Zechariah 14: A Prayer Request
“The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God stands forever.”
(Is. 40:8 WMB)
Zechariah 14 is a prophecy about the ultimate victory and reign of the Lord, the geographical transformation of Jerusalem, and the judgment of the nations. The chapter ends well, but it begins horrifically with a prophecy about a time when Jerusalem will be attacked by “all the nations.”
Does “all the nations” refer to the United Nations? Time will tell.
Here’s how Zechariah 14 starts:
“Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” (Zechariah 14:1-2 ESV)
I have always been troubled by Zechariah 14:2, but since the word of our God stands forever and Zechariah 14 is right there in the Bible, it seems inevitable that a time will come when there will be women living in Jerusalem who will be raped as Zechariah 14:2 takes place.
I don’t believe it would do any good to pray that God’s word won’t happen. Since “The word of our God stands forever,” I believe it’s inevitable that Zechariah 14:2 will come to pass. God’s word is going to happen. But what I can do—and what I’m asking you to do—is to pray that God will mitigate the circumstances. “God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb” isn’t in the Bible, but let’s pray that He will do just that:
Zechariah 14:2 says “the women” will be raped. Providentially, it doesn’t say that all the women will be raped. I am praying that God Himself will choose to keep many of Jerusalem’s women from being raped in the first place.
And since Zechariah 14:2 doesn’t mention men, and since I’ve read that men were also raped on October 7, I’m praying for the men of Jerusalem—that none of Jerusalem’s men will be raped at all.
I am also praying that none of the rapes foretold by Zechariah will be exacerbated by the same horrific pattern of mutilation and extreme brutality that took place in Israel on October 7.
And while I am at it, I am praying for the speedy and safe return of all those Jerusalemites--half of the city’s population--who will be taken captive according to Zechariah 14:2.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” (Psalm 122:6 KJV)
Please join me in prayer.
Margot Armer
