¹ Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you (Jerusalem) will be divided in your midst. ² For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured and the houses plundered and the women ravished; and half of the city will be exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

Zechariah 14:1-3 (AMP)

Continued…

This (probably – remember this is prophecy) continues the prophecy from yesterday where ⅔ of Israel is killed leaving ⅓ who suffer trials – like gold refined by fire. Of the ⅓ that remain, we see here the trials they will suffer – Jerusalem will be captured, atrocities against the women, half are exiled, and houses are plundered. We’ll see tomorrow how this is most likely at Christ’s 2nd return.

God punishes His people?

The difficult part is, God is clearly behind this. ”For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem.” If you find this difficult to reconcile to your picture of God, I encourage you to take a deeper dive into the Word and really know your God. True, God is a loving and gracious God and cares deeply about His creation, His chosen people. Yet He is also just and punishes sin and rebellion. Consider this article in gotquestions.org for a start.

God saves Jerusalem

In verse 3 and on, God shows His grace and love in saving Jesusalem. He goes forth (specific wording that means He goes to fight against His enemies) to defend Jerusalem and it’s remaining inhabitants. “The actual order of events in this day peculiarly the Lord’s is: (1) the nations assembled to war against Jerusalem (vs. 2); (2) the city captured and plundered, etc. (vs. 2); (3) the spoil of the city divided within its walls (vs. 1); (4) the Lord’s intervention (vs. 3).” (planobiblechapel.org) Tomorrow we’ll see an amazing demonstration of His power, the power of the Messiah, Jesus, our Lord. Read ahead!