I am determined to do good, To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah

God clearly re-iterates that Jerusalem is still a very special place for Him. His presence will fill Jerusalem again and He calls her the City of Truth, Mountain of the Lord of Hosts, Holy Mountain. God paints a picture of a restored Jerusalem in which old people sit casually by the streets, children playing in the streets, a picture of peace and confidence.

God states again that He will save His people and bring them back to Jerusalem. They will be His people, and He will be their God again. But before this restoration, it seems that there will be terrible circumstances where economy breaks down (people not getting paid) and there will be war around (there was no peace from the enemy).

But when God saves Israel again, they will again be a blessing to other nations. The Lord is determined to do good for Israel and Judah. There will be much happiness in that time and Go encourages them to pursue truth and justice. The people from all over the world would want to go on a pilgrimage to seek and pray to the Lord in Jerusalem. They will want the relationship that God has with Israel. Perhaps the difficulty in interpreting this is that is this occurs during the end times, then the people would see the Messiah's second coming - so it is not sure how they can still be unbelieving that they have to cling to God's people when visiting Jerusalem.





Zechariah 8
Jerusalem, Holy City of the Future

1 Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘I am zealous for Zion with great zeal;
With great fervor I am zealous for her.’
3 “Thus says the Lord:

‘I will return to Zion,
And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth,
The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
The Holy Mountain.’
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Old men and old women shall again sit
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of great age.
5 The streets of the city
Shall be full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets.’
6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘If it is marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days,
Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Says the Lord of hosts.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east
And from the land of the west;
8 I will bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.’
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Let your hands be strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of the prophets,
Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
10 For before these days
There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.
11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For the seed shall be prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
The ground shall give her increase,
And the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass
That just as you were a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Just as I determined to punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
16 These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 Let none of you think evil in your[a] heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”
18 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘The fast of the fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.’
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Peoples shall yet come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

Do not Oppress the Widow or the Fatherless

The Israelites have been returned to their homeland and now during the reign of King Darius in the Persian Empire, a group of seemingly devoted Israelites came to the temple to pray and ask God if they should continue fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh month. The Lord who knew anticipated their question gave the answer through Zechariah. The Lord's answer was indirect and first asked if they were sincere in their fast. The second point was that instead of fasting, it would have been better for them if they had initially obeyed God before the invasion by Babylon.

God continued passing His message through Zechariah that His desire are for His people to show justice, mercy, compassion, not oppress the widow, orphans, foreigner and the poor, also not to have evil in their hearts toward each other. And God described how they disobeyed and went against all His desires. They ignored God's true prophets and their messages. The result is that God did not listen to them when they asked for help, when God used their enemies to scatter His people.




Zechariah 7
Obedience Better than Fasting

1 Now in the fourth year of King Darius it came to pass that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, on the fourth day of the ninth month, Chislev, 2 when the people[a] sent Sherezer,[b] with Regem-Melech and his men, to the house of God,[c] to pray before the Lord, 3 and to ask the priests who were in the house of the Lord of hosts, and the prophets, saying, “Should I weep in the fifth month and fast as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me—for Me? 6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South[d] and the Lowland were inhabited?’”

Disobedience Resulted in Captivity

8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Execute true justice,
Show mercy and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother.’
11 “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. 12 Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. 13 Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts. 14 “But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.”

Hezekiah Saved by the LORD from Assyria, but Sinned in Pride

Hezekiah was one of the righteous kings of Judah who walked with the LORD. He led a great revival and was an encouragement and example to his people in following God. When he was buried, not only was he buried with his ancestors who were kings, but he was given a special place among them.

During his reign, he brought Judah back to God and as a result Judah prospered as promised by God. This attracted the attention of Assyria, the power nation at that time. When Hezekiah learned that Assyria was preparing to invade, Hezekiah mobilised and planned his military response, but not leaving God out, for he encouraged his people that "but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles".

Assyria would have been a powerhouse that the king Sennacherib was so confident that he was fighting at Lachish, yet preparing to open a second front of war with Judah. He also would have spies in Judah since he knew Hezekiah was also encouraging his people spiritually. Before his planned invasion, Sennacherib used propaganda by sending his messengers to taunt Judah. The taunts were false since they contradict each other. On one hand they taunted the people that Hezekiah had taken away their idols so they have nothing to worship. On the other hand they said that there was no use praying to any gods, since Assyria had crushed all the neighbouring nations who prayed hard. Basically their aim was to cast doubts on the people's trust in Hezekiah and hence the LORD.

Like King David, Hezekiah responded by praying to God and trusting God, even though he had prepared his army. He prayed together with the great prophet Isaiah. Sennacherib also made the mistake of taunting Judah and the LORD, which was blaspheming to the LORD. As a result, the LORD destroyed the army of Assyria and Sennacherib was himself murdered by his sons, shortly after abandoning the conquest of Judah.

Like any other man, Hezekiah was not perfect and his downfall was caused by pride. After the event with Assyria, Hezekiah's fame grew and Judah prospered more. When Hezekiah was sick, they prayed and Hezekiah was healed. His pride came in perhaps by not honouring God or acknowledging that God healed him. However, he did humble himself later and the wrath of God was postponed to the future. Then God put him through a trial by letting him do as he wished, when the emerging power of Babylon send envoys to visit the prosperous kingdom of Judah. Hezekiah's pride moved him to show all his riches to the future enemy, Babylon. This no doubt led the envoys to report on the wealth of Judah which soon attract the Babylonians to invade Judah.



2 Chronicles 32

Sennacherib Boasts Against the LORD

 1 After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah; he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come, and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his leaders and commanders[a] to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, “Why should the kings[b] of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 And he strengthened himself, built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside; also he repaired the Millo[c]in the City of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance. 6 Then he set military captains over the people, gathered them together to him in the open square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him; for there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
9 After this Sennacherib king of Assyria sent his servants to Jerusalem (but he and all the forces with him laid siege against Lachish), to Hezekiah king of Judah, and to all Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria: ‘In what do you trust, that you remain under siege in Jerusalem? 11 Does not Hezekiah persuade you to give yourselves over to die by famine and by thirst, saying, “The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 Has not the same Hezekiah taken away His high places and His altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, “You shall worship before one altar and burn incense on it”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hand? 14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed that could deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? 15 Now therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you like this, and do not believe him; for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand?’”
16 Furthermore, his servants spoke against the LORD God and against His servant Hezekiah.


Sennacherib’s Defeat and Death
 
20 Now because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed and cried out to heaven. 21 Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.
22 Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them[e] on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to the LORD at Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations thereafter.

Hezekiah Humbles Himself
 
24 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death, and he prayed to the LORD; and He spoke to him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem. 26 Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah’s Wealth and Honor
 
27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor. And he made himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of desirable items; 28 storehouses for the harvest of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of livestock, and folds for flocks.[f] 29 Moreover he provided cities for himself, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God had given him very much property. 30 This same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of Upper Gihon, and brought the water by tunnel[g] to the west side of the City of David. Hezekiah prospered in all his works.
31 However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that was in his heart.

Death of Hezekiah
 
32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 33 So Hezekiah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper tombs of the sons of David; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem honored him at his death. Then Manasseh his son reigned in his place.