Daily Devotions

Zechariah

Zechariah 
Day 
Day 92

"I will cut off the pride of the Philistines"

Text: Zechariah 9:6

THE SIN OF PRIDE

This was a sin that crept up time and again. No nation was spared from this sin-problem of pride. The LORD had to deal with this sin when it appeared among the Philistines.

“A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod,
And I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
I will take away the blood from his mouth,
And the abominations from between his teeth.
But he who remains, even he shall be for our God,
And shall be like a leader in Judah,
And Ekron like a Jebusite.”
Zechariah 9:6-7

1. “A mixed race shall settle on Ashdod”

a) The Philistines took pride in their ethnicity.
b) They would never have contemplated “a mixed race”.

2. “I will cut off the pride of the Philistines”

a) They too pride in their being Philistines.
b) They despised other nations (like Israel).

3. Other things they are proud of

a) They indulged in idolatry.
b) They had no respect for God’s law concerning food laws.
i) Israel was forbidden to eat blood.
ii) That is, the animals must be properly killed before they can be eaten.
iii) The Philistines rejected this word.
iv) They ate whatever they desired. They ate however they wished.

4. “He who remains”

a) Some Philistines would be spared from death.
b) They would become “Jebusites” (the name that was used to describe the early dwellers in Jerusalem). They would be integrated with Israel and arise to be leaders!