The first four verses of this poem deal with the north and the last four with the south. The first two verses and the last two speak of salvation, and the middle four speak of judgment. The passage begins and ends with a reference to eyes, the eyes of men (v. 1) and the eye of God (v. 8).
9:1-2 The Lord sent a burden (Heb. massa', heavy pronouncement) to Zechariah that announced judgment and blessing.183It concerned the lands of Hadrach (Hatarikka, near Hamath),184Hamath on the Orontes river (a city farther south in Aramea, cf. Amos 6:2), Damascus (the capital of Aramea, still farther south), and Tyre and Sidon (Phoenician cities between Aramea and Israel, cf. Ezek. 26:3-14; 28:20-24). The order of these cities in the text is from north to south. Earlier prophets had seen enemies invading Israel from the north (Isa. 41:25; Jer. 1:14-15; Ezek. 26:7), but now Yahweh would take the same route destroying Israel's enemies as He came.
"Originally the Mediterranean coast had been designated Israel's territory (Nu. 34:5, 6) and yet it had never been possessed by Israel. Now at last the Lord will claim it."185
This revelation concerned a time when all the people of the world, especially the Israelites, would be looking toward Yahweh.186As history would show, this was when Alexander the Great was rapidly moving south toward Egypt after defeating the Persians at Issus in 333 B.C. The whole world was worried about what he would do next, especially the residents of the cities of Palestine that lay in his path. All these people would have their eyes on Alexander, but he was only the Lord's instrument, so Zechariah could say that they were really looking to Yahweh. The nations would have done so unwittingly, but Israel would have looked to Him for protection.
9:3-4 Tyre had trusted in physical fortifications for her defense and in stockpiles of silver and gold for her security. She had built a 150-foot high wall around the city, which stood on an island just offshore following Nebuchadnezzar's earlier unsuccessful 13-year siege (cf. Isa. 23:4; Ezek. 29:18), and she had gained great wealth through commerce.187Nevertheless the Lord would dispossess her and displace her wealth casting it into the Mediterranean Sea. The parts of the city that would not go down into the water would go up in flames. Alexander destroyed Tyre by building a causeway from the mainland to the island city and leveling it.188
9:5-6 The Philistine cities farther south along the Mediterranean coast would observe Tyre's fate and fear, especially Ekron, the northernmost of the four cities mentioned.189God would also destroy these cities and populate them with a mixed group of citizens. Thus He would humble the pride of the Philistines. This too happened when Alexander swept south.
9:7 The Lord would also remove the blood that these pagans ate, which was forbidden in Israel, from their mouths. He would take the unclean, detestable food that they ate from their mouths. Drinking blood and eating unclean food was part of Philistine pagan worship (cf. Isa. 65:4; 66:3, 17), so the judgment in view included punishment for idolatry. Some remaining Philistines would turn to the Lord and become like the Israelites in their faith in Yahweh. As the Jebusites became incorporated into Israel in David's day (cf. 2 Sam. 24:16; 1 Chron. 21:18), so would the Philistines in the future from Zechariah's viewpoint.
9:8 The Lord promised to protect His people and land as with a band of soldiers since enemies would oppose them.190No enemy would oppress them ever again because the Lord had seen the plight of His people and would defend them (cf. 4:10; Exod. 3:7; Ps. 32:8). This promise of no more oppression anticipates the second advent of Messiah.
"For their preservation at the time of Alexander and for their future deliverance from every oppressor, Israel is indebted to the providence of God which watched over them for good."191
This section is a prophetic description of Yahweh's march from the north, using Alexander the Great as His instrument, destroying Gentiles nations but preserving the Jews.192
"As history shows, the agent of the Lord's judgment was Alexander the Great. After defeating the Persians (333 B.C.), Alexander moved swiftly toward Egypt. On his march he toppled the cities in the Aramean (Syrian) interior, as well as those on the Mediterranean coast. Yet, on coming to Jerusalem, he refused to destroy it."193
"The first section of this . . . part of the book establishes from the start two important facts: the Lord's victory is certain, and he intends to bring back to Himself peoples long alienated from Him. These truths underlie all that follows and culminate in the universal worship of the King, the Lord of hosts, in 14:16-19."194
"One should not . . . anticipate a future scenario in which God will literally march from Hadrach to Jerusalem, establishing his dominion over all opposition. What is at hand is a formulaic way of asserting an unquestionably literal establishment of YHWH's kinship in the end times, a suzerainty to be achieved in the pattern well known to Zechariah and his fellow countrymen on the human level."195
