God’s Word for You
Zechariah 14:9-11 The Church will Endure
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, September 19, 2022
9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD and his name the only one.
Zechariah has just described the living water flowing down from Jerusalem (Christ) to the world in every direction. Now his description of Christ and his church is broadened to take in the surrounding lands. First, there is only one God, and he has only one name, the Lord. At one time, the opinions of the pagans conceived of gods and goddesses and demi-gods or semi-gods in all sorts of ways, with different roles belonging to different deities, as if Pan was only good for scaring people and playing the pipes, and would never bring rain or snow or care whether or not mere mortals had anything to eat or a good wife or obedient children, etc. And they had the idea that we must never trouble Zeus with our problems, but pray to other gods who might take our petitions to the great one if they felt inclined. There was a great deal of nonsense like that, some of which still echoes in the world today. But God is a jealous God when it comes to his glory and our worship (Exodus 20:5). He will not share his praise with gravel or a tree stump any more than an Olympic athlete would want to share the podium with a chunk of the racetrack they were running on, or the shoelace of a spectator.
10 The whole land will become like the Arabah lowland, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem.
When Zechariah says that the land will be like the Arabah or lowland, he means that everything will be smooth, as Isaiah says: “Every valley will be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, and the rugged places a plain, and the glory of the Lord will be revealed” (Isaiah 40:4-5).
Geba was northeast of Jerusalem, almost due west of Jericho. There were two cliffs facing one another; one was near Geba and the other was near a town called Michmash (1 Samuel 14:5). At one point, the Philistines actually had an outpost this far east (1 Samuel 11:3). Rimmon, also known as En-Rimmon was high up on one of the southern spurs of the Judean highlands, not far from the town of Ziklag where David was staying when he learned of Saul’s death (2 Samuel 1:1, 4:10). From these distant points in Israel, more or less dividing the land like a slash mark, all of the mountains and rough terrain would be brought down like the Arabah, the lowlands in the far south. Now, this isn’t really about geography, but about theology. Under Christ, the other religions must give way. There will be no other summit but the true Jerusalem, which is the Holy Christian Church.
But Jerusalem shall remain raised on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the site of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses. 11 And it will be inhabited, and never again will it be devoted to destruction. Jerusalem will endure.
The prophet’s imagery also recalls the geography around the Garden of Eden. For many people, this is the most obscure part of the Creation account, and many commentators virtually skip over it. But listen to it once again:
“A river went out from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divided and became the headwaters of four rivers. The name of the first river is Pishon. It flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, and the gold of that land is good. Incense and onyx stone are also found there. The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that winds through the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one which flows along the east side of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. The LORD God took the man and settled him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it.” (Genesis 2:10-15 EHV)
If we set aside Moses’ names for the rivers, since he named them many centuries after the flood had wiped them all out and changed the way the land and the continents were shaped, we see this image: Eden had a river that divided and became four other rivers, the most important rivers of the world in ancient times, or at least in that part of the ancient world. Since rivers flow downhill, we learn that the land of Eden (which was probably a very large place) was higher up than most other places. So for everyone living outside of Eden (after the fall), the location of Eden would have been easy to describe. It was upstream of every river. It was uphill, higher up than just about anyplace where you may have been standing. It was a height, perhaps a mountain or a very high steppe, off in the distance, guarded by the cherubim.
This is similar to the way the spiritual Jerusalem, the Holy Christian Church, is depicted here in Zechariah’s prophecy. It will remain raised up, just as the Old Testament church was raised up, and the four corners will be the same, that is, the basics of our faith do not change: Law and Gospel, sin and grace. The “royal winepresses” are not mentioned in Scripture but are thought to have been south of the city. The one in Nehemiah 13:15 came after the time of the monarchy. It could also be a prophetic way of speaking about the Lord’s Supper, since the living water (also of baptism) was mentioned in verse 8.
The Christian Church will endure; it will not be destroyed or come to an end as long as the world endures. Individual church buildings, congregations, and even denominations may perish and come to an end, but the church will endure. “The gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). “God is within her, she will not fall” (Psalm 46:5). Our confession summarizes this truth: “The Church will nevertheless remain until the end of the world” (Apology VII:8). This is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. Preserve us and your holy Gospel, O Lord! Let your word flow out into all the world, cleansing, purifying, enlivening, and rescuing wherever it goes.
As Luther prayed about his lectures on this chapter, so we also pray today: “May Christ help and protect us in the singleness of his mind. Amen.”
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.