Zechariah 9:16

“And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people:”

In the previous verses we have seen the rise of the Church and the divine protection and authority that rests on it. Now we see all this encapsulated in verse 16 & 17.

When we consider that Jesus means literally, ‘Jehovah is salvation’, then what do we see here but a repetition of all that has gone before: Jehovah will save!

It is worthy to note that in the following chapters of Zechariah 10 and 11, the terminology of sheep and shepherds is brought up again and again. In this instance of the mention, to keep in the context of the text and as there has been no break as of yet in the utterance, then it should be taken to mean the flock of his people is a reference to the sons of Zion.

It brings to mind what David says in the Psalms, the Lord is leading, the Lord is feeding, the Lord is watching over the sheep. It brings to mind what Jesus says when he speaks of in John 10:16 how there shall be one fold and one shepherd referring to the joining of the Gentiles and Jews in Him. All this can be found in reference to the ‘flock’.

Moreover, reference to the the LORD saving His flock is appropriately paired with John 10:15, where Jesus foretells his dying to save the sheep. All of this has already been spoken of in Zechariah 9, thus we see the recap happening now.

In this opening part of the verse one can draw a strong parallel between Jesus and Jehovah, a useful tool in the arsenal when dealing with Unitarians or any other group who denies that Jesus is Jehovah in the flesh.

“for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.”

This verse is of significant interest to me. It’s a comparison again of the sons of Zion, this time to stones in a crown. What exactly is being referred to here?

The stones are not specifically mentioned to be precious, but seeing that they are in a crown, one would assume them to be precious stones. In fact, some draw comparisons to the ephod that the High Priest wore with twelve precious stones symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. Others have referred to the onyx stones with the names of the tribes of Israel engraved on them and worn on the shoulders of the High Priest (Ex 28). It’s hard to say what is referred to precisely, as to complicate matters even farther, the word for crown means literally, ‘set apart, dedication, consecration’, coming from a word that means ‘to hold aloof’. It is translated as crown, consecration, separation.

The association of this word with both crown and consecration is interesting if one were to consider the links between government (the crown) and God (the Holy one)

To better understand what is being referred to here, we must go on to the ensign. The ensign means ‘to gleam or be conspicuous’.
We can thus infer the following:

• They are stones, not the gold.
• They are in the crown but not the crown

We do however find an almost parallel verse in Isaiah 62:3 where a rejuvenated people of God are likened to a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord. So perhaps the previous points are not significant, for whether part of the crown, or the whole crown, a crown’s glory is not to itself, but to the King who wears the crown.

So too then, are we to understand that if the sons of Zion, the Church, is as stones in a crown, then the Church’s glory is not for itself, but to bring glory to Christ? I think that is safe to say so.

The idea of the word ensign is significant because it brings about the idea that they are meant to be noticed. The Church is meant to bring Christ to the world. Just as the crown attracts the viewers attention, initially to the crown but ultimately to the wearer, so to the Church would attract attention, first to itself, but ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ. Is that not what we find on the day of Pentecost?
The Church is born amidst fire and the sound of a mighty rushing wind (like in Zech 9:14,15 where we find the Lord going with whirlwinds and His people ‘devouring’) and on that same day, thousands are drawn to the spectacle of 120 people sounding and acting like they are drunk when they are not. What was the end result? Jesus Christ was preached and by the end of the day three thousand people had been added to the Church (Acts 2:41).

I think this explanation harmonizes best both with the immediate context and the fulfilment of the prophecy. In literally one day, we see the Lord Jesus saving His flock as He pours out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost upon the faithful few, who immediately become conspicuous to the multitude and draw even more to the Christ who is the King who lives forever and ever and to whom the crown ought to reflect is glory.

Do you have some other thoughts? Let me know in the comments 🙂