shall be removed is none other than the " that day " of the last chapters of this same Book of Zechariah the " day," namely, of Israel's national repentance and great Day of Atonement, when the spirit of grace and supplication shall be poured out upon them, and they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced.
" In that day," we read, " there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem: . . . every family apart and their wives apart. In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for undeanness" (Zech. xii. 1014 and xiii. i).
" But, again we may be asked, how can this be recon ciled with the statement that the true Day of Atonement is the Day of Calvary; and was not the fountain for sin and uncleanness opened when our Saviour was nailed to the cross, and when the soldier with the spear pierced His side, and forthwith there came out blood and water? " Yes, but to the sinner actually and experimentally the Day of Calvary is the day when his eyes are opened to the true meaning to himself of the great redeeming work there accomplished, and when the Spirit of God applies Jesus blood and righteousness and high-priestly intercessions to his own need. Thus, " in that day " it will be with Israel nationally.[1]
A simple illustration from the experience of Hagar in the wilderness of Beer-sheba may help us to understand this. When the water in her bottle was spent, and she put down the lad, as she thought to die, she herself went to a distance, and in the anguish of her spirit lifted up her voice and wept. But God heard not only her voice, but the voice of the lad, and had pity on them. "And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water" The well was most probably there all the time, but her eyes, dimmed by her very sorrow and tears, could not see it; and it was to her, as she was filling her skin bottle, as if the well had just
- ↑ This section about the future prophetic significance of the Day of Atonement is quoted from the chapter, " The Sacred Calendar of the History of Redemption," in Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, to which I would refer the reader.
