◄ Zechariah 14:1 ►
Behold, a day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence.
Study Bible
Behold
The word "Behold" is a call to attention, urging the reader to focus on the significant prophecy that follows. In Hebrew, this is often translated from "הִנֵּה" (hinneh), which serves as an imperative to look or see. It is a common biblical term used to introduce a revelation or important message from God. This word sets the tone for the gravity and immediacy of the prophecy, inviting believers to prepare their hearts and minds for the divine intervention that is about to be described.

a day of the LORD
This phrase, "a day of the LORD," is a recurring theme in prophetic literature, referring to a future time when God will intervene decisively in human history. In Hebrew, "יוֹם יְהוָה" (yom Yahweh) signifies a period of judgment and salvation. Historically, this concept is rooted in the expectation of God's ultimate justice, where He will vindicate His people and establish His kingdom. It is both a day of terror for the wicked and a day of hope for the righteous, emphasizing God's sovereignty and the fulfillment of His promises.

is coming
The phrase "is coming" indicates the certainty and imminence of the prophesied event. In Hebrew, the verb often conveys a sense of movement or arrival, suggesting that this day is not a distant possibility but an assured future reality. This serves as a reminder to believers of the unfolding of God's divine plan, encouraging them to live in anticipation and readiness for His intervention.

when your plunder will be divided
"Your plunder will be divided" speaks to the consequences of the impending judgment. The term "plunder" refers to the spoils of war, often taken by victors from the defeated. In the context of Zechariah, this could symbolize the material and spiritual losses suffered by those who oppose God's will. The division of plunder in the presence of the people suggests a public and humiliating defeat, highlighting the futility of resisting God's purposes. It serves as a warning to the unfaithful and a call to repentance.

in your presence
The phrase "in your presence" underscores the visibility and undeniability of the event. It implies that the people will witness the fulfillment of this prophecy firsthand, leaving no room for doubt or denial. This direct experience of God's judgment and justice is meant to reinforce the reality of His power and the truth of His word. It serves as both a sobering reminder of accountability and an assurance of God's ultimate victory for those who remain faithful.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD
The central figure in this prophecy, representing God's sovereign power and authority over the events described.

2. Jerusalem
The city that is the focal point of the prophecy, symbolizing God's chosen people and the center of His redemptive plan.

3. The Day of the LORD
A significant eschatological event characterized by divine intervention, judgment, and the fulfillment of God's promises.

4. Plunder
The spoils of war, indicating a time of conflict and the consequences of divine judgment.

5. The People of Jerusalem
The inhabitants who will witness the division of plunder, representing both the immediate audience and a broader spiritual community.
Teaching Points
Understanding the Day of the LORD
Recognize that the "Day of the LORD" is a recurring theme in Scripture, symbolizing both judgment and hope. It calls believers to live in readiness and anticipation of God's ultimate plan.

God's Sovereignty in Judgment
Acknowledge that God is in control of history and that His judgments are just. This should lead to a reverent fear of the Lord and a commitment to righteousness.

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare
The division of plunder signifies the spiritual battles believers face. We must be equipped with the armor of God to stand firm in faith.

Hope Amidst Judgment
Even in the face of judgment, there is hope for redemption and restoration. Believers are encouraged to trust in God's promises and His plan for salvation.

Witnessing God's Plan
Just as the people of Jerusalem witnessed the events, believers today are called to be witnesses of God's work in the world, sharing the gospel and living out their faith.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the concept of the "Day of the LORD" in Zechariah 14:1 shape our understanding of God's justice and mercy?

2. In what ways can we prepare ourselves spiritually for the "Day of the LORD" as described in various scriptures?

3. How does the imagery of plunder being divided challenge us to consider the consequences of spiritual complacency?

4. What parallels can we draw between the events in Zechariah 14 and the teachings of Jesus about the end times?

5. How can we be effective witnesses of God's redemptive plan in our communities, inspired by the prophetic vision in Zechariah 14?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Joel 2:31
This verse also speaks of the "Day of the LORD," emphasizing its nature as a time of darkness and judgment, which aligns with the themes in Zechariah 14:1.

Isaiah 13:6
Describes the "Day of the LORD" as a day of destruction from the Almighty, reinforcing the idea of divine judgment.

Revelation 16:14-16
Discusses the gathering of nations for battle, similar to the events surrounding Jerusalem in Zechariah 14.

Matthew 24:29-31
Jesus speaks of the end times and His return, which parallels the eschatological themes in Zechariah 14.

1 Thessalonians 5:2
Paul refers to the "Day of the LORD" coming like a thief in the night, highlighting its unexpected nature.
Sermons
A Sketch on Bad MenHomilistZechariah 14:1-3
A Sketch on Bad MenD. Thomas Zechariah 14:1-3
People
Azel, Benjamin, Uzziah, Zechariah
Places
Azal, Corner Gate, Egypt, Gate of Benjamin, Geba, Jerusalem, Mount of Olives, Rimmon, Tower of Hananel
Topics
Behold, Divided, Division, Force, Goods, Midst, Spoil
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 13:9

     4303   metals
     4324   dross
     4333   gold
     4363   silver
     4826   fire
     8027   faith, testing of
     8349   spiritual growth, means of
     8640   calling upon God
     8832   testing

Zechariah 13:8-9

     4019   life, believers' experience

Library
Light at Evening Time
This, then, shall be the subject of my present discourse. There are different evening times that happen to the church and to God's people, and as a rule we may rest quite certain that at evening time there shall be light. God very frequently acts in grace in such a manner that we can find a parallel in nature. For instance, God says, "As the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, even so shall my word be, it shall not return unto me void, it shall accomplish that which …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Light at Evening Time
AS WE read the Scriptures, we are continually startled by fresh discoveries of the magnificence of God. Our attention is fixed upon a passage, and presently sparklets of fire and glory dart forth. It strikes us; we are struck by it. Hence these bright coruscations. Our admiration is excited. We could not have thought that so much light could possibly lie concealed within a few words. Our text thus reveals to us in a remarkable manner the penetration, the discernment, the clear-sightedness of God. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

A Peal of Bells
The text, as you perceive, deals with horses which were unclean under the Jewish law yet, in the day spoken of in the text, the horses themselves shall be purged from commonness or uncleanness, and their harness shall be dedicated to God as certainly as the vestments of the High Priest himself. It will be a happy day indeed when the men who deal with horses, too often a race anything but honest and upbeat shall exhibit in their common transactions a consecration to God, so that on the horses' furniture …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

24TH DAY. Eventide Light.
"He is Faithful that Promised." "At evening-time it shall be light."--ZECH. xiv. 7. Eventide Light. How inspiring the thought of coming glory! How would we rise above our sins, and sorrows, and sufferings, if we could live under the power of "a world to come!" Were faith to take at all times its giant leap beyond a soul-trammelling earth, and remember its brighter destiny. If it could stand on its Pisgah Mount, and look above and beyond the mists and vapours of this land of shadows, and rest on …
John Ross Macduff—The Faithful Promiser

That all Troubles are to be Endured for the Sake of Eternal Life
"My Son, let not the labours which thou hast undertaken for Me break thee down, nor let tribulations cast thee down in any wise, but let my promise strengthen and comfort thee in every event. I am sufficient to reward thee above all measure and extent. Not long shalt thou labour here, nor always be weighed down with sorrows. Wait yet a little while, and thou shalt see a speedy end of thine evils. An hour shall come when all labour and confusion shall cease. Little and short is all that passeth …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Sanctified Commonplaces
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts.' (Zechariah xiv. 20, 21.) What I have to say may not strike some of you as setting forth any very high or exalted truth, but I am satisfied as to its being a very important matter. I want to talk to you about the sanctification of the commonplace things in life. …
T. H. Howard—Standards of Life and Service

The Girdle of the City. Nehemiah 3
The beginning of the circumference was from 'the sheep-gate.' That, we suppose, was seated on the south part, yet but little removed from that corner, which looks south-east. Within was the pool of Bethesda, famous for healings. Going forward, on the south part, was the tower Meah: and beyond that, "the tower of Hananeel": in the Chaldee paraphrast it is, 'The tower Piccus,' Zechariah 14:10; Piccus, Jeremiah 31:38.--I should suspect that to be, the Hippic tower, were not that placed on the north …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Evening Light
This chapter is an article written by the author many years after she had received light on the unity of the church. It will acquaint the reader with what is meant by the expression "evening light." "At evening time it shall be light." "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light" (Zechariah 14:6,7). The expression …
Mary Cole—Trials and Triumphs of Faith

Three Inscriptions with one Meaning
'Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it ... HOLINESS TO THE LORD.'--EXODUS xxviii. 36. 'In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.'--ZECH. xiv. 20. 'His name shall be in their foreheads.'--REV. xxii. 4. You will have perceived my purpose in putting these three widely separated texts together. They all speak of inscriptions, and they are all obviously connected with each other. The first of them comes from the ancient times of the institution …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The River of Egypt, Rhinocorura. The Lake of Sirbon.
Pliny writes, "From Pelusium are the intrenchments of Chabrias: mount Casius: the temple of Jupiter Casius: the tomb of Pompey the Great: Ostracine: Arabia is bounded sixty-five miles from Pelusium: soon after begins Idumea and Palestine from the rising up of the Sirbon lake." Either my eyes deceive me, while I read these things,--or mount Casius lies nearer Pelusium, than the lake of Sirbon. The maps have ill placed the Sirbon between mount Casius and Pelusium. Sirbon implies burning; the name of …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Evening of the Third Day in Passion-Week - on the Mount of Olives: Discoures to the Disciples Concerning the Last Things.
THE last and most solemn denunciation of Jerusalem had been uttered, the last and most terrible prediction of judgment upon the Temple spoken, and Jesus was suiting the action to the word. It was as if He had cast the dust of His Shoes against the House' that was to be left desolate.' And so He quitted for ever the Temple and them that held office in it. They had left the Sanctuary and the City, had crossed black Kidron, and were slowly climbing the Mount of Olives. A sudden turn in the road, and …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

A vision of the King.
ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we ever find out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and His worthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heart which is devoted to Him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear and know more of Himself, will always find something …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Prophet Joel.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS. The position which has been assigned to Joel in the collection of the Minor Prophets, furnishes an external argument for the determination of the time at which Joel wrote. There cannot be any doubt that the Collectors were guided by a consideration of the chronology. The circumstance, that they placed the prophecies of Joel just between the two prophets who, according to the inscriptions and contents of their prophecies, belonged to the time of Jeroboam and Uzziah, is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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