Zec 14:16-21 | KingComments | STEP | After all enemies have been judged, i.e. the enemy armies of the heathen peoples, the realm of peace can begin. “any who are left of all the nations” will go up annually to Jerusalem for the feasts ( ). Of all the feasts of the LORD mentioned in Leviticus 23, the Feast of Booths is mentioned by name. It is the last feast of the cycles of feasts. It is celebrated when the whole harvest has been brought in. It is the last and the culmination of all feasts. The Feast of Booths is mentioned here because this feast itself finds its fulfilment in the millennial realm of peace. During the feast, the wilderness journey of the people is remembered and also the more than two thousand years that the people have wandered through the wilderness of the peoples. All the nations, the rest of them, the nations which the Lord Jesus calls ‘sheep’ ( ), celebrate it with them, most probably through a delegation which they send to Jerusalem. They will worship the Messiah. In the realm of peace, it is still necessary to rule in order to restrain sin. It is not yet the perfect state. On families that do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD, no rain will fall. As a result, there will be no harvest for them ( ). Of the heathen peoples, Egypt is specially mentioned ( ). We should not infer from these verses that at the time of the completion of the kingdom of God there will still be heathens who will refrain from worshiping the true God. The idea is simply that there will then be no more room for heathenism within the sphere of the kingdom of God. We see this emphatically in the two following verses that form the end of this chapter and this book, where all unholy things will be removed from the kingdom. The application of the Feast of Booths for us is that the Lord Jesus appreciates it when we think back to what He did on the cross. We do this on earth especially when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and proclaim the Lord’s death. We will remember for all eternity what He did because we will always see the Lamb standing, as if slain ( ).

‏ Zechariah 14:16-21

The Feast of Booths

After all enemies have been judged, i.e. the enemy armies of the heathen peoples, the realm of peace can begin. “any who are left of all the nations” will go up annually to Jerusalem for the feasts (Zec 14:16). Of all the feasts of the LORD mentioned in Leviticus 23, the Feast of Booths is mentioned by name. It is the last feast of the cycles of feasts. It is celebrated when the whole harvest has been brought in. It is the last and the culmination of all feasts.

The Feast of Booths is mentioned here because this feast itself finds its fulfilment in the millennial realm of peace. During the feast, the wilderness journey of the people is remembered and also the more than two thousand years that the people have wandered through the wilderness of the peoples. All the nations, the rest of them, the nations which the Lord Jesus calls ‘sheep’ (Mt 25:31-40), celebrate it with them, most probably through a delegation which they send to Jerusalem. They will worship the Messiah.

In the realm of peace, it is still necessary to rule in order to restrain sin. It is not yet the perfect state. On families that do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD, no rain will fall. As a result, there will be no harvest for them (Zec 14:17). Of the heathen peoples, Egypt is specially mentioned (Zec 14:18-19).

We should not infer from these verses that at the time of the completion of the kingdom of God there will still be heathens who will refrain from worshiping the true God. The idea is simply that there will then be no more room for heathenism within the sphere of the kingdom of God. We see this emphatically in the two following verses that form the end of this chapter and this book, where all unholy things will be removed from the kingdom.

The application of the Feast of Booths for us is that the Lord Jesus appreciates it when we think back to what He did on the cross. We do this on earth especially when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper and proclaim the Lord’s death. We will remember for all eternity what He did because we will always see the Lamb standing, as if slain (Rev 5:6).

Everything Is Dedicated to the LORD

While outside Israel evil is judged, within the people everything is “HOLY TO THE LORD”, that is, everything is dedicated to Him. The whole life will be pervaded by the holiness of the LORD. The people will then be the holy nation that God has always envisioned (Exo 19:6). What used to stand only on the turban of the high priest (Exo 28:36) is now read everywhere, which will be true in practice. Earlier, horses of the enemies were struck by the curse (Zec 14:15), here horses contribute to the glorification of the LORD.

The same goes for the cooking pots in the house of the LORD. These cooking pots are, as it were, upgraded to a service directly related to the altar, i.e. they contribute to the worship of the LORD. All ordinary utensils are used for multiple glorification of God. This is already true for us. Everything we do, including the ordinary eating and drinking, should be for the glory of God (Col 3:17; 1Cor 10:31).

What is true for the cooking pots in the house of the LORD, is true for “every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah” (Zec 14:21). Every everyday utensil shall be dedicated to the LORD and will be used to His honor. Every object throughout the land will be so holy that it could be used in the temple.

With this presentation Zechariah wants to speak to the heart of his people. He wants them to think about that future time and then make sure that they bring everything in line with it. Also for us it is important to take the house of God, the church, seriously. This means that we dedicate everything in our whole lives, seven days a week and twenty-four hours a day. Everything in God’s church has to serve to the glory of Him of Whom the house is.

Everything that has always endangered service to the LORD will then no longer be there. The merchants – that is the meaning of the name Canaan – will no longer be there to turn the things of the Lord into merchandise. The Lord cleansed the house of His Father of merchants as the first act in the temple (Jn 2:16). The time when religion is merchandise is gone forever. The judgment on the roman catholic church as an economic power indicates this (Rev 18:15-24).