The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength,
In Jehovah of hosts their God.
In that day I will make the chiefs of Judah
Like a pan of fire among wood,
And as a torch of fire among sheaves;
And they shall devour all the peoples round about,
On the right hand and on the left;
And Jerusalem shall dwell in her own place, even in Jerusalem
(verses 4-7).
These verses are descriptive of the calamity which will befall the enemies of Israel. Jehovah will smite them. The stone falling from heaven will smite the image at its feet and will pulverize it. The enemies of Israel will suffer as complete a defeat and destruction as Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. In pride and blindness they had rushed on, and while pursuing Israel the face of the Lord looked out of the cloud and confused the Egyptian hosts, and the returning waters swept them all away, the horse and the rider and the chariots. It is but a faint type of what it will be when Jehovah will roar out of heaven, and His glory will appear. The slain of the Lord will then indeed be many. Judah and the chiefs will be used in that judgment. They shall be a devouring fire. The fourteenth chapter will lead us into a closer investigation.