Zechariah 8:13

"And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong."

"A curse among the nations ..." Great dishonor came to the Jews as a result of their being dispossessed from their country and carried captive to Assyria and Babylon, a status from which the vast majority never recovered.

"So will I save you ..." This was the GREAT blessing God always had in mind from the beginning of his promise to Abraham until the present day. To be "saved" by God! Nothing can compare with such a blessing. The one and all of living should be the realization of such a blessing.

Note that this promise is not a promise to destroy the Gentile nations and make the Jews rulers of the world, a mistaken conception that persisted and was prevalent in the days when Jesus actually appeared among them.

It is still true that those who serve God merely for what they fancy to be the temporal benefits of so doing are overlooking the GREAT thing, the blessing of being "saved." This business of salvation, of course, is primarily the blessing of the New Covenant and proves that it is in focus here in Zechariah's prophecy.

The removal of the status of Israel and Judah from that of being a curse among the nations would appear in connection with their being "saved," that is, in connection with their acceptance of Jesus Christ and his gospel.

As Pusey pointed out, the appearance of "House of Israel," and "House of Judah" here has the effect of making this a blessing of the distant future in the times of Messiah; because "The House of Israel" did not return from captivity; thus Zechariah was not speaking merely to the returnees in this verse.

"Fear not, but let your hands be strong ..." There are echoes of the New Covenant here also. "Fear Not" was the very first commandment of the Messianic age when the angels of heaven said, "Be not afraid ..." (Luke 2:10).