The Heavy Stone and the Staggering Drunks
Introduction: God's Geopolitics
We live in an age of frantic experts. The cable news channels are filled with them, all offering their solemn analysis of the latest geopolitical crisis. They speak of economies, demographics, military assets, and historical grievances. They draw lines on maps and build intricate models to predict the next move on the global chessboard. And they are, almost to a man, completely and utterly blind. They are like men in a dark room, arguing about the color of the furniture, unaware that the Master of the house has already published the blueprints for the entire building.
The prophet Zechariah gives us those blueprints. What we have here is not just an ancient oracle for post-exilic Jews. This is a revelation of the engine that drives all of human history. History is not a random series of events. It is a story, with a plot, a protagonist, and a predetermined conclusion. And the central conflict of that story, from the beginning to the end, is the world's irrational, self-destructive, and unrelenting hatred for God's chosen city, Jerusalem.
But we must be careful here. The Jerusalem Zechariah speaks of is more than just a city of dirt and stone in the Middle East. That city is the type, the shadow, the earthly picture of a much greater reality. The ultimate Jerusalem is the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, the assembly of the saints, the city of the living God (Heb. 12:22). The principles laid down here concerning the earthly city find their final and fullest application in the world's war against the Church. This passage is a divine intelligence briefing for the saints. It tells us who the real combatants are, what the enemy's strategy is, and what the guaranteed outcome will be. The world thinks the Church is a problem to be managed or a relic to be discarded. God declares that it is a heavy stone that will break the back of any nation that tries to move it, and a cup of intoxicating judgment for all who try to consume it.
The Text
The oracle of the word of Yahweh concerning Israel. Thus declares Yahweh who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples all around. Now the one in siege against Jerusalem will also be against Judah. But it will be in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who heave it up will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. In that day,” declares Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will open my eyes to watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through Yahweh of hosts, their God.’ “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fiery laver among pieces of wood and a fiery torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem will again be inhabited in its own place, in Jerusalem. Yahweh also will save the tents of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. In that day Yahweh will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Yahweh before them. And it will be in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
(Zechariah 12:1-9 LSB)
The Author's Resume (v. 1)
The oracle begins not with an argument, but with a declaration of authority.
"Thus declares Yahweh who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him..." (Zechariah 12:1)
Before God tells us what He is going to do in history, He reminds us of who He is in creation. This is the ultimate presupposition. He is not a local deity, the tribal god of Israel. He is the one who holds the cosmos in existence. He stretches out the heavens, a continuing action, holding the galaxies in their courses. He lays the foundation of the earth, the bedrock of our physical reality. And most intimately, He forms the spirit of man within him. The God who orchestrates supernovas is the same God who knits together your innermost being.
This is a direct challenge to all humanistic and materialistic worldviews. You cannot understand geopolitics if you do not first understand cosmology. The one who made everything has the absolute right of ownership over everything. His authority over the nations is not based on a popular vote or military might; it is based on the fact that He created the dirt they stand on and the very breath in their lungs which they use to defy Him. This is the foundation of everything that follows. The God who speaks here is the God who defines reality.
The World's Futile Obsession (vv. 2-3)
God then lays out His plan, which involves turning the world's sinful intentions back on its own head.
"Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples all around... I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who heave it up will be severely injured." (Zechariah 12:2-3 LSB)
Here we have two powerful metaphors for self-inflicted judgment. First, Jerusalem is a cup of reeling, or a cup of staggering. The nations, in their arrogant lust to conquer and consume God's people, will lift this cup to their lips. But the drink is not victory; it is poison. It is a divine intoxicant that will make them drunk, confused, and self-destructive. They will stagger to their own doom. We see this throughout history. Empires that set themselves against the people of God end up consuming themselves from within through folly and madness.
Second, Jerusalem is a heavy stone. The nations of the earth see this city, this Church, as an obstacle. It is in their way. It blocks their path to a glorious secular utopia. And so, with all their combined strength, they resolve to "heave it up" and get it out of the way. But God has set its weight. It is supernaturally heavy. And all who try to lift it will be "severely injured." The Hebrew is graphic; it means they will tear their own flesh, rip their own muscles. Every attempt to cancel the Church, to legislate it out of existence, to persecute it into submission, results in the persecutors tearing their own societies apart. The sexual revolution, which sought to heave away Christian morality, has resulted in a culture that is severely injuring itself with broken families, confusion, and despair.
Divine Reversal and Holy Fire (vv. 4-6)
God does not simply sit back and watch this happen. He is an active participant, defending His people and confounding His enemies.
"In that day,” declares Yahweh, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will open my eyes to watch over the house of Judah..." (Zechariah 12:4 LSB)
The primary military advantage in the ancient world was the horse, the cavalry. God says He will neutralize the enemy's greatest strength with psychological warfare. He will strike their technology with confusion and their soldiers with insanity. At the very same time, He will "open His eyes" to watch over His people. For the world, blindness and madness. For His church, the focused, protective gaze of the Almighty. God's attention is our shield.
This divine protection then empowers the people of God to become agents of His judgment. The clans of Judah, the people in the countryside, will see God's hand and take heart. They will become "like a fiery laver among pieces of wood and a fiery torch among sheaves." This is not a picture of passive resistance. This is a picture of a righteous, consuming fire. The people of God, filled with His Spirit and armed with His truth, will consume the chaff of the surrounding pagan cultures. The gospel, preached with boldness, is a fire that burns away lies and consumes falsehood. While Jerusalem, the central city, remains secure, the surrounding clans go on the offensive.
The Humility of Salvation (vv. 7-8)
But God's method of salvation is designed to strip away all human pride.
"Yahweh also will save the tents of Judah first so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah." (Zechariah 12:7 LSB)
This is a glorious and humbling detail. Who gets saved first? Not the elites in the capital city. Not the royal family in the palace. God begins His deliverance with the "tents of Judah," the common people, the farmers, the shepherds, the folks in the suburbs. Why? To ensure that no one can boast. He structures His victory in such a way that the establishment cannot take credit for it. He humbles the proud and elevates the lowly. This is the constant pattern of God's grace. He did not choose the wise, the noble, or the mighty, but the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the wise (1 Cor. 1:27). If you think your pedigree or position makes you important in the kingdom, God is likely to save your mailman first, just to remind you that it is all of grace.
And the result of this grace is a supernatural transformation. The weakest saint, "the one who stumbles," will become like David, the giant-slayer and warrior king. And the leadership, the "house of David," will be like God, like the Angel of Yahweh, a theophany of God Himself. This is the economy of the gospel. God takes our stumbling weakness and, in Christ, makes us warriors. He takes our faithful leaders and fills them with His own divine presence and power. Our weakness is the occasion for His strength.
The Inevitable Conclusion (v. 9)
The chapter concludes with a statement of God's fixed and settled intention.
"And it will be in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem." (Zechariah 12:9 LSB)
The language here is striking. God will "seek" to destroy them. This doesn't imply difficulty, as though He might fail. It means this will be His set purpose, His determined aim, His focused project. The final judgment of the nations is not an afterthought; it is the deliberate and righteous culmination of history.
All the rage of the nations, all the hostility of a fallen world against Christ and His Church, is simply the gathering of the sheaves for the torch. It is the nations lining up to try and heave the heavy stone. It is the drunks reaching for one last, fatal drink from the cup of reeling. Their end is not in doubt.
The Stumbling Church and Her Conquering King
So what does this mean for us? It means that the frantic headlines are not the real story. The real story is that God has established His Church in the world, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. The world sees a stumbling, weak, and divided institution. They see the "tents of Judah," not the gleaming capital. And they think it can be easily moved, easily dismissed, easily crushed.
But God says this stumbling body is His body. He says the feeblest Christian who trusts in Christ is made like David. He says that He is actively confounding the enemies of His people with madness and blindness. And He says that any person, institution, or nation that sets itself against His Church is picking a fight with the Creator of the cosmos.
The central stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22). That stone is Christ. His body, the Church, participates in His nature. We are that city set on a hill, that heavy stone laid in the foundation of the world. To come against the Church is to come against Christ. And all who do so will be severely injured. All who stumble over this stone will be broken to pieces, and when the stone falls on them, it will grind them to powder (Luke 20:18).
Therefore, do not fear the madness of the nations. Do not be dismayed by their threats. Recognize that their rage is simply the staggering of a drunkard, and their strength is the prelude to their own destruction. Our strength is not in ourselves, but in "Yahweh of hosts, their God." And He has already declared the outcome.