The Burden Of The Word Of YHWH (Zechariah 12:1 a).
‘The burden of the word of YHWH concerning Israel.'
Compare for this idea Zechariah 9:1; Malachi 1:1. It is interesting that the proclamation of what YHWH will do is described as ‘concerning Israel '. Yet the detail following is concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Here ‘Israel' is thus used to indicate the whole nation. The divisions (Zechariah 11:14) have been removed. Clearly God is ‘about to act'. (To Zechariah the words ‘Israel', Ephraim', ‘Joseph', ‘Judah' are to some extent interchangeable, all referring to the people of God).
But what was Israel? We must recognise that it was not just a nation comprising direct descendants of the twelve Patriarchs. Indeed it never was. They were probably always in the minority. It was a conglomerate nation. Probably the larger part of ‘Israel' in Egypt consisted of the descendants of the ‘households' of the patriarchs (Exodus 1:1) which would have included many servants and slaves from different races and backgrounds.
Then at the Exodus especially and specifically (Exodus 12:38; Exodus 12:48), and all through her history, peoples of many nations were adopted into Israel and became ‘true Israelites' on the basis of the covenant with YHWH, tracing their ‘descent' back to the patriarchs. Thus Uriah the Hittite was almost certainly ‘a true Israelite' (2 Samuel 11:3 onwards). Indeed anyone who was willing to enter into that covenant could do so by renouncing their gods and submitting to the God of Israel. Israel was a composite nation but its people in fact soon found themselves looking back by adoption to their ‘descent' from the patriarchs.
This pattern continued after the Exile, although not without tight restriction. It continued later, when the witness of ‘Israel', scattered among the nations, impressed many Gentiles who were convinced by their teaching about the One God and were appreciative of their high moral code. Many of these became ‘proselytes', entering into the covenant by being circumcised and where possible offering sacrifice, (and at some stage a ceremonial washing was introduced) and theoretically at least were then regarded as full Israelites, although with certain restrictions. Intermarriage and time would soon see them incorporated more directly. Some of them became respected Rabbis. Others, not willing to be circumcised, but desirous of worshipping the God of Israel and being part of the community of God, were called God-fearers. But in their case the Jews did not see them as becoming full members of Israel.
Furthermore under John Hyrcanus the remnant of Edom were forced to be circumcised and become Jews, and the same happened to the Gentile inhabitants of Galilee. It is quite clear then that to speak of Israel as the descendants of Abraham is in the main wishful thinking. Those who actually considered that they could prove that they were true descendants of Abraham actually saw themselves as superior.
And according to the New Testament from the moment that the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost the ‘true Jews', who believed in the Messiah, formed the new Israel, and many were gathered in to that true Israel from around the world, for the new church was indeed declared to be ‘the Israel of God' (Galatians 6:16), the converted Gentiles being grafted into the true people of God (Romans 11:17-28; compare Ephesians 2:11-22; 1 Peter 2:5-9). But the difference was that this was now on the basis that the Messiah had come, had been crucified as an offering for sin, and had risen again. Here were the new Jerusalem, the new people of God.
Indeed this was what the argument about circumcision in the church was all about. Could Christians become members of the true Israel without being circumcised? (Acts 15:5). Paul strongly argued that circumcision was no longer necessary, and that what mattered was circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29; Philippians 3:3; Colossians 2:11; Ephesisans Zechariah 2:11-13), for they were circumcised with the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11), and were thus true Israelites. And this in the end became the established norm, confirmed officially by the Apostles (Acts 15:6-21) through the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28-29).
Thus the firm teaching of the early church and of the New Testament is that Christians on receiving the Spirit and being baptised become full members of the true Israel, inheriting all the promises of God made to Israel (Ephesians 2:11-19; Galatians 3:7; Galatians 3:28-29 with Galatians 6:16). They were ‘grafted in'.
They also believed that those members of Israel who would not respond to Christ as their Messiah ceased to be members of the true Israel and were cut off (Romans 11:15-24). They were no longer part of the true Israel (Romans 9:6). Eschatalogically the true church of Christ thus become in reality the new Israel, the new Judah, the new Zion, the new Jerusalem as conceived of in the teachings of the prophets.
With these things in mind let us consider the words before us. What is the burden concerning the true Israel?