Zechariah
Chapter 10
Ask from the Lord, the spring rain; and the Lord, who makes the lightning, will send showers of rain and make grass sprout in each one’s field.
The home idols utter empty words and diviners have false visions; dreams that foretell illusions and offer empty comfort. This is why the people stray, like sheep without a shepherd.
Repatriation
Against these shepherds, my anger is aroused, and I will punish the leaders.
He will provide the host and the spear, the bow in battle, and all the leaders.
They will be like warriors trampling mud in battle. They will fight, remembering that the Lord is with them, and defeat those on horses.
“I will strengthen the nation of Judah and save the descendants of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have compassion on them; they will be as if I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord, their God, who hears their cry.
Ephraim’s men will be like heroes and feel joyful, as if warmed by wine. Their children will rejoice upon seeing it; their hearts will exult in the Lord.
The Lord says: I will whistle and gather them together, for I have redeemed them, and they will be as numerous as before.
Then, I will spread them among the nations; but from the most distant lands, they will remember me. There, they will raise their children, who will return.
I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will give them, again, the land of Gilead and Lebanon; but these will not be enough for them.
They will pass through the sea of Egypt, and the depths of the Nile will be dried up. Then the arrogance of Assyria will be humbled, and Egypt will no longer have a king.
I will strengthen them, says the Lord, and they will go forward confidently in my name.
Commentaries
Fruitfulness.
Israel is precious to the Lord, so He will make it fruitful, overflowing with beauty and joy (9:16-17). Without the guidance of God, the Shepherd-King, the people wander (10:1-2).
Repatriation.
The Lord unleashes his wrath against the leaders whom he himself had appointed to govern his people, since, instead of serving them faithfully, they devoted themselves to exploiting them for their own benefit. Now, the Lord is preparing Judah and Ephraim for war. Both “Ephraim” and “the house of Joseph” are titles that refer to the vanished northern kingdom, which will also be repatriated and restored (v. 6). This indicates that God intends to reunite the two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, into a single nation (vv. 3c-7).
As in the days of Moses, the Lord will bring back the exiles from Assyria and Egypt (vv. 8-9). The prophet mentions Egypt and Assyria—nations that oppressed Israel in the past—as symbols of the dominant powers of his time (vv. 10-11). In verses 11:1-3, God mocks Israel’s northern neighbors, revealing his judgment upon them.