Commentary - Zechariah 14:20-21

Bird's-eye view

Zechariah 14 concludes with a stunning vision of the new covenant reality, a reality that extends to the very ends of the earth and into the most mundane corners of life. The prophet uses the language of the temple and its ceremonial distinctions to describe a world where those distinctions have been gloriously overcome and fulfilled in Christ. This is not the abolition of holiness, but rather its explosive expansion. The theme is the total consecration of all of life to God under the reign of Jesus Christ. Everything, from military hardware to kitchenware, is brought into the service of the King. This passage is a potent description of the postmillennial hope, where the kingdom of God advances until it fills the whole earth, sanctifying every human endeavor.

The chapter describes "that day," which refers to the entire era of the new covenant, inaugurated by Christ's death and resurrection and extending to His final return. The prophecy culminates in these two verses, showing the ultimate effect of the gospel: the sacred/secular distinction is not just blurred, it is obliterated. The holiness once confined to the high priest's turban and the temple's inner sanctum now covers the whole of society. This is the logical and glorious end of the Great Commission.

Outline

Context In Zechariah

The final chapters of Zechariah (9-14) contain two "burdens" or oracles concerning the future of Israel and the nations. Chapter 14 is the climax of the second burden, detailing a great cosmic battle in which Yahweh Himself fights for His people. He becomes King over all the earth, living waters flow from Jerusalem, and the nations that remain come to worship Him. Our text, verses 20-21, provides the capstone to this vision. It describes the internal character of this worldwide kingdom. It's not just that the nations are subdued externally; it's that the very fabric of life, down to the pots and pans, is made holy. This is the result of the Messiah's reign, a theme that has been building throughout the book.

This prophecy must be read through the lens of the New Testament. The temple, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system were all shadows pointing to Christ. Zechariah's vision is not about a future rebuilt physical temple in Jerusalem, but about the reality of the Church, the body of Christ, which is the true temple. "That day" is the gospel age, and the holiness described is the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and, by extension, in the cultures they build.

Verse by Verse Commentary

20 In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” And the pots in the house of Yahweh will be like the bowls before the altar.

In that day... Zechariah keeps using this phrase. It points to the new era, the age of the Messiah. This is not a single 24-hour day, but the entire period between the first and second comings of Christ. It is the time of the gospel's triumph.

there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to Yahweh.” This is a staggering image. Under the old covenant, the phrase "Holy to Yahweh" was engraved on the golden plate on the high priest's turban (Ex. 28:36). It was the pinnacle of ceremonial holiness, restricted to one man, in one place, representing the people to God. But now, in the age of the Spirit, this same inscription is found on the bells of war horses. Horses were symbols of military power, often associated with Gentile arrogance and might (Ps. 20:7). They were also ceremonially unclean animals. So, the prophet takes something that is simultaneously common, powerful, Gentile, and unclean, and declares it to be as holy as the high priest. This is a radical leveling. It means that the power and machinery of nations, their economies and their armies, will be consecrated to the service of King Jesus. All of Christ for all of life means all of life, including the tack on your horse.

And the pots in the house of Yahweh will be like the bowls before the altar. Here the prophet moves from the outside world into the house of God, the Church. He describes an internal elevation of holiness. Under the old system, there was a pecking order of pots. The bowls used to catch the blood of the sacrifice at the altar were of a higher grade of holiness than the common pots used for boiling the priests' portion. But in "that day," this distinction vanishes. The most ordinary vessel in God's house, the kitchen pot used for boiling meat, is elevated to the status of the most sacred vessel. This signifies the end of a tiered system of holiness within the Church. In the new covenant, every believer is a priest, and every act of service, no matter how mundane, is a holy offering to God (1 Pet. 2:9). Making coffee for the saints after the service is a priestly act, on par with holding the elements.

21 And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts in that day.

And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of hosts... The sanctification now explodes beyond the walls of the temple. It's not just the pots in the Lord's house, but every pot in every home in Jerusalem and Judah. The home kitchen becomes an outpost of the temple. This is the sanctification of the domestic. The distinction between the church building and the Christian home is erased in terms of its consecration to God. What you do at your dinner table is worship. How you manage your household finances is an act of priestly service. All of it is "Holy to Yahweh."

and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. Because every pot is holy, any pot can be used for the sacred meals. The people who come to worship are not restricted to a special set of sanctified dishes. They can grab any pot from any house. This speaks of a robust, everyday, lived-in kind of faith. It's not a fragile, museum-piece holiness that you can't touch. It is a sturdy, conquering holiness that makes everything it touches clean. This is the holiness of Jesus, who was not defiled by touching lepers, but rather made them clean. Christian hospitality, Christian business, Christian art, all are pots that can be used for the sacred work of the kingdom.

And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts in that day. This is the great conclusion. Who was the Canaanite? In the Old Testament, the Canaanites were the epitome of idolatrous pollution, the people who were to be driven out of the land. Later, the term came to mean a "merchant" or "trader" (cf. Prov. 31:24, where the word is translated "merchant"), likely because of the Phoenicians' (Canaanites) reputation as traders. So this has a double meaning. First, in the new covenant, the church will be purified of all idolatry. The unclean will be purged. Those who are false, who are not true worshippers, will have no place in the house of God. Second, it means there will be no more profane trafficking in the house of God. Jesus cleansing the temple of the money-changers was a foretaste of this very thing (Matt. 21:12-13). The house of God is a house of prayer and worship, not a place for commercial exploitation. The worship of God will be pure, unmixed with the love of mammon. True worshippers will worship in spirit and in truth, and the Canaanite, the idolater, the hypocrite, the trafficker, will be gone.

Application

This passage is a death blow to any sacred/secular divide in the Christian life. We are not called to retreat into a holy huddle, but to advance a conquering holiness into every sphere of life. Your work as a mechanic is to be "Holy to the Lord." Your work as a mother, changing diapers and wiping noses, is to be "Holy to the Lord." Your vote, your blog post, your business plan, all of it is to be consecrated to the service of Christ the King.

We must see that the old covenant holiness was a holiness of separation, of quarantine. Don't touch the unclean thing. But the new covenant brings a holiness of dominion, a conquering holiness. We are now the ones who are contagious. Our faith is meant to be infectious, spreading the consecration of Christ to every person and every thing it touches.

Finally, this passage is a summons to purity in the Church. We are to be a people free from Canaanites. This means we must deal with our own idolatries, our own compromises with the world. It also means the Church must take seriously her duty to guard the worship of God from profanation. We are the house of God, and in that day, which is today, there is to be no place for the Canaanite among us.