Lesson
I. CLEANSING FROM THE DEFILEMENT OF SIN (v. 1)
“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”
A. The Need of the Nation
“In that day” refers to the day of the Lord, which is when Christ returns and Israel repents. “The house of David and … the inhabitants of Jerusalem” shows the totality of cleansing: it will affect royalty and commoners. The fountain of forgiveness will cleanse the people of Israel from the defilement of sin. Such forgiveness is the supreme need of Jew and Gentile alike. Every person is a sinner in God’s eyes. The apostle Paul said, “There is none righteous, no, not one …. all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:10, 23).
Israel has been defiled by its historic disobedience to the law of God and its outright rejection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. In Romans 10:3 the apostle Paul says that “they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.” Israel authored a system of works rather than following the system of faith and grace that God authored. In that state of unbelief, Israel remains guilty before God. In fact the people have committed the greatest sin of all: rejecting Christ.
B. The Character of the Cleansing
But what happens in the day of their repentance is wonderful. Israel will be cleansed with a fountain of forgiveness. The Hebrew word translated “fountain” (maqor) refers to a spring of water, but is often used symbolically to refer to God as “the fountain of living waters” (Jer. 2:13; 17:13). Psalm 36:9 says, “With thee is the fountain of life.” The fountain in Zechariah 13:1 is not used as the source of life or refreshment, but as a means of cleansing and purification. God is going to cleanse Israel of all its filthiness.
The use of the Hebrew word translated “opened” conveys the idea of a continuous, permanent opening. The fountain Zechariah mentions will be a source of perennial purification. The fountain of cleansing was opened at the cross of Calvary, and it’s been purifying souls ever since. Yet Israel as a whole has never been purified by it because of its unbelief and hardness of heart. But that will change when the people of Israel come to their Messiah in repentance. They will begin to experience what Christians have being experiencing for over 2000 years–the perennial cleansing of Christ’s death and resurrection. First John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus Christ … cleanseth us from all sin.” The present-tense verb carries the idea of a continuing cleansing. As long as there is sin, there will be cleansing for the one who believes.
C. The Delineation of the Defilement
The Hebrew word translated “sin” (chattath) refers to that which misses the mark or goes the wrong way. It was refers to a sin against man or God–an act of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion. The Hebrew word translated “uncleanness” identifies something to be shunned. In the book of Leviticus it is used to refer to ceremonial impurity such as when an Israelite touched a dead body.
Israel will be cleansed of its moral and ceremonial defilement. Everyone needs that kind of cleansing because everyone is defiled. When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he said, “There is no man who sinneth not” (1 Kings 8:46). David said, “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” ((Ps. 14:2-3; cf., Rom. 3:11-12).
D. The Forgiveness of the Faithful
We are cleansed from our sin when we place our faith in the One who was pierced on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and reconcile us to God. By believing in Him and receiving Him as your Savior, that cleansing can be applied to you.
Israel will one day experience that cleansing nationally. The people will again enjoy a covenental relationship with God. Only the blood of Christ can provide that. Hebrews 9:13-14 says, “If the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Only the sacrifice of Christ purges the sinner’s conscience and transforms his life so that he can willingly serve God.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
