11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;
I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
against your sons, O Greece,
and wield you like a warrior’s sword.
Zechariah 9:11-13 (ESV)
Context reminder
Let’s remember that Zechariah was writing primarily to the Jews there in Jerusalem who needed encouragement and hope. That continues here. God sets the prisoners free from a hopeless, fatal situation (waterless pit). He tells them to return to their strong hold. Clarke’s commentary says it’s as if God is telling them (and us): “Ye who feel your sins, and are shut up under a sense of your guilt, look up to him who was delivered for your offences, and rose again for your justification.”
The “double” of verse 12 is twice as much good as the evill they suffered – in part for their sin. Finally, God says He will even use Israel to defeat Greece, a clear prophecy of coming victory which most scholars believe was achieved during the time of the Maccabees.
Prisoner of Hope
Though some might think this refers to people in a “prison of hope”, that does not make sense to us – unless Zechariah intended for it to cause us to stop and think about it. Rather, I believe it’s talking about prisoners who have hope – as the NASB renders it (Zech 9:12 NASB)
Be a prisoner of hope
What a mighty God we serve! Look at how He treats His chosen. We’ve seen earlier how they rejected Him (and were sent to Babylon as slaves) and upon return, focused on building their own houses rather than the Lord’s. Yet He still forgives and, by grace, gives double blessing!Here’s food for thoughtful application: “If you let your circumstances define the way you see God, you are a prisoner of perspective. Or worse, a prisoner of your past mistakes! But if you let God define the way you see your circumstances, you are a prisoner of hope.” (www.markbatterson.com)
