For jewels of a crown shall they be, glittering over His land,
For how great is His goodness and how great His beauty!
Corn shall make the young men flourish, and new wine maidens.”
But again we have to remark that this prophecy is only partially fulfilled. The terrible tribulation of the land of Judah when Antiochus Epiphanes invaded the land, is but a type of the great tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble. Antiochus Epiphanes, in his awful fight against Jehovah and the Lord’s people, is a type of the final Antichrist, and the Jewish saints slain by him are types of the Jewish saints which will be beheaded during the tribulation. Jehovah will fight then, as it is stated here, against those nations in that day (Zech. xiv). The remnant of Israel will then be victorious. Thus everything is seen in this chapter in a past fulfillment, but only partial, and in it a future fulfillment, which will be complete.
We cannot leave this chapter without calling attention to the blessed statement:
“For jewels of a crown they shall be, glittering over His land.”
The slain who suffered martyrdom are meant, and all those who fought for Jehovah’s name and honor. May not the statement in Hebrews xi. refer to this time? “Others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yea moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins: being destitute, afflicted, evil entreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering in deserts and in mountains and caves and the holes of the earth” (Heb. xi: 36-39).
And all will find a repetition during the coming tribulation. But the time for reward has not yet come. The throne of glory is not yet revealed, and the jewels, the saints made up in a crown, glittering over the land are not yet seen. But the assurance is given, “They shall be Mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels” (Mal. iii: 17). “Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God” (Isa. lxii: 3). “And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Revel. xx: 6. Oh, blessed hope of all the saints! To be with Christ in Glory, in His throne, and sharing His rule. In that day of manifestation, when Christ our life is manifested, and we shall be manifested with Him in glory—glory never ceasing, but ever increasing, in the countless ages to come, redeemed sinners will be the jewels of His crown, and He shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied.
[CHAPTER X.]
More Blessings promised to Judah and Israel.—The Nation Victorious.—Judah and Ephraim blessed, gathered and restored, and their enemies overcome.