Zechariah 14:16

16. Every one that is left Few, if any, will escape from the catastrophe described in Zechariah 14:12-15, but since the judgment is expected to fall before Jerusalem the noncombatants at home will be spared. These will see the hand of God in the disaster that befalls their armies; they will recognize his supremacy, and will render homage to him as their King and God. The conversion of the nations is pictured under the figure of annual pilgrimages to the temple.

From year to year Three times a year all males among the Jews were required to appear before Jehovah (Deuteronomy 16:16; compare Exodus 23:17; Exodus 34:23). For the converts from the more distant lands one such pilgrimage appears to have been considered sufficient.

Feast of tabernacles One of the three occasions mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:16. Various reasons have been suggested why this rather than one of the others is selected here. The more important are: (1) The feast of tabernacles came in autumn, when traveling is most pleasant and convenient. (2) It was primarily an agricultural feast, celebrated at the close of the harvest season; in it all the nations of the earth might join to give thanks for the blessings of nature. (3) It was the last and most joyful of all the great festivals in the year, gathering up into itself, as it were, the year’s worship. (4) It more than any other would typify the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of God. Which of these explanations is correct, of whether or not there is any special reason for mentioning the feast of tabernacles, it is difficult to say.