There Is a Fountain

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.

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.