Zechariah 10:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Others suggest that during warfare, if soldiers become scattered – either chasing or being pursued – their commanders position a marker on a high point for them to see, guiding them back together. A comparable concept is conveyed 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 illustration reflects common occurrences. He declares, “I will proclaim it, saith he, and I will receive it,” for a magnificent and glorious symbol has been raised for us – the cross of our Saviour, by which we have been accepted by God the Father, redeemed, and through faith have grown into an immense multitude. Furthermore, he adds, “and all I am among men, and those who are afar off from them shall come and remember me.” We may reiterate this point without straying from the prophecy’s intention, for it bears great significance. The divine apostles and messengers of the holy Gospel were effectively sown among various nations and in every land and city. Those who had been very distant from God, due to sin and estrangement, came to remember Him and embraced the Saviour and Creator of all, despite having previously worshipped created things and lost their connection with God. Hence, the apostle Paul remarks about those brought to the knowledge of Christ through him, saying, “Now ye that were sometimes far off are made nigh” (Eph. 2:13). Thus, if they remember God, they will return. The blessed prophet Jeremiah similarly alludes to this, advising Israel, “If you remember the Lord from afar, let Jerusalem come to your heart” (Jeremiah 51:50). When they recall the true God, they will gain spiritual strength to become parents, raising their children with words of piety and being honored for this. Moreover, the apostle Paul does not write to his disciples, who have reached “the perfect manhood and have come to the measure of the age of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), expressing that: “joy and my crown” (Phil. 4:1), or: “I testify 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 expressed in the Scriptures (Proverbs 17:6).

They will bring up their offspring and return, and I will gather them from Egypt and from the Assyrians, bringing them to Gilead and Lebanon, where none shall be lost. - This sign of their gathering may refer either to the time of Macedonian rule or to the end of the age, as previously mentioned. He states, 'they will have a signal, in my call, I will gather them, teaching them that I am their shepherd. For I have redeemed them and liberated them from bondage by extending My hand. I, who multiplied them in the past, will increase them so that their scattering among the nations resembles a sowing rather than mere dispersal, and their multitude will flourish as a harvest of their children and grandchildren. They shall dwell with their offspring, returning not just from Egypt but also from Assyria, gathering from the farthest corners back to Judah, into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, regions once occupied by the ten tribes known as the house of Joseph and Ephraim. The number of those returning will be so vast that the earth will struggle to contain them. - In a figurative sense: The Lord provides a calling signal to those who were once held captive in sin and invites them to come to Him, all who labor and are burdened, promising rest for their souls. He invites them to take up His yoke and learn from Him, for He is gentle and humble in heart, and His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:28-30). What could be more compassionate than this sign that gathers the scattered? They gather because the Lord has redeemed them—not with corruptible silver or gold from their futility but with the precious blood of the spotless Lamb, the Lord Jesus (1 Peter 1:18-19). Thus, the Psalmist declares (Psalm 31:7): My joy, rescue me from those who surround me. And again, the Lord has delivered me, the God of truth (Psalms 30:6). And I will multiply them, fulfilling the promise made to Abraham: I will make him fruitful and bless him, so he becomes the father of many nations (Genesis 17:16). The children of Abraham should not be understood merely in the physical sense, as Jesus said: If you were truly Abraham's children, you would do the works of your father (John 8:39), but rather as the Apostle states: Those who have faith are the true children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). Isaiah also attests to this increase with his prophetic words, stating that the small shall become thousands and the few as a mighty nation (Isaiah 60:22). The promise of multiplication and blessing of children should not be interpreted in a purely physical sense, for if that were the case, prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, and John the Baptist, who exceeded all others born of women (Matthew 11:11), would miss out on this blessing; we refer here to that blessing which calls numerous peoples to faith. The phrase follows: I will scatter them among the nations and they will remember Me from afar. Scattered among the nations are those who have heard the command to go and teach all nations (Matthew 28:19) and the declaration: You did not choose Me, but I chose you, that you may go and bear lasting fruit (John 15:16). As the apostles spread among the nations, the most distant peoples will remember Me, in fulfillment of the prophecy: All ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord, and all families of nations will worship before Him. For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and He shall reign over the nations (Psalm 21:28-29). And the phrase, 'from afar they shall remember Me,' echoes: You who dwell far off, remember the Lord, and let Jerusalem be on your mind (Jeremiah 51:50). The far-off nations remember God, for we all share a common ancestry. When the apostles moved among the nations, those far away began to remember God and are now living with their children, so that those who once died in unbelief may come alive in faith. These are the children the Apostle nurtured through the Gospel, as he writes to the Corinthians: I have provided you milk to drink (1 Corinthians 3:2). And Peter addresses the redeemed believers in diaspora, saying: Not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed through the living and enduring word of God, we are reborn as infants, longing for pure spiritual milk, that we may grow into salvation (1 Peter 1:23, 1 Peter 2:2). The Evangelist John also instructs these children: My little children, beware of idols (1 John 5:21). And the Lord says, I will lead them back from Egypt, and I will gather them from the Assyrians, that is, from the land of Egypt where Pharaoh ruled, who arrogantly proclaimed: My rivers are my own, and I made them (Ezekiel 29:3), and from the land of Assyria, led by the proud king who claimed: I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven, and I will be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14). When the Lord gathers the nations from the darkness of Egypt, from the distress of this world, and from the power of Assyria—a name that means to rebuke and conquer—He will lead them into Gilead and Lebanon. Gilead translates to mean the testimony of transition, representing our shift from earthly to spiritual existence, from a part to the whole, moving from the temporal to the eternal. Lebanon signifies whiteness or purity, suggesting that we are delivered from the shadows of Egypt so that, upon our migration from earth to heaven, we may be blessed by the Lord, that it may be said of us, Who is she that emerges blessed? (Song of Songs 6:9). Some interpret Lebanon in a dual sense, referring to both the mountain in Phoenicia and incense; thus, considering the significance of incense, they believe that God will fulfill in us the prayer of the Savior after our migration from earth to heaven: Father, may they be one in Us, as I and You are one (John 17:22). Hence, in the Song of Songs, the bride proclaims to her bridegroom: The scent of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon (Song of Songs 4:11). When He brings us into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, there will not be sufficient room, so we will not be hemmed in by the limitations of earth but will bask in the vastness of the heavens.