Zechariah 6:9 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
10 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;
11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
14 And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.
15 And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.
As Zechariah dealt with the visions that God gave him, the LORD had some necessary work for him to do. In verse 10 we are reminded that the time frame here is after the captivity of Judah by the Babylonians. Jews were coming back to Jerusalem. Three men are named here. These three men were to go to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah and take silver and gold to make crowns.
These crowns were not for a king, but rather for Joshua the high priest. The high priest had an important function in Israeli life. The high priest was the only one who could go into the holiest to offer blood to atone for the sins of the people. The high priest needed to be a man of God. Many of them had not been such. Joshua was a man of God.
As we have already noted in the past, Zechariah was led to speak of things taking place during his time, but he was also led to write about things that would happen later on in history. As we will see, God is giving a picture here of the Lord Jesus Christ as the ultimate High Priest. He is a Prophet, Priest and King.
The high priest was generally anointed with oil in preparation for his duties. The King was anointed with oil but also crowned. Jesus Christ will fill that role and be the final and the perfect God Man, on earth, to fulfil the role of Prophet, Priest and King.
In verse 12 we see this spelled out. We have noted the BRANCH before in our studies. Jesus Christ is the BRANCH that will grow up out of his place. He shall build the temple of the LORD. This is definitely speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ Who will build the final temple at the beginning of the Millennium. He came in a manner that was not accepted by the religious elite of His time. He is still not accepted by the majority of the Jews. He is also not accepted by most Gentiles.
In verse 13 we see that the BRANCH is not an appendage of a tree, but rather a person. This BRANCH is a special person. He will bear the glory. Jesus Christ received some recognition in His first coming. The Jews were looking for a king. They honoured Him in His triumphal entry a week prior to His crucifixion. The same people who were excited to acknowledge Him as king were also quick to condemn Him to death because they were easily swayed by false teachers. They were not willing to be converted by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were on an emotional journey and that is a very fickle way to live.
Jesus Christ will rule from the temple in the Millennium. He will have His throne there and He will rule with a rod of iron. We see that He will be a priest from His throne. He is the Prince of Peace and He will provide peace to all those who will turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. As we have already noted, no lost person will enter into the Millennium. Those born in that time will be lost sinners just like all others. Some of them will be saved and many will not.
In verse 14 we read of several crowns that would be given at the time of Zechariah. They would be given to four men for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. We have seen many times, that it takes many people or things to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. He is so much greater than man. He is God. No amount of people can replace Him. God chooses to work with saved people but they cannot replace any one of the Godhead.
In verse 15 we see the unifying effect of the BRANCH. The Lord Jesus Christ brings unity among those who are His sheep.
John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
In my lifetime, I have seen the effects of the ecumenical movement at work. As a young person I did not understand what was taking place. It was very confusing for me to observe the way things were developing. After I was saved, I was still not clear of what was happening. I saw things taking place that did not line up with the Bible, but I was told that this was all good. As I read my Bible, I could not make it fit with what I was witnessing. It took a number of years before I finally listened to God more closely and understood that the Bible is God’s absolute Word and that man does not correct or replace the Bible. When man is acting contrary to the Bible, the saved person should accept the Bible as truth and reject the lies of men.
Living by God’s Word is a blessing and it brings unity with those who also want to live by God’s Word. In our text we see that those who would humbly submit to the drawing of the LORD, would know that Zechariah was a chosen vessel of the LORD. They could trust his word. Zechariah was not a self-made man. He was a faithful servant of the LORD. His message was unique, but it was truth. God’s people need to accept any and all of God’s Word as the Word of God. When we do that, we do not ignore or rewrite His Word. We believe what God says in II Peter 1:19-21. We understand that God chose holy men to give us His Word. We have no reason to doubt any of God’s Word. The people involved in putting together the many perversions all doubt God’s Word. The Nestle Aland Greek text was put together by those who doubted God’s Word. The corruption in the modern perversions clearly shows they are not the Word of God. The deterioration of doctrine and practice in the New Evangelical camp clearly shows the fruit of rejecting the inspiration of God’s Word.
Zechariah was told to write that those who turn to God and know His peace will see His prophecies fulfilled. Those who reject Him, will be preoccupied with torment in hell and will not know the blessings that the just will know. It is wise to humbly submit to the truth and follow the LORD. God has great blessings in store for those who trust in Him and serve Him faithfully.
The people of Zechariah’s day needed real encouragement. They needed to be taught the truth. They were not told funny stories. They were given facts that were needful then and still needful today. Seek out God’s truth and discover His blessings. Of course this begins with true salvation.
Pastor Bartel
