Zechariah
Bible Study # 10
The
Crowning of Joshua
Zechariah
6:9-15
9
The word of the Lord
also came to me, saying, 10
“Take an
offering from the
exiles, from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah; and you go the same day and
enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have
arrived from Babylon.
11
Take
silver and gold, make an ornate
crown
and set it on
the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.12
Then
say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord
of
hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will
branch
out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord.
13 Yes,
it is He who will build the temple of the Lord,
and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus,
He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be
between the two
offices.”’
14 Now
the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord
to
Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and
Hen
the son of Zephaniah. 15
Those
who are far off will come and
build
the temple of the Lord.”
Then you will know that the Lord
of
hosts has sent me to you. And it will take place if you completely
obey the Lord
your
God.The visions have ended and this symbolic transaction foreshadows that will follow the banishment of evil from the land, and the overthrow of world-power in the earth. The crowning of the true King and Priest forever.
Verse 9 - After all the visions the transition to a prophetic word of the Lord is noted.
Verse 10 – People come from Babylon, guys who have settled there and chosen not to return, but who return now with an offering for the Lord's house. These are Jews but are coming from far-off Babylon, so David Baron, relates this section to John 12:20-33. Greeks send a message to Jesus, they want to see Him, but His response is … not easy to figure out. (Read that section)
At the time the Greeks were asking to see Jesus, there was a sign in the temple over the second outer court that read, “No stranger may enter here on pain of death.” The only way that was going to change was for Jesus to go to the cross, and then there would truly be a “house of prayer for all nations.”
Verse 11 – An ornate amazing crown is to be made. The three guys would have had no idea that their offering would be used to make a crown for a powerful symbolic transaction. Joshua as high priest and a member of the tribe of Levi, would have been very aware, that no one in his tribe would ever be wearing the crown of a king, that was reserved for the tribe of Judah.
Verse 12 – The Lord Himself sets out to explain this event. Baron says of verses 12 and 13, “This is one of the most remarkable and precious Messianic prophecies, and there is no plainer prophetic utterance in the whole Old Testament as to the Person of the promised Redeemer, the offices He was to fill, and the mission he was to accomplish. Let us examine the sentence in detail.” “Behold the man.” The sovereign God, put these words on Pilate's lips also, but this crown has no thorns. The Branch, God's chosen symbolic word for His Messiah. Spoken in Isaiah 4:2 “ In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.” Again in Jeremiah 23:5 “ In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel.” and Jeremiah 33:15 “In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.” “And He will build the temple of the Lord.” Both the church and the body of Jesus, and the temple that will be built during the millennial reign of Christ on earth. As per usual, the prophetic word has multiple meanings and if we just limit it, to one thing we go down a trail to error and deception.
Verse 13 – The pattern of scripture is repetition for emphasis, it was the Hebrew way of putting an exclamation point on a sentence. So this is going to happen and nothing can stop it, “He will build the temple.” He will be a priest on a throne, both offices combined into one Man. Only one Man can open the seal and only one Man can hold both of these offices. David took the priesthood role, when the ark was returned, he ate the bread that only priests should eat, when he was on the run from Saul. He was not rebuked by God either time, he was a fore-shadowing of Christ. Not in presumption, but at the leading of the Lord. “And the counsel of peace will be between them.” This is an alternate reading of that last part of the verse and it would indicate that our peace is found between the Father and Jesus, the presence of the Holy Spirit, leading and guiding our life, so that we are a man like David who learns from his mistake in using the ox cart, an expedient, what's the easiest way to get it done thing. He learns and studies and goes back and does it the right way the second time. We MUST wait upon the Lord, we MUST seek His ways, we MUST NOT be in such a hurry to “do” that we miss the mind of the Lord.
Verse 14 – Joshua realizing that he was just a symbol or a sign, probably could not wait for them to remove the crown from his head. From there it was kept as a sign in the temple of the Lord. Those who had given the resources to allow it to be made are remembered and the man who opened up his home to these visitors in hospitality is also remembered. No deed, done for God, is small.
Verse 15 – Ahhh the gentiles, “those who are far off” Thank you Jesus, I was 'far off' and YOU brought me to the temple. You have made me one who is part of the building of the temple. Partial fulfillment, and in 'that day' and a further fulfillment as the nations assist the Jews in returning to their land at the start of the millennial reign. “Completely obey” totally impossible under the law, but possible when God pours out His grace on this nation and makes them a truly Holy people, and gives them, as an entire nation, a new heart to follow and obey Him. That was God's promise.
Ezekiel 36:24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Jeremiah 31:31
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
How beautiful and how wonderful God’s reassuring words to Israel are. God’s promise of the New Covenant should bring tremendous rejoicing in the heart of every Jew. The New Covenant is the outworking of the Abrahamic Covenant of faith. God will give a new heart and a new spirit to His people to believe in the Seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel 36:28-30, 35
28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.
35 So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden…
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