◄ Zechariah 13:2 ►
And on that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will erase the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
Study Bible
And on that day
This phrase is a prophetic marker often used in the Old Testament to denote a future time of divine intervention or fulfillment of God's promises. In Hebrew, "that day" (בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא) signifies a specific, significant time when God acts decisively. It is a reminder of God's sovereignty and the certainty of His plans. The phrase sets the stage for a transformative event, emphasizing the eschatological hope that God will bring about a new order.

declares the LORD of Hosts
The title "LORD of Hosts" (יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת) underscores God's supreme authority and power. "Hosts" refers to the heavenly armies, indicating God's command over all spiritual and earthly forces. This declaration assures the reader of the divine origin and authority of the prophecy. It is a comforting reminder that the promises and actions described are backed by the omnipotent Creator, who is both a warrior and protector of His people.

I will erase the names of the idols from the land
The act of erasing (הִכְרַתִּ֤י) signifies a complete removal or obliteration. In ancient Near Eastern culture, names held power and significance; thus, erasing the names of idols implies their total eradication and loss of influence. Idolatry was a persistent issue for Israel, often leading them away from God. This promise reflects God's commitment to purify His people and restore true worship. It is a call to spiritual renewal and a return to monotheistic devotion.

and they will no longer be remembered
Forgetting (לֹ֥א יִזָּכְר֖וּ) the idols indicates a profound transformation in the collective memory and culture of the people. In biblical terms, to remember is to act upon or give significance to something. Thus, the absence of remembrance signifies a break from past sins and a new identity centered on God. This phrase offers hope for a future where the distractions and deceptions of false gods are no longer present.

I will also remove the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land
The removal (וְגַ֨ם אֶת־הַנְּבִיאִ֜ים) of false prophets and the spirit of impurity (רוּחַ הַטֻּמְאָ֖ה) highlights God's intention to cleanse His people from misleading influences and moral corruption. Prophets in ancient Israel were meant to be God's mouthpieces, but false prophets led the people astray. The "spirit of impurity" refers to the pervasive influence of sin and idolatry. This promise of purification is a precursor to the New Covenant, where God's Spirit would dwell within His people, guiding them in truth and holiness. It is an assurance of God's active role in sanctifying His people, preparing them for a restored relationship with Him.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The LORD of Hosts
This title emphasizes God's supreme authority and power over all heavenly and earthly armies. It underscores His ability to enact the changes described in this verse.

2. Idols
Represent false gods or objects of worship that have led the people away from the true God. The removal of idols signifies a return to pure worship.

3. Prophets
In this context, likely refers to false prophets who have misled the people. Their removal indicates a cleansing of spiritual leadership.

4. Spirit of Impurity
Represents the moral and spiritual corruption that has permeated the land. Its removal signifies a purification process.

5. The Land
Refers to the land of Israel, symbolizing God's chosen people and their spiritual state.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Purification
God has the authority and power to cleanse His people from idolatry and false teachings. Trust in His ability to purify your heart and life.

The Danger of Idolatry
Idolatry is not just about physical idols but anything that takes the place of God in our lives. Reflect on what might be an idol in your life and seek to remove it.

Discernment Against False Prophets
Be vigilant against false teachings and prophets. Test everything against the truth of Scripture to ensure you are following God's true word.

The Call to Holiness
God desires a pure and holy people. Pursue holiness by allowing God to remove impurities from your life through repentance and obedience.
Bible Study Questions
1. What are some modern-day "idols" that can distract us from worshiping God fully, and how can we remove them from our lives?

2. How can we discern between true and false prophets or teachings in today's world?

3. In what ways does the "spirit of impurity" manifest in our culture, and how can we guard against it?

4. How does understanding God's sovereignty in purification encourage you in your personal spiritual journey?

5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's cleansing in your life. How did it change your relationship with Him?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 20:3-5
The commandment against idolatry connects to the removal of idols in Zechariah 13:2, emphasizing God's desire for exclusive worship.

Deuteronomy 18:20-22
Discusses the consequences for false prophets, aligning with the removal of prophets in Zechariah 13:2.

Ezekiel 36:25-27
Speaks of God cleansing His people and giving them a new heart and spirit, paralleling the removal of impurity in Zechariah 13:2.

1 John 5:21
Warns believers to keep themselves from idols, echoing the theme of idol removal in Zechariah 13:2.
Sermons
The Gospel AgeD. Thomas Zechariah 13:1-6
People
David, Zechariah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Affirmation, Almighty, Armies, Cause, Cut, Declares, Hosts, Idols, Images, Impurity, Longer, Memory, Names, Pass, Prophets, Remembered, Remove, Says, Spirit, Unclean, Uncleanness
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 13:2-3

     5731   parents

Library
The Open Fountain
"Wake, harp of Zion, wake again, Upon thine ancient hill, On Jordan's long deserted plain, By Kedron's lowly rill. The hymn shall yet in Zion swell That sounds Messiah's praise, And thy loved name, Immanuel! As once in ancient days. For Israel yet shall own her King, For her salvation waits, And hill and dale shall sweetly sing With praise in all her gates." Having said thus much, however, we shall now take our text as belonging to ourselves in common with Israel, for in the gospel no promise is …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Twenty-Second Psalm.
The Cross of Christ. THE Twenty-second Psalm contains a most remarkable prophecy. The human instrument through whom this prophecy was given is King David. The Psalm does not contain the experience of the King, though he passed through great sufferings, yet the sufferings he speaks of in this Psalm are not his own. They are the sufferings of Christ. It is written in the New Testament that the prophets searched and enquired diligently about the coming salvation. The Spirit of Christ, which was in …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Messiah Unpitied, and Without a Comforter
Reproach [Rebuke] hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. T he greatness of suffering cannot be certainly estimated by the single consideration of the immediate, apparent cause; the impression it actually makes upon the mind of the sufferer, must likewise be taken into the account. That which is a heavy trial to one person, may be much lighter to another, and, perhaps, no trial at all. And a state …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

Appendix xix. On Eternal Punishment, According to the Rabbis and the New Testament
THE Parables of the Ten Virgins' and of the Unfaithful Servant' close with a Discourse on the Last Things,' the final Judgment, and the fate of those Christ's Righ Hand and at His Left (St. Matt. xxv. 31-46). This final Judgment by our Lord forms a fundamental article in the Creed of the Church. It is the Christ Who comes, accompanied by the Angelic Host, and sits down on the throne of His Glory, when all nations are gathered before Him. Then the final separation is made, and joy or sorrow awarded …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Shepherd of Our Souls.
"I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep."--John x. 11. Our Lord here appropriates to Himself the title under which He had been foretold by the Prophets. "David My servant shall be king over them," says Almighty God by the mouth of Ezekiel: "and they all shall have one Shepherd." And in the book of Zechariah, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of Hosts; smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Warning
"And when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered abroad. Howbeit, after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee. But Peter said unto Him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that thou today, even this night, before the cock crow twice, shalt deny me thrice. But he spake exceeding …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation, …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

"Seek First the Kingdom of God," &C.
Matt. vi. 33.--"Seek first the kingdom of God," &c. It may seem strange, that when so great things are allowed, and so small things are denied, that we do not seek them. The kingdom of God and his righteousness are great things indeed, great not only in themselves, but greater in comparison of us. The things of this world, even great events, are but poor, petty, and inconsiderable matters, when compared with these. Yet he graciously allows a larger measure of these great things relating to his kingdom …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

His Future Work
The Lord Jesus Christ, who finished the work on earth the Father gave Him to do, who is now bodily present in the highest heaven, occupying the Father's throne and exercising His priesthood in behalf of His people, is also King. To Him belongeth a Kingdom and a kingly Glory. He has therefore a kingly work to do. While His past work was foretold by the Spirit of God and His priestly work foreshadowed in the Old Testament, His work as King and His glorious Kingdom to come are likewise the subjects …
A. C. Gaebelein—The Work Of Christ

Judas' Betrayal and Peter's Denial Foretold.
(Jerusalem. Evening Before the Crucifixion.) ^A Matt. XXVI. 21-25, 31-35; ^B Mark XIV. 18-21, 27-31; ^C Luke XXII. 21-23, 31-38; ^D John XIII. 21-38. ^b 18 And ^d 21 When Jesus had thus said, ^b as they sat and were eating, ^d he was troubled in the spirit, and ^b Jesus ^d testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ^b even he that eateth with me. ^c 21 But behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. [The foreknowledge of Judas' crime …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Christian's Peace and the Christian's Consistency
PHILIPPIANS i. 21-30 He will be spared to them--Spiritual wealth of the paragraph--Adolphe Monod's exposition--Charles Simeon's testimony--The equilibrium and its secret--The intermediate bliss--He longs for their full consistency--The "gift" of suffering Ver. 21. +For to me, to live is Christ+; the consciousness and experiences of living, in the body, are so full of Christ, my supreme Interest, that CHRIST sums them all up; +and to die+, the act of dying,[1] +is gain+, for it will usher me in …
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies

How to Make Use of Christ for Cleansing of us from Our Daily Spots.
Having spoken of the way of making use of Christ for removing the guilt of our daily transgressions, we come to speak of the way of making use of Christ, for taking away the guilt that cleaveth to the soul, through daily transgressions; "for every sin defileth the man," Matt. xv. 20; and the best are said to have their spots, and to need washing, which presupposeth filthiness and defilement, Eph. v. 27. John xiii. 8-10. Hence we are so oft called to this duty of washing and making us clean. Isa. …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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