John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 10:8

"I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them; and they shall increase as they have increased." — Zechariah 10:8 (ASV)

This verse has the same purpose. By the word 'whistle,' Zechariah means what it signifies in other passages—that it will not be an arduous task for God, for we are accustomed to measure His works by what our flesh understands. Since the Jews might then have easily raised this objection—that their kinsmen were dispersed throughout various countries and among many nations, so that gathering them seemed incredible—the Prophet addresses this objection and says that God was able, by mere whistling or by a single nod, to restore them to their country.

God is sometimes said to whistle for the wicked when He compels them unwillingly to serve Him and uses them as instruments to carry out His hidden purposes. For when great armies daily assemble, it is undoubtedly through the secret appointment of God. Therefore, when trumpets sound and drums beat, the Lord whistles from heaven to lead the reprobate here and there as it pleases Him. But in this passage, the Prophet simply means that even if God does not have many heralds or an equipped army to open a way for His people, He will be satisfied with whistling only. For when it should please Him, a free passage would be made for the captives, even if the whole world were to hinder their return. These two words, then, are to be joined together: I will whistle for them and gather them. This is as if Zechariah had said that God's nod alone would be sufficient whenever He intended to gather the people.

He then adds, For I have redeemed them. Here also I retain the past tense, as the verb is in the past tense. For God speaks of a redemption already begun, as if He had said, "I have promised that your exile would only be for a time; I have already appeared in part as your Redeemer, and I will not stop My work until it is completed." God then undoubtedly confirms here what I have stated—that as He had begun in some measure to redeem His people, a complete redemption was to be expected, even though the distressed could hardly believe this.

But they ought to have felt assured that God, as it is said in Psalm 138:1, would not forsake the work of his hands. Hence, by considering what had commenced, He encourages the Jews here to have confidence, so that they might with composed minds look for the end, and not doubt that the whole people would be saved, for the Lord had already proved Himself to be their Redeemer. It is indeed true that this had not been fulfilled for all the Israelites, but we must always remember that gratuitous election applied to the whole people in such a way that God nevertheless had only a small flock, as Paul teaches us (Romans 11:5). The Prophet at the same time intimates that Christ would be the head of the Church and would gather from all parts of the earth the Jews who had previously been scattered; and thus the promised restoration is to be extended to all the tribes.