In that day, &c.— This and the following verse seem to imply the promise of universal peace and holiness; blessings often mentioned in the prophets as concomitants of the flourishing state of Christ's kingdom. The meaning of the passage therefore is, that the bells, or furniture of war, belonging to the horses, shall no more be applied to their former use; but shall be looked upon as sacred, and laid up in the armoury of the temple of the Lord, as a memorial of the remarkable success that he had given his people. Yea, every thing under this state shall be holy. Houbigant renders the last clause of Zechariah 14:20. And the pots in the house of Judah shall be [holy] as the bowls before the altar. The meaning of the last clause of Zechariah 14:21. There shall be no more the Canaanite, &c. is, "There shall be no more a profane or impious person in the societies of the faithful; nor shall there be any more distinction between Jew and Canaanite." The name of Canaanite and stranger shall be utterly abolished: whoever commences a real believer, shall enter into the house of the Lord, and what he was shall be wholly forgotten. Canaanite, Jew, Barbarian, shall be all equal, "provided they truly believe in Christ, are just and faithful." See Calmet.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, We have here,
1. A day of judgment, which many refer to the taking of Jerusalem by the Romans, when all the brutal rage of war was let loose, and half the people carried into captivity, a remnant being left, even those who, according to the divine warnings, had before saved themselves by flight. Or this may much better refer to the time just preceding the restoration of the Jews and their establishment in their own country, and the fulness of the Gentiles.
2. A day of mercy, when Christ shall go forth to fight his people's battles, to destroy their destroyers.* And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, as when he ascended up thence, and quickly after made a way for the Gentile world to draw near unto God, signified by the dividing asunder the mountain, and opening a great valley between, in which Jews and Gentiles should assemble together and incorporate, eager to be admitted into the church which shall now be exceedingly enlarged, flying thither with as much speed as those in the days of Josiah fled from the earthquake; and there God's presence in the midst of his saints shall eminently appear.
* In these Reflections, I would wish to consider the chapter chiefly, if not intirely, in a spiritual sense, which is certainly implied, and carries with it far the most important meaning.
Some refer this to the second coming of Christ, when they suppose that he will descend on that very spot from which he ascended; that the valley shall be the place where the dead shall be raised and assembled, many of whom will then be flying to the mountains to cover them from the presence of the Judge, now appearing with ten thousands of his saints, and be more terrified at his coming than those were who fled from the earthquake in Uzziah's days, which threatened to swallow them up. It must be confessed, that this prophesy is of very difficult interpretation. However, we may learn, (1.) That the Lord Jesus will come to judge the world, and that it highly imports us to be ready to meet him. (2.) That it will be too late then to fly from his wrath, if we have not before betaken ourselves to the refuge of his mercy. (3.) That they will then be truly happy who can say, My God shall come; for he will be most welcome to all who have an interest in his love and favour.
3. It shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: which may refer either to the imperfect attainments of Christ's saints upon earth, compared with what they expect hereafter; or to the dispensations of God's providence toward his church, over which there still hang clouds of trouble whilst in this militant state below. But it shall be one day, a short time that this will be the case, which shall be known to the Lord, who takes notice of his faithful people under all their remaining infirmities and troubles. At evening-time it shall be light: when the day of time shall come to its period, and eternity open to view, then all shall be light to God's faithful people for ever; when their faith and patience shall be crowned with glory, their sun shall no more go down, nor their moon withdraw itself; and therefore in our present darkness and troubles we should wait still upon God, and hope for a happy issue at last out of all.
Some refer all this to the spiritual reign of Christ, when his Gospel shall be spread abroad in the latter day, and the darkness of Mohammedism, paganism, and popery be utterly dispelled.
2nd, Farther blessings are promised to God's Israel.
1. Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, even the Gospel, which began to be preached at Jerusalem, and went forth from east to west, into all parts of the world, and will continue to the end of time to flow, till the earth shall be covered with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
2. Christ will erect an universal kingdom in the earth. All competitors will at last be destroyed: there shall be one Lord owned and acknowledged through the whole world: and his name one, every distinction of party, and difference of opinion and worship, will be laid aside, and all with one heart and one mouth shall unite in prayer and praise before him.
3. The church shall be glorious, abundantly replenished, and the abode of peace for ever. All the land shall be turned as a plain, every mountain and hill laid low, from Geba to Rimmon, all opposition destroyed, and Jerusalem, the Gospel-church, lifted up as a beacon on a hill, whither all the converts shall flock together; so that it shall be filled with inhabitants from one end to the other. Wars shall then cease; no civil discords nor ecclesiastical anathemas shall disturb the peace of God's people; they shall dwell in safety, and none evermore make them afraid.
4. The enemies of the church shall be utterly cut off. Their once pampered flesh shall be emaciated, and consume away; their eyes, full of covetousness, envy, and lasciviousness, shall rot in their sockets; and their tongues, defiled with blasphemy, reproach, and falsehood, shall perish. God will put his terrors in the midst of them; and in their confusion every man's sword shall be against his fellow, so that they shall be their own executioners. The saints of God, who go forth to fight, will have nothing to do but to gather the immensity of rich spoils; and the very beasts of these sinners shall share their plagues, and be destroyed with them.
3rdly, The destruction of the wicked shall bring a great accession of converts to the church.
1. Every one that is left—all who have been faithful to the grace of God offered to them, and who have dwelt among the enemies of Christ, shall now be brought home to him, and with his people go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles: not that these Jewish festivals will be then observed; but Christ's believing people will, with such joy as they testified on this occasion, commemorate his wonderful deliverance of them from the bondage of sin and Satan, and be ceaseless in their supplications to him that he would perfect their redemption, and bring them into the heavenly Canaan, the final and eternal rest which remaineth for the people of God.
2. They who refuse or neglect this holy worship shall be punished with famine; either literally, for want of rain the earth shall give them no food; or, spiritually, they shall be destitute of the heavenly influences of grace, and deprived of the Gospel; given up to the curse of barrenness, and perishing in their iniquities. And if Egypt, which owes its fertility to the overflowing of the Nile more than to the clouds, be found among those who are culpable, her punishment shall be the same: he, who prevents the rain from falling on others, will prevent the Nile from overflowing their land, and give them the same curse of barrenness and famine. Note; (1.) Though some sinners may think their situation will be a protection to them from the threatened evils, they will find that God's arm can as easily reach them as others. (2.) They who live in neglect of God's worship will surely die under his curse.
3. When the wicked are consumed, the church shall appear glorious in the beauty of holiness. Upon the very bells of their horses shall be engraven, as on the high-priest's mitre, Holiness unto the Lord, the people of Jesus being a holy priesthood, their profession public, their conversation exemplary; and in all their actions, civil as well as religious, one uniform tenor of holiness will appear. And the pots in the Lord's house, which the priests used in their apartments, shall be like the bowls before the altar, consecrated to God, and employed in a holy manner; God's spiritual priests making even their common meals a sacrifice, by their prayers, thanksgiving, and gracious use of God's creatures; whether they eat or drink, doing all to the glory of God. And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of Hosts, consecrated to his glory as the vessels of the sanctuary. And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein, the ceremonial distinction between one vessel and another no longer subsisting, and the real holiness of heart and life in every member of the church rendering their offerings acceptable, through Jesus Christ, in every place. And in that day there shall he no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts, the church being thoroughly purged of all the ungodly and profane. O Lord, hasten the day!