Restoration!

Zechariah 10:1-12 

1 Ask the LORD for rain
In the time of the latter rain.

The LORD will make flashing clouds;
He will give them showers of rain,
Grass in the field for everyone.

2 For the idols speak delusion;
The diviners envision lies,
And tell false dreams;
They comfort in vain.
Therefore the people wend their way like sheep;
They are in trouble because there is no shepherd.

3 "My anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the goatherds.
For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock,
The house of Judah,
And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.

4 From him comes the cornerstone,
From him the tent peg,
From him the battle bow,
From him every ruler together.

5 They shall be like mighty men,
Who tread down their enemies
In the mire of the streets in the battle.
They shall fight because the LORD is with them,
And the riders on horses shall be put to shame.

6 "I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back,
Because I have mercy on them.

They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the LORD their God,
And I will hear them.

7 Those of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man,
And their heart shall rejoice as if with wine.
Yes, their children shall see it and be glad;
Their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.

8 I will whistle for them and gather them,
For I will redeem them;
And they shall increase as they once increased.

9 "I will sow them among the peoples,
And they shall remember Me in far countries;
They shall live, together with their children,
And they shall return.

10 I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt,
And gather them from Assyria.
I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon,
Until no more room is found for them.

11 He shall pass through the sea with affliction,
And strike the waves of the sea:
All the depths of the River shall dry up.
Then the pride of Assyria shall be brought down,
And the scepter of Egypt shall depart.

12 "So I will strengthen them in the LORD,
And they shall walk up and down in His name,"
Says the LORD.

Here was the promised restoration of Judah and Israel at last!  Though they had wandered like sheep without a shepherd for far too long, God intervened on their behalf to bring them back.  He would give them the latter rains to bring their crops back to life and punish the wicked shepherds and goatherds leading astray with their evil examples of idolatry and immortality.  Their lies and false prophetic dreams were no comfort to God’s people, only misleading trouble they followed to their destruction with those misleaders.  The LORD promised to deal with the false shepherds and personally visit His flock to lead them.  He brought them the Cornerstone as a shadow of Christ (Isaiah 28:16, Mark 12:10, Ephesians 2:19-20) to come who is the good Shepherd (John 10:11-12, 14-15) come to lead His people in righteousness and truth (Zechariah 8:8).  Their victory to come over all enemies was because the LORD was with them, just as we have ultimate victory in and through Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) as God among us, Emmanuel.  He brought back His people of Israel and Judah because of His mercy, not their goodness, and heard their cries because He is their God.  All those He also calls in Christ even now know that mercy after crying out for deliverance once convicted of their sin and led by faith to repentance into Him.  He gave them gladness of heart and they rejoiced in Him and His deliverance.  God then sent them into the nations with this good news of their God who delivers as a pattern for the apostles of Jesus Christ later who would bring the fullness of the message of God’s saving grace by the hand of Himself as our Shepherd to lead and guide us for His name’s sake (Psalm 31:3).  The pride of the nations set against Him and His people would and will be thrown down at last in the final judgment.  Until then, God strengthens us all in Himself and we walk about His business in His name because He has said it and written it to be so.  Restoration (Acts 3:21)!  That is our hope of salvation in our reconciliation (Colossians 1:20, 2 Corinthians 5:18-19).  Let us then walk in His name with this good news of grace and deliverance to all with ears to hear the message as Zechariah had done.