Zechariah 10:6
Ver. 6. And I wilt strengthen the house of Judah,.... Both with internal and external strength, so that they shall be able to stand their ground against enemies of every sort:
and I will save the house of Joseph: the ten tribes, such of them that shall be found, for all Israel shall be saved, Ro 11:26 not only temporally, but spiritually, with an everlasting salvation:
and I will bring them again to place them; there is but one word in the original text; it is composed of two words, as Kimchi observes, of bwv, "to return", and bvy, "to sit" or "dwell" {o}, quietly, constantly, and at ease; and our version takes in both senses: the meaning is, that these people should be returned from the state and condition and from each of the places they are in, and be settled either in their own land, or in Gospel churches, under a Gospel ministry, enjoying Gospel ordinances, or in both:
for I have mercy upon them; which is the spring and source of all the above benefits promised, or that are after mentioned; even of the covenant and its blessings; the mission of Christ, and salvation by him; regeneration, pardon, and eternal life; hence they that had a "loammi" upon them, and were not the people of God, now will be his people; and those who had not obtained mercy shall obtain it, even those that were concluded in unbelief:
and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; or rejected them from being his people; which was done when the natural branches, the Jews, were broken off, and the Gentiles of the wild olive tree were grafted in; when their civil and church state were dissolved, and their city and temple destroyed:
for I [am] the Lord their God; covenant interest always remains, and is the source of all the blessings of grace, and will be of the conversion of the Jews, Ro 11:26: and will hear them; when, the Spirit of grace and supplication being poured upon them, they shall cry unto the Lord, and look to him for salvation. The Targum is,"and I will receive their prayer.''{o} Mytwbvwhw "et reverti et habitare faciam", Burkius. Zechariah 10:7Ver. 7. And [they] of Ephraim shall be like a mighty [man],.... What remain, and shall be found of the ten tribes, shall be as is said of Judah, or the Jews of the two tribes, Zec 10:5:and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: they shall be filled with inward and spiritual joy, through the love of God shed abroad in their heart; and through the Gospel of Christ having a place there; and through the blessings of divine grace, those streams of love, and which flow in the Gospel, and make glad the hearts of God's people; all which are comparable to wine:yea, their children shall see [it], and be glad; they shall see the strength, victory, and salvation of their fathers, and the joy they shall be possessed of, and join with them in it, having a share in the same blessings they are partakers of:their heart shall rejoice in the Lord; in the person and offices of Christ, who will now be known by the spiritual seed and offspring of the church, and in the great salvation wrought out by him, and in all the blessings of grace that accompany it. The Targum is,"their heart shall rejoice in the word of the Lord;''the essential Word, the Son of God. Zechariah 10:8Ver. 8. I will hiss for them,.... Or "whistle for them" {p}; the word signifies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, the motion of the lips with the voice, and is a sign of calling; and so the Targum renders it, I will cry or call for them; and it denotes the call of them by the Gospel, which is the voice of Christ, which is soft, sweet, and melodious; is a sound of love, grace, and mercy; of peace, pardon, life, and salvation: the allusion seems to be to the shepherd gathering his sheep together with his pipe or whistle, and which was a reed; and so may denote the weakness of the instrument, the ministry of the word in itself, which is made the power of God unto salvation:and gather them; from the places where they are scattered, into their land; or, by effectual calling, out from the state and condition in which they are, and from among the men of the world, to the Lord himself, as their Redeemer and Saviour; and to him for pardon and righteousness; and into his churches, and communion with him there: Kimchi observes, that some interpret this verse of future time; and Jarchi says it relates to it; and in the Talmud {q} it is applied to the times of the Messiah; where they speak of a bird called "racham", which we translate the gier eagle, De 14:17 and they say it is so called, because, when that comes, mercies come into the world, which this word signifies. R. Bibi bar Abi says, when it sits, it makes a whistling or hissing, from whence it is called "sarakrak", a word derived from what is here used; and when it sits on the ground, and hisses or whistles, the Messiah will come, as it is said, "I will hiss for them", &c.; the gloss is, when it stands not, but sits and chirps, it is a sign of good news. The design, seems to be to show, that the Messiah's coming is owing mercy, and would be good news, which the Gospel publishes.For I have redeemed them; from sin, Satan, the law, death, and hell, and every enemy, by his precious blood, and the sacrifice of himself when here on earth; and this is the foundation of the effectual calling of any and every sinner; and will be the reason of the conversion and ingathering of the Jews in the latter day; they being a people redeemed and purchased by the blood of Christ, Isa 43:1:and they shall increase as they have increased; either when in Egypt, or in the days of Solomon; their number shall be as the sand of the sea, Ho 1:10 a nation shall be born at once; they shall be multiplied, and not be few, and glorified, and not be small; yea, the place shall be too strait for them to dwell in, Jer 31:18.{p} hqrva "sibilabo", i. e. "fistula pastorali", Grotius, Burkius. {q} T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 63. 1. Zechariah 10:9Ver. 9. And I will sow them among the people, The people of God in the Gentile world: this is to be understood of the conversion of the Jews, when they will become the good seed that hear the word, and understand it, and bring forth fruit; and of their being known, acknowledged, and reckoned among the people of God, who now are not; and of their being planted in Gospel churches, where the word is truly preached; the ordinances are faithfully administered; the Lord grants his presence, and saints have communion one with another; to be in such a fruitful soil, and in such sacred enclosures, fenced by the power and grace of God, is a great happiness:and they shall remember me in far countries; they shall call to mind what their ancestors did to Christ, and mourn on account of a pierced Saviour; they shall remember him in the ordinance of the supper, being in a Gospel church state; they shall remember what he did and suffered for them, and his love to them in all, and that with faith, affection, and thankfulness:and they shall live with their children; a very happy, comfortable, temporal life; and they shall live a spiritual life; a life of faith on Christ; of communion with him, and of holiness from him, and to his glory: and their children also shall live the same life, being regenerated and quickened by the same grace; these are the church's children:and turn again; that is, when they shall turn again, either to the Lord, shall be converted unto him; or return to their own land. Zechariah 10:10Ver. 10. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt,.... The Targum paraphrases it,"and as I brought them out of the land of Egypt, so will gather their captivity out of Assyria;''suggesting there would be a likeness between the one and the other. Egypt may denote the state of distance and bondage in which all men are by nature; and the Jews, at their conversion, will be brought out of it, into the glorious liberty of the children of God, by the mighty arm of the Lord, according to his purposes and promises. Moreover, as Cocceius observes, Egypt may signify Rome, or the Romish jurisdiction, which is spiritually called Egypt and Sodom, Re 11:8 for darkness, idolatry, tyranny, and cruelty; and out of which the Jews, as many of them as are there, will be brought at the time of their conversion:and gather them out of Assyria; which may design the Turkish or Persian dominions, or both, as the above commentator suggests; from whence the Jews, as many as are in those parts, will be brought into their own land, as follows; see Isa 11:11:and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; Gilead was a land of pasture, and signifies "a heap of testimonies"; and may mystically intend the Scriptures, which testify of Christ, and direct to green pastures, beside the still waters: and Lebanon, that goodly mountain, and hill of frankincense, and where cedars grew, may design the church, whither the converted Jews will be brought, and worship before it, Re 3:9 or both may literally be understood, which they shall return unto; Gilead being, as Kimchi observes, beyond Jordan eastward; and Lebanon, comprehending the whole land of Israel, on this side of it:and [place] shall not be found for them; they will be so numerous; see Isa 49:20 the Targum is,"and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and the sanctuary, and it shall not be sufficient for them;''that is, to hold them. The Septuagint render it, "and not one of them shall be left": all Israel shall now be converted and saved, though their number will be as the sand of the sea, Ho 1:10. Zechariah 10:11Ver. 11. And he shall pass through the sea with affliction,.... Either the people of the Jews, as Israel of old did, when they came out of Egypt, to which the allusion is; or the wind shall pass through the sea, as Aben Ezra supplies it, and it shall become dry; that is, the river of Egypt: or "affliction" {r}, as many supply it, shall pass through the sea; the nations, which are many as the sea, as Kimchi interprets it; and so may design that hour of temptation that shall come upon all the earth, Re 3:10 or with which the kingdom of the beast, who rose up out of the sea, and consists of many waters, people, tongues, and nations, will be afflicted, Re 13:1 which the Lord shall pass through and smite; or it may in general denote the sea of this world, and the afflictions of it, which the Lord causes his people to pass through, and brings them out of them:and shall smite the waves in the sea: that is, the Lord shall smite them; repress afflictions, which are like the proud waves, not suffering them to proceed further than is for his glory and his people's good, and remove all obstacles in their way; see Isa 11:15 or destroy their enemies, which are like the proud waters, that otherwise would go over their souls, and overwhelm them; and particularly the antichristian states, at the pouring out of the vials, signified by the sea, and by fountains and rivers, Re 16:3. Kimchi explains it of the multitude of the people:and all the deeps of the river shall dry up; not Nile, the river of Egypt, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra {s}, but the river Euphrates; see Re 16:12 the drying up of which signifies the destruction of the Turkish empire; and the Targum paraphrases it,"all the kings of the people shall be confounded:''and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down; the pride of the Ottoman empire, of which the old Assyria is a part, and which has been large and powerful, that shall be destroyed; this will be at the passing away of the second woe; and then quickly comes the third, which is as follows, Re 11:14:and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away; all rule and government shall cease; see Ge 49:10 meaning that the kingdom of the antichristian beast of Rome, called Egypt, Re 11:8 shall be at an end; which will be at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, and upon and through the pouring out of the seven vials. So the Targum, the dominion of the Egyptians shall be taken away; or its rod, with which it has smote, hurt, and greatly oppressed and afflicted the saints; persecution shall now cease; it will not be in the power of the Romish antichrist to persecute any more.{r} Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus, Calvin, Drusius, Cocceius. {s} So Stockius, p. 891. Zechariah 10:12Ver. 12. And I will strengthen them in the Lord,.... Not the Egyptians and Assyrians, but the Jews, as in Zec 10:5, the Targum is,"I will strengthen them in the word of the Lord;''in the Messiah, by his power, and in the grace that is in him; and their faith and hope in him, and love to him: or "by" {t} him; so that, through him strengthening them, they will be able to do all things; to exercise grace; perform duty; withstand temptation; oppose indwelling sin; bear the cross of Christ; endure afflictions; engage with all their spiritual enemies, and conquer them: for the words may be rendered, "I will cause them to prevail", or "overcome in the Lord" {u}; all their enemies, temporal and spiritual; and even to be more than conquerors through him that has loved them:and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord; walk in him, the way to the Father, to heaven and happiness; walk by faith on him, in his strength, and in imitation of him; walk according to his Gospel, calling on his name, professing and worshipping him; and walk in his church and ordinances, agreeably to his will; see Mic 4:5. Kimchi owns that this whole chapter belongs to the times of the Messiah, as well as the former. The words may be considered as a testimony to the doctrine of the Trinity; that I, Jehovah the Father, will strengthen them in Jehovah the Son; and they shall walk up and down in the name of the Son of God, saith Jehovah the Spirit. Moreover, as a promise of the saints' final perseverance, very peremptorily expressed; I "will" strengthen them, and they "shall" walk, &c.{t} hwhyb "per Jehovam", Piscator. {u} Mytrbgw "et faciam illos ut vincant", Cocceius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.