II. CLEANSING FROM THE DECEPTION OF SPURIOUS PROPHETS (vv. 2-6)
The two besetting sins of Israel have always been idolatry and false prophecy. Wherever idolatry existed, it was the result of false prophets propagating it. But when Christ returns and cleanses Israel from its defilement, He is also going to cleanse the nation from the deception of those false prophets.
A. Exterminated (v. 2)
“It shall come to pass, in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.”
Behind false prophecy is an unclean spirit. Psalm 96:5 says, “All the gods of the nations are idols.” And Paul tells us that “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons” (1 Cor. 10:20). Behind false prophets and idols (who are thought to be gods) are unclean spirits.
“The unclean spirit” is not a pervading principle but an active agency that standing in direct contrast with “the Spirit of grace and of supplications” (Zech. 12:10). The agency of salvation is God’s Spirit of grace, but the agency of idolatry are false prophets, demons, and Satan himself. The wicked spirits who energize false prophets are unclean because they drive their victims into moral impurities and false religion.
B. Executed (v. 3)
“It shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother who begot him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord; and his father and his mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.”
After Israel has been cleansed, anyone who tries to prophesy as a false prophet will be killed, even by those who are closely related to him. A mother and father will put their own child to death because they’ll have such a hatred of false prophecy, it will overrule normal human feelings. They’ll be the first to condemn the apostate to death.
C. Embarrassed (v. 4)
“It shall come to pass, in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed, every one, of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive.”
Anyone who is a false prophet when Christ returns will be so ashamed, he won’t want to be known as a prophet or even appear as one. The rough garment became the sign of a prophet from the days of Elijah, who was know for wearing a rough garment (1 Kings. 19:13, 19). It was either a goatskin or a piece of clothing woven out of camel’s hair. False prophets will fear being identified as deceivers, so they’ll deny any association whatsoever with prophecy.
D. Exposed (vv. 5-6)
“But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends [Heb., ahavay, `lovers'].”
In the day of Israel’s cleansing, false prophets will deny being prophets and claim to have been farmers all their lives. When they denounce any association with pagan practices, others will challenge them to explain the wounds on their bodies. “Wounds in thine hands” could refer to anywhere on the arms or hands, or even across the torso. Pagans would cut themselves as part of their religious practice. When confronted with the question, the false prophet will have to admit that his wound came from his lovers. Commentator H.C. Leupold identifies those lovers as the idols that the false prophets were in love with (Exposition of Zechariah [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1956], p. 249). The self-inflicted wounds from their idolatries will give them away.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
