John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 9:12

"Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope: even to-day do I declare that I will render double unto thee." — Zechariah 9:12 (ASV)

Zechariah proceeds with the same subject. He urges the Jews suddenly to return to their fortress. There is no doubt that he means by that term the holy land; nor do I oppose the opinion of those who think he means the temple, for Jerusalem and the whole of Judea are called a fortress, because God had chosen his sanctuary there.

It is then the same as if one wishing to collect a dispersed and straggling band of soldiers were to say, “To the standard, to the standard!” or, “To the troop, to the troop!” For though Judea was not then fortified, indeed, Jerusalem itself had no high wall or strong towers, yet they had God as their stronghold, and this was impregnable; for he had promised that the Jews would be safe under the shadow of his wings, though exposed to the caprices of all around them.

Nor does he here address only those who had returned, or the exiles who still remained scattered in the East; but by this declaration he encourages the whole Church, so that they might be fully persuaded that when assembled under the protection of God, they were as fortified as if they were surrounded on every side by the strongest citadels, and that there would be no access open to enemies.

Return ye then to the stronghold. This could not have appeared unreasonable, for we know that when they were building the city their work was often interrupted, and we also know that the temple was not then fortified by a wall. But Zechariah teaches them that, in that state of things, there was sufficient defense in God alone. Though the Jews were not then made safe by moats, or by walls, or by mounds, yet he reminds them that God would be sufficient to defend them, and that he would be to them, as it is said in another place, a wall and a rampart (Isaiah 26:1).

But it is not without reason that he calls them the captives of hope, for many had wholly alienated themselves from God and altogether fallen away, so as to be unworthy of any promise. By this mark then, he distinguishes between the faithful captives and those who had wholly degenerated and separated themselves from the family of God, so that they were no longer counted among his people. This point, which interpreters have coldly overlooked, ought to be carefully noticed. They have indeed said that they are called captives of hope because they hoped to be saved, but they have not observed the distinction by which Zechariah intended to convey reproof to the unbelieving Jews. It was therefore not without meaning that he directed his word to the faithful only, who were not only captives, but also captives having hope. I cannot finish today.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not today look for a Redeemer to deliver us from temporal miseries, but only carry on a warfare under the banner of the cross, until he appears to us from heaven to gather us into his blessed kingdom — O grant, that we may patiently bear all evils and all troubles: and as Christ once for all poured out the blood of the new and eternal covenant, and gave us a symbol of it in the Holy Supper, may we, confiding in so sacred a seal, never doubt that he will always be propitious to us, and make manifest to us the fruit of his reconciliation, when, after having supported us for a season under the burden of those miseries by which we are now oppressed, you gather us into that blessed and perfect glory, which has been procured for us by the blood of Christ our Lord, and which is daily set before us in the gospel, and laid up for us in heaven, until at length we shall come to enjoy it through the same, our Lord Jesus Christ. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

In yesterday’s lecture the Prophet exhorted the Jews to assemble in that stronghold of which God was to be the guardian. And we have said that Jerusalem was then to the godly an impregnable fortress, though for the most part without walls, because the place was, as it were, sacred to God, and under his care and protection.

He now adds a confirmation of this truth: that those who had resorted to Jerusalem would be doubly more blessed than their fathers before their exile, for a comparison is no doubt made between them and their fathers. From the reign of David until the exile, God had proved by many signs that he cared for that people; he afterwards raised up, as it were, a new Church, that is, when liberty to return was granted to the Jews.

The meaning here then is that if the fathers, before they were driven from their country, had experienced God to be kind and bountiful, those who had now returned to their country would find God much more bountiful towards his new Church. We now understand then what he means by double, namely, double happiness, for God would increase his blessings to the Jews, though their condition was then by no means desirable; indeed, very hard according to the world's estimation. But he says that he declared from that day, intimating that though the effect of this prophecy was not immediately apparent, yet he spoke with confidence, for in the course of time they would find that nothing had been said to them in vain or rashly. The Prophet then shows—here—that he spoke with perfect confidence, and this was in order to lend credibility to the promise, lest the Jews should doubt that what they heard from the mouth of Zechariah would at length be made evident to them.