Zechariah 12:5, commentary and pictures

The governors of Judah inwardly confess that the people of Jerusalem will be their strength because that people and their power are in the Lord of hosts their God. The prophecy belongs to the last Old Testament promise of Israel's restoration to Canaan, looking beyond the return from Babylon to the final restoration when Christ comes in His Messianic kingdom and the great day of the Lord. Jerusalem and the surrounding land bear the brunt of the nations' final attack just before Christ comes, yet God promises its miraculous preservation and restores His true Israel, His church, to power, bringing hope to His waiting people. That promised defense from its enemies stood if the people received Christ as their King, but their rejection of Him annulled the protection and brought destruction instead. It is fulfilled when people recognize that their own sin helped cause Christ's suffering, a recognition that leads them to hate sin, giving hope to all who seek God and grasp His promises by faith while foretelling judgment on those who reject Him.

Historical Setting and Scope

The verse belongs to the latest Old Testament prophecy concerning Israel's restoration to the land of Canaan, dated to 487 B.C., in contrast to the return and restoration completed by 445 B.C. It was part of the message that encouraged Zerubbabel and Ezra in building the temple and restoring Jerusalem, and that restoration movement is a type of the last reformation. The later chapters to which it belongs have a different historical setting and style, and they look beyond the restoration from Babylon and the immediate return from exile to the final restoration when Christ comes. Their general tenor is prediction of the Messianic King and kingdom, of Christ's kingdom, of the great day of the Lord, and of the punishment of the wicked. As part of those closing prophecies looking forward to the final restoration, the verse offers hope to those who seek God and grasp the promises of the Spirit by faith, while foretelling judgment for those who reject Him.

Leaders' Confession and Deliverance

The governors of Judah say within themselves that the residents of Jerusalem will be their source of strength, because both the people and that strength itself are found in the LORD of hosts their God. That inward confession means that in warfare against the nations their trust does not rest in themselves but in God's abiding presence among His people, since the LORD of hosts is their God. At the coming of Christ this acknowledgment brings hope to God's waiting people, for those inhabitants stand for the true Israelites, the church of God, whom God brings back to power. Jerusalem and the country around it will endure the heaviest force of the nations' last assault just before Christ comes.

The promise is of Jerusalem's miraculous preservation from an assault by the nations, in which Judah's leaders discern that Jerusalem's inhabitants draw their strength from the LORD of hosts their God, yet that preservation depended on the Jews choosing to receive their king, so that to reject him meant destruction instead. God pledged to defend Jerusalem on condition the people received Christ as their king, with the city's inhabitants becoming the governors' strength through the LORD while He wondrously shielded them from Roman power, but the nation's rejection of Christ cancelled that pledged protection. The chapter comes to fulfillment as individuals recognize that their own sin helped bring about Christ's suffering, and that personal recognition leads them to hate sin and to share in its fulfillment.