There Is a FountainZechariah 12:1–13:1

Main Idea: What Jesus will do at His second coming reveals who He is right now.

1. His Sovereign Position: He Created (12:1).
2. His Surpassing Power: He Conquers (12:2-9).
3. His Saving Purpose: He Cleanses (12:10–13:1).

A preteen boy was standing on a sidewalk in a large city, waiting at a corner bus stop one evening around 6 o’clock. A man who worked in a store on that corner came out and said, “Hey, kid, you won’t catch a bus here. The last one came at 5:30.”

The boy said, “No, the bus will come.” The man shrugged his shoulders and left the boy standing there waiting. 6:15 passed, then 6:30.

Again the man came out, a little irritated, “Son, I’m telling you, the bus isn’t going to come. You’ve missed it. You need to go to another stop.”

“I’m sure the bus is coming,” the boy said. The man turned back to the store, muttering under his breath that the boy could stay out there all night for all he cared.

As the city got darker at 6:45 and 7:00 and the boy kept standing there at the bus stop, the man in the shop couldn’t help coming out another time.

“Look, that bus is not coming,” he said. “It’s dangerous around here at night. You need to get home. There’s a stop 8 blocks up from here. That bus runs until 7:30. If you run, you can make it.”

The boy shook his head. “No. I need to stay here. My bus is going to come any minute.”

By now, the man was almost exasperated. “Kid, I’m here every night. The last bus is always at 5:30. You’ve got to believe me when I say that last bus isn’t . . .”

Just then, the man saw the boy smile, looking slightly past him. Then he heard the hiss of hydraulic brakes and smelled the diesel fuel as a bus pulled up beside them and opened the door right where the boy stood, The boy hopped on the bus as the man stood there amazed.

“How did you know the bus would come?” the man said.

“That’s easy, mister,” said the boy. “The bus driver is my dad.”

The Bible promises that Jesus Christ is coming. His second coming is mentioned repeatedly in the OT. In fact, there are more prophecies about the second coming of Jesus in the OT than there are about His first coming. Go to the NT and you will discover that all nine of the authors of the NT mention the second coming of Jesus in some way. Based on Scripture, we know that Jesus Christ is coming again.

Yet, just as the man in the store questioned whether the boy’s bus would come, there are people who doubt the Lord’s second coming. The Bible talks about these doubters in 2 Peter 3:3-4:

First, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days to scoff, living according to their own desires, saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? Ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”

Notice that, even by questioning His coming, those scoffers affirm that Jesus is coming again, because the Bible says their ridicule is a sign of the last days. Jesus Christ is coming.

Why does God’s word keep revealing, over and over again, truth about the second coming of Christ? There are many reasons. Knowing that Jesus is coming again gives us hope. His return reminds us of the certainty of God’s promise and causes us to remember His faithfulness, His justice, and our sure salvation. The reality of Christ’s return encourages us to be mindful of His power that works in our lives right now. The second coming reminds us of God’s love for His people and that His Lordship will prevail. Moreover, the second coming reminds us that God has a plan for the ages. Though the world may seem like it’s spinning out of control, the promise of the second coming assures us that God is still ruling and reigning over time, history, and eternity. Ultimately, He has everything fully under His control. All of these things are taught to us through truth of the second coming of Jesus Christ.

In Zechariah 12:1–13:1 the prophet delivers a specific word from God about the Lord’s return. Throughout this passage we can see that what Jesus will do at His second coming reveals who He is right now. Three aspects of the Lord’s unchanging character emerge in Zechariah’s prophecy of Christ’s second coming.

His Sovereign Position: He Created (Zechariah 12:1)

Zechariah 12:1 begins the second oracle in this book, the first one having begun in 9:1. As noted previously, the word translated “oracle” can mean “to bear” and “to lift up.” The word carries the idea of a weighty message delivered by God’s messenger and laid upon the people. The oracle beginning in Zechariah 9 concerned Hadrach and other Gentile nations that had opposed Israel. The burden in Zechariah 12, however, is laid on Israel itself, foretelling particularly what will happen to the city of Jerusalem at the end of the ages.

Before Zechariah speaks of events that will happen in the future, he talks about something that happened in the past with continuing implications in the present. In verse 1 the prophet uses three phrases describing our Lord’s work as “Creator.” By saying that the Lord “stretched out the heavens,” it means that that He flung out into space all of the stars, galaxies, and planets—everything we see when we look up in the sky. “Laying the foundations of the earth” indicates that the Lord set the earth on a firm foundation, making the solid ground upon which we plant our feet. The third thing this passage mentions about the Lord’s creative work is very personal: He “formed the spirit of man within him.” In other words, He breathed out His own life and gave life to men and women.

Interestingly, in the Hebrew text, all three of those verbs—stretched out, laid the foundation, and formed—are present tense participles. The form of the words remind us that God not only made everything, and us, in the past, but moment by moment He still stretches out the heavens, He still founds the earth, and He still forms the spirit of man within him. He sustains His entire universe continually, and He upholds us through His creative power.

Zechariah 12:1 raises a question: Why would God begin a prophecy concerning the future and the second coming of Christ by reminding His people that He is Creator? Here’s the answer: The foundation for everything that God calls His people to be and do rests in the fact that God made us. Why are you accountable to God? Because God made you. Why will God one day judge the entire world? Because God made the world. It belongs to Him. We belong to Him. We didn’t make ourselves; He made us. Therefore, He has the sovereign and absolute right to rule over us and even to judge us.

Have you ever bought a new shirt or a new pair of pants and found, tucked into one of the pockets, a slip of paper that says, “Inspected by . . .” A lot of times, the little note will say, “Inspected by 7.” It seems like they use the number 7 a lot, maybe because they know it’s a perfect number!

When I see one of those little “Inspected by 7” notes, it makes me think that somewhere in the shirt factory, at the end the whole process of making my shirt, Inspector 7 was sitting at her station when my shirt came across her table. She took my shirt, held it up, measured it, checked all the stitching, made sure all the seams were sewn right, looked to see if the pattern of the fabric was right, and if nothing was wrong with the shirt, took that little slip from a huge stack and put it in my shirt pocket: “Inspected by 7.”

Use your imagination for just a moment. Could you picture a newly formed shirt ever saying to Inspector 7, “What right do you have to judge me? Who do you think you are? You’re looking at me, you’re pulling on me, and you’re making sure that all these things are right with me. What gives you the right?”

I can imagine Inspector 7 saying, “Mr. Shirt, the reason I have the right to judge you is because I am your manufacturer. I made you, and because I created you, I have the right to inspect you and decide whether or not you meet my qualifications.”

When the Bible tells us that our God stretches out the heavens, founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, it is a reminder that we are accountable to God. He has the right to inspect us. He has the right to hold us to His righteous standard because He made us. As we think about judgment, as we think about the end of the ages, we need to understand that the judgment that will come at the end of the age will hold all of us accountable to our God.

An atheist believes there is no God and therefore no accountability. That’s one of the great appeals of atheism: that there’s no accountability. A pantheist, who believes that everything is God, believes that what is right for me may not be right for you, because all truth is relative. It’s a subjective accountability because all of us relate to God in our own way. A deist believes that God created the earth then stepped back to leave everything in creation alone. A deist believes in limited accountability before God because he thinks that God is not engaged with His creation.

But a biblical theist, who believes in an active, present, Creator God, who has revealed Himself as the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, holds to real responsibility on the part of human beings before God. Understanding that God made us, the theist believes we are accountable to Him. Furthermore, a Christian theist is someone who believes that God has stepped into history through the incarnation of His Son, and that, one day, He will judge all the earth against the standard of that same one person: His Son, Jesus Christ. Followers of Christ believe that we have a high and specific accountability to Him. That’s why God begins this text about Christ’s return by talking about the Lord as our Creator. That is His sovereign position.

His Surpassing Power: He Conquers (Zechariah 12:2-9)

In Zechariah 12:2-9 the prophet begins to describe what will happen when the whole world comes to besiege Jerusalem in the last days. A phrase is found several times in this passage, beginning in verse 3: On that day. In chapters 12–14 the phrase is found a total of 16 times, including eight times in Zechariah 12:1–13:1. The “day” that the Bible is talking about is a specific event: the day of the Battle of Armageddon. As it is described in Scripture, the Battle of Armageddon is not merely one military fight. Instead, it is actually a campaign that will be fought on several different fronts. The campaign will be fought in the Valley of Armageddon, of course. Many times in Israel, I have stood on the hill called Megiddo, looking across the Valley of Armageddon. It is a wide, flat valley. It is beautiful and lush. Military experts have described it as one of the earth’s most perfect battlefields (Wiersbe, Be Victorious, 146).

One day all of the enemies of God, led by the Antichrist, will come to wage war against Jerusalem, gathering for battle at Armageddon (Zech 14:1-3; Rev 16:16; 19:19). The fight in the Valley of Armageddon is part of the battle. However, the battle is also going to be fought in the city of Jerusalem. “On that day,” then, refers to the time of the Battle of Armageddon, a day that will culminate in the second coming of Christ.

The Lord uses two images to describe how He will defeat His enemies as they come against Jerusalem. In verse 2 He says, “I will make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering for the people who surround the city.” A cup that causes drunkenness is a common figure of speech among the prophets to describe God’s judgment (Isa 51:17, 21-22; Jer 25:15-28). Jesus used the same figure in His Gethsemane prayer when he asked the Father, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matt 26:39). During the Battle of Armageddon, as the city is besieged, God will cause Jerusalem to be like a drink that causes her enemies to become drunk and powerless. In verse 3 God promises to make Jerusalem “a heavy stone for all the peoples.” Like an immovable stone that a man tries futilely to move, only to harm himself by doing it, Jerusalem’s enemies would tear themselves apart by attempting to attack and overthrow God’s people in the Holy City.

While verses 2 and 3 use poetic language and imagery to describe what will happen to Jerusalem during the Battle of Armageddon, in verses 4-9 the text employs literal language to describe the Battle of Armageddon as the conflict moves from house to house in Jerusalem. Verse 4 shows how God will confuse His enemies on that day. Horses will panic as a result of sudden blindness and their riders will become crazed and out of control. Meanwhile, God will keep the house of Judah under His “watchful eye.” The Hebrew for “watchful” means an eye that is open and paying close attention. The word is meant to contrast with the blind eyes of the enemies’ horses.

Verse 5 shows that the Lord will use His deliverance and protection during the battle to awaken confidence and faith on the part of the leaders of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Many interpreters believe that at the beginning of the Battle of Armageddon the people in the surrounding area of Judah will be against the people of Jerusalem. But then, as they see God working and moving to bring victory to the city, the people will become convinced that the inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength because of the Lord. Consequently, they will turn to the Lord as well. As a result of their newly ignited faith in the Lord of Hosts, verse 6 indicates that the leaders of Judah would become like a “firepot in a woodpile” and “a flaming torch among sheaves.” A firepot was used to carry hot coals to start a wood fire. A torch was used to light dry grain. The leaders of Judah will have new power to rout their enemies as they trust in the Lord for help.

Verse 7 promises that those living in tents in the Judean countryside would be delivered first, keeping the descendants of David and those living in Jerusalem from exalting themselves above the rest of Judah. In verse 8, however, the Lord promises that while the weakest inhabitant will fight with the courage and boldness of David himself, the house of David will fight like the Angel of the Lord, the preincarnate Second Person of the Trinity who had led Israel to great victory in the past (Exod 23:20; 32:34; 33:2; Josh 5:13), even slaying 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (Isa 37). Verse 9 summarizes how the Lord would work on behalf of His people in the Battle of Armageddon: “On that day, I will set out to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

These verses remind us that God’s side always wins. Some people foolishly reason that, since the Lord always conquers, we should work and pray to get God on our side. That is exactly backwards. You don’t get God on your side; you get on God’s side. Joshua the son of Nun learned that lesson. Joshua 5 tells about what happened as Joshua began to lead the children of Israel into Canaan. The promised land was not a vacant lot. People were there. Cities were there. Enemies were there. There were battles that the children of Israel had to face once they crossed the Jordan River.

The first major city they came up against was Jericho, the oldest city in the world. A fortress-like wall surrounded the city. Jericho had armaments and mighty men inside, ready to fight. This evil city had stood against God and needed to be defeated in the name of the Lord. But Joshua did not know how he was going to conquer Jericho.

As Joshua was trying to determine how to attack the city, he looked up to see a tall, strong warrior standing in front of him with a drawn sword in hand. Joshua asked the man a natural question: “Are You for us or for our enemies?” (Josh 5:13). The man gave an unexpected answer: “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army” (Josh 5:14). Joshua bowed before the man and prepared Himself to obey the Lord’s commander. That would be Joshua’s key to victory. He understood the surpassing power of our Lord, so he said, “I’m not going to try to get you on my side. I just want to make sure I’m on your side.” God’s side always wins.

Through His surpassing power, Jesus conquers. As we think about Jesus at His second coming, conquering all of His enemies, we need to understand that, even now, God’s side always wins. If you want to experience God’s best for your life, your family, your business, and your ministry, line yourself up with Him. Get on His side.

Not very long ago, Michele and I were walking on the beach at Amelia Island on the east coast of Florida. The waves were coming in, we were laughing and talking, holding hands, having a great time. We had been walking for maybe 30 or 40 minutes in one direction, and then turned to go back to our hotel. The instant we turned, we realized that the wind, which had been at our backs, was now blowing in our faces. The walk back was so much harder! It’s easy to walk with the wind at your back. It can be drudgery to walk with the wind in your face.

You can either go through your life with God’s wind at your back, discovering, through His Word, through prayer, through worship, and through a submitted life what He wants for you and where He desires to take you. Or you can decide to turn against Him and live with His wind blowing in your face, always going opposite the direction that He has for you. God is not going to change His direction. When we are opposing Him, He wants us to change our direction.

Our tendency is to place our plan before God—whether it’s a plan for our family, personal life, business, or ministry—and say, “God, here’s the life I want to live. Please affirm my plans. I will serve You as long as You work on my terms.”

And God says, “I don’t work that way.” His surpassing power requires that we adjust ourselves to Him. As we see Him conquering His enemies at the Battle of Armageddon, it reminds us that He wants to conquer our own obstinate spirits so that we can turn to Him and experience His victory.

His Saving Purpose: He Cleanses (Zechariah 12:10–13:1)

The final section of our text reveals the work of Christ at the Battle of Armageddon to cleanse the hearts of the people of Israel. Verse 10 says that after God brings physical deliverance to the people of Jerusalem, He will “pour out a spirit of grace and prayer” on them. Whether “spirit” here refers to the Holy Spirit or the inner attitude of the people is unclear from the text itself. Certainly, though, the results of “grace” and “prayer” are consistent with the work of God’s Spirit in the lives of His people.

Realizing their sins, the people will cry out to God for forgiveness. The reason for their repentance becomes clearer at the end of Verse 10: “They will look at Me whom they have pierced.” This refers to nation’s piercing of the Messiah. The term usually carries the idea of piercing to the point of death. The piercing of Jesus on the cross, as nails were driven into His hands and feet, thorns pierced His brow, and, most notably, a spear pierced His side (John 19:34, 37), is intimated very strongly in this prophecy. The Hebrew for “look,” nabat, means to look attentively. The nation will look at Him, not only physically as Christ returns to earth on the Mount of Olives (Zech 14:4), but also spiritually, as they turn from their sin to Him. As Israel looks at Christ, the people will realize something that had previously eluded them: their guilt in rejecting Him and their need for His forgiveness.

Suddenly, the hearts of God’s people that have been hardened against Jesus, not just for decades, but for centuries and even millennia, will be softened. The rest of Verse 10 as well as verse 11 describe the mourning and grief the nation will experience as they look upon Christ. The mourning is compared to that over the death of an only child or a firstborn. The mourning is also likened to “the mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” This refers to the public display of grief when King Josiah, the only godly king between the time of Hezekiah and Nebuchadnezzar, was slain by Pharaoh Neco (2 Kgs 23:29-30; 2 Chr 35:22-27). “Hadad-rimmon,” the name of a pagan god of storms and fertility, probably refers to a place in the valley of Megiddo near where King Josiah died and was mourned. Verses 12-13 describe further the extent of the mourning, which will include David’s house (representing royalty), Nathan’s house (representing the prophets), and Levi’s and Shemei’s houses (representing the priesthood). Verse 14 shows that all of Israel, including the women, will share in mourning at the sight of the pierced Messiah, indicating a comprehensive repentance on the part of Israel at Christ’s second coming.

Zechariah 13:1 depicts the gracious result of Israel’s repentance. God promises to cleanse His people from two things: “sin,” which refers to anything that separates us from God or anything that is not right according to God; and “impurity,” which is anything in our lives that is broken. William Cowper’s hymn, “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” is based on Zechariah 13:1. While the Jews cleansed their ceremonial uncleanness by ritual washing in water, sin and impurity can only be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. First John 2:2 says, “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.” Through His cleansing power, Jesus brings us salvation. The power of the gospel, the power of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, reaches to every part of our brokenness and makes us right with God.

On a mission journey to India I was trying to be very careful to take my malaria pills regularly and properly. A good friend of mine had gone to Africa shortly before my trip and had contracted malaria. He wound up in the hospital for a long time and nearly died, so I wanted to make sure I followed the right directions with my medication.

One night I was eating dinner with a friend who is a medical doctor. I asked him, “How important is it that I take my malaria medicine on an empty stomach?”

He said, “It’s very important. The food can absorb the medication and make it less potent.” Then he continued, “We tell people, whether they’re taking those pills for malaria or for acne, to make sure that they take it on an empty stomach.”

I said, “Hold on, what did you just say? Taking it for what?”

He said, “Whether they’re taking it for malaria or for acne.”

I said, “You mean, this same medication?”

He said, “Oh, yeah. The medication you’re taking is the same thing we prescribe to clear up your face. It’s an anti-bacterial.”

When I got home I went to the medicine cabinet to find the medicine my teenaged son was taking for his complexion. It was exactly the same medication. Same ingredients. Same dosage. It’s exactly the same stuff.

Nobody ever died from acne. Many people have died from malaria. But the same medicine that will keep me from dying has other benefits in my life as well. It can make my skin clearer.

The most important reason to come to Jesus Christ is the deep need of sin in our lives. We’re broken before God because of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ is the only medicine that will make us right. When you look on the One who was pierced for your transgressions and trust Him as your Savior, a river of life begins to flow that cleanses you of sin. But, praise God, His saving work also can cleanse you of uncleanness, of anything in your life that is broken, whether it’s your marriage, family, or other relationships, whether it’s your emotions, whether it’s attitude and outlook on life. When we come to Jesus with our brokenness—whatever it is—by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, His medicine is able to save every part of who we are.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What are some practical spiritual benefits of understanding biblical prophecy concerning the return of Christ? Can you list some ways that His return affects the way you will live your life today?
2. How does God’s past work of creation connect to His future work of judgment?
3. Does adherence to the biblical teaching of creation change a person’s belief about moral and spiritual accountability? How?
4. From the perspective of this passage, why are you accountable to God?
5. How does your personal accountability to God affect the way you relate to yourself, family, friends, or even strangers?
6. Zechariah 12:5 indicates that the Lord will use His deliverance of Jerusalem during the Battle of Armageddon to awaken its residents’ faith in Christ. How does that coming event affect your prayers and attitudes toward Jewish people now?
7. Recognizing the conquering power of Christ, what areas of your life do you need to surrender and submit to Him?
8. The fountain that washes away the sin and impurity of Jerusalem will be opened by God’s own initiative. What are some of the activities of God in the lives of individuals to bring us salvation and cleanse sin?
9. What are some of the manifestations of spiritual brokenness in our lives?
10. How does the Gospel meet us in our brokenness to make us whole? Consider this question in the areas of spiritual, emotional, mental, and relational wholeness.