◄ Zechariah 9:1 ►
This is the burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach and Damascus its resting place--for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD--
Study Bible
This is the burden of the word of the LORD

The message carries the weight of God’s settled purpose and announces judgment that no nation can evade. Zechariah speaks not from political speculation but by divine revelation, placing the coming events under the authority of the Lord.

Mal 1:1 This is the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel…
Zec 12:1 This is the burden of the word of the LORD…
Hab 1:1 This is the burden that Habakkuk the prophet received…

against the land of Hadrach

Hadrach was likely a Syrian district near Hamath, north of Damascus. Its inclusion shows that the Lord rules over lands beyond Israel’s borders and holds every people accountable before Him.

Isa 21:13 This is the burden against Arabia: In the thickets of Arabia…
Isa 13:1 This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah…
Nam 1:1 This is the burden against Nineveh, the book…

and Damascus its resting place—

Damascus, the leading city of Aram, had long opposed Israel and Judah. God’s judgment would come to rest there in full force. The prophecy anticipates the humbling of the northern powers and accords with judgments announced against Damascus in Isaiah 17 and Jeremiah 49.

Isa 17:1 This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, …
Amo 1:3 For three transgressions of Damascus, even four,…
Jer 49:23 Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard…

for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the LORD—

The Lord’s dealings with the nations would draw the attention of both Israel and the surrounding world. Events on the battlefield and among kingdoms would reveal that history is governed by the God of Israel, who judges pride, restrains evil, and fulfills His word.

Psa 145:15 The eyes of all look to You, and You give them…
2Ch 20:12 Our God, will You not judge them? We are powerless…
Psa 123:2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Hadrach
A region or city mentioned in the prophecy, possibly located in Syria. Its exact historical location is uncertain, but it represents a place under divine judgment.

2. Damascus
The capital of Syria, a significant city in biblical history, often representing opposition to Israel and a target of prophetic judgment.

3. The LORD
The covenant name of God, Yahweh, who is delivering the oracle through the prophet Zechariah.

4. The Tribes of Israel
Refers to the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, representing the people of God who are attentive to the LORD's actions.

5. Men
Humanity in general, indicating that the LORD's actions are observed by all people, not just Israel.
Teaching Points
Divine Sovereignty
God is sovereign over all nations, and His word is authoritative. We must recognize His power and submit to His will.

Judgment and Justice
God's judgment is just and serves as a warning to those who oppose Him. We should live righteously and align ourselves with His purposes.

Focus on the LORD
Just as the eyes of men and Israel are on the LORD, we should keep our focus on Him, seeking His guidance and wisdom in all circumstances.

Prophetic Fulfillment
Understanding prophecies like this one helps us see the continuity of God's plan throughout history and encourages us to trust in His promises.

Community Awareness
The mention of all tribes of Israel reminds us of the importance of community in faith. We should support and encourage one another in our walk with God.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does the mention of Hadrach and Damascus in Zechariah 9:1 teach us about God's view of nations that oppose His people?

2. How can we apply the concept of divine sovereignty in our daily lives, especially when facing challenges or opposition?

3. In what ways can we ensure that our focus remains on the LORD, as mentioned in this verse, amidst the distractions of modern life?

4. How does understanding the prophetic nature of Zechariah 9:1 enhance our appreciation of God's justice and mercy?

5. What role does community play in helping us keep our eyes on the LORD, and how can we foster a supportive faith community?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 17
This chapter also speaks of a prophecy against Damascus, highlighting the theme of divine judgment against nations opposing God’s people.

Amos 1:3-5
Amos prophesies against Damascus, emphasizing God's justice and the consequences of transgressions against His people.

Psalm 33:18
This verse speaks of the eyes of the LORD being on those who fear Him, paralleling the idea that the eyes of men and Israel are on the LORD in Zechariah 9:1.
Sermons
God's JudgmentsW. Forsyth Zechariah 9:1-8
National JudgmentsT. V. Moore, D. D.Zechariah 9:1-8
Prophetic FulfilmentsRalph Wardlaw, D. D.Zechariah 9:1-8
The Dark and Bright Side of God's Revelation to MankindHomilistZechariah 9:1-8
The Dark and the Bright Side of God's Revelation to MankindD. Thomas Zechariah 9:1-8
People
Aram, Javan, Jebusites, Zechariah, Zidon
Places
Ashdod, Ashkelon, Damascus, Ekron, Euphrates River, Gaza, Greece, Hadrach, Hamath, Jerusalem, Philistia, Sidon, Tyre, Zion
Topics
Aram, Belong, Burden, Cities, Damascus, Demmeseh, Especially, Eye, Hadrach, Lord's, Oracle, Rest, Resting, Resting-place, Thereof, Towards, Towns, Tribes
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 9:1

     1690   word of God

Library
Messiah's Entrance into Jerusalem
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. -- And He shall speak peace unto the heathen. T he narrowness and littleness of the mind of fallen man are sufficiently conspicuous in the idea he forms of magnificence and grandeur. The pageantry and parade of a Roman triumph, or of an eastern monarch, as described in history, exhibit him to us …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

And the Manner of his Entry into Jerusalem, which was the Capital of Judæa...
And the manner of His entry into Jerusalem, which was the capital of Judæa, where also was His royal seat and the temple of God, the prophet Isaiah declares: Say ye to the daughter of Sion, Behold a king corneth unto thee meek and sitting upon an ass, a colt the foal of an ass. [233] (Isa. lxii. 11, Zech. ix. 9) For, sitting. on an ass's colt, so He entered into Jerusalem, the multitudes strewing and putting down for Him their garments. And by the daughter of Sion he means Jerusalem. …
Irenæus—The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Caesarea. Strato's Tower.
The Arabian interpreter thinks the first name of this city was Hazor, Joshua 11:1. The Jews, Ekron, Zephaniah 2:4. "R. Abhu saith," (he was of Caesarea,) "Ekron shall be rooted out"; this is Caesarea, the daughter of Edom, which is situated among things profane. She was a goad, sticking in Israel, in the days of the Grecians. But when the kingdom of the Asmonean family prevailed, it overcame her, &c. R. Josi Bar Chaninah saith, What is that that is written, 'And Ekron shall be as a Jebusite?' (Zech …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

History of the Interpretation.
1. AMONG THE JEWS. This History, as to its essential features, might, a priori, be sketched with tolerable certainty. From the nature of the case, we could scarcely expect that the Jews should have adopted views altogether erroneous as to the subject of the prophecy in question; for the Messiah appears in it, not in His humiliation, but in His glory--rich in gifts and blessings, and Pelagian self-delusion will, a priori, return an affirmative answer to the question as to whether one is …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Hosanna!
Assuredly, this honor paid to our Lord was passing strange; a gleam of sunlight in a day of clouds, a glimpse of summer-tide in a long and dreary winter. He that was, as a rule, "despised and rejected of men", was for the moment surrounded with the acclaim of the crowd. All men saluted him that day with their Hosannas, and the whole city was moved. It was a gala day for the disciples, and a sort of coronation day for their Lord. Why was the scene permitted? What was its meaning? The marvel is, that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 37: 1891

And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Christian State
Scripture references: Matthew 22:17-22; 17:24-27; Acts 23:5; John 6:15; Matthew 4:8-10; John 18:36-38; Mark 14; 61,62; John 18:33; 19:19; Isaiah 9:6,7; 60:3; Zechariah 9:10; Daniel 7:14; Matthew 26:64; 26:53,54; 16:16,17; 25:31,32. CHRIST AND THE STATE The Relation of Christ to the State.--He was an intense patriot. He loved His country. The names of His great countrymen, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua and David, were ever on His lips. He offered Himself as the national Messiah (Matthew 21:1-17), …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
(from Bethany to Jerusalem and Back, Sunday, April 2, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 1-12, 14-17; ^B Mark XI. 1-11; ^C Luke XIX. 29-44; ^D John XII. 12-19. ^c 29 And ^d 12 On the morrow [after the feast in the house of Simon the leper] ^c it came to pass, when he he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, ^a 1 And when they came nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage unto { ^b at} ^a the mount of Olives [The name, Bethphage, is said to mean house of figs, but the …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The First Day in Passion-Week - Palm-Sunday - the Royal Entry into Jerusalem
At length the time of the end had come. Jesus was about to make Entry into Jerusalem as King: King of the Jews, as Heir of David's royal line, with all of symbolic, typic, and prophetic import attaching to it. Yet not as Israel after the flesh expected its Messiah was the Son of David to make triumphal entrance, but as deeply and significantly expressive of His Mission and Work, and as of old the rapt seer had beheld afar off the outlined picture of the Messiah-King: not in the proud triumph of war-conquests, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Formation of the Old Testament Canon
[Sidenote: Israel's literature at the beginning of the fourth century before Christ] Could we have studied the scriptures of the Israelitish race about 400 B.C., we should have classified them under four great divisions: (1) The prophetic writings, represented by the combined early Judean, Ephraimite, and late prophetic or Deuteronomic narratives, and their continuation in Samuel and Kings, together with the earlier and exilic prophecies; (2) the legal, represented by the majority of the Old Testament …
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Quotation in Matt. Ii. 6.
Several interpreters, Paulus especially, have asserted that the interpretation of Micah which is here given, was that of the Sanhedrim only, and not of the Evangelist, who merely recorded what happened and was said. But this assertion is at once refuted when we consider the object which Matthew has in view in his entire representation of the early life of Jesus. His object in recording the early life of Jesus is not like that of Luke, viz., to communicate historical information to his readers. …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Fifthly, as this Revelation, to the Judgment of Right and Sober Reason,
appears of itself highly credible and probable, and abundantly recommends itself in its native simplicity, merely by its own intrinsic goodness and excellency, to the practice of the most rational and considering men, who are desirous in all their actions to have satisfaction and comfort and good hope within themselves, from the conscience of what they do: So it is moreover positively and directly proved to be actually and immediately sent to us from God, by the many infallible signs and miracles …
Samuel Clarke—A Discourse Concerning the Being and Attributes of God

The Gospel Feast
"When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat?"--John vi. 5. After these words the Evangelist adds, "And this He said to prove him, for He Himself knew what He would do." Thus, you see, our Lord had secret meanings when He spoke, and did not bring forth openly all His divine sense at once. He knew what He was about to do from the first, but He wished to lead forward His disciples, and to arrest and …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

The Gospel of the Kingdom.
"This is He whom Seers in old time Chanted of with one accord; Whom the voices of the Prophets Promised in their faithful word." We have seen that, in the providence of God, John the Baptist was sent to proclaim to the world that "The Kingdom of Heaven" was at hand, and to point out the King. And as soon as the Herald had raised the expectation of men by the proclamation of the coming Kingdom, our Lord began His public ministry, the great object of which was the founding of His Kingdom for the salvation …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

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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