25 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO Zechariah 10 This chapter is a prophecy of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, spoken of in the preceding chapter Zechariah 9:1. It begins with an exhortation to ask rain of the Lord; denounces wrath upon his enemies; and consists of various promises to his people. The...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain,.... There was the former and the latter rain, of which see Hosea 6:3. The former rain was in autumn, a little before or about seed time; the latter was in the spring, and a little before harvest, which is here referred to. So Hesiod (g) calls those rains the autumnal and vernal rains; and...
Matthew Henry - Complete Commentary - Matthew Henry
The scope of this chapter is much the same with that of the foregoing chapter—to encourage the Jews that had returned with hopes that though they had been under divine rebukes for their negligence in rebuilding the temple, and were now surrounded with enemies and dangers, yet God would do them good, and make them prosperous at home and victorious...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. The atheistic philosopher of the present day laughs at such a verse as this, and sneeringly asks, “ What possible connection can there be between men and women praying to God and the showers...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For the idols have spoken vanity,.... The vanities of the Gentiles cannot give rain; if they promise it, they speak vain things; God only can give it, and therefore it must, be asked of him, Jeremiah 14:22. The word for idols is "teraphim", the same as in Genesis 31:19 and here signifies worshippers of idols, as the Targum interprets it; and may...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners how seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: Observe the readiness of man to forsake the great fountain of living waters and to make unto himself broken cisterns which can hold no water. Notice too, that some sort of comfort may, for a time, be derived from a false trust, but...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds,.... The Targum interprets it of "kings"; as the "goats" of "princes", in the next clause; by whom, according to Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, are meant the kings of Greece; but rather the antichristian kings are designed, the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with the whore...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: Whenever people are afflicted with unfaithful ministers, when God comes to visit these people, be will not only punish the ministers, but the religious leaders, the false professors in those churches, the he-goats who led the flock astray. Oh, what a plague and a curse will an...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Out of him came forth the corner,.... Or "cornerstone"; by which is meant a king or ruler, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi; and is no other than the King Messiah, who was to come out of Judah, and did spring from that tribe, 1 Chronicles 5:2 and this is a reason why God will visit the house of Judah, or the Jews, in the latter day, because the...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. Let us learn from this verse that everything cometh from the Lord of hosts, the God of providence as well as of grace. Those statesmen, who are the corner-stones of the great building of state, must come from him. Those Christian...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they shall be as mighty [men],.... That is, the converted Jews shall be such; they shall be strong in faith, giving glory to the Messiah; they shall be strong in the grace that is in him; they shall be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; his strength shall be made perfect in their weakness: which tread down [their enemies] in...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded. The Jewish infantry often turned to flight the Syrian cavalry, and I may fitly compare the apostles of old to humble fighters upon foot, while...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I wilt strengthen the house of Judah,.... Both with internal and external strength, so that they shall be able to stand their ground against enemies of every sort: and I will save the house of Joseph: the ten tribes, such of them that shall be found, for all Israel shall be saved, Romans 11:26 not only temporally, but spiritually, with an...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off; for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them See, beloved, how the everlasting covenant is the great foundation of everything for the saints. “...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And [they] of Ephraim shall be like a mighty [man],.... What remain, and shall be found of the ten tribes, shall be as is said of Judah, or the Jews of the two tribes, Zechariah 10:5: and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: they shall be filled with inward and spiritual joy, through the love of God shed abroad in their heart; and through...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD. Get a firm hold of this promise, believers, and plead it. Are you dull and heavy, desponding and sad? Then plead this promise, “ Their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.”
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I will hiss for them,.... Or "whistle for them" (p); the word signifies, as Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, the motion of the lips with the voice, and is a sign of calling; and so the Targum renders it, I will cry or call for them; and it denotes the call of them by the Gospel, which is the voice of Christ, which is soft, sweet, and melodious; is a...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they hare increased. The word “hiss” is supposed by some to be an allusion to the Eastern custom of men who managed bees making a sound like hissing in order to gather them into the hive. Others, however, translate the word “piping”, as the shepherd pipes...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I will sow them among the people, The people of God in the Gentile world: this is to be understood of the conversion of the Jews, when they will become the good seed that hear the word, and understand it, and bring forth fruit; and of their being known, acknowledged, and reckoned among the people of God, who now are not; and of their being...
Spurgeon - Verse Expositions - Charles H. Spurgeon
And I will sow them among the people and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. And he shall pass through...