Be Prepared
Read Zechariah 9:1–14:21
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1. Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you!
2. I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.
3. Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past.
4. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.
5. You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. . . .Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him. Zechariah 14:1-5
What would you do if you went to work and your boss announced to you, “Clean out your desk. This is your last day.” Would you be ready? Would your family be ready? Would you know what to do?
“Be prepared” is the theme of this passage. This portion of Zechariah contains many prophecies about the Messiah, some of which were fulfilled when Jesus Christ came and paid the penalty for sin. But God’s people still await the fulfillment of the remaining prophecies—when Jesus comes back to take them to heaven with him. As you read, hear Zechariah’s strong message: “Be ready.”
Zechariah predicted the Triumphal Entry of Jesus riding into Jerusalem (see Matthew 21:1-11) more than five hundred years before it happened (Zechariah 9:9). Other portions of Zechariah’s prophesies about Christ, such as the coming day of the Lord (14:1-9), have not yet been fulfilled. Jesus told his disciples that he would return (see Matthew 25:31). Meanwhile, he wants his followers to “watch” for his coming (a command often paired with prophecies about his return, as here in Zechariah 14:1).
We often make two mistakes with regard to the return of Christ: (1) we ignore it, or (2) we presume to know the date. We don’t know when Christ will return, so we shouldn’t pretend that we do. But we do know that he will come back, and God wants us to be ready at all times.
If Christ were to come back today, would you be ready? If not, you can get ready by living according to God’s Word consistently. Spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, live a morally pure life, and spend time with God on a regular basis. Be prepared by living each day in anticipation of his return.
