The Great Global Ingathering Text: Zechariah 14:16-19
Introduction: The Gospel's Inevitable Triumph
We live in an age of evangelical scurrying. Many Christians today read the Old Testament prophets, particularly the glorious and explosive visions at the end of books like Zechariah, and they treat them like hot potatoes. They see prophecies of a global kingdom, of nations flowing to Jerusalem to worship, and of God's law governing the earth, and they immediately assume this must all be put off until after some great escape, after the church is "raptured out" and the real action begins. This is a profound theological error, born of a deep-seated pessimism that has infected much of the modern church. It is a failure to believe in the power of the gospel we profess.
The New Testament teaches us to read the Old Testament with Christ as the interpretive key. The apostles did not discard these prophecies; they saw them being fulfilled in their day and continuing to be fulfilled until the final consummation. The Great Commission was not a suggestion to go out and make a few converts before the world burns. It was a command to disciple the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded. And because Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth, this mission cannot fail. The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. This is not wishful thinking; it is the blood-bought promise of God.
Zechariah 14 gives us a picture of this victory. It is apocalyptic language, to be sure, full of vivid imagery of judgment and glory. The chapter begins with a cataclysmic battle for Jerusalem, which the New Testament interprets for us as the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the subsequent judgment on the old covenant order in A.D. 70. But out of that judgment, a new reality emerges. The kingdom of God flows out from Jerusalem like a river of living water, and the nations, who once raged against the Lord and His Anointed, are brought to submission. Our text today describes the nature of that submission. It is not a grudging political truce; it is a glad-hearted, mandatory worship. It is the global celebration of the Feast of Booths.
What we have here is a prophecy of the success of the Great Commission. It is a picture of the world after it has been thoroughly evangelized. The nations, as nations, will turn to Christ. And their civic life, their cultural life, will be defined by their worship of the King, Yahweh of hosts. This is a profoundly postmillennial vision. It is a vision of Christ's kingdom advancing in history, through the power of the gospel, until every enemy is made His footstool.
The Text
Then it will be that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which Yahweh plagues the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
(Zechariah 14:16-19 LSB)
From Rebels to Worshippers (v. 16)
We begin with the astounding reversal described in verse 16:
"Then it will be that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths." (Zechariah 14:16)
Notice who is coming to worship. It is the "remnant," those "who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem." This is not a picture of God destroying all Gentiles and saving only ethnic Jews. This is a picture of conversion. The very nations that were hostile to God, that set themselves against His people and His purposes, are the ones who will be brought into the fold. The gospel is a conquering force. It takes enemies and makes them sons. It takes rebels and makes them worshippers. Saul of Tarsus, breathing out threats and murder against the church, is the prototype. He was what was "left" of the old rebellion after Christ confronted him on the Damascus road.
And what is the nature of their activity? They "go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts." The language is that of pilgrimage. In the Old Covenant, this meant a physical journey to the geographical city of Jerusalem. But where is the "Jerusalem" of the New Covenant? The writer to the Hebrews tells us plainly: "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" (Hebrews 12:22). The true Jerusalem is the Church, the assembly of the firstborn, the dwelling place of God by the Spirit. When the nations are converted, they are incorporated into the Church. Their worship is directed to the true and living God through Jesus Christ, the King.
And what is the specific occasion for this worship? They come "to celebrate the Feast of Booths." Now, we must be careful here. This is not a prophecy that in the Christian era we will all become Judaizers, rebuilding flimsy huts in our backyards for a week every autumn. The Old Testament feasts were types and shadows, and their substance is found in Christ. The Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles, was the final and most joyous feast of the Israelite calendar. It was a harvest festival, celebrating the final ingathering of the crops. It looked back with gratitude to God's provision for Israel in the wilderness, when they lived in temporary shelters. And it looked forward to the final, great ingathering of God's people from all the nations.
In the New Covenant, our entire Christian life is the Feast of Booths. We are pilgrims and sojourners, living in the temporary shelters of these mortal bodies, looking forward to the resurrection. We are celebrating the great harvest of souls that Christ accomplished on the cross and that the Spirit is gathering in throughout history. The Lord's Supper, in a very real sense, is the Christian Feast of Booths. It is our weekly harvest festival, where we celebrate our redemption from the wilderness of sin and our union with the triumphant King. So when Zechariah says the nations will celebrate this feast, he is prophesying that the central, organizing principle of converted nations will be joyous, grateful, corporate worship of Jesus Christ in His Church.
The Sanctions of the Covenant (v. 17-18)
But this worship is not optional. Verses 17 and 18 lay out the consequences for those who refuse.
"And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which Yahweh plagues the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths." (Zechariah 14:17-18 LSB)
Here we see the principle of covenant sanctions applied to the nations. In the Old Covenant, God promised to bless Israel's obedience with rain and curse their disobedience with drought (Deuteronomy 11:13-17). Zechariah is telling us that this principle of covenantal cause-and-effect is universal. It applies to all "the families of the earth." When a nation, as a corporate entity, refuses to worship the King, God withholds His blessing. "No rain" is symbolic of a withdrawal of common grace, of fruitfulness, of prosperity. A nation that rejects Christ will eventually dry up and wither, culturally and economically.
This is not some spooky, mystical process. It is intensely practical. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34). When a nation honors God's law, it builds a society on a foundation of truth, justice, and stability. Families are strong. Property is secure. Work is honored. This creates the conditions for genuine prosperity, for "rain." When a nation rejects God's law, it embraces lies, injustice, and chaos. It legalizes theft through inflation, it destroys the family, and it subsidizes sloth. The inevitable result is poverty, decay, and judgment. The rain stops.
Zechariah specifically mentions Egypt. Why? Because Egypt was famously not dependent on rainfall for its agriculture; it depended on the annual flooding of the Nile. This is a brilliant rhetorical stroke. Zechariah is saying, "Don't think you can engineer your way out of your covenant obligations." It doesn't matter if your national life is irrigated by the Nile or by a sophisticated system of godless humanism. If you do not worship the King, the plague will come. God has a way of getting at your water supply, whatever it is. He can plague the source. For a nation that trusts in its economic machinery, He can send economic plagues. For a nation that trusts in its military might, He can send military plagues. The point is that no nation is autonomous. All are dependent on the King, and all will be judged by their submission to Him.
The Universal Punishment (v. 19)
Verse 19 summarizes the principle with stark clarity.
"This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths." (Zechariah 14:19 LSB)
The word for punishment here can also be translated as "sin." This is the Hebrew genius. The punishment is the sin, and the sin is the punishment. Rebellion against God is not just the breaking of an arbitrary rule that results in an arbitrary penalty. Rebellion against God is a form of societal suicide. To refuse to worship the source of life is to choose death. To refuse to honor the source of order is to choose chaos. The punishment for turning from God is being given over to the full consequences of that choice.
This principle is universal. It applies to Egypt, and it applies to "all the nations." This is the foundation of a truly Christian political theology. There is no neutrality. A nation is either oriented toward the worship of the King, or it is under His judgment. A people will either celebrate the great ingathering of the Feast of Booths in Christ, or they will experience the withering curse of covenantal drought. This is why our task is not simply to get individual souls to heaven. Our task is to disciple the nations, to teach them to order their entire common life around the public worship of the King, Jesus Christ.
Conclusion: The Rain of the Gospel
This passage is not a threat to be feared by the people of God, but a promise to be embraced. It is a promise that the gospel will be so successful that it will reshape the political and cultural landscape of the entire world. The nations will come. They will be converted. They will bring their glory into the city of God (Revelation 21:24).
And the means by which God accomplishes this is the very "rain" that He withholds from the rebellious. The gospel itself is the rain of God's grace. The Holy Spirit is poured out like water on a thirsty land (Isaiah 44:3). The Word of God comes down like the rain and the snow from heaven, and it does not return empty, but accomplishes the purpose for which God sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11). It waters the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
We are in the midst of this great, global project. The rain of the gospel is falling. In some places it is a downpour, and in others a drizzle, but the clouds are gathering. The nations are being taught to worship the King. The Feast of Booths is being celebrated, week in and week out, in churches all over the world. And as we are faithful to preach the whole counsel of God, to apply His Word to every area of life, we are participating in the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Therefore, do not lose heart. Do not believe the pessimistic reports of the faithless spies. The kingdom of our God is an advancing kingdom. The King is on His throne. And He has promised that all the families of the earth will one day bow before Him. Our job is to be faithful in our worship, in our witness, and in our work, trusting that He who promised the rain will surely bring it.