Zechariah 10:8Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Additionally, in times of conflict, when soldiers become scattered—whether in pursuit of an enemy or being pursued themselves—commanders often place signals on high ground to help them regroup. This concept is echoed in Isaiah's declaration: "And it will be like a sign on the mountain, and like a banner carried on the hill" (Isaiah 30:17). Thus, the comparison is drawn from typical occurrences. "I will proclaim it, saith he, and I will receive it"; indeed, a magnificent and glorious sign has been raised for us—the cross of our Savior—through which we have been made pleasing to God the Father and redeemed, leading to an increase in believers forming an immense multitude.

Moreover, with the statement, "and all I am among men, and those who are afar off from them shall come and remember me," we affirm the following without straying from the intent of the prophecy, as it holds significant truth. The divine apostles and heralds of the holy Gospel were metaphorically scattered among various nations and in diverse locations, and those who had been distant from God—due to sin and error that caused their separation—came to remember Him, embracing the Savior and Creator of all, despite once having worshipped creation and losing their connection with the Divine. Thus, the apostle Paul states of those called through him to the knowledge of Christ, "Now ye that were sometimes far off are made nigh" (Eph. 2:13). Therefore, when they remember God, they will return. Similarly, the blessed prophet Jeremiah conveys to Israel, "If you remember the Lord from afar, let Jerusalem come to your heart" (Jeremiah 51:50).

As they recall the One who is God by nature, they will gain such spiritual fortitude that they will become parents, raising their own children with words of righteousness and gaining honor from this. The esteemed Paul consistently encourages his disciples—those who have attained "the perfect manhood and have come to the measure of the age of Christ" (Eph. 4:13)—by reminding them of the joy and the crown he finds in them, as he notes in, "joy and my crown" (Phil. 4:1), or when he testifies "by our praise, which I have of Christ Jesus" (1 Cor. 15:31); for "the crown of old is the children's children, but praise the children of their fathers," as stated in Proverbs (Proverbs 17:6).

This gathering is foreshadowed in a prophetic sign, either during the time of the Macedonian empire or at the culmination of history, as previously noted. He proclaims that they will hear a call, and through my call, I will unite them and teach them that I am their Shepherd. For I have redeemed them and liberated them from bondage by extending My hand. Having previously multiplied them, I will cause such abundance in their gathering among the nations that it won't seem like mere scattering but the act of a sower. They will flourish, akin to a harvest of their children and grandchildren, living alongside them. They will return not just from Egypt but from Assyria as well, coming back to Judah from all corners of the earth, to the lands of Gilead and Lebanon, once belonging to the ten tribes known as the house of Joseph and Ephraim. The number returning will be so vast that the earth will not contain them all.

In a figurative interpretation, the Lord signifies a call to those who were once in sinful captivity, inviting them, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-30). What could be more compassionate than this call that gathers the dispersed multitudes? They gather because the Lord has redeemed them, not with perishable silver and gold from their emptiness but through the precious blood of the sinless Lamb, the Lord Jesus (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Thus, it is written in the Psalm (Ps. 31:7): "My joy, deliver me from them that surround me." Again, "the Lord hath redeemed me, the God of truth" (Psalms 30:6). I will cause them to multiply, as before, reflecting God's promise to Abraham: "I will multiply him and bless him, and he will be the father of many nations" (Gen. 17:16).

The descendants of Abraham should not be understood solely as those of whom the Lord remarked, "If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works of your father" (John 8:39), but rather those referred to by the Apostle, “Those who are of faith are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). Isaiah affirms this multiplication with these mysterious words: "The small shall become thousands, and the least a mighty nation" (Isaiah 60:22). It should be understood that the multiplication and blessing of children does not refer carnally, as that would exclude Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist, whose rank is not among those born of women (Matt. 11:11). Instead, we refer to the blessing through which a multitude of nations is called to faith.

The following declaration ensues: "I will scatter them among the nations, and they shall remember Me from afar." Those who have been dispersed among the nations have heard the command to "Go forth and teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19), and in another scripture: "Not ye have chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain" (John 15:16). When the Apostles are spread among the nations, then the most distant peoples and tribes will recall Me, according to the prophetic assurance: "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow before Him" (Psalm 21:28-29). The phrase "from afar they shall remember Me" is akin to, "You who are far off, remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem be in your heart" (Jeremiah 51:50). All nations were far removed but will remember God because we all descend from one ancestor. When the apostles disperse among all nations, far-off peoples will begin to remember God and will live alongside their offspring, leading those who had previously perished in disbelief to be renewed in faith. These are the spiritual children, nurtured by the Apostle through the gospel, as he wrote to the Corinthians, "I have fed you with milk" (1 Cor. 3:2). Peter wrote to the believers in dispersion: "Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever; as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (1 Pet. 1:23, 1 Pet. 2:2). The Evangelist John also addressed these children, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).

And He promises, "I will retrieve them from Egypt and gather them from Assyria," referring to Egypt, where Pharaoh ruled who arrogantly claimed, "My rivers are mine, and I have made them" (Ezekiel 29:3), and from Assyria, governed by the proud king who declared, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High" (Isaiah 14:14). When the Lord gathers the nations out of the darkness of Egypt, the distress of the world, and the might of Assyria—that represents torment and confrontation (being both adversary and avenger)—He will lead them into the lands of Gilead and Lebanon. Gilead, in our language, signifies the testimony of transition, moving from the physical to the spiritual, from the partial to the complete, departing from the earthly to embrace the heavenly. Similarly, Lebanon symbolizes purity and persuasion.

Thus, we are liberated from the darkness of Egypt so that upon our transition from this world, we may be blessed by the Lord, and be recognized with the words, "Who is she that cometh forth blessed?" (Song of Songs 6:9). Others, reflecting on the dual meaning of Lebanon, which is both a mountain in Phoenicia and signifies frankincense, interpret it as God's intention that, following our journey from the earth to heaven, He will realize the Savior's prayer: "Father, that they may be one as We are one" (John 17:22). Hence, in the Song of Songs, the bride remarks to her groom, "The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon" (Song of Songs 4:11). When He escorts us to the plains of Gilead and Lebanon, space will be so abundant that we will not be confined by earthly limits but will relish the vast expanse of heaven.