Zechariah 9:14

“And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.”

In the previous verses we have seen the making of a new covenant by the blood of the Messiah and the formation of the church (the sons of Zion) as well as the conflict that would rage between the sons of Zion and the sons of Greece. With verse 15 ending with a declaration that the sons of Zion would be as the sword of a mighty man, we continue in the vein of thought of war and conflict in verse 16.

“And the LORD shall be seen over them,“
This passage is best taken in the literal sense. Jehovah, the eternal and invisible God, would be seen! That He was in the Son who is the express image of His person (Heb 1:3). There are two fulfillments which immediately come to mind. The first is Jesus’ statement that if He is lifted up, He will draw all men to Him in John 12:32. In His being lifted up on the cross, Jehovah was most certainly seen ‘over’ the church and still is as the banner.

If we continue, however, down the line of thought that we previously established that Ephraim is a reference to God’s chosen, and in the timeline of Christ it specifically refers to the disciples, then we see an even more emphatic fulfillment of this prophecy when Jesus ascends to heaven in front of and over His disciples. As we read further in Zechariah 9, it’s apparent that the church will have incredible power. What did Jesus say to His disciples immediately before ascending? ‘Wait in Jerusalem till you receive power from on high.’ When we see what follows seeing Jehovah over the sons of Zion in Zechariah 9, it corresponds exactly with what we see following Jesus over the disciples. I believe that is because they are one and the same.

Whilst probably too complex to use in discussions with Unitarians and the like, this is powerful proof that Jesus and Jehovah are the same person (you’ll find it in the New World Translation, proof that no matter how hard you try, you can’t remove the evidence of Jesus’ deity from Scripture)

“and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning:“
The reference to arrow and lightning is one of reference to God’s acts of deliverance, the arrows and lightning being the means by which He strikes at the enemy. For examples, see Psalms 18:14, 144:5-6 where both arrows and lightning are mentioned. We also find Jesus liken His second coming to that of lightning in Luke 17:24. This passage of Scripture is not a reference to the Second coming of Christ, as we will find that later on in Zechariah, but it is conceivable that this could also be a reference to the first coming of Christ in general, for consider the brevity of His ministry on Earth, some three and a half years, it really was a blip on the radar compared to the thousands of years around it, but oh the impact it has made!
However, in light of the context of the verses, the arrow here is most likely a reference to war/power such as we see in the Psalms. This reading is most consistent with the passage.

“and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet,“
This trumpet can have two explanations which ultimately merge into the one. The first is that the trumpet was a herald for war and battle. This harmonizes with the theme of the verses we are in. The trumpet was often used in battle for signals, warning, and rallying people as referenced both in history and prophecy. See Joshua 6:4-5, Jeremiah 51:27 and Joel 2:1

The second explanation is drawn from Luke 4:16-21, where Jesus takes Isaiah 61:1-3 and applies it to himself as being concurrent with that day. If you take the time to read through Isaiah 61:1-3, it speaks of the acceptable year of the Lord and a day of vengeance. That was the first coming of Christ. It was a year of delight to the Lord because it brought liberty and healing to the captives (notice that we have already covered a captivity being freed in Zechariah 9). The acts of Isaiah 61:1-3 tie in very neatly with the year of the Jubilee, and you guessed it, the Jubilee was announced by a trumpet in the 49th year, on the tenth day of the seventh month. It was a signal that the coming year was the Jubilee in which all people would return to their families and possessions (land) You can find more about the Jubilee in Leviticus 25.

Of note is verse 10 where the LORD states, “proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”. Lay that over Isaiah 61:1-3 and then connect it to Jesus’ mission and the blast of the trumpet in Zechariah clearly points to this liberation of captivity that Jesus heralded. It also provides a beautiful recall of Zechariah 9:11-12 where we find prisoners being set free.

“and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.“
The whirlwinds of the south appear to be a reference to great gusts of wind that were quite forceful. You see it in action in Job 1:19 where a great wind from the wilderness (which would have been south of Job) was enough to knock down a house.
It is associated elsewhere with the LORD as well as a means of judgement and vengeance. Note Jer 23:19, 30:23, Eze 13:13, and Isa 41:16.

As we near the end of Zechariah 9, I hope you have at least had a glimpse into the depth and riches found in this chapter. With remarkable precision, the coming Messiah was foretold, His mission, the rise of the Church, and the LORD’s purpose. Perhaps one day I will have a chance to write about the Jubilee year, for it is a remarkable aspect of the Law, and it speaks to what the Church today ought to be doing as well. We are meant to be at war. Not a war for war’s sake, but rather, a war to bring liberty to the captives and to push back the forces of Hell itself.
In the coming verse, we will see a description of what that Church did look like, and oh that it would look like that again!