Zechariah 8:12 | |
12. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. | 12. Quia semen pacis, vitis proferet fructum suum, et terra proferet fructum suum (est quidem aliud nomen, sed idem significat, ) et coeli dabunt rorem suum; et possidere faciam reliquias populi hujus omnia haec. |
Here Zechariah promises the continuance of God's favor, which the Jews had now begun to taste. God then had in part openly showed that he was a Father to the Jews, by dealing liberally with them: but in order more fully to strengthen them in their perseverance, Zechariah says that this favor would be continued.
And he says first, that there would be
There is added an explanation --
But God ever recalls his people to himself, that they may depend on his blessing; for it would be a cold doctrine were we not persuaded of this -- that the earth is not otherwise fruitful than as God gives it the power of generating and of bringing forth. We ought therefore ever to regard the blessing of God, and to ask of him to supply us with food, and to pray him every day, as we are taught, to give us our daily bread. But few do this from the heart, and hardly one in a hundred so turns his thoughts to God's hand as firmly to believe that he daily receives from him his daily food. We now understand what the Prophet means in these words. It now follows --
1 It is not easy to know the precise meaning of this phrase, capable as it is of various explanations. Jerome, Grotius, and Marckius consider "the remnant," mentioned in the preceding verse, as meant by the seed, "For the seed shall be peace," or peacable, instead of being rebellious as before. The verse, as stated by Marckius, may be thus rendered,--
For to the seed of peace
Shall the vine yield its fruit, etc.
But what seems most consonant with the whole passage, is to regard [
12. For the sowing-time will be peacable; The vine shall give its fruit, And the land shall give its increase, And the heavens shall give their dew: Yea, I will cause the remnant of this people To inherit all these things.
But most follow Calvin's view: so do Newcome and Henderson.
Blayney considers [
Back to BibleStudyGuide.org. These files are public domain. This electronic edition was downloaded from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. |