
former sea--that is, the front, or east, which Orientalists face in taking the points of the compass; the Dead Sea.
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hinder sea--the west or Mediterranean.
summer . . . winter--neither dried up by heat, nor frozen by cold; ever flowing.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. When the kingdom of Jehovah is established, with…
8. When the kingdom of Jehovah is established, with Jerusalem as the center, the whole land will be blessed with fertility and prosperity.
Living waters — See on Joe_3:18. A picture of the powers producing extreme fertility.
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Former sea,… hinder sea — R.V., “eastern sea,… western sea” — the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean (see on Joe_2:20). The picture of the water flowing in both directions is meant to teach that the whole land will be benefited.
In summer and in winter — Most rivers in Palestine contain water only during the rainy season, from October until April; the promised streams will be perennial; they will retain their water and give out fertility all the year round.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 8. former sea, … hinder sea] Rather, eastern sea,…
8. former sea, … hinder sea] Rather, eastern sea, western sea, R. V.: i.e. the Dead Sea on the E., and the Mediterranean Sea on the W. Comp. Eze_47:1; Joe_3:18. This would be the natural watershed, the whole country being level and Jerusalem alone elevated above it, Zec_14:10.
in summer and in winter] “ut aquæ istæ nec gelu constringantur hiemis, nec æstatis nimio fervore siccentur.” Hieron. Comp. by way of contrast, Job_6:15-20.
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8–11. The Prosperity of the Land
Perennial streams flowing from Jerusalem both to the E. and to the W. shall irrigate and fertilise the land, Zec_14:8. One God shall be worshipped without a rival, Zec_14:9. The whole face of the country shall become a level plain, Jerusalem alone standing aloft on its ancient hills, Zec_14:10, the populous abode of blessing and security, Zec_14:11.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (8) Living waters.—The symbol of Divine knowledge and spiritual…
(8) Living waters.—The symbol of Divine knowledge and spiritual vitality (Joe_3:18; Ezekiel 47).
Former.—Or front, i.e., eastern (marg.)—meaning the Dead Sea.
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Hinder.—i.e., western, meaning the Mediterranean. These boundaries denote the whole of the Holy Land.
In summer and in winter.—The stream shall be perennial, not drying up in summer, as the Eastern wadis do.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 8-11. Then shall occur a season of joy.…
Vers. 8-11. Then shall occur a season of joy. The land shall be transformed and renewed, and the Lord shall be owned as the sole King of all the earth.
Living waters; i.e. water fresh, pure, and perennial, (Gen_26:19 Jer_2:13) a figure of the spiritual blessings and graces bestowed by God upon his Church. From Jerusalem, as the centre and representative of the kingdom of God, as in Zec_12:2. The city itself was, as we know, abundantly supplied with water by many conduits and subterranean channels; but standing, as it does, surrounded by hills higher than itself, it is physically impossible that the waters could literally flow as stated.
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The description is symbolical, though the natural features of the country are supposed to be changed in order to preserve very similitude. (comp. Eze_47:1, etc.; Joe_3:18) The former (eastern ) sea... the hinder (western) sea. The Dead Sea is tile eastern sea to one looking to sunrise from Jerusalem: the Mediterranean is the western sea, behind the observer"s back. Into every quarter the salutary stream shall flow. In summer and in winter. Neither drought nor frost shall stop their perennial flow. "Alike in times of peace and of persecution those waters shall continue their course" (St. Jerome); Septuagint, "In summer and in spring a rendering which seems to indicate the home of the Alexandrian Version.
Vers. 8-11. Living waters.
Emblematic of the gospel.
I SOURCE. "Jerusalem." Centre of supreme authority and law. The place of holy sacrifice. The city of the great King. Here is God"s throne. (Rev_22:1) "Salvation is of the Jews." "Of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came.
II DIRECTION. There is movement. Not arbitrary, but regulated. Not limited to one land, but for all people. "Beginning at Jerusalem." Such was the law; but from that starting point the messengers of salvation were to go forth to the whole earth. Water seeks the lowest level, and the gospel comes down to the poorest, the most despised, "the chief of sinners.
III AFFLUENCE. Rich supply ample to meet the needs of all. In the wilderness the rock waters followed the Israelites in all their wanderings. But this river is sufficient "for the whole world.
IV PERPETUITY. There are rivers that vary. They run part of the year, and then they fail. But this river never fails. Neither the winter"s cold nor the summer"s heat can affect its flow. There are rivers that have disappeared like old peoples and old civilizations but this river runs on throughout the ages with unchanging life and virtue.
V BENEFICENCE. Vitality. Life and the power of life. What so sweet and refreshing as the streams of pure water? Carry blessings far and wide. So with the gospel. Converting souls. Purifying society. Advancing the world in the highest forms of civilization. Grand future. Universal subjection. Universal homage. "One Lord. F.
The gospel river.
"And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be." The "former sea" here means the Dead Sea; the "hinder sea," the Mediterranean. The great populations of the world lie towards the west of Jerusalem, and these are to be refreshed by "living waters." Taking the passage as referring to the gospel, we will notice
I ITS NATURE AND ITS RISE.
1. Its nature. It is "living water." Water is the most precious element in nature; it may be regarded as the source, the substance, and the sustenance of all life. But then it is not so precious as the gospel. The gospel is often referred to in Scripture as the river of life, the pure water of life. It is a living water. Not a dead lake or stagnant pool, but a living stream.
2. Its rise. "It shall go out from Jerusalem." The gospel might be said to have commenced at Jerusalem. The apostles were commanded to commence there: "Beginning at Jerusalem." In Peter"s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the river might be said to have broken forth.
II ITS DIFFUSION AND CONTINUOUSNESS.
1. Its diffusion. "Half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea." It is to go from the east and from the west, from the sun"s rising to its setting. The gospel is for all climes. It is world wide in its provisions: adaptations, and claims.
2. Continuousness. "Summer and winter." In all seasons of human life, individually and corporately.
(1) It is constant in the fitness of its supplies for human wants. Men, through all changes, in all places, and through all times, want Divine knowledge, moral purity, heavenly forgiveness, fellowship with the Eternal. The man will never be born who will not require these things.
(2) It is constant in the fulness of its supplies for human wants. It is an inexhaustible river. After countless myriads have had their wants supplied, it remains deep and full as ever.
(3) It is constant in the availableness of its supplies for human wants. Faith is the great condition on which its blessings are communicated, and every man can believe. It is just that act of mind that comes within the power of the child and the adult, the learned and the rude, the savage and the sage, the bond and the free, to perform. How obvious, then, our duty and our interest!
CONCLUSION. How profoundly thankful should we be to Almighty Love for opening in our world such a "living" river as this! and how earnest should we be in our endeavours to let its waters flow into every heart and home and land, the world over! D.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem
Zec_14:8
Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem
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The living waters
Like all his predecessors, Zechariah speaks much of Christ.
Some of his prophecies, owing partly to the predominance of figurative and symbolical language, are difficult and obscure. In the text he refers to Gospel days and to the Gospel blessings. He speaks of the Gospel under the figure of living, springing, running waters; and under this figure he indicates to us the beginning, the progressive course, and the perpetual extension of the Gospel, together with its ultimate triumph, as seen in the universal dominion of the Messiah.
1. The character of the Gospel. We must think of the world as a desert, a vast moral waste, void of spiritual beauty and of moral life; and this is in strict accord with the actual condition of peoples apart from the Gospel. The land, the home, the heart, unvisited by the Gospel, is cursed with spiritual barrenness and moral death. If we caused a rivulet of living water to flow over a barren land, what would be the result? The desert land would soon cease to be barren. Let this land be ploughed, let the seed be cast into it, and what is the result? The desert becomes a garden; the wilderness a fruitful field, and the barren land a forest. So let the Gospel waters flow through the desert wastes of a sinners heart, or through the moral wastes of a country, and what a blessed transformation is the result! Death gives place to life, depravity to beauty, and barrenness to fertility. It was so in the beginning of Christianity. The power of the Gospel has been strikingly proved in the missions to Fiji.
2. The progress of the Gospel. The living waters go out from Jerusalem. Christianity was not a new religion. It was the development, the outgrowth of Judaism. But the waters were to flow in every direction, carrying spiritual fertility with them: everywhere turning the desolate heritages of the Gentile world into the garden of the Lord. Note also the constancy with which the living waters flow; in summer and winter shall it go. The summer heat usually dries up the rivulet. The host of winter congeals it; but these living waters shall flow on through summer and winter. How strikingly has this been illustrated all through the Christian centuries. Nothing has proved able to arrest or stay the progress of the Gospel.
3. The triumph of the Gospel. From the beginning the Lord Christ has indeed been King over all the earth, but in the text there is associated with the idea of kingly authority that of willing submission. He shall then be universally acknowledged Lord, every knee to Him shall bow, and every tongue confess Him. The day will surely come when men shall be blessed in Him, all nations shall call Him blessed. (Walford Green.)
The course of the Gospel
I. The designation of the Gospel. Here called living waters. It points out the purity of the Gospel. Not the stagnant pool, but the running stream. Holiness to the Lord is stamped on all its principles, commandments, and rites. It is a dispensation of mercy, but it gives no indulgence to the least sin. It points out the refreshment which it yields. How sweet are its offers of pardon to the awakened conscience! It points out also the fertility which the Gospel produces. Christianity aims at forming the love of God in the heart and conduct.
II. The place from which these waters issue. When Christ ordered repentance and remission of sins to be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, the banks within which these living waters had flowed were broken down, and the stream began to rush over the Gentile world. These waters flow from Jerusalem, as it is by the Church that they are communicated. They are brought to the Church not only that they may be improved, but diffused.
III. Mark the course of these living waters. The statement seems to intimate that the Gospel should bless the nations of the Eastern and of the Western world. There are various circumstances which indicate that a more extensive diffusion of the Gospel will soon take place.
IV. The continuance of the course of these living waters. Their flow shall neither be impeded by the drought of summer nor the frosts of winter. The effects of the Gospel on the souls of disciples are perpetual also. The knowledge it gives is everlasting light; the peace it yields is everlasting consolation; the love it inspires is a charity that never fails; and the holiness it forms is a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life. (Henry Belfrage, D. D.)
The Gospel river
I. Its nature and its rise.
1. Its nature. It is living water. Water is precious, but not so precious as the Gospel. That is the river of life, the pure water of life.
2. Its rise. It shall go out from Jerusalem. The Gospel might be said to have commenced at Jerusalem. Beginning at Jerusalem. In Peters sermon on the day of Pentecost, the river might be said to have broken forth.
II. Its diffusion and continuousness.
1. Its diffusion. Half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea. It is to go from the east and from the west, from its rising to its setting. The Gospel is for all climes. It is world-wide in its provisions, adaptations, and claims.
2. Continuousness. Summer and winter. In all seasons of human life individually and corporately.
(1) It is constant in the fitness of its supplies for human wants. Men, through all changes, in all places, and through all times, want Divine knowledge, moral purity, heavenly forgiveness, fellowship with the Eternal. The man will never be born who will not require these things.
(2) It is constant in the fulness of its supplies for human wants. It is an inexhaustible river. After countless myriads have had their wants supplied it remains deep and full as ever.
(3) It is constant in the availableness of its supplies for human wants. (Homilist.)
The changeful and the constant in life
I. The changes in this scene of our earthly life. Suggested by summer and winter. The changing seasons of nature may be regarded as only symbols of the constant mutations in our mortal life.
1. Human life has its changes. The man who reaches his three score years and ten, has run through all the seasons; the freshness of spring, the luxuriance of summer, the ripeness of autumn, and the dreary desolations of winter.
2. Human institutions have their changes. These changes are useful.
(1) They supply us with excitements to action.
(2) They impress us with the constant activity of God.
(3) They remind us that this is not our rest.
II. The constant in this scene of our earthly life. In summer and in winter shall it be. What is the it here, that is to remain so constant amidst the changes? The preceding part of the verse answers the question: living waters. The reference is undoubtedly to Christianity, which is the water of life. But our point is its constancy. In summer and winter it flows the same. The changes of the world have no influences on it: it continues the settled amongst the unsettled, the permanent amongst the transitory, the immortal amongst the dying. Though all flesh is as grass the Word of our God shall stand forever.
1. It is constant in the fitness of its supplies for human wants. Men through all changes, in all places, and through all times want Divine knowledge, moral purity, heavenly forgiveness, fellowship with the Eternal.
2. It is constant in the fulness of its supplies for human wants. It is an inexhaustible river.
3. It is constant in the availableness of its supplies for human wants. (Homilist.)
Summer and winter
I. The changeful in human experience. There is as much variety as in the difference between July and December; between all that is summerly and all that is winterly in our English climate.
1. There is this changefulness in the experience of individuals. In the difference of differing age: Robustness of youth, decrepitude of age. In the difference of differing health: Buoyancy of strength, feebleness of disease. In the difference of differing circumstances: Prosperity, anxiety, poverty; success, failure; popularity, neglect, or scorn. In the difference of differing moods: Joy, sadness; doubt, faith.
2. There is this changefulness in the experience of families. Unbroken home circles, and desolated hearths. Wedding days, and funerals. The cradle the centre of the household, and anon the coffin.
3. There is this changefulness in the experience of nations. Commercially there is a summer and a winter. So politically; so religiously. Rome, Greece, Spain, etc., have had summer and winter. We seem getting towards winter. But though all, whether individuals, families, or nations, thus have in the changes and chances of this mortal life their bright, genial, glowing summers, and their chill, gloomy, cruel winters, we notice--
II. The unchangeable provision God has made for mans needs. The prophet is telling of a river of blessing that, though it roll through winterly and summerly landscapes, is itself unchanged, perpetually the same. In summer and winter it shall be. That river is surely the revealed love of God in Christianity. What else fulfils what the prophet declares about--
1. The fountain,
2. The progress,
3. The winter of this river?
Gods love in Christ does. And that is the sublimely unchangeable it, which remains the same in all the summers and winters of human experience. (Urijah R. Thomas.)
Christianity
The Bible is full of promises. Some of them refer to temporal and some to spiritual things. Some relate to the prosperity of the Redeemers kingdom.
I. The dispensation of Christianity. Here are four things.
1. Its representation. It is called--living waters. This softens, purifies, refreshes the soul. It fertilises. It is described as living water,--water that springs up. Rising, or springing, up in thought, desire, prayer, pursuit, until it even reaches heaven. All is vitality where this living water is. It is the all-healing balm. It produces a principle of life which strengthens amidst bodily debility, and grows amidst bodily decay.
2. Its origin. Go out of Jerusalem. Our Lord was of Jewish parents; the apostles were Jews; and most of the first disciples were Jews. In the Acts of the Apostles we discover how these living waters, issuing from the land of Judea, spread abroad in every direction. In this we see--
(1) The accomplishment of prophecy.
(2) The proof that Christianity can bear investigation.
(3) Showing the goodness of God our Saviour. No nation was ever so favoured as the Jews. Yet they rejected the Messiah.
3. The directions of these living waters. Half of them toward the former sea; and half of them toward the hinder sea. The meaning is that these living waters were to spread all abroad. The Jewish Church was a local stationary witness for God. The Christian Church is not local and stationary, but is to go to the world. No dispensation of God can be final, but that which is universal. The blessings procured by our Saviours death, are offered freely to all men.
4. Its perpetuity. In summer and in winter shall it be. The most unfavourable seasons for rivers are here mentioned: yet they are not able to hinder the flow and efficacy of these living waters. earthly rivers may be frozen by the cold of winter, and dried up by the heat of summer; not so with the river of life.
II. The glorious results of Christianity. The Lord shall be King over all the earth. It is impossible to think of the introducing of Christianity, without expecting great results. The effects of Christianity are described in two ways.
1. By universal subjection. At first sight this seems to announce no more than what He is already. But we must distinguish between right and acknowledgment. The design of Christianity is to make men feel their obligations to God. There is a difference between Gods providential and Gods spiritual government. The great thing to be attained is, for God to reign in us, by His grace; for Christ to reign in the heart, in the conscience, and in the affections.
2. By uniformity of homage. One Lord, and His name one. Here the image changes, and the prophet leads us from the palace to the temple. Our Lord does not exclude personal distinctions in the Divine essence. Now there are lords many and gods many. Many have idols in their hearts. The time is coming when all these idols shall be utterly destroyed. His name one. The Lord shall be known by all the tribes of mankind, and in all places of His dominion. (Timothy Gibson, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Zec_14:8. Living] i.e. running, perennial, refreshing; opposed to stagnant,…
CRITICAL NOTES.
Zec_14:8. Living] i.e. running, perennial, refreshing; opposed to stagnant, noxious waters; an image of copious streams of gifts and grace from the Church, the source of all blessings. Eastern, i e. Dead sea; Western, i.e. Mediterranean.
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Zec_14:9.] In consequence of the universal spread of the gospel. Jehovah will be king] i.e. supreme, and his name one]. Idolatry will cease, and the unity of the Godhead unanimously recognized.
Zec_14:10.] The whole land turned] levelled to a plain to elevate Jerusalem, which will be restored to its former grandeur (Mic_4:1). This figurative of spiritual elevation. The boundaries cannot be determined with certainty.
Zec_14:11. Dwell] securely, without fear of attack or captivity (Isa_65:19). Utter destruction] Exemption from curse the ground of this security. No more civil or national punishments on account of sin, implying that the nation is holy.
Zec_14:12-15.] The hostile nations forming the final confederacy will be punished (cf. Isa_59:18; Ezekiel 37; Revelation 19). Plague] always an infliction from God. This stroke most terrible. “A living death; the corruption (Gal_6:8) of death combined in ghastly union with the conscious sensibility of life” [Fausset].
Zec_14:13. Tumult] Civil discord another way of destruction, created by panic (cf. Jdg_7:22; 1Sa_14:20). Lay hold] Seeking help, but finding arms turned against one another. “The grasp of the other’s hand is a hostile one in this case, the object being to seize him, and, having lifted his hand, to strike him dead” [Keil].
Zec_14:14. Judah] The whole covenant people will carry on the conflict at Jerusalem, seize as booty the costly possession of the heathen, and visit them with retribution for the plunder of Jerusalem (Zec_14:2).
Zec_14:15.] So complete will be the destruction, that beasts of burden, used in warfare, and all cattle will be destroyed by the same plague as men [Keil].
Zec_14:16.] Some heathen will be preserved, converted to God; go up] i.e. join in solemn acts of worship.
Zec_14:17. Not] come up; penalty will be inflicted upon absentees. Upon them no rain] i.e. the blessings of Divine grace will be withdrawn from them.
Zec_14:18. If] The menace repeated with special application to Israel’s hereditary foe. “Egypt will join the procession Zionwards, or feel the retributive curse.”
Zec_14:19.] Sin including its effects (cf. Num_32:23).
Zec_14:20. Bells] suspended from the neck, as tinkling ornaments. Holiness, &c.] The sacred symbol engraved upon the diadem of the high priest (Exo_28:36). The distinction between sacred and profane would cease. The commonest things would be holy, because devoted to God. Pots] Vessels used for cooking would be as holy, be upon a par with those considered most sacred, viz. “the bowls before the altar.”
Zec_14:21.] The same idea carried out fully. Not only temple-pots would be equal to sacrificial bowls, but every common pot in the city and in the land would be deemed as holy as the utensils of the temple, and would be freely used for sacrifice. Canaanite] No more godless members of the covenant nation; all worshippers would be righteous and sincere, and “the whole kingdom of God will be transformed by the Lord into a holy of holies (see Rev_21:22; Rev_21:27)” [Keil].
HOMILETICS
THE LIVING STREAM.—Zec_14:8-11
The blessings which should diffuse themselves in their abundance and value are set forth under the image of a stream; a parallel to which is found in Ezekiel’s waters which swept through the desert, healing stagnant pools and fertilizing scenes of death (Eze_47:1-12). Notice—
I. The source of the living stream. “Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.” Connected with the Christian Church are all the means of grace and the blessings which result from the diffusion of Divine truth. “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God.”
II. The direction of the living stream. “Half of them toward the former, i.e. the eastern or Dead Sea, into which they might naturally flow, and toward the hinder, i.e. the western or Mediterranean Sea, which natural waters could not reach.” It flows in all directions, without hindrance, “from sea to sea.”
III. The perpetuity of the living stream. The heat of summer shall not dry them, like the deceitful brook of Job; the frosts of winter will not bind them. These streams are not transient, like Cherith, nor muddy, like the Nile; but an unfailing supply in all seasons, turning the desolate heritages into the garden of the Lord. “In summer and winter shall it be.”
IV. The fertility of the living stream. The effect of this stream will be to subjugate the world to God. Idolatry will be renounced, and he will be acknowledged universal King. Kingdom after kingdom shall be won, until all willingly bow to him and crown him Lord of all. “All nations shall serve him.”
THE FUTURE EXALTATION OF ZION.—Zec_14:9-11
Nothing will prevent the perpetual flow of the living waters. The land will be levelled to a plain, the city elevated and restored to former grandeur. “Jerusalem, as the residence of the God-King, is the centre of the kingdom of God; and in the future this is to tower high above all the earth. The figurative description is attached to the natural situation of Jerusalem, which stood upon a broad mountain ridge, and was surrounded by mountains which were loftier than the city. The exaltation is a figurative representation of the spiritual elevation and glory which it is to receive” [Keil].
I. Zion will be completely restored. It will recover from the ruin of Zec_14:1. The rubbish of cities and countries in which God delights shall be taken away, and calamities end in the complete restoration of the Church. There will be a great moral awakening, from which streams of life shall issue to reconstruct society and change the world.
II. Zion will be securely inhabited. None shall go out by flight, nor be taken as captives (Zec_14:2; Zec_14:5).
1. The city will no more be exposed to danger. Neither captured nor plundered again. “No more utter destruction.”
2. The city will be no longer under a curse. Sin brought a curse, and a curse extermination (cf. Jos_6:18). It will be holy, no more tainted with an accursed thing (Mal_4:6), and a type of that city where “there shall be no more curse” (Rev_22:3).
3. The city will be perpetually secure. No danger without from hostile assaults, no danger from desolation within; not only safely inhabited, but permanently secure from that time. “There shall be no more utter destruction.”
III. Zion will be gloriously exalted. “And it shall be lifted up.” Lifted up above danger and ruin into perfect security and glory.
1. Honoured above other societies and cities.
2. Honoured by the supremacy of Jehovah (Zec_14:9). Gross polytheism and refined idolatry will cease. No other object of worship, no other God but Jehovah will be acknowledged. Fading crowns encircle the brows of earthly monarchs, but an eternal diadem belongs to him “on whose vesture and thigh is written the name King of kings and Lord of lords.”
THE CHASTISEMENT OF THE ENEMY.—Zec_14:12-15
These words might be taken in connection with Zec_14:1-7, but the prophetic pause in description of the purified Church directs special attention to the chastisement of the hostile nations.
I. The enemy are smitten with the plague from God. The Lord smites “all the people that have fought against Jerusalem.” The picture is most horrible and appalling. While standing their flesh shall consume away, their eyes decay in their sockets, and their tongue petrify in their mouth.
II. The enemy are confused with panic among themselves. “A great tumult from the Lord shall be among them.” Fear will disturb their ranks. Each will find a foe in his comrade, and while grasping another’s hand for help will find “every man’s sword against his fellow.” “When there is no unity in God each seeks his own, suspects another, and is ready to be fanned into a flame.”
III. The enemy are completely frustrated in their designs.
1. They failed in their means of defence. The cavalry, mules and camels, the entire encampment shared in the consternation and destruction (Zec_14:15).
2. They were overcome by God’s people. “Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem.” The whole covenant people took part in the conflict, and were victorious through God.
3. They were robbed of all their spoil. The wealth and apparel which they had taken from others were taken from them. Whatever the world takes from the Church shall be regained, and converted nations shall bring their treasures for the adornment and defence of Zion (cf. Isa_60:16-17).
THE CONVERTED REMNANT.—Zec_14:16-19
The nations that have taken part against Jerusalem shall be humbled; a remnant will acknowledge Jehovah, and as friends and allies worship with the people whom they sought to destroy. Their conversion is described as going up yearly to the feast of tabernacles at Jerusalem.
I. They observe the feast in the spirit of unity. Homage will be paid to Jehovah by voluntary worshippers and “commissioned representatives” in communion with the chosen race. Religious ordinances will become as a bond of union among the nations of the earth, make them feel and act as one people. From all quarters will they come; not in the spirit of enmity as before, not as in the days of monkish superstition, but in the spirit of love and fealty.
II. They observe the feast in a spirit of gratitude. The great feast reminds them of past deliverances and mercies. “In like manner the nations will celebrate the goodness which has brought them through their tedious and perilous wanderings in this life to the true and everlasting kingdom of peace and rest” [Lange]. In every heart Zion will be enthroned as the city of the great King. Then shall prayer and praise wait for God, and the vow be performed. To all the members of God’s family on earth will “her walls become salvation, and her gates praise.”
III. Nations who refuse to observe the feast will be punished. A punishment which God alone is said to inflict.
1. Absence of rain to some. “Upon them shall be no rain.” God only “gives rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
2. Plague is threatened to others. “If the family of Egypt go not up there shall be plague.” This is accounted for by some in the natural peculiarities of the country, which was refreshed by channels cut in the ground (Deu_11:10). But Egypt was an old and special enemy of Israel, depended upon rain for the overflowing of the Nile, and must either join in procession to Zion or feel the curse of God. What a lesson for us! The worst are not excluded from hope, may join the Church of God and receive his mercy. But God will suspend his favours from those who despise his ordinances. No rain will fall upon those that refuse his grace. “The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.”
THE HOLY CITY.—Zec_14:19-20
The meaning of these words seems to be, that the day will come when holiness will be the prevalent feature, and the actions of common life will be as much the worship of God as the sacrifices on the altar; when common things will be consecrated to God, and “Holiness to the Lord” inscribed everywhere.
I. The inhabitants of the city will be holy. “No more the Canaanite in the house.” No Canaanite in the Church, self-righteous in spirit and unholy in life; no Canaanite among the people. No godless member in the covenant nation; no people laden with sin and under the curse. “Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness.”
II. The transactions of the city will be holy. Business in the market will be as sacred as worship in the temple; the furniture of the house as holy as the vessels of the sanctuary. Wars and contentions will cease, trades and handicrafts will be hallowed, cooking-pots and drinking-cups consecrated to God. Restrictive ceremonies will be abolished, and everything in ordinary use will be employed in the spirit of devotion. “There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth.”
RELIGION IN COMMON LIFE.—Zec_14:20-21
The holiness of that day penetrates things secular as well as sacred, and is set forth in three symbols. Bells upon the horses as holy as the mitre of the priest; the meanest vessels of the temple as sacred as the holiest; and the utensils of domestic life consecrated as sacramental cups. We adapt from Wardlaw.
I. The religious spirit will predominate in the ranks of common life. No Canaanite to make gain or take advantage; no enmity between priests and people, but all ranks of life bound together by loyalty to Jehovah.
II. The religious spirit will predominate in the actions of common life. “Men are not to become monks or anchorites; the ordinary conditions of human life are not to be reversed; but, on the contrary, the infusion of grace will be so large and general that every rank and class will feel it, and its effects will be seen in all the relations of life, purifying and elevating without upturning or destroying” [Lange].
1. There will be no divorce between secular and sacred things. No divorce between morality and religion, between domestic life and the service of God.
2. There will be a recognition of God’s claims in secular and sacred things. Nothing withheld from God. The most solemn acts of the temple and the common duties of life—the offering of sacrifices and the yoking of horses—will be done for God. Persons and property devoted to him, and every department of life under the domain of conscience. “Her merchandise and her hire shall be for holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up” (Isa_23:18).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Zec_14:9-15.
1. The mercy of God (Zec_14:9-11).
2. The severity of God (Zec_14:12-15).
Zec_14:12-15. The precedent promises that were so great and glorious the prophet doth now further enlarge and illustrate. First the conquest of the enemies (Zec_14:12-15); next the profession of Christ among all nations of the world (Zec_14:16-19); and lastly the sanctity of the Church (Zec_14:20-21). The conquest of the enemies is set forth, first, by God’s strange judgments upon them (Zec_14:12); secondly, by the means—both they shall despatch one another, and Judah shall fight bravely against them (Zec_14:13-14); thirdly, their wealth and substance shall become a prey (Zec_14:14); fourthly, their horses of service and all the beasts they bring with them shall be as strangely plagued as the men themselves (Zec_14:15) [Trapp].
Zec_14:16-21.
1. The worship of God’s house.
2. The holy character of its attendants.
3. The punishment of those who neglect. “Those who desire to partake of the grace and salvation provided by Christ must ‘come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God.’ They must partake faithfully, joyfully, and reverently of the word and sacraments and other means of grace, and the refreshing rain and dews of the Holy Spirit will fall upon them. But if they will not comply with these conditions their souls will be parched and will wither away with spiritual drought” [Wordsworth].
Zec_14:20. Prevalent holiness.
1. Holiness is the sweet result of all dispensations toward the Church. 2. Nothing is so profane but it may be sanctified and made holy.
3. Holiness doth then bear full sway when that which was against God shall be consecrated to him, for the bells of the horses had been employed against the Church [Hutcheson].
Zec_14:20-21. Three things specially characteristic of “that day”—the period of the restoration of Israel, and of the fulness of the Gentiles.
1. The cessation of all the distinctions of ceremonial holiness. The sanctity of mere things shall no longer exist. No places give holiness or acceptance to sacrifices. Men “everywhere lift up holy hands” and find the same acceptance.
1. The universal prevalence of personal and domestic consecration to God.
3. Purity of ministry and membership in the Church of God. Learn—
1. The necessity of seeking true holiness—holiness of heart.
2. Study practically the duty of carrying religion into everything.
3. Let the Churches of Christ aim more and more at scriptural purity of communion [Wardlaw].
Holiness to the Lord.
1. The aim of worship.
2. The beauty of common things.
3. The rule of daily life. “In days of yore nothing was holy but the beautiful” [Schiller]. Happy day when holiness shall mark the Church of God, when seen in every purpose and in every action! “Then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.”
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 14
Zec_14:8. Living waters. The grand feature of the latter day is copious and continuous effusions of grace; no longer intermittent and scanty, or of small extent, but radiating in all directions at once, permanently filling every channel, and limited only by the wants of the race. Quickly but surely, with the same noiseless energy with which the great providential forces work, do these spiritual agencies perform their work [Lange].
Zec_14:11. Safely. The weakest believer is safe, because, believing, he is within the strongest of all defences [Anon.].
Zec_14:12-15. Plague. It is one of the greatest praises of God’s wisdom that he can turn the evil of men to his own glory [Bp. Hall].
Zec_14:16-18.Worship. It is for the sake of man, not of God, that worship and prayers are required; not that God may be rendered more glorious, but that man may be made better, that he may be confirmed in a proper sense of his dependent state, and acquire those pious and virtuous dispositions in which his highest improvement consist [Blair].
“Look to thy actions well;
For churches either are our heaven or hell” [G. Herbert].
Zec_14:20-21. Holiness to the Lord. Zechariah is one of the most sublime and impassioned among “the goodly fellowship of the prophets.” It seems as if the Spirit designed to teach the world by him, the last but one in the prophetic line, that if prophecy was to become mute (as it became for about four centuries after Zechariah) its silence was not due to any failure or exhaustion of power in the Divine author of prophecy. No; the light of the sunset of prophecy in Zechariah is brilliant and glorious as its noonday splendours. He passes on to the evangelization of the heathen, the conversion of the Jews, to the last struggle and overthrow of all antichristian powers, and to the full and final victory of Christ and the everlasting glory and felicity of his Church [Wordsworth].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 14:8 The life-giving waters . . . from Jerusalem…
14:8 The life-giving waters . . . from Jerusalem symbolize God’s life-giving presence among his people (see Ezek 47:1-12; Joel 3:18; John 7:37-39; Rev 22:1-2). • half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean: Divine blessings will extend both east and west, flowing continuously. They will never stop bringing healing (see Isa 30:23-26).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.