The prophecy in verses 11 through 17 of Zechariah 9 concerns the victory of the Jewish Maccabean heroes over Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria (175-163 B.C.), the kingdom of the north, prophesied by Daniel in his book in 8:9-14, 23-25 and 11:28-35. Antiochus Epiphanes was the first type of the coming Antichrist, who will do the evil things prophesied in Daniel 8:10-13, 23-25; 11:30-32a.
God raised up the Maccabean heroes to encounter Antiochus and to defeat him. Daniel 11:32b says, "The people who know their God will show strength and take action." I believe that Maccabeus and his followers knew that this word applied to themselves and that they were encouraged by it. They showed strength and took action against Antiochus Epiphanes.
Zechariah 9:13 says, "I will bend Judah for Myself, / And I will fill a bow with Ephraim; / And I will stir up your sons, O Zion, / Against your sons, O Javan; / And I will make you like a warrior's sword." The word Javan here refers to Greece and is the key to understanding verses 11 through 17. The sons of Greece are Antiochus and those with him, and the sons of Zion are the Maccabeans. Thus, verse 13 is saying that at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes God would stir up His sons, the sons of Zion, against the sons of Greece.
Verses 14 and 15 go on to say, "And Jehovah will appear above them, / And His arrow will go forth like lightning; / And the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpet, / And He will go in the whirlwinds of the south. / Jehovah of hosts will defend them; / And they will devour and trample the sling stones. / And they will drink; they will be noisy as if with wine; / And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, / Like the corners of the altar." In these verses them and they refer to the Maccabeans, who were to be defended by God.
Verse 16 continues, "Jehovah their God will save them in that day as the flock of His people, / For they will be like the stones of a crown, sparkling in His land." "That day" refers to December 25, 161 B.C.
Verse 17 concludes, "For how great is their goodness, and how great their beauty! / Grain will make the young men flourish, / And new wine, the virgins." This is a word spoken in congratulations to the Maccabeans for their victory.
The first part of this chapter is concerned with Alexander the Great, and the last part, with Antiochus Epiphanes. A word concerning Christ, who is wrapped up with human history, is inserted in verses 9 and 10. Christ, of course, did not come during the time of the Grecian Empire but during the time of the Roman Empire. As we will see in a later message, Zechariah also prophesied concerning the Roman Empire.