Zechariah 8:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The heavens, the earth, and all of creation will faithfully respond to the commands of the Lord. This is the promise for Israel when God bestows prosperity upon them and rescues them from every hardship.

These declarations can be applied to Christ, our Redeemer. Prior to His arrival, each of us lived according to our own desires, leading lives that were both reckless and foolish, under the influence of demonic temptation. But when the Father looked upon us with compassion, as if we had fallen and been crushed under the weight of our adversaries, He changed His approach; He did not deal with us as in the past, neglecting us while we were oppressed and ruled by a harsh tyrant. Instead, He granted us peace from above—Christ—who has lavished upon us every spiritual abundance. We have been filled with richness and joy, and the true vine, Christ (John 15:5), has offered us His fruits that bring joy to the heart, as Scripture affirms. He is the ‘grain of wheat’ (John 12:24) and the sacred sheaf. By becoming our life, He has enabled us to flourish profoundly, bestowing upon us heavenly blessings, both tangible and spiritual, as the divine poet David reflects: ‘like the dew of Hermon descending on the mountains of Zion’ (Psalm 132:3). This is the good portion prepared for us by God, once we have become Israel—a people with a vision of God, for in the Son we behold the Father.

However, now that the foundations of the house of God are established and the temple is built, I will no longer engage with those returning from Babylon as I did in the past; rather, there will be peace and joy all around, and the forthcoming abundance will recompense them for their earlier drought and famine. The grapes shall bear their fruit, and the winepresses will overflow; the land will be adorned with a bountiful harvest, nourished by the ample rain and dew of the night. All these blessings will be conferred upon the remnant of My people since the foundations of the house of God have been laid, and the temple has been raised.

The prophet also speaks of this time, having previously declared, “I struck you with a scorching wind, with wormwood, and with hail, all the labor of your hands.” After the foundation of the temple is laid: “Consider carefully this day, and the upcoming day of the twenty-fourth of the ninth month: from the moment the temple's foundations were laid, reflect upon it. Is there still seed in the sprout? Have the grapes, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees yet burst forth their hues? From this day onward, I will bless them and move heaven and earth anew (Haggai 2:18-19).

Let us also approach this from another angle, considering the teachings regarding the Church. Before anyone embraces the faith of Christ, and prior to the establishment of the Holy Spirit within them, they cannot hear the assurance: “There is a reward for your efforts.” Regardless of whether they are Jew, heretic, or Gentile, there will be no recompense for their good deeds. We observe virgins among heretics, austerity with philosophers, and Jews abstaining from numerous foods; yet, we proclaim—echoing the words of Haggai—that they eat but are not satisfied, drink but do not quench their thirst, cover themselves with garments but remain cold, and the one who accumulates earned wages casts them into a bag with holes (Haggai 1:6).

After embracing the faith of Christ, both those who were sinners within the Church, having been burdened by their many sins and entrapped in this world, hearing the words of the Lord: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has anointed Me; He has sent Me to proclaim good news to the poor, to declare freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, and to heal the brokenhearted" (Isaiah 61:1). The prophet Amos's proclamation will come to pass: "I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities, and I will plant them" (Am. 9:14); then, in those days, truth and the great multitude shall be revived (Ps. 70:7).

The Vineyard will yield its fruit, as stated in the Gospel: "I am the vine, and you are the branches. Every branch that abides in Me, My Father prunes, that it may bear much fruit" (Jn. 15:1-2; cf. Jn. 15:5-8). When its branches, meaning twigs and shoots, are purified, they will promise hope of future harvests to those with enlightened eyes, because it will be fulfilled as written: "The blossoming vines have given forth an aroma" (Song of Songs 2:14); then the rights of the Sun will be realized. The Sun of righteousness will beautify the hanging clusters, such that those immersed in the winepresses referenced in the eighth and eighty-third Psalms—marked with the words "O winepresses"—will be trampled by the foot of the Lord, who comes forth to pour out the wine that gladdens the heart of humanity.

The earth will produce not parched, stony ground covered with thorns, but fertile soil, yielding a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold (Matthew 13:8), so that those who sow with tears shall reap in joy (Psalm 125:5). Furthermore, the heavens will also provide their dew, as it is written: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 18:2). These heavens are alluded to in the song of Deuteronomy: "Rejoice, O heavens, with Him" (Deut. 32:43), that is, with the Lord our Savior, whose heavens were anticipated and predetermined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son (Rom. 8:29) as He spoke to Moses: "Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew" (Deut. 32:2). Truly, those who were dead in their transgressions will rise, and those lying in tombs filled with the bones of the deceased will awaken, while those who are alive on earth shall rejoice; the reason for their rejoicing is made clear by the subsequent words: "For the dew that comes down from You is their healing." All these blessings—peace, the fruit of the vine, and the abundance of the earth, enriched by the dew of heaven—will belong to the remnant of My people, regarding whom Isaiah stated: "If the Lord of hosts had not left us a remnant, we would have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah" (Isaiah 1:9). Indeed, the remnant was saved through the gracious election: not by works; otherwise, grace would not exist.