[:en]SCRIPTURE: ZECHARIAH 13
“In the whole land,” declares the Lord, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold; They will call on my name and I will answer them, I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” (Zechariah 13:8-9)
CLEANSING FROM SIN (vs. 1-6)
WHAT WILL HAPPEN “ON THAT DAY”?
- A fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity (v. 1)
- The Lord will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more (v. 2a)
- The Lord will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land (v. 2b)
- Every prophet will be ashamed of his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. (v. 4)
THE SHEPHERD STRUCK, THE SHEEP SCATTERED (vs. 7-9)
To save the flock, the Good Shepherd must be smitten. That is why Jesus as our Good Shepherd has to suffer and die for us. God will separate the true from the false by purifying them in a refining furnace. A third will be left to be His people and say: “The Lord is our God” They will call on His name and He will answer them. (v. 9)[:]