God Bless You! Zechariah 9:9-17

Zechariah 9 (NASB) 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the River to the ends of the earth. Deliverance of Judah and Ephraim 11 As for you also, because of the blood of My covenant with you, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will restore double to you. 13 For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword. 14 Then the Lord will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord God will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south. 15 The Lord of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar. 16 And the Lord their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. 17 For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. There's a whole lot of prophecy going on in those verses! Most of us are familiar with verse 9, this prophecy was fulfilled on what Christians celebrate at Palm Sunday. The other verses talk about God putting a hedge of protection around His people and protecting them from invading forces. We have seen this happen throughout history and is prophesied to continue through the seven year tribulation period. Verse 12 talks about the people returning to Israel. We have seen that happening since May 14, 1948 when Israel became a nation again. God protected His people as long as they were faithful to Him. When they turned from Him and followed other gods, He had to discipline them, just as a parent must discipline a wayward child. God will put His hedge of protection around us too. We just have to be obedient to Him. When we wander away, and look to other "gods" He will discipline us to bring us back. As with any good parent, God has our best interest at heart. He wants to give us good things, He wants to bless us. My God Bless you today! Cecilia