In this episode of ADDBIBLE, explore how the words of the prophet Zechariah resonate through time, connected vividly to accounts in the Gospels of Matthew and John. We unpack how the scriptures strengthen our faith, understanding how previous prophecies are seen again within the New Testament. Allen J. Huth offers a deeply personal look at how these texts restore hope and promise, challenging listeners to reflect on God’s assurances of restoration in their own lives. With a supportive nod to ongoing faith projects, we’re reminded of the cycles of prophecy and fulfillment.
Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we are in Zechariah chapter 9. We’ll listen to our guest reader Brian Taylor, Vice President and General Manager of Salem Communications, as he reads the 17 verses of Zechariah 9.
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The book of Zechariah, chapter 9. The oracle of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus is its resting place. For the Lord has an eye on mankind, and on all the tribes of Israel, and on Hamath also which borders on it, Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise. Tyre has built herself a rampart, and heaped up silver like dust, and fine gold like the mud of the streets. But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions, and strike down her power on the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire. Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid. Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish. Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded. The king shall perish from Gaza. Ashkelon shall be uninhabited. A mixed people shall dwell in Ashdod. And I will cut off from the pride of Philistia, and take away its blood from its mouth.” and its abominations from between its teeth it too shall be a remnant from our god it shall be like a clan in judah and ekron shall be like the jebusites and i will encamp at my house as a guard so that none shall march to and fro no oppressor shall march again over them for now i see with my own eyes Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation as he, humbled and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the warhorse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations. His rule shall be from sea to sea. and from the river to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because the blood of my covenant is with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope. Today I declare that I will restore to you double, for I have bent Judah as my bow. I have made Ephraim as its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.” then the Lord will appear over them, and his arrow will go forth like lightning, and the Lord God will sound the trumpet, and will march forth as the whirlwinds of the south. The Lord of hosts will protect them, and they shall devour and tread down the sling stones, and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine, and be full like a bowl, drenched like the corners of the altar. On that day the Lord their God shall save them as the flock of his people, for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land.” For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty. Grain shall make the young men flourish, and the new wine the young women.
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In 1991, I read Zechariah chapters 1 through 9 in one day, and I did write a verse about chapter 9. I quoted verse 12. This very day, I am declaring that I will restore double to you. Ten years later, in 2001, I wrote about this chapter, Prophecy of Jesus Coming on a Donkey. and I was referring to verse 9. And another 10 years later in 2011, I read Zechariah 7 through 9 on the same day again, and I wrote concerning verse 9, I wrote 9-9 is quoted by Matthew and John as referring to Jesus entering into Jerusalem. I’d like to start today by referring to various ways we do read the Bible. You can see in my quoting of Bible reading journals, that I vary my Bible reading. So back in 1991, I read the whole book of Zechariah in two days. I read nine chapters on one day and the rest of the book on the second day. In 2001 and in 2011, I was reading the whole Bible. So I was reading both Old Testament passages and New Testament passages on the same day. And that’s why I was reading Zechariah like seven through nine or a couple chapters a day, because I was also reading the New Testament. On those days, I was also reading the book of Revelation. So I vary my Bible reading each year, and I encourage you to do that as well. Many years I like to read the whole Bible, so I start and I read cover to cover. And that takes a lot of reading, about 20 minutes a day to do that. Other years I like to slow down my pace. So I might read a book a month or just read books until I finish and then complete another book. I may choose the books that I’m going to read in a year. Some years I read 20 books, 10 in the old, 10 in the new. Some years I read only the New Testament. Some years I read only the Old Testament. So I encourage you to vary the way you read the Bible. ADDBIBLE is a tool to help you. And in ADDBIBLE, we try to take about a chapter a day, so you get a good concentration of the Word of God itself and some comments about what it means and an application of how it applies to your life. That’s the pace that we’ve chosen in ADDBIBLE. And yet, even in ADDBIBLE, we vary the pace. We took the book of Psalms in 30 days. And we took the 66 chapters of Isaiah in 31 days. And we’re taking Zechariah one chapter a day. So let’s get back to Zechariah and look at chapter 9. The first eight verses of this chapter are judgments against the enemies of Israel. But verse 9 introduces the new king of Israel. Let’s read this powerful verse. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation as he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the fowl of a donkey. Matthew quotes this verse in Matthew 21. Let’s read. Starting with verse 1. Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethpage to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied in a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, The Lord needs them. and he will send them at once. This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets, saying, and here he’s quoting the prophet Zechariah in chapter 21, verse 5, Say to the daughter of Zion, Behold, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the fowl of a beast of burden. The apostle John also refers to this verse. Let’s read John chapter 12, verse 12. The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel. And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written. And here John quotes Zechariah. Fear not, daughter of Zion. Behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt. Did Jesus just happen to decide to ride a donkey into Jerusalem for his triumphant entry? Or did he do it because he knew the scriptures of old, he knew the prophecies of God, and he did the very things that would fulfill the prophecies that were already written? I believe that’s the case. Jesus knows the scriptures, he is the word of God, and his actions fulfilled the scriptures exactly. In Zechariah 9, verse 10, the chapter goes on to explain about this king of Jerusalem, this coming king. He shall speak peace to the nations. His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Yes, Jesus will bring peace. He will rule over the whole earth. And verse 12 gives another encouragement to the people. Zacharias says, Today I declare that I will restore to you double. The city lay in ruins. The walls need to be rebuilt. The temple needs to be rebuilt. But God is saying, I declare to you that I will restore to you double. Is your life in ruins? Do your walls need to be rebuilt? Do you need to rebuild your spiritual temple before the Lord? Have you made your life a wreck? Today, friends, God says to you, you come back to me and I will restore to you double. God can fix up your messed up life. He rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. He rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. He restored Jerusalem, the faithful city. He can do the same for you today. Lord, we thank you for the encouragement we get from your word. Even if our lives are in ruin, you can restore to us double. Call us back to you, just like Zachariah is calling the people of Israel back to you. May we have an obedient heart to hear your word and to respond accordingly. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to act. In the name of Jesus, we ask it. Amen. Thanks for listening to ADDBIBLE today. To produce 365 days of ADDBIBLE takes time and money. Thanks to a major donor, the first year was sponsored. That year ends September 30th. To continue ADDBIBLE, we now need your generous financial partnership. We pray you have been enjoying and benefiting from ADDBIBLE, a fresh new voice on Christian radio. If so, go to EzraProject.net right now and show your support with a financial contribution. We can’t do an all-day funding marathon, but we can appeal to you for the next few weeks and watch God work. Thank you for your prayerful consideration. Maybe you wonder if Old Testament prophecy is true, came true already, or is coming true in the future. First, most prophets had a recurring theme. God loves us. Because he loves us so much, he gave us commandments, rules, statutes to live by. If we live by them, we can be blessed beyond what we can think or imagine. But when we choose to disregard, ignore, and set aside his rules, we are subject to his curses. We live under curses until things get so bad we cry out to God. He’s always there, waiting for our cry. Most often, but not always, He responds with grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. We get back in line, then the cycle repeats. The Old Testament prophets cover this cycle over and over. Sometimes we wonder how the Israelites could have been so foolish. Yet, in our day, we have the same choice. We know God loves us. We generally know the rules, and we’d know them a lot better if we were more consistent in our time in God’s Word. Yet we decide, like those in the Old Testament, to ignore them and live out our lives. Things don’t often go well, so we finally cry out to God. As we see in the Old Testament, prophecy comes true as God restores rebellious, disobedient people like us back into right relationship with Him. But it is not always the case. Sometimes he has enough and does not deliver them. So yes, Old Testament prophecies are true, they came true, and they will come true in the future as we cycle through the same life choices the Israelites made. Thus, the value of reading all the Old Testament prophets. Maybe we will learn what they tried to teach. God loves us. Keep his rules, love him back, and enjoy his blessings.
