Zechariah 14:1-5: a reflection

1Behold, a day of the LORD comes, when your plunder will be divided within you. 2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5You shall flee by the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel. Yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. The LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with you.

Zechariah foresees a day of great trouble, when the nations gather against Jerusalem and the city is hard pressed. But into that dark day comes a decisive intervention: Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations. His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives; the mountain will split, making a way of escape for his people. And the vision ends with a great promise: The LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. God himself will come to fight for his people and to reign.

Notice the hope at the heart of this vision: the LORD himself will come. When the situation is at its darkest, when the nations are gathered and the city hard pressed, God does not remain distant; he comes, he goes out to fight, he stands upon the earth, he makes a way of escape. The vision looks forward to the day when God himself will come to set things right, to defeat what opposes him, and to reign. His coming is the great hope beyond all the trouble.

That hope is fulfilled, and yet to be completed, in Christ. He came once, and he will come again; the day is coming when the Lord will return to make all things right, to defeat every evil, and to reign. When the present seems dark, when trouble presses and evil seems to have the upper hand, hold onto this hope: the Lord will come. He will not leave things as they are; he is coming to set the world right and to reign. Live in the hope of the coming of the Lord, who will come to fight for his people and to make all things new. The darkness is not the end; the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.

Lord, Zechariah foresaw a dark day when the nations gathered against Jerusalem, but into it came a decisive intervention: the LORD himself going out to fight, standing on the earth, making a way of escape, and the promise that the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. Give me that hope. When the situation is at its darkest, you do not remain distant; you come. And thank you that this hope is fulfilled, and yet to be completed, in Christ, who came once and will come again to make all things right, to defeat every evil, and to reign. When the present seems dark, when trouble presses and evil seems to have the upper hand, help me hold onto this hope: the Lord will come. You will not leave things as they are; you are coming to set the world right and to reign. Help me live in the hope of your coming, who will come to fight for your people and make all things new. The darkness is not the end; you will come.