Zechariah 14:17

17 And it hath come to pass, That he who doth not go up of the families of the land unto Jerusalem, To bow himself to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, Even on them there is no shower.

Zechariah 14:17 Meaning and Commentary

Zechariah 14:17

And it shall be, [that] whosoever will not come up
This, though it follows upon the former account, must be understood of times preceding the spiritual reign of Christ; for the rain of the Gospel will be upon all the earth in the latter day glory; and all nations will then serve and worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even those that remain after the general destruction of the antichristian states; besides, express mention is hereafter made of Egypt, which designs Rome, ( Revelation 11:8 ) and the whole manifestly refers to the time of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth, who had power to shut the heaven, that it rain not, ( Revelation 11:6 ) :

of [all] the families of the earth unto Jerusalem, to worship the
King, the Lord of hosts:
all of the antichristian party, that refuse to worship the Lord with his true church, according to his revealed will:

even upon them shall be no rain;
not literally, but spiritually; and is to be understood either of the love and favour of God, comparable to rain in its original, it being owing to the will of God, and not to the merits of men, and therefore is distinguishing and sovereign; in its objects, persons very undeserving; in the manner of its communication, it tarries not for the will and works of men, and comes in great abundance; and in its effects, it softens, cools, refreshes, and makes fruitful; and not to have this is to be hated of God: or of the blessings of divine grace; these are from above like rain, depend on the will of God, are free gifts, and given in abundance, and make fruitful; the contrary to these is cursing: or of the Gospel, which is of God and from heaven, falls according to divine direction, and softens, refreshes, and revives; and not to have this is the sorest of judgments, ( Amos 8:11 ) ( Isaiah 5:6 ) .

Zechariah 14:17 In-Context

15 And so is the plague of the horse, of the mule, Of the camel, and of the ass, And of all the cattle that are in these camps, As this plague.

16 And it hath come to pass, Every one who hath been left of all the nations, Who are coming in against Jerusalem, They have also gone up from year to year, To bow themselves to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, And to celebrate the feast of the booths.

17 And it hath come to pass, That he who doth not go up of the families of the land unto Jerusalem, To bow himself to the King, Jehovah of Hosts, Even on them there is no shower.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, nor come in, Then not on them is the plague With which Jehovah doth plague the nations That go not up to celebrate the feast of booths.

19 This is the punishment of the sin of Egypt, And the punishment of the sin of all the nations, That go not up to celebrate the feast of booths.