Commentary - Zechariah 8:20-23

Bird's-eye view

Here at the end of this didactic section of Zechariah, the prophet gives us a glorious, sun-drenched picture of the future. After dealing with questions about fasting and the need for true justice and mercy (Zech. 7:1-14, 8:16-17), the Lord opens up the windows to show what He intends to build. This is not some small, ethnic, hole-in-the-wall religion. The vision is global. This is a picture of the Great Commission’s success, a portrait of the victory of the gospel in time and on earth. This is what postmillennialism looks like in the Old Testament. It is a Spirit-induced, grassroots movement of global evangelism, where the attractiveness of God's presence among His people becomes irresistible to the nations. It is a beautiful prophecy of the ingathering of the Gentiles, not as second-class citizens, but as full members of the covenant people of God.

The scene is one of enthusiastic, infectious faith. It is not a top-down, coerced conversion, but a bottom-up, voluntary flood of humanity seeking the Lord. The motivation is not political power or earthly riches, but a desire to "entreat the favor of Yahweh." And the focal point is the presence of God with His people. The nations will grab hold of the Jew, not because of some ethnic superiority, but because they recognize that God is with him. This is a prophecy about the expansion of the covenant from one nation to all nations, fulfilled in the person of the ultimate Jew, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His body, the church.

Outline

Context In Zechariah

Chapters 7 and 8 form a unit that addresses a question about fasting. The people wanted to know if they should continue to mourn the destruction of the temple. Zechariah, speaking for the Lord, pivots from their ritual question to the heart of the matter: true religion is about justice, mercy, and faithfulness, not just going through the motions. After rebuking their fathers for their hard hearts, which led to the exile, the Lord provides a series of ten promises in chapter 8, showing the glorious restoration He has planned. Our text is the magnificent capstone to these promises. The fasting will be turned to feasting, and the feasts will be so attractive that the whole world will want to come. This passage, therefore, is not a standalone oddity but the climax of God's restorative agenda. He is not just rebuilding a city; He is building a global kingdom.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 20 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities.

The verse opens with the authoritative formula, "Thus says Yahweh of hosts." This is not Zechariah’s hopeful speculation; this is the declared purpose of the Lord of Armies. What follows is a divine certainty. And the prophecy is expansive from the get-go. We are not talking about a few scattered individuals. The subject is "peoples," plural, and the "inhabitants of many cities." The word "yet" points to a future fulfillment, a time when the trickle of Gentile converts like Rahab or Ruth would become a flood. This is a picture of mass conversion, of city-wide and nation-wide movements toward God. This is the sort of thing that makes our cramped, pessimistic eschatologies look silly. God thinks big, and He is telling us His plans right here.

v. 21 The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of Yahweh and to seek Yahweh of hosts; I will also go.”

This is evangelism, but it’s evangelism on fire. Notice the dynamic. It is not a centralized program run by a committee in Jerusalem. It is decentralized, organic, and viral. The inhabitants of one city go to another. This is a chain reaction of grace. The message is simple and urgent: "Let us go at once." The Hebrew here has a sense of going again and again, of persistent seeking. And what are they seeking? Not political advantage or tourist novelties. They are going "to entreat the favor of Yahweh." This phrase literally means "to soften the face of Yahweh." They are coming as humble supplicants, seeking grace, seeking mercy. They are coming to pray. They want to "seek Yahweh of hosts." They want God Himself. This is the heart of true revival. And the personal commitment is key. After the corporate call, each one says, "I will also go." It is a personal, individual decision that contributes to the corporate wave. This is every man a missionary, every woman a witness.

v. 22 So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of Yahweh.’

The result of this viral evangelism is staggering. It’s not just "peoples," but "mighty nations." The Goliaths of the world, the powerful, the strong, the intimidating cultures will come. And they come with the same humble posture: to seek the Lord and entreat His favor. They come to Jerusalem, which in the Old Testament was the locus of God's special presence, the place of the temple. But we know from the New Testament that the true temple is the body of Christ (John 2:21) and the church (1 Cor. 3:16). The fulfillment of this is not a future rebuilt temple with animal sacrifices. The fulfillment is the nations streaming into the Christian church, the New Jerusalem. They come to where God has placed His name, and that name is Jesus.

v. 23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from every tongue of the nations will take hold of the garment of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”

Again, the divine authority: "Thus says Yahweh of hosts." This is going to happen. "In those days" refers to this coming gospel age. And here is the famous picture. Ten is a number representing fullness or completion. So, a fullness of men, from "every tongue of the nations", a clear precursor to the Pentecost miracle and the vision in Revelation of a people from every tribe and tongue, will take action. They will "take hold of the garment of a Jew." This is an act of desperate earnestness. They are grabbing on, refusing to let go. Why a Jew? Because salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22). The covenants, the promises, the Scriptures, and most importantly, the Messiah, came through Israel. But this is not about race; it is about faith. The true Jew is one inwardly (Rom. 2:29), and the ultimate Jew is Jesus Christ. All who are in Christ are the true Israel of God, grafted into the olive tree (Rom. 11:17). These Gentiles are grabbing hold of believers, those who represent Christ, because they have heard the reason. The motive is not the Jew's intrinsic worth, but the manifest presence of God with him. "We have heard that God is with you." This is the ultimate apologetic. Not clever arguments, not flashy programs, but the tangible, audible, visible reality of God's presence with His people. When the church is being the church, living in faithful obedience and worship, the world will notice. They will see that God is in our midst, and they will want in.

Application

First, we must recover this robust, optimistic, and global vision for the kingdom of God. Our God is not wringing His hands over the state of the world; He has promised its conversion. This passage ought to kill our defeatism. The nations will come. The gospel will triumph. History is headed toward the glorious reign of Christ over all nations, and it happens through the faithful proclamation of the gospel and the attractive life of the church.

Second, notice the nature of the evangelism described here. It is urgent, personal, and corporate. It is driven by a genuine desire for God Himself. We should ask ourselves if our evangelistic efforts reflect this. Are we inviting people to "entreat the favor of the Lord," or are we offering them a watered-down message of self-improvement? Are we personally saying, "I will also go," and encouraging our neighbors to come with us?

Finally, the great magnet is the presence of God. "We have heard that God is with you." The most powerful thing we can do for the salvation of our neighbors and the nations is to be a people with whom God is pleased to dwell. This means pursuing holiness, justice, mercy, and truth. It means worshiping God faithfully according to His Word. When we are walking in fellowship with God, the aroma of Christ will be potent, and the desperate men and women of this world will grab hold of us and say, "Take us to your God. We see that He is with you."