The Coming of God's King Who Will Deliver His People (Zechariah 9:9-10).
This establishment of the security of God's people will be brought about by the coming of its King. He will not come as a warrior, but as a just and lowly Saviour, bringing salvation to God's own (Zion). So the proud will have been brought low (Zechariah 9:2-6) while the lowly will triumph.
“Rejoice greatly, Oh daughter of Zion, shout, Oh daughter of Jerusalem, behold your king is coming to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on an ass, even on a colt, the foal of an ass.”
God's coming protection is now connected with His coming king. His coming should cause great rejoicing. Yet He does not come as a mighty world conqueror, for He is lowly. But He brings what is better. He brings justice and He brings deliverance. He is the lowly and just Deliverer. His lowliness is in stark contrast with the pride of Tyre. Salvation is not to be found in riches and prosperity, but through lowliness and righteousness and justice.
‘Just.' The One Who comes will come bringing justice. When Israel as a whole thought of their coming Messiah their stress tended to be on His deliverance. (They wanted to be like Tyre). Had they recognised that He would render truly according to men's desserts they might have been a little less enthusiastic. Like all men they tended to play down their own sins compared with the sins of others. When He came an account would have to be given. Only those who were truly righteous or who sought true righteousness had cause to welcome His coming.
‘Having salvation.' He it is Who will bring about the fulfilment of God's promises to His people and the world. He brings salvation and deliverance for all men as the prophets elsewhere make clear. But this is deliverance from themselves and their sins as well as from others.
‘Lowly.' The word means ‘poor, afflicted, lowly'. It was the word that all overlooked. He would thus be despised and rejected by man but acknowledged by God (Isaiah 53:3).
‘On an ass.' Riding on an ass is not necessarily symbolic of lowliness. The ass was regularly the beast on which kings rode in honour (see 1 Kings 1:33; 1 Kings 1:44). But it is a symbol of peace not of war. It was the triumphant conqueror who rode on a warhorse. When Jesus wished to reveal Himself as the One Whom God had sent He rode into Jerusalem on an ass not a warhorse.
Only God could have foreseen that the One Who would transform the world would be such as is described here.
“And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow 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.”
The remarkable nature of the prophecy continues. This coming king will not operate through chariots, war horses and battle bows. These will not be required and will be disposed of. His weapons will be words of peace for the nations, and His lordship will be worldwide in its effect. His dominion will be from sea to sea, and reaching even to the ends of the earth.
‘Ephraim'. As a large tribe Ephraim was often utilised as a synonym of Israel. ‘The River' is the river Euphrates. (Note here that it is Ephraim and Jerusalem who now represent the whole people of God. To Zechariah the terms Israel, Ephraim, Joseph and Judah can all refer to God's whole people.)
‘From sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.' The description is intended to be all-inclusive.
So the coming king will come in lowliness and poverty, He will be just and righteous and will bring deliverance to mankind, He will avoid all signs of war, He will come speaking words of peace and He will exercise worldwide control. This is in interesting conflict with what follows, demonstrating that the latter is not the work of the Messianic prince.