Through Zechariah God pronounces his judgment on the enemies of Israel today. I think one of the most striking marks of God's judgment shows up in the second portion of verse 5. "Ekron also [shall see God's judgment and writhe in anguish] because its hopes are confounded" (ESV). We are very much the same way. We see God's judgment and find that our hopes are confounded. If we have built our hope on our ability, if we have built our hope on our wealth or safety, our economic or moral potential, our hopes are confounded by God's judgment. We see that God proclaims all our efforts to be worthless. He proclaims that all our efforts are sin because they are founded on our own desires, corrupted by Adam's sin. We think we can replace the living God by our own imaginations and actions. God reminds us that we cannot.
How else does our Lord controvert our ideas of honor, glory and power? See what happens in verses 9-17. The Lord comes. The king enters Jerusalem. Is he a great and mighty warrior? He is humble. Is he on a war horse at the head of a mighty army? He is sitting on a young donkey. Does he speak judgment to the rulers? He allows them to judge him. Does he slay his accusers? He rather dies on a cross. Yet on the third day he shows that he is the victor over the enemies none of us can conquer - death, hell and the grave. He shows that he is the bringer of eternal life as he demonstrates that he is the resurrection. He is the one who sets the prisoners free. He is the one who shows the impotence of his enemies. This is our Lord Jesus Christ. He has confounded the hopes of all who hope in themselves.
May we hope in our Lord today.
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