The Donkey and the War Bow Text: Zechariah 9:9-17
Introduction: The Meek Conqueror
We live in an age of profound eschatological confusion. The modern church, particularly in the West, has developed a bad habit of treating the prophecies of Scripture like a buffet. We are very fond of certain selections, while we studiously ignore others. We love the picture of the gentle Jesus, meek and mild, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. We print that on our Palm Sunday bulletins. But the same passage that gives us this King in His humility also gives us this King as a global conqueror, whose reign is from sea to sea, and who weaponizes His people for war. We like the donkey, but we get squeamish about the war bow.
This selective reading has produced a neutered Christianity, a faith that is entirely personal, private, and pietistic. It is a faith that expects to lose in history, a faith that sees the world as belonging entirely to the devil until Jesus comes back to burn it all down. This is the sad inheritance of dispensational defeatism. But this is not the faith of the prophet Zechariah. This is not the faith of the apostles. And it is not the faith that conquered the Roman Empire.
The prophet Zechariah, writing to a beleaguered remnant of God's people, gives them a vision of their coming King that is at once paradoxical and powerful. He is a King of profound humility, and He is a King of absolute, global dominion. He disarms His people of their carnal weapons, and then re-arms them with spiritual ones. He comes to bring peace, and He comes to make war. If we fail to hold these truths together, we will misunderstand not only this passage, but the very nature of the Great Commission and the mission of the Church in the world.
This passage is a direct assault on every form of dualism that would separate Christ's authority over the "sacred" from His authority over the "secular." It demolishes the idea of a retreatist church, huddled in a holy corner, waiting for the rapture. No, this is a portrait of a victorious King and His victorious people, and the scope of His victory is nothing less than the ends of the earth.
The Text
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Lowly and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His reign will be from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will return double to you. For I will bend Judah as My bow; I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will rouse up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a mighty man’s sword. Then Yahweh will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And Lord Yahweh will blow the trumpet And will go in the storm winds of the south. Yahweh of hosts will defend them. And they will consume and trample on the stones of a sling; And they will drink and roar as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial bowl, Drenched like the corners of the altar. And Yahweh their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land. For what goodness and what beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the choice men flourish, and new wine the virgins.
(Zechariah 9:9-17 LSB)
The Paradoxical King (v. 9)
The prophecy begins with a command to rejoice, for a King is coming.
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a loud shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is righteous and endowed with salvation, Lowly and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a pack animal." (Zechariah 9:9)
This is, of course, the verse the Gospel writers quote in reference to Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people are commanded to shout, to exult, because their King is arriving. But notice His character. He is "righteous," or just. He is the standard of all justice. He is also "endowed with salvation." He doesn't just bring a message about salvation; He embodies it. He is our salvation.
But then we have the paradox. This righteous, saving King is "lowly and mounted on a donkey." In the ancient world, a king riding a war horse was coming for conquest and judgment. A king riding a donkey was coming in peace. Jesus Christ, in His first advent, did not come as a political revolutionary to overthrow Rome with the sword. He came as a humble servant to conquer sin and death. His lowliness is not weakness; it is controlled power. He is the Lion of Judah who presents Himself as the Lamb of God.
The donkey itself is a sign of His royal, Davidic lineage, a fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy concerning Judah, that his descendant would tie "his foal to the vine, and his donkey's colt to the choice vine" (Gen. 49:11). This is not just any king; this is the King, the fulfillment of all the covenant promises. He comes in peace to His own people, Zion and Jerusalem, before He sends them out to wage a different kind of war.
The Global Kingdom (v. 10)
Having described the King, the prophet now describes the nature and scope of His kingdom.
"I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim And the horse from Jerusalem; And the bow of war will be cut off. And He will speak peace to the nations; And His reign will be from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth." (Zechariah 9:10)
Pay very close attention here. This is a foundational text for a robust, optimistic, postmillennial eschatology. First, God says He will cut off the instruments of carnal warfare, the chariot and the horse, from His own people, Ephraim and Jerusalem. The kingdom of Christ will not advance through political coercion or military might. The Church is not a political action committee with an army. We are forbidden from trusting in the arm of the flesh (Ps. 20:7).
So what replaces the bow of war? The Word of the King. "He will speak peace to the nations." The weapon of our warfare is the gospel of peace, spoken by the Prince of Peace. And what is the result of this spoken word? Universal dominion. "His reign will be from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth." This is a direct quote from Psalm 72:8, a messianic psalm describing the global reign of Solomon's greater Son. This is not a description of heaven. It is a description of the earth. It is the successful fulfillment of the Great Commission. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and He commands us to go and disciple the nations. Zechariah tells us that this mission will not fail. His kingdom will grow like a mustard seed until it fills the whole earth.
The Covenant Foundation (vv. 11-12)
What is the basis for this astonishing victory? The prophet grounds it in the finished work of Christ.
"As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I have set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to the stronghold, O prisoners who have the hope; This very day I am declaring that I will return double to you." (Zechariah 9:11-12)
The engine of this global conquest is "the blood of your covenant." This is the gospel in its essence. It is through the atoning death of Jesus Christ, the blood of the New Covenant, that salvation is accomplished. By this blood, God sets His people free. We were prisoners in a "waterless pit," a metaphor for death and utter desolation, a place with no hope of life. But by His blood, we are liberated.
And what are we called now? "Prisoners who have the hope," or, as the King James beautifully puts it, "prisoners of hope." We are still prisoners in a sense, but we are no longer captive to sin and despair. We are now joyfully captive to a sure and certain hope, a guaranteed victory. The call is to "return to the stronghold," which is Christ Himself. He is our fortress. And the promise is one of abundant restoration: "I will return double to you." This is the language of covenant blessing, a promise of restoration that far exceeds what was lost.
The Weaponized Church (vv. 13-15)
Now the imagery shifts dramatically. Having been disarmed of carnal weapons, God's people are re-armed as spiritual weapons in the hand of God Himself.
"For I will bend Judah as My bow; I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will rouse up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece; And I will make you like a mighty man’s sword." (Zechariah 9:13)
This is the Church militant. God takes His people, Judah and Ephraim (representing the whole covenant community), and makes them His own bow and arrow. And who is the target? "Your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece." This is not primarily a prophecy about the Maccabean revolt, though that was a typological fulfillment. In the New Testament era, "Greece" represents the pinnacle of pagan wisdom, worldly philosophy, and idolatrous culture. This is a prophecy of the great clash of worldviews between the gospel of Christ and the foolishness of the world (1 Cor. 1:20-25). God is rousing His church to confront and conquer the intellectual and cultural strongholds of paganism.
And we do not go into this battle alone. Yahweh Himself fights for His people. He appears over them, His arrow is like lightning, He blows the trumpet of war, and He marches in the storm winds (v. 14). This is the power of the Holy Spirit accompanying the proclamation of the gospel. The result is total victory (v. 15). God's people "consume and trample" their enemies. They "drink and roar as with wine," a picture of ecstatic, Spirit-filled joy in victory. They are "filled like a sacrificial bowl," utterly consecrated to God in their triumphant worship.
The Glorious Outcome (vv. 16-17)
The prophecy concludes with a beautiful picture of the results of this victory.
"And Yahweh their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land... For what goodness and what beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the choice men flourish, and new wine the virgins." (Zechariah 9:16-17)
God saves His people, and they become His treasure. They are the jewels in His royal crown, sparkling in His land, which is the entire redeemed earth. This is not about escaping the world, but about God making His people beautiful and glorious within the world.
And what does this glorious salvation produce? Tangible, cultural flourishing. "What goodness and what beauty will be theirs!" The gospel doesn't just save souls; it builds civilizations. When Christ reigns, righteousness produces abundance. "Grain will make the choice men flourish, and new wine the virgins." This is a picture of health, vitality, prosperity, and joy. Strong young men and virtuous young women are the fruit of a healthy, Christ-honoring culture. This is the goal. This is the end game of the Great Commission. It is not a helicopter evacuation from a burning planet. It is the slow, steady, and certain transformation of the entire world, from sea to sea, through the blood of the covenant and the spoken word of the King who rides the donkey.