"And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts.""The chieftains of Judah ..." "These are the spiritual leaders among the people."[16] Since the strength of the "inhabitants of Jerusalem" comes only from God, the passage teaches that God is the sole strength and power of his people. read more
Zechariah 12:4. I will smite every horse, &c.— The cavalry, the elephants, the numerous armies of the enemy shall be put to flight, and defeated by a small number of foot, and those ill-armed. Instead of people we may read nations. read more
Zechariah 12:5. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, &c.— There is strength to me, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the Lord, &c. Houbigant. This passage well expresses the sentiments of the men of Judah, concerning the interest they had in the safety of Jerusalem and its inhabitants, on which their own strength and security depended in a great degree; so that they would of course be influenced to bring that assistance, the efficacy of which is set forth in the verse that follows. read more
4. I will smite . . . horse—The arm of attack especially formidable to Judah, who was unprovided with cavalry. So in the overthrow of Pharaoh (Exodus 15:19; Exodus 15:21). open mine eyes upon . . . Judah—to watch over Judah's safety. Heretofore Jehovah seemed to have shut His eyes, as having no regard for her. blindness—so as to rush headlong on to their own ruin (compare Zechariah 14:12; Zechariah 14:13). read more
5. shall say—when they see the foe divinely smitten with "madness." Judah . . . Jerusalem—here distinguished as the country and the metropolis. Judah recognizes her "strength" to be "Jerusalem and its inhabitants" as the instrument, and "Jehovah of hosts their God" (dwelling especially there) as the author of all power ( :-). My strength is the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have the Lord their God as their help. The repulse of the foe by the metropolis shall assure the Jews of the country that... read more
Israel’s deliverance 12:1-9 read more
The Lord would cause the weapons that Israel’s enemies used to destroy the city to be ineffective, and He would make the hostile soldiers crazy (cf. Deuteronomy 28:28; Judges 5:22). In this way He would watch over the house of Judah (the Israelites; cf. Psalms 32:8; Psalms 33:18). read more
The leaders of Israel’s groups outside Jerusalem would realize that Yahweh Almighty, their God, was making the people of Jerusalem strong supporters of them. read more
The Deliverance of JerusalemMany scholars believe that in Zechariah 12-14 (omitting Zechariah 13:7-9) we have a third separate prophecy, the oldest in the book of Zechariah, written subsequent to the death of king Josiah, 609 b.c. (cp. the mourning in the valley of Megiddon, Zechariah 12:11), but prior to the fall of the kingdom of Judah, 586 b.c. For this view there are some strong arguments—(a) frequent references to the House of David (Zechariah 12:7-8, Zechariah 12:10, Zechariah 12:12;... read more
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Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Zechariah 12:4
"In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with terror, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with madness.""In that day ..." identifies the time period in focus as the Messianic era."Smite every horse ... and his rider ..." These expressions are metaphorical descriptions of the military power and other devices used by the enemies of God's people. No device shall ever be successful in destroying the... read more