12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. 13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand; 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. 15 Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.
Verses 12-15 hark back to the Gentile nations that will fight against Jerusalem (Zech 14:2). Their fate will be destruction. God will send three judgments against His enemies: (1) a plague, (2) mutual annihilation, and (3) courageous Jews who will fight in Jerusalem.
14:12
And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.
God will destroy the Gentile armies around Jerusalem by a divine plague. Their bodies will putrefy and decay while still alive.
14:13
It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the Lord will be among them.
The Gentile armies will “panic” in dismay by the LORD’s presence.
Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
Enemies of Israel will turn on each other, causing chaos among their armies. They will mutually destroy one another.
14:14
Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.
Jews will reclaim plunder from the Gentiles, and Israel will gather goods from all the armies that opposed her. Fortunes will from the Gentiles’ gathering spoils of war (Zech 14:2) to Israel’s glorious bounty from the Messiah’s victory.
14:15
Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.
Animals that fed Gentile armies will undergo a plague.
PRINCIPLE:
In God’s economy, would-be spoilers become the spoil.
APPLICATION:
When God will send plagues during the Tribulation, the nations of the world will learn what genuine righteousness is (Zechariah 14:16-19; Isa 26:9). They will see that the remnant that survives the Tribulation is under Messiah’s protection.
