“The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.”
As we get to the end of Zechariah 9, it’s worth having a quick recap to see the general flow that we have covered so far. This recap is simplified into language to show it’s fulfillment in the New Testament.
Verse 8 – the LORD turns back to Jerusalem after the exile
Verse 9 – the Messiah enters Jerusalem, riding a colt, afflicted and bringing salvation
Verse 10 – speaks of the Pax Romana during which Christ lived, the establishment of His Kingdom, the inclusion of the Gentiles in it, and its expansion
Verse 11 – The Messiah establishes a covenant with the people through blood, setting free those awaiting salvation under the Law
Verse 12 – Those who are liberated by the blood of the covenant are commanded to turn to the Christ in whom they will be given two-fold what was taken from them.
Verse 13 – The Christ authorizes His disciples to establish His church (kingdom) and predicts/begins the struggle between Christianity and Greek philosophy
Verse 14 – Christ ascends into heaven, beginning the Jubilee as the disciples now go to Jerusalem to await the arrival of the Holy Spirit
This brings us to verse 15, where we see a continuation of that history: I have broken the verse up into four sections, but in a brief summary, it speaks to the protection of Heaven on the Church, its invincibility in the face of opposition, the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, and the church’s role.
“The LORD of hosts shall defend them;“
LORD here is the actual name, Jehovah, not a title, in conjunction with the description ‘of hosts’ or simplified, ‘of armies’. Perhaps it’s in use to give emphasis to who it is that is protecting the sons of Zion. The word used for ‘defend’ is literally ‘to hedge about’. Is that not what we see in Acts? Despite enemies all around and relentless persecution early on, the Church would see God step in time and time again to protect it.
“and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones;“
There are several thoughts I had in conjunction with this section.
- The word ‘devour’ is a reference to eat, both in the sense of food and fire. Fire seems to fit more appropriately in this context, but both could be understood to mean an immense appetite. If you think of it as referring to fire, it also speaks to an invulnerability in close combat, burning up all that it comes in touch with. It’s a particularly powerful metaphor if you keep in mind the comparison of the Holy Spirit and fire. The early Church powered through opposition, much like an out-of-control bush fire. It was a super-fire, and there was nothing you could do but let it burn because it was hedged about by the Almighty.
- It makes more sense to see the ‘devour’ as in relation to fire when you take the next part, because sling stones are a ranged weapon. But I get ahead of myself. ‘Subdue’ is better translated as ‘to tread on’, so that it would read, ‘and they shall devour, and tread on the sling stones.’ A very similar text to this is found in Job 41:28b ‘slingstones are turned with him (leviathan) into stubble.’
Slings were very common ranged weapons in that period of time and place, and could be especially lethal. The implication of the text here is that even the ranged weapons would be of no effect, falling to the ground and being trodden on (you would be lying on the ground if the sling stones did their job, not walking on top of them)
Hence, you have a people who devour as the fire, all that they come in contact with, and if weapons of range are used, the projectiles will do nothing to stop them and they would march on top of the spent ammunition.
It’s a fearsome image, and is seen in action all throughout Acts.
“and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine;“
The mention of them drinking immediately brings to mind Jesus’ words in John 7:37-38, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
It also brings to mind Jesus’ words of ‘drinking His blood’ which was then followed up by the institution of communion. This reference has further credence as one will recall that only a few verses before, the blood of the covenant was mentioned, and in a moment we will be revisiting the blood once again.
For good measure, do not forget the Samaritan woman at the well where Jesus offers water of life.
Before we move further, I would like to clarify that what I’m putting forward here is not necessarily what it must mean. This is merely my conclusion after much study, thought, and cross-referencing. It’s also important to note that since verse 10, everything has been written in images, meaning, we don’t understand it literally, such as, there was a literal bow called Judah with an arrow in it called Ephraim, but we are reading the text, understanding that what we read is a definitive reference to something literal, we simply need to understand what it is. Only in verse 9 do we find a literal reading of prophetic nature, perhaps that was so that one could recognize when the prophecy was beginning to be fulfilled. You could go on with a literal reading, but it would rapidly make no sense at all.
I have said all that because as we proceed, I will continue to apply the same rules. If the immediate context before this phrase was to be understood to be representative of something, not a literal understanding, then so to it’s probable that we should understand the next part in the same manner.
“and make a noise as through wine;“
This sentence is what drew my attention to this chapter several years ago. I was searching the Old Testament to see what it had to say about speaking in tongues as was done in Acts and as Pentecostals today advocate. See, if you look for a reference of making a noise as through wine in the New Testament, you will quickly find yourself in Acts 2:13, where some mocking said, “These men are full of new wine!”
Clearly the disciples after being filled with the Holy Ghost were acting very much like they were drunk. Now if this verse in Zechariah 9 is referencing the Church, then does it not fit perfectly to say, the sons of Zion will make a noise as through wine?
I am a firm believer that any doctrine in the New Testament can be found and should be supported by the Old Testament. I am quite convinced that this passage is a firm support for the doctrine of speaking in tongues. The fit is perfect. Indeed, if we look at the start where I have overlain what I believe this passage is speaking of prophetically, it fits in the chronology (and without any twisting of words/timeline) with absolute smoothness. Moreover, all this was fulfilled in the space of less than a year. In fact, less than a few months had passed, and this was all being fulfilled. Jesus’ triumphant entry, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church coupled with persecution and conflict.
That is not to say that it is all finished, for I believe that all that we find spoken of the Church here can and should still apply to the Church today if it truly is the Church. If it’s His Church, Jesus will be hedging it about, it will still be devouring, it will still be treading on the stones of the sling, it will still be drinking the water of life, and it will still be speaking in tongues making out as though it were drunk.
There is a beautiful crimson cord that travels through the Scripture, confirming its authenticity and confirming the Word. I have said much on this verse already, so I will call it a night, and will finish the last section off another time, for it is quite in-depth.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
(Ephesians 5:18)
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