Introduction

Good morning, everyone. Let us delve into Zechariah Chapter 12. Frankly, I have been struggling with this chapter for the past few days, furrowing my brow, unsure of its meaning! It felt disjointed, scattered, as if it were not on a single frequency. So, I prayed. Praise God! Once again, He has enlightened me. The theme of this chapter is "God's People Will Look to the Lord."

God is the One Who Stretches Out the Heavens, Lays the Foundation of the Earth, and Forms the Spirit of Man Within

Who is our God? He is the God who stretches out the heavens, the heavens He has spread out; the earth He has established; and the spirit of man within, God has formed. All creation originates from God. He makes all things beautiful in their time! We, as brothers and sisters, must have a fundamental understanding that all things are God's creation.

When you witness tragedy, do not be surprised, for all of this is God's doing. Why does God do this? We see much injustice and unrighteousness, the persecution of the church, and some churches, instead of being persecuted, corrupt themselves! After examining the entire history of the church, we truly cannot comprehend it! But whether you understand it or not, you must accept the fact that all of this creation comes from our God, even if the sin is man-made!

A few days ago, a sister was in great pain because she was persecuted in her job. She had a good position, but someone else took it, so she was very upset. It is normal for someone in a high position to feel upset when they are ousted. Interestingly, at this time, she began to look to God. Where was she before? That is how people are, that is our nature!

When things are going well, we feel carefree and comfortable! Then God allows these things to come upon us, and when we see that we are about to be ruined, we begin to look to the Lord. In other words, sometimes our love for God is not so genuine; only when the devil comes do we become sincere. That is how we all are.

Therefore, God's creation of devils and bad people is truly excellent, because when nothing is happening, who would bother to seek a God to worship? When we are doing well, we rush headlong down the path to destruction, thinking the world is wonderful, eating and drinking luxuriously. What need is there to look to the Lord? But that is not the case!

Whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, you will find that God often leads some people to attack you. In Zechariah's time, the land of Israel was a colony of the Persian Empire, and before that, it was a colony of the Babylonian and Assyrian Empires.

God brought the Assyrian Empire to destroy the Kingdom of Israel, and later He brought Babylon to destroy the Kingdom of Judah! Then God brought the Persian Empire, which allowed the Israelites to return and rebuild the temple. If only they had rebuilt the temple properly! But upon returning, they became corrupt again! They thought they finally had the right to enjoy themselves, so where was the time to build the temple? That is the attitude of people!

So, I tell you, if you are living in dire straits, start looking to the Lord Jesus. In fact, we are the ones who crucified the Lord Jesus on the cross, and everyone participated, everyone has a share! Ponder this matter in your heart, because we love the world, believing in the Lord with a religious flavor, is that not crucifying the Lord Jesus on the cross?

The Lord Jesus was crucified, shedding His blood and sacrificing Himself, precisely to save us from this dominion of darkness. God stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within. This is our God! All of this is God's creation; we are the ones who create sin, and God is the God of creation.

The Siege of Jerusalem is God's Doing

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day," says the Lord, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness." (Zechariah 12:2-4)

Interestingly, God brings these people to attack Jerusalem, yet Jerusalem is God's church, and the whole land of Judah is the periphery. What to do? As a result of the attack, God causes Jerusalem to be besieged, so that the world may see, and then they think, is it so difficult to destroy Jerusalem? So they go to besiege Jerusalem.

Do not underestimate the weakness of the Jerusalem church; if you really want to destroy it, it is still very difficult! Jerusalem becomes a cup of drunkenness, those who besiege it are confused, and as a result, God destroys the people of the nations who come to attack Jerusalem.

I tell you, until now, more than one generation has wanted to destroy the church, starting from the Roman Empire, but has it been destroyed? No! On the contrary, those who wanted to destroy the church have suffered disaster. So I must tell you, God's work is too powerful.

"In that day I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness." They originally wanted to destroy Jerusalem, to destroy the church, but before they could destroy the church, they were destroyed first. Why? This is God's doing!

If you look closely, you will find that you do not need to worry about God; we should worry about ourselves, worry that we have not looked to God properly. When the church is persecuted, it is the time for God's people to look to God, the time to rise up, pray, and beseech the God who shows grace. In fact, that is all there is to salvation; this is God's doing.

So, brothers and sisters, God has manifested His work, and the church is God's wisdom. What does the New Testament say? "Jesus Christ arranged for His people to preach the gospel, from Jerusalem to all Judea, then to Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Here are a few very interesting concepts: the first is the house of David, the second is Jerusalem, and the third is all Judea. These are all believers, except for Samaria.

According to God's order, these are the three levels of the church. Those who are of the house of David are at a higher level in the church; their faith is great. Those who are of Jerusalem have weaker faith; and those who are of all Judea have the weakest faith. So the siege of Jerusalem is God's doing, forcing God's people to learn to look to God.

People look to God in persecution, which is very real. So when you see someone being besieged, that is a good thing! However, it is not particularly good if someone is never besieged! People are like that; there are all kinds, but not much faith in God, which is actually a tragedy.

God Will Save the Tents of Judah First

God will save the tents of Judah first, which is very interesting.

"Then the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.' In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem. The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." (Zechariah 12:5-9)

This passage feels quite powerful. I tell you, to be a Christian, you must be a Christian who fights spiritual battles; those who do not fight do not count. Does God save Judah first, or the house of David first, or Jerusalem first, and then all Judea? It is Judah first!

There is a sentence here that I have been pondering for several days, which is "so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah." Can you understand this sentence? Originally, Judah's spiritual level is not as high as David's, nor as high as Jerusalem's, but God's salvation begins with Judah. Do you not find this very interesting?

Whether it is David or Jerusalem, do not think that your spiritual level is higher; that has nothing to do with you, it is just God's doing! God does not want you to think that you are of the house of David or Jerusalem, and then feel that you are great; that is called "blind pride."

In our era, people from Northeast China went to Beijing to eat meat, and when the Beijing people heard their accent, they laughed because they pronounced "meat" as "you." The Beijing people had this sense of pride, feeling that they were more knowledgeable. Later, when the Northeasterners went to Shanghai and said "you" again, they were called country bumpkins, and the people here looked down on them. Why is this so?

In fact, I think that although you were born in Shanghai, Shanghai has nothing to do with you; you were born in Beijing, and Beijing has nothing to do with your pride. I use this as an analogy: you were born in the house of David, but that has nothing to do with you, and you do not need to be too proud; there is nothing great about it! You were born in Jerusalem, and you have no sense of superiority.

So I tell you, the blind sense of superiority of Christians is very hateful! Especially at home, believers look down on non-believers, feeling that they are Christians and seem very superior. But is it really superior? No! There is no need to be superior; God hates this blind sense of superiority.

Therefore, "so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah" means that you should not feel that you are of the house of David or Jerusalem, and then feel very superior. God will begin salvation from the house of Judah.

So we still look to God; blind pride is meaningless! The most meaningful thing is whether you can become a treasure in God's eyes? Because if you are blindly proud, then there is no pride in God's eyes! However, if you feel very proud, but God does not see you as very proud, then it is very troublesome.

"The Lord will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them." (Zechariah 12:7-8)

After reading this, everyone feels: Wow, the house of David is like God! The one who is feeble among them shall be like David, so powerful!

Our brothers and sisters must know that people only have the part of passively receiving God's grace. Remember, we can only overcome by relying on faith to draw on God's grace, and we can only look to God to overcome; nothing else works. If you rely on chariots and horses, you will eventually become old chariots and old horses; if we rely on faith to receive God's salvation, then God will surely save us, and God will surely destroy those who come against Jerusalem.

If you look closely, how many times has the church been destroyed, but in the end it cannot be destroyed? That is God's doing! As a result, many people perish first, but the church remains! Therefore, you need to know what it means to look to God.

God Will Pour Out the Spirit of Grace and Supplication on God's People

If people do not have the Spirit of God, then they are terribly stupid. In fact, stupidity is quite hateful, and it is even more hateful when people want to continue to be stupid after they have become stupid. Faced with this situation, God did a very wonderful thing: God poured out the spirit of supplication, so that we would know to call on God and look to God!

Originally, our looking to God was not a decision we made on our own initiative, but a decision made by the Spirit of God, because the spirit within man is created by God, and the Spirit of God will surely reveal and let you call on God.

Jerusalem was besieged, but people did not know how to call on God, and the Spirit of God had to be poured out, and then people suddenly understood: we are the group of Christians who crucified Jesus Christ! We must quickly repent, and the feeling is like eating a dung beetle rolling a dung ball, or a stink bug, oh! It is really disgusting, uncomfortable, and sad! Then we realize that we are really rotten, how could we be like this? Then we know how to call on God and look to God.

Some people ask, "Why does the Spirit of God only pour out on this person and not on that person?" God created the spirit of man, and God knows which is a treasure and which is not! Some people do not know how to call on God even when they are drowning, so what is the point of pouring out on them? Even if you soak them in it, it is useless. Have we not seen such people?

I tell you, people must be soft and weak in their hearts, and not think that they are great. Once people think that they are great, then they are garbage, a piece of meat, similar to the pork in the market!

Then we understand how we crucified Jesus Christ. Originally, I was the one who crucified Jesus Christ, and at this time, the heart begins to turn to God.

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves." (Zechariah 12:10-14)

The English version of the Bible does not say men and women, but the couples in a family. After God poured out the "Spirit of grace and supplication," their sorrow, pain, and repentance is called a contrite heart.

They crucified Jesus Christ, and then they began to reject the lusts of the flesh, even the reasonable lusts of the flesh. Even normal marital desires began to be rejected, because they began to know that looking to God is the best!

Many people especially love their husbands, but as they love, they find that their husbands especially love money, and their core interest is money, so they are very hurt, but after a while they forget again, and think that their husbands love them very much, but in fact their husbands love money.

Some time ago, we often ministered to such "loving" couples, and we could not talk nonsense, but at the critical moment, you know what he loves! So do not expect anyone, people are all bluffing, only God is faithful.

When we begin to look to God, we will not be put to shame, but once we look to people, then it is bad, and the problems on people begin to be revealed one by one. I thank God that He poured out His Spirit, so that we can know the truth, lead us into the truth, and then we are truly free! God brings us into true reception, so that we know to look to God.

If you still do not know how to look to God, then hurry up and learn! Because you have not been besieged, have not been persecuted, still love the world, and are still crucifying Jesus. What is this passage about? These houses of David, Nathan, Levi, Shimei, and all the remaining families, after the Spirit of God was poured out, they all began to pursue looking to God in Jerusalem, in the church!

So brothers and sisters, if you are persecuted, besieged, you need to know that it is God's doing, and God will carry out salvation. If we feel good inside, eating and drinking luxuriously all day long, then will we call on God? It is difficult! If you really eat and drink luxuriously and still look to God, then you are amazing, and you cannot find someone with such great faith in Jerusalem.

Conclusion: God's People Will Look to the Lord

People looking to God is always God's will! God does not want us to rely on our muscles, talents, abilities, power, or money. God wants us to learn to look to God, because in Him, we lack no good thing.

We will share this Bible study here. May God bless everyone!

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