Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
Zechariah spoke alongside Haggai in the reformation under Zerubbabel, encouraging Zerubbabel and Ezra in building the temple and restoring Jerusalem. The promise belongs to that reformation among God's people and to the future reformations foreshadowed by it, so that the restoration reformation movement is a type of the last reformation. It looks beyond the restoration from Babylon to the final glorious restoration when Christ comes, and it predicts Christ's kingdom.
It promises that many people and strong, even powerful, nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of hosts and to pray and worship before Him. Their coming expresses the attraction of restored worship and God's presence among His people, showing God's house to be a place of prayer for all nations. In picturing many people and strong nations coming to seek the Lord, it points to the nations and to God's power to save.
It points to the influence Israel would have had through Christ if the people had remained faithful, for the promise depended on Israel's faithfulness. Its promise is illustrated by people who worshiped or sought God there, including Simeon and Anna, the Ethiopian treasurer, and pious Gentiles. It also points to Gentiles seeking God's presence through a faithful Jew, and was partly fulfilled when God sent the gospel to the Gentiles through Jewish apostles, though the Jews generally opposed the apostles' preaching with mocking and blaspheming.
It presents people from distant places joining to seek the Lord and pray before Him, which applies as a call to pray together by sending messages by telegraph to praying believers in other nations. It is also presented as a prophecy that many peoples and nations will speak as though universal peace is coming, but this peace cry is false.
Zechariah spoke alongside Haggai in the reformation under Zerubbabel, encouraging Zerubbabel and Ezra in building the temple and restoring Jerusalem. The promise belongs to that reformation among God's people and to the future reformations foreshadowed by it, so that the restoration reformation movement is a type of the last reformation. It looks beyond the restoration from Babylon to the final glorious restoration when Christ comes, and it predicts Christ's kingdom.
It promises that many people and strong, even powerful, nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of hosts and to pray and worship before Him. Their coming expresses the attraction of restored worship and God's presence among His people, showing God's house to be a place of prayer for all nations. In picturing many people and strong nations coming to seek the Lord, it points to the nations and to God's power to save.
It points to the influence Israel would have had through Christ if the people had remained faithful, for the promise depended on Israel's faithfulness. Its promise is illustrated by people who worshiped or sought God there, including Simeon and Anna, the Ethiopian treasurer, and pious Gentiles. It also points to Gentiles seeking God's presence through a faithful Jew, and was partly fulfilled when God sent the gospel to the Gentiles through Jewish apostles, though the Jews generally opposed the apostles' preaching with mocking and blaspheming.
It presents people from distant places joining to seek the Lord and pray before Him, which applies as a call to pray together by sending messages by telegraph to praying believers in other nations. It is also presented as a prophecy that many peoples and nations will speak as though universal peace is coming, but this peace cry is false.