1 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
The term “The Day of the Lord” refers to a specific time selected of God, not always the end of time. In this case, it is referring to the time God has selected to punish Judah for her rebellion and rejection. All her treasures will be divided by the Roman soldiers who will conquer her.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; …
The Roman army was made up of men from every nation they had conquered; all the (known) world.
… and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
This certainly describes the city of Jerusalem when Titus’ army charged in.
A small residue was left to care for the land (and pay taxes) while another small group was not killed but sold as slaves for the mines in Egypt or sent to the games in Rome, where they were lion bait.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
There is a promise that God will punish Rome for her enthusiasm in destroying Israel, though it would be a while.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Titus cleared the mountain paths so they weren’t mountain paths anymore; they were straight and flat with half the mountains on the north and half on the south. This was under God's inspiration, and thus His doing.
“His feet” is the divine direction and judgment of God.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
Many, many fled from the advancing Roman army. In fact all who listened to Jesus in what we call “The Olivet Discourse” (Matthew 24) made sure they were out of town by the time the Romans arrived.
We don’t yet know exactly where this “Azal” is, nor do we have any historical record (in or out of the Bible) of an earthquake in the time of Uzziah, though it must have been something else for it to still be remembered in the time of Zachariah, some two hundred years later.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
We have switched "days." We are now back to speaking of Christ.
On the day of Jesus crucifixion, on the day of our salvation, it became dark in the middle of the day. It was still daytime, but the sunlight mourned as the “Light of the World” died.
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
On that day, not only did it become light again, physically, in the evening (after sunset when the Jewish day began), but Light for our souls was offered. (Rev 21:23, 25)
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Jesus called Himself “The Living Water.” (John 7:38, 39) His disciples carried His message both around the Mediterranean (the former sea) and towards the east (the hinder sea. This message began in Jerusalem.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and His name one.
Jesus rules the whole earth today, not just the spiritual world. Paul tells us that He puts those in charge of nations that He wants to be in charge. This can only be done by the One who is the Boss of all.
David used a similar term in Psalms 47:2 “For the Lord is a great King over all the earth.” God has always ruled the world.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
When the natural Jew was God's people, salvation could be found everywhere in the land. After the Crucifixion, the only source of salvation will be the New Jerusalem- the Christian Church. God has built His kingdom from and through that “city.”
The names Zechariah uses here are those in use in his life, of course. At the time of this writing, the walls had not yet been rebuilt from the destruction of Babylon’s conquering.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
Jerusalem is being rebuilt but the only safe place to “dwell” is in God's Church. There, no matter what happens in the physical world, there will never again be destruction.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
All those who fight against True Jerusalem will be punished. We don’t always see that punishment in our life time, but we can trust that it does happen.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.
We’ve switched time again. This “that day” is speaking about AD70. The majority of the suffering in physical Jerusalem was brought by three different Jewish factions killing each other and all innocent bystanders.
Of course, spiritually, those who fight against True Jerusalem often find themselves fighting and destroying each other.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
Many Jews came to Jerusalem to take a stand against Rome.
The “roman” soldiers brought great riches with them in their conquering.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Revelation tells us that there is a New Jerusalem; the Bride of Christ. This is the Christian church. All nations worship Jesus in this New Jerusalem.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
God will not bless those who do not come to the New Jerusalem- The Christian Church- to worship Him.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
There is a famine of the Word of God in any people who do not worship Him, as well as a plague of sin and selfishness. However, I wonder how many of History’s “Natural Disasters” are really punishments from God for rejecting Him.Some natural disasters are just "life." Things happen in this fallen world. But maybe we miss the mark by not attributing enough of them to divine judgement instead.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The Feast of Tabernacles was a celebration of thanksgiving for God’s deliverance. The Christian Church is a religion of thanksgiving to God for His deliverance from sin. Those that do not choose thankfulness to God will be punished.
20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
In ancient Israel, the priest’s had bells on the bottom of their robes with “Holiness unto the Lord” engraved on them. But in New Jerusalem, everything is dedicated to God, even common pack animals.
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17
We are to dedicate EVERY part of our lives to God and do EVERY job to the glory of God.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
Since the Christian faith occurs in the heart, there is no way for anyone who is a “Canaanite” to come in. There are no more Pharisees pretending to be faithful but really serving themselves instead of God. Oh, there may be some sitting in the pews, or even preaching behind the pulpit, but they are not in the “House of the Lord."