SHOWERS

Zechariah 10:1 – Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.

Welcome back, dear readers!  At the close of chapter 9 we found that God made promises of both spiritual and earthly blessings to his people.  He spoke of plentiful harvests of both corn and wine, which the Jews had not experienced for some time.  He also spoke of the joy that his people would experience when they received these blessings. 

The harvests mentioned here are dependent upon the former and latter rains.  Since most of us are not full-time farmers, let’s take a few moments to review this topic.

The ‘former’ rain refers to the showers/storms that come at the time the crop/seed is planted.  A substantial amount of water is needed at that time in order for the seeds to sprout, grow and put down roots.

If the seed receives too much water, it will rot.  If too little water is received, the seed will never sprout.  In either case, there will not be a harvest.     

The ‘latter’ rain refers to the showers that come in the weeks just before the harvest.  This moisture is critical for the full development of the grain.  For example, this rain supports the growth of the individual kernels of corn within the ear, making them full and plump.  

Too little rain at this time will result in ears of corn which are small, stunted or thin.  Too much rain (as in the case of a severe storm) will uproot the plants or destroy the ears, also resulting in failure of the crop.  

Obviously, the correct amount of water at the right time is instrumental in receiving the most bountiful harvest possible.  (Deuteronomy 11:14, Jeremiah 5:24).  

If Israel’s crops failed or the yields were small/stunted it would be devastating for the people and their livestock.  In some cases, it could result in a life or death situation.  But Israel does not need to worry, as long as she is faithful to God.

Zechariah reminds the Jews that it is God who provides the rain which produces the plentiful harvests.  He is the one who makes the storm clouds, which contain lightening, thunder and rain. 

The prophet also reveals that God is ready, willing and able to give his people these needed showers at the right time and in the right amount.  All they need to do is seek/ask the Lord for this blessing.  Because God is always faithful to his promises, he will answer their prayers and bring the rain they need.  

The former and latter rains are one example of the earthly/temporal blessings of God.  But these rains also have a spiritual parallel as well. 

Hosea 6:3 – Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

Some commentators view the law/Old Testament covenant as the former rain, because this covenant represented a new season – it was the official or legal beginning of reconciliation between God and man.  Throughout the season of the Law, God’s people grew and developed.  They rooted themselves in the ways of God.

And when the time was right, God also brought mankind the latter rain – the gospel message/New Testament covenant.  Through this blessing of God, man could experience a richer, fuller relationship with his creator and redeemer.  For example:

• Fellowship with God was no longer limited to the Jews; it was opened up to Gentiles as well. 
• Holy Spirit could now live within the heart of all believers. 
• Through Holy Spirit, God blesses his followers with spiritual gifts which were formerly only available to a limited few.
• All children of God now have direct access to his presence and throne room.  

What a blessing the latter rains have been for all mankind!    

Other bible scholars offer a similar but slightly different interpretation.  Their theory says that both rains refer to a level or measure of the love, favor and spiritual blessings of God.  The former rains of God’s spiritual blessings were fewer; they were limited in scope and design, being generally available only to the Jews and then only to certain classes of the Jews such as prophets, priests and kings.

However, under the church age/age of grace, Jews and Gentiles alike may be drenched in the latter rain of God’s spiritual blessings.  All believers in Christ are now prophets and royal priests before him (I Peter 2:9). 

As such, men and women alike can experience the spiritual gifts of Holy Spirit.  All believers can receive dreams and visions, all can enter into the throne room of God with praise and thanksgiving, all can receive gifts of tongues, words of wisdom, gifts of healing, etc. 

In addition, we know that Holy Spirit will be working in all of our lives to promote the growth of the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, patience, kindness, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23).

Zechariah’s message is clear – in both the temporal and spiritual realms, it is God that gives us the former and latter rains of blessing.  These gifts are bestowed upon those who seek them from God.     

Zechariah 10:2 – For the household gods utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; they tell false dreams and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd.

It was not the fault of the Lord that the Jews were experiencing hardship and lack.  He was ready, willing and able to supply the Jews with whatever they needed and much of what they wanted (both spiritual and temporal), but they responded to him in unbelief, and thus closed the door of his favor. 

For example, the Jews who returned to Jerusalem after the captivity had given up on rebuilding the temple because they did not believe that God was going to give them success in this venture.  Then they grumbled and complained that they were not prospering, either spiritually or materially (Haggai 1:6-11).

They were in danger of following the exact same path their forefathers had taken when they rejected the promises of God – the vain path of false idols and heathen gods.

The Jews of past generations (just before the captivity) prayed and sacrificed to teraphim, which were small household idols made by the Jews themselves.  They also consulted false prophets and soothsayers who served (and supposedly spoke for) these idols, but every single prophesy they spoke was either utter nonsense or an outright lie.    

Even the dreams and visions which they claimed to have seen were nothing more than tissues of lies and deceit.  Thus, any comfort the Jews derived from these false idols or their prophets was vain, empty and worthless. That false comfort soon gave way to hardship and fear because, as we would expect, these heathen gods were utterly incapable of providing the showers of blessing that the Jews needed:

Jeremiah 14:22 – Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?  Or can the heavens give showers?  Are you not he, O Lord our God?  We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.

But that was not the worst of it – not only had Israel gained absolutely nothing by seeking false idols, they lost the favor of the one true God and they were sent into captivity. 

At that point, they truly did not have a spiritual shepherd or government ruler to lead and protect the nation.  Only then did they seem to discover (much too late) that all of the promises made by the false gods of the Gentiles were vain lies, empty consolations and utter nonsense!

The current generation of Jews (those of Zechariah’s day) was not yet trusting in the same false gods, but they were actively marrying foreign women who still served these same idols and still sought out satanic soothsayers and diviners.  If they continued down that path, it was only a matter of time before the Jews were ensnared once again.

So in his great mercy, God reaches out to the current generation of Israel through Zechariah and reminds them what happened to their forefathers; he shows them the folly of praying to vain idols that cannot hear, or speak or act. 

It is chilling to think that this warning against unbelief is spoken to the Jews as they stare at the ruins of the former temple.  It was a stark reminder that only Jehovah, the true God, can give the former and latter rains of blessing which the Jews needed to remain a nation.

So it is in the spiritual realm as well.  The Jews have, even to this day, rejected the truth of God and hardened their hearts against King Jesus, the true Messiah and Shepherd of Israel. 

As a result of their spiritual blindness, they remain as sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus longs to gather the Jews to himself.  He longs to bless and prosper them with all the spiritual blessings available in the former and latter rains, but sadly they remain in a state of wandering where they are miserably oppressed and afflicted by their enemies.

Zechariah 10:3 – My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah, and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.

There can be no doubt that as a whole, the children of Israel were all guilty of forsaking the Lord.  However, here we see that God holds the leaders (anyone who had a position of authority over the common people) to a higher standard. 

His anger is directed against the shepherds of Israel.  This group included the civil leaders (kings, governors, judges, etc) as well as spiritual leaders (priests, scribes and teachers).  Many of them were guilty of openly mocking the laws of God.

For example, let’s consider the priesthood.  When a priest (or prophet or king) accepted his position, he was anointed or set apart for use by the Lord.  Scripture tells us that the priests were anointed on the ear, the thumb and the big toe:

Exodus 29:20 - Then shall you kill the ram, and take of its blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.

Though scripture is not definitive about why the anointing was done in this manner, it has often been surmised that the priests were anointed:

• On the ear - that they might clearly hear the words of the Lord when he spoke. 
• On the thumb - that their hands might always be ready to perform the work of the Lord. 
• On the big toe - that they might always be ready to walk in the ways of the Lord. 

As we look through the Old Testament just prior to the captivity, it isn’t difficult to see that many of the leaders who should have been committed to serving the Lord and leading the people in his ways, were corrupt. 

Instead of faithfully discharging their offices and thus keeping the common people (and the nation) on the path of God’s blessing, they rejected the Lord.  They encouraged the people to worship idols, seek council from lying spirits and false prophets and participate in witchcraft. 

Sadly, Judah did not learn her lesson even after she was conquered by Babylon.  At that time, false prophets arose who instructed the Jews remaining in the land to rebel against the king of Babylon.  But God spoke through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel warning them to stay and serve the king of Babylon; he had NOT spoken through these lying prophets:

Jeremiah 27:9-10 - Therefore hearken not you to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon:  For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and you should perish.

We also know that some of the Jews taken into captivity were secretly praying to false idols and seeking wisdom through sorcery, as detailed in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel. 

The bottom line is that corrupt leadership played a pivotal role in the downfall of the nation and somehow, during the captivity, God judged the leaders for their folly.  

But, hallelujah, captivity was not the end of the story!   The God who corrects his children is also the God who blesses them. 

At the time this prophesy was given to Zechariah, the punishment of the captivity was over.  Jehovah was ready to once again lift his people up and bless them.  He made this very plain when he said, ‘The Lord of hosts cares for his flock’. 

God also promised that he ‘will make them (Judah) like his majestic steed in battle’.  What does that mean?  

The overall sense is that just as a war horse shows strength and courage in battle, so would the house of Israel show strength and courage in battle against their enemies, both physical and spiritual. 

In the book of Job, the Lord provides us with a graphic description of a war horse (you can read the entire description in Job 39:19-25).  Here are some of the characteristics which God has given to this remarkable animal:

• He is strong and mighty. 
• He can run swiftly and jump without difficulty. 
• The sound of his snorting terrifies his enemies. 
• He welcomes the opportunity to go to war; he does not turn back when he sees weapons of the enemy.
• He laughs at fear and is not dismayed. 
• He is confident in his rider, who is equipped with a quiver of arrows, a flashing spear and a javelin. 
• He smells the battle from afar and with fierceness he runs to meet it. 

Overall, it is clear that the war horse is at home in battle.  He does not fear or turn away; he desires to go to war, because that is what he was created to do.

In the same way, God has created his people to be his majestic war horse in the battle for planet earth.  Through the power of Holy Spirit, God has made us strong and mighty: 

• Satan and all his minions must bow when we speak the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:10). 
• With God’s help, we can run through a troop and leap over walls (II Samuel 22:30).  
• When the enemy comes to engage us, we have nothing to fear; we are confident in Jesus Christ our King (Hebrews 13:6). 
• Knowing that we have are destined to overcome through Christ (John 16:33), we should relish the opportunity to wrestle against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

This was a powerful and encouraging word that God was giving to the men of Zechariah’s day, and it is still encouraging to us as well!

Zechariah 10:4 – From him shall come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler – all of them together.

God goes on to reveal that ‘from him’ or from the midst of the Jewish nation (specifically the tribe of Judah), would come a cornerstone, a tent peg, and a battle bow.

 Cornerstone:  A cornerstone is a stone that forms the base of the corner of a building, joining together two walls.  This particular stone is laid first; it is the rock upon which the weight of the entire structure rests.  If it is not perfectly square and stable, the whole building will be precarious/unsafe and in danger of failing.

A cornerstone can also be defined as an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.  

As I am sure you are aware, scripture tells us that Jesus is the chief cornerstone of our faith.  He is the sure foundation upon which the church rests and because he is divine/perfect, the church is eternally stable and victorious.

Ephesians 2:19-21 - … you are ...members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being jointed together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.   

(See also I Peter 2:4-10, I Corinthians 3:9-11, Psalms 118:22-23, etc). 

Tent Peg:  Chances are that most of us are unfamiliar with the reference to the tent peg.  But that was not the case for the children of Israel – they understood exactly what God was saying to them.  What did they know that we don’t?      

To begin with, your translation may say ‘nail’ or ‘pin’ instead of tent peg.  This term refers to a nail, spike or pin which holds parts of a building together.  This reference is also used in regards to organizations.  When speaking in terms of an organization, the ‘nails’ or ‘pins’ refer to powerful, important or distinguished persons within the group, who keep the organization together. 

The Lord uses this same word to describe Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.  This man was the steward or administrator of the palace when Hezekiah was king of Judah. 

As you know, Judah faced a grievous trial when the Assyrian army came to invade Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah.  At that time, Shebna (steward of the palace) became haughty and abused his power to benefit himself.  The Lord was very angry with Shebna and through the prophet Isaiah, judgment was pronounced against him (Isaiah 22:15-19).

By contrast, Eliakim demonstrated loyalty, valor and good leadership during the Assyrian crisis.  By the word of the Lord, Eliakim replaced Shebna as steward of the palace.

God describes Eliakim as ‘my servant’ and a ‘father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah’ (Isaiah 22:20-21). 

The Lord goes on to say that Eliakim would not only receive all of the authority that Shebna possessed, he would be trusted with the ‘key of the house of David’.  This was a figurative way of saying that he would sustain the government on his shoulders; he would be a key person in the rule of the King.   

Furthermore, (according to the word of the Lord) what Eliakim declared open, no one would shut and what he decreed as shut, no one would open (Isaiah 22:22).  In other words, all access to the king and royal house would be through him; there would be no other way to approach the king.   

God declared that he would fasten Eliakim like a peg in a secure place, and he would become a throne of honor to his father’s house (Isaiah 22:23).  In other words, he was the nail or pin that held the kingdom together.  The nation trusted and depended upon him.

Clearly, Eliakim was a type or picture of the Messiah:

• Jesus our Messiah came to earth as a servant to all the inhabitants of the world (Matthew 20:26-28). 
• He carries the authority of the Father and only through him can we have access to God (John 14:6). 
• Jesus possesses the key to the house of David, because he is a descendant of David.  He also possesses the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:19) as well as the keys of death and hell (Revelation 1:18). 
• Jesus will sustain the government of the kingdom upon his shoulders (Isaiah 9:6).

Battle Bow:  This refers arms and/or military skills.  The implication is that through the bow, people would be protected from any and all assailants.

There can be no question that Jesus is the ultimate warrior.  By the power of his word, his enemies are slain.

Revelation 19:15-16 – From his [Jesus’] mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations and he will rule them with a rod of iron.  He will treat the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords.

We too have the word of God which we can use as a sword in spiritual battle to defeat the kingdom of darkness (Ephesians 6:17).  When we pair this sword with our shield of faith and helmet of salvation, we are well equipped to defeat any and all enemies.  

From him every ruler (your translation may say ‘oppressor’) - all of them together:  One interpretation of this phrase says that the oppressor is the officer who exacts tribute from the subjects under his authority.  There was a time when other nations oppressed Israel and made her pay tribute, but a day was coming when the tables would be turned – God would empower Israel in such a way that she would be victorious over her enemies and subject them to tribute.    

A second interpretation says that God will cause rulers and leaders to arise from among his people who will enable the flock to successfully resist/overcome their enemies. Many commentators believe these rulers refer to the apostles of Christ, who preached and expounded the word of God and assisted in forming the church.

While we may not completely understand every aspect of this amazing prophesy, one thing is crystal clear:  Jesus the Messiah, born of the tribe of Judah, is the cornerstone, the tent peg and the battle bow of the church!

Zechariah 10:5 – They shall be like mighty men in battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall put to shame the riders on horses.

God declares that ‘they’ (the people of God), would be mighty in battle. 

For the people of Zechariah’s day, this meant that eventually Israel would defeat her enemies.  It would be as if they had been trampled on; they would become like mire in the streets – something worthless, foul and despicable. 

For the church, this means that eventually we will be victorious over Satan and his minions.  The forces of darkness will not only be defeated, they will be recognized as worthless, foul and despicable.

It is obvious that we could never win such a victory by fighting in our own power.  We must rely on God.    

We are weak, but Jesus infuses us with his divine strength and power; his strength is clearly displayed and made perfect in our weakness (II Corinthians 12:9).  We are safe because he protects us.  We are victorious because the one who leads us in battle has already defeated Satan.  His victory is our victory!

On the other hand, the armies of darkness (riders on horses) will be confounded and defeated.  Regardless of their natural strength, cunning or skill, the Lord will bring down them down in the midst of their arrogance and pride.  They will pass away just as mist burns up at the rising of the sun.    

Let me offer you some encouragement and relief:

In today’s post, we noted that God provides both former and latter rains to his people.  These ‘rains’ include both physical and spiritual blessings, which are necessary for us to be fruitful in the kingdom of heaven.

What do you need to further your ministry in the kingdom? 

It might be something in the physical realm such as new partners in your work, additional resources, a permit of some kind, or even a building.

Or it might be something in the spiritual realm such as wisdom, knowledge or discernment.  You may be in need of a break through over a demonic stronghold.

Perhaps, at some point in the past, you have been overwhelmed by these needs.  You may have struggled or worn yourself out trying to acquire what you need in your own strength.  If so, I have some good news for you - God is standing by, ready, willing and able to pour out his rain upon you!  

You can confidently approach the Father with all of your requests/needs knowing that he is always faithful to his promises.  He will give you exactly what you need at exactly the right time because he desires for you to be fruitful in his kingdom.  So whatever you need, ask!      

Let me offer you some strength:

God has promised to make his people his majestic battle steed.  In other words, he has created us to be successful partners with him in the war against darkness.  If you think about it, you will see what a blessing this truly is. 

After all, God doesn’t need our help to defeat Satan; he could do that as easily as an elephant can squish a spider.  But for his own divine reasons, God had chosen to partner with us.  He has given us an opportunity to exercise faith in him, to stand on his promises and to experience victory over evil.  Frankly, that is much more satisfying and exciting than simply sitting on the sidelines doing nothing!       

The bottom line is that when we partner with God, victory is assured.  That thought greatly encouraged the Jews of Zechariah’s day to continue fighting their enemies, and it should encourage the church to continue spreading the gospel message to a lost and dying world.