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Zechariah
Chapter Six
Zechariah 6
Chapter Contents
The vision of the chariots. (1-8) Joshua, the high
priest, crowned as a type of Christ. (9-15)
Commentary on Zechariah 6:1-8
(Read Zechariah 6:1-8)
This vision may represent the ways of Providence in the
government of this lower world. Whatever the providences of God about us are,
as to public or private affairs, we should see them all as coming from between
the mountains of brass, the immoveable counsels and decrees of God; and
therefore reckon it as much our folly to quarrel with them, as it is our duty
to submit to them. His providences move swiftly and strongly as chariots, but
all are directed and governed by his infinite wisdom and sovereign will. The
red horses signify war and bloodshed. The black, signify the dismal
consequences of war, famines, pestilences, and desolations. The white, signify
the return of comfort, peace, and prosperity. The mixed colour, signify events
of different complexions, a day of prosperity and a day of adversity. The
angels go forth as messengers of God's counsels, and ministers of his justice and
mercy. And the secret motions and impulses upon the spirits of men, by which
the designs of Providence are carried on, are these four spirits of the
heavens, which go forth from God, and fulfil what the God of the spirits of all
flesh appoints. All the events which take place in the world spring from the
unchangeable counsels of the Lord, which are formed in unerring wisdom, perfect
justice, truth, and goodness; and from history it is found that events happened
about the period when this vision was sent to the prophet, which seem referred
to therein.
Commentary on Zechariah 6:9-15
(Read Zechariah 6:9-15)
Some Jews from Babylon brought an offering to the house
of God. Those who cannot forward a good work by their persons, must, as they
are able, forward it by their purses: if some find hands, let others fill them.
Crowns are to be made, and put upon the head of Joshua. The sign was used, to
make the promise more noticed, that God will, in the fulness of time, raise up
a great High Priest, like Joshua, who is but the figure of one that is to come.
Christ is not only the Foundation, but the Founder of this temple, by his
Spirit and grace. Glory is a burden, but not too heavy for Him to bear who
upholds all things. The cross was His glory, and he bore that; so is the crown
an exceeding weight of glory, and he bears that. The counsel of peace should be
between the priest and the throne, between the priestly and kingly offices of
Jesus Christ. The peace and welfare of the gospel church, and of all believers,
shall be wrought, though not by two several persons, yet by two several offices
meeting in one; Christ, purchasing all peace by his priesthood, maintaining and
defending it by his kingdom. The crowns used in this solemnity must be kept in
the temple, as evidence of this promise of the Messiah. Let us not think of
separating what God has joined in his counsel of peace. We cannot come to God
by Christ as our Priest, if we refuse to have him rule over us as our King. We
have no real ground to think our peace is made with God, unless we try to keep
his commandments.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Zechariah》
Zechariah 6
Verse 1
[1] And
I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four
chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of
brass.
Four chariots — Angels
who are sometimes styled chariots of God. These as employed in the affairs of
church and empire, act their part in the revolution and changes of things,
'till the gospel be preached by the Messiah, and the apostles.
Of brass —
These denote the immoveable decrees of God, his steady execution of his
counsels and the insuperable restraints upon all empires and countries, which
God keeps within the barriers of such impregnable mountains.
Verse 2
[2] In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black
horses;
Red horses —
Perhaps denoting bloody times, Revelation 6:4.
Black horses —
Perhaps a time of mortality, and wasting diseases, Revelation 6:5.
Verse 3
[3] And
in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay
horses.
White horses —
Signifying joyful and prosperous affairs, chap. 1:8.
Grisled — A
mixt state of affairs.
Verse 5
[5] And
the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens,
which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
These are —
The angels of heaven, who have a great share in the management of the affairs
both of the church and states.
Of the heavens —
Which reside in heaven, 'till employed, go thence when employed, and having
done their work, return thither.
Standing —
They stand as servants attending the command of their Lord.
Verse 6
[6] The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and
the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south
country.
The black horses —
The angels signified by the black horses are the executioners of God's just
displeasure.
Therein — In
the second chariot.
The north-country —
Babylon.
The grisled —
The angels signified by these, managed the Roman power, which was sometimes
favourable, sometimes fierce and severe, to those they had to do with.
The south-country —
Egypt and Arabia, which lay south of Judea. It may perhaps point at their
invading Africa too, whose punishments were mixed, with kindness and mercy more
than the punishments of Babylon were.
Verse 7
[7] And
the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through
the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So
they walked to and fro through the earth.
Sought to go —
Waited for a commission.
He said —
Christ who hath all power in heaven and on earth.
Through the earth —
Thro' the rest of the kingdoms of the world remote from Judea, but not remote
from God's wise and sovereign providence.
Verse 8
[8] Then
cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the
north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
Cried he —
Christ spake aloud, and called to him.
Quieted my spirit — By
doing what I appointed them in revenge of my peoples injuries, and by bringing
my people back into Canaan.
Verse 10
[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;
Take — Of
those that are come out of Babylon.
Come thou — Go
fetch them, if they lodge elsewhere.
The same day —
The same day in which they come.
Verse 11
[11] Then
take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the
son of Josedech, the high priest;
Make crowns —
One of silver, the other of gold.
Set them —
Put both of them, one after another.
Joshua —
Who herein is now a type of Christ, king and priest for ever for his people.
Verse 12
[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:
Unto him —
Joshua, but in the hearing of others.
Whose name is the Branch — Whom you know by the name of the Branch, who was called so long since.
Thou, O Joshua art the portrait, he is the Branch itself.
Out of his place — Of
the tribe and family, and in the place foretold.
He shall build — He
it is, though unseen, that stands by you, who build the material temple, far
inferior to the spiritual temple, which Christ will build, preserve, and dwell
in for ever.
Verse 13
[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.
The glory — Of
both kingly and priestly office; the glory of both those crowns shall abide on
him.
Shall sit —
Which speaks both his royal magnificence, and the perpetuity of it.
A priest —
The great high-priest, to offer the great sacrifice to God, to make
reconciliation, to intercede for his people.
The counsel of peace — The peace made for God's people shall rest upon these two, the kingly
and priestly office of Christ; by his priestly office he shall make their peace
with God, by his kingly office he shall deliver them from their spiritual
enemies.
Verse 14
[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.
The crowns —
The two crowns before mentioned.
Helem —
These persons we know no more of than their names.
A memorial — Of
the Messiah's certain and speedy coming.
Verse 15
[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.
They that are far off — This verse hath a double reference, one to the Jews, and the building of
the material temple, the other to the bringing in of the Gentiles.
And this —
The literal part shall come to pass in your day, if you will obey the voice of
the Lord. The mystical part shall come to pass also, and, if you will believe
and obey, the Gentiles shall come in and be your brethren, and help to build
the temple, the spiritual temple. But if you rebel and obey not, you shall be
cast out and the Gentiles be taken in, to be God's people.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Zechariah》
06 Chapter 6
Introduction
Verse 1
Verses 1-8
Behold there came four chariots out from between two mountains
The four chariots
The general meaning of this vision is very clear.
The enemies of the Church shall be punished, is the motto of the picture, and
the purport of the vision. The immediate application of the truth was to the
existing circumstances of the Jewish Church, but it contains a general
proposition or law of the Divine procedure that is now in fulfilment, and will
so continue until the restitution of all things spoken of by the holy prophets
since the world began. Following the preceding vision, which denounced wrath on
the Jews, it declares that after the Jews have been punished, God will destroy
their enemies, who will also be the enemies of the Church. Now, as the
threatened punishment of the Jews is not yet completed, so this punishment
which was to follow that completion is also incomplete, and the main fulfilment
yet to come. We have therefore in this vision an instance of what has been
called the continuous fulfilment of prophecy. This takes place when the
prophecy is not so much a simple prediction of facts, as the annunciation of a
great principle of Divine procedure, in the garb of existing and well-known
facts, but yet equally applicable to other facts all along the history of God’s
dealings with man. Thus the most abstract and formulated statement of the
essence of this vision is, the enemies of the Church shall be punished. Its
immediate application was to Babylon and Egypt, the existing representatives of
the ancient enmity of the serpent’s seed, but this application is of course a
single one, that does not exclude the future examples of this principle of the
Divine government that may and must arise. This is wholly different from the
old double sense of prophecy, and is a most obvious and reasonable canon of
interpretation. How striking the fulfilment of this threatening, when we
remember the circumstances under which it was made. Could the haughty nobles of
Babylon, in the gorgeousness of its magnificence and the pride of its power,
have heard the threatening of this obscure Jew, amidst the ruins of Jerusalem,
with what derision and contempt would they have treated the threat! The
anathema that was so feebly uttered against the mightiest and richest city in
the world, to the eye of sense seemed like the ravings of lunacy. Yet that
feeble whisper was the uttered voice of Jehovah, and the elements of ruin in
their remotest lurking place heard the summons, and began to come forth. Slowly
and silently did they come up to this dread work, and yet surely and
resistlessly, until the glory of these high palaces was dimmed, and the
magnificence of these gardens and temples was covered, and now the winds
whistle through the reeds of the Euphrates, where Babylon then sat in her
pride; and loneliness, desolation, and death are stationed there the sentinel
witnesses of the truth that His word returns not to Him void, that His Spirit
is quieted in the land of the north. The same is true of Egypt, and later on of
Greece and Rome. So it will be with guilty and godless Europe. Learn--
1. That the history of the world is all arranged and conducted in
reference to the destinies of the Church, and the agencies that control that
history go forth from the seat of the Church’s great head, the unseen, temple.
2. God has in operation every species of agency, human and angelic,
animate and inanimate, needful for the accomplishment of His purposes, and will
send these forth at the proper time. Political changes and revolutions are only
the moving of the shadow on the earthly dial plate that marks the mightier
motions going forward in the heavens. (T. V. Moore, D D.)
The supremacy of God
The entire vision was designed to teach a great general
lesson--the lesson of the universal supremacy and superintendence of the “God
of Israel” over all the agencies of nature, and all the varying movements of
progress or retrogression, of prosperity and adversity, of peace and war,
amongst the nations; and to teach it with a special application to themselves,
as His chosen people, and to those adjoining or more distant countries by which
their condition had been, or might hereafter be, beneficially or injuriously
affected. It called upon them to put their trust in the wisdom, power, and love
of their own Jehovah,--the governor among the nations;--in one word, to “have
faith in God.” Let us learn the lesson. Amidst all the convulsions and
revolutions that are agitating Europe, let us not only acknowledge but rejoice
in the supremacy of the infinitely wise, and good, and mighty. All “the winds”
are His. He “holds them in His fist.” The zephyr and the hurricane are alike
His agents. All influences--in every department of creation, and in the hearts
and wills and words and actions of men of every kindred and tongue and people
and nation, are under His absolute control. “None can stay His hand, or say
unto Him, What doest Thou? Let us trust in Him, own Him, pray to
Him,--deprecating, on behalf of our country, and of our guilty world, merited
wrath,--and imploring, especially, that all events may result in glory to His
name. (Ralph Wardlaw, D. D.)
God’s government of the world
This is the last in the series of visions, which amount in all to
seven, during that one night. This is not more easy of interpretation than the
preceding ones. The objects which were now revealed to the prophet’s vision are
various and strange.
I. Variety. This
is suggested by the colour of the steeds that bear on the chariots of His
plans. The “red horses,” emblem of war and bloodshed. The “black,” emblem of
calamity, distress, and mourning. The white, emblem of gladness and prosperity.
The “grisled” and “bay,” or piebald, a mixture of events, prosperity and adversity,
friendship and bereavement, sorrow and joy, etc. Has not this variety
characterised the providence that is over man from the beginning until this
hour? It is not only seen in every page of the history of nations and Churches
and families, but in the history of individuals. The experience of every man is
more changeable than the weather. There is a constant alternation,--the red,
the black, the white, the mixed. These changes are useful
1. They break the monotony of life. They tend to keep the heart of
humanity on the alert. There is but little opportunity for moral sleep.
2. They create a desire for a state of certainty. They prompt a
search for a “city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” This
is not our rest.
II. Immutability.
These chariots move between two “mountains of brass.” Though they are borne by
a variety of steeds, and move rapidly towards every point of the compass, and
bear a variety of events wherever they go, they are overshadowed and hedged in
by the immutable in mountains of brass. God’s immutable counsels of decrees
keep all the motions and commotions, all the convulsions and revolutions of the
world in their place. As the ocean amidst all its ebbings and flowings, rage
and fury, is bound to obey the moon, which remains serenely settled in her
orbit, so all the agitations of the earth are bound to obey the immutable
decrees of Heaven. Thank God! that in this changing world of ours there are
mountains of brass, things that cannot be shaken. “All flesh is grass, but the
word of our God shall stand forever.”
III. Universality.
These chariots, borne by these varied coloured steeds, rolled towards every
point of the globe, some to the north and some to the south. They walked “to
and fro through the earth.” Not a spot unvisited or ignored. God’s providence
embraces all, matter and mind, great and small, good and evil. Hence we should
bow with resignation under all our sorrows, and shout with gratitude in all our
enjoyments.
IV. Supremacy.
“These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before
the Lord of all the earth.” He is at the head of all. No evil spirit moves
without His permission and control; no good spirit without His inspiration and
guidance. He is the Lord of all the earth. How great must He be who manages all
things! (Homilist.)
These are the four spirits
of the heavens--
Four spirits of the heavens
Eminent interpreters translate the words “celestial
spirits,” and thus present us at once, in our own customary theology, with
angels. There is difficulty here, however. In the first place, “spirits of the
heavens” is a very unwonted designation for angels in Scripture. I know not
that it has a parallel. And secondly, if angels are intended, how come we to
have four? Their number is “ten thousand times ten thousand”; and unless they
are mentioned in connection with something else that leads and limits to the
number four, it is difficult, by any analogy, to account for it. Let me
illustrate the remark from another passage--“And after these things I saw four
angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the
earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree” (Revelation 7:1). Here we have “four
angels.” But we at once see why they are four. They are, in the vision,
employed in “holding the four winds of the earth.” Now the four winds, from the
four cardinal points--understood as representing and embracing all the intermediate
points, and thus signifying the winds in general--was a style of expression
familiar to the ancients as ourselves. The word rendered “spirits,” as most if
not all of you are aware, signifies also winds. The question then is, whether
what are called “the four winds of the earth,” in the Book of Revelation, be
not the same as what are here called the “four spirits,” or winds, “of the
heavens.” I am strongly tempted to think that we have, in this vision, one
symbol, or emblem, explained by another. “The four winds” are an emblem--a most
natural and appropriate one--of all the powers and agencies by which the earth
can be affected; especially agencies of judgment--of wars and desolations,
arising from the contending elements of human passions and Satanic malignity. (Ralph
Wardlaw, D. D.)
Verse 8
Verses 9-15
And set them upon the head of Joshua
The matchless man in history
The crowning, the work, and the position of Joshua spoken
of in these verses, are obviously employed to symbolise some coming man who
would be matchless in all history.
Concerning this matchless man, we are taught--
I. That He is one
whom heaven commands the people to honour. The prophet is commanded to go to
certain men of the more distinguished who had returned from Babylon,
representative men it may be. He was to take these men, whose names are here
given, to the house of another distinguished man, here called Josiah, the son
of Zephaniah. From that house silver and gold were to be taken, with which
crowns were to be made, and placed upon the head of Joshua, the son of the high
priest. By general consent of expositors, this was a mere symbolical
transaction--a transaction pointing to some great man whom heaven will require
all men to crown with the highest dignity. Here is a character symbolised by
the name of Joshua, to whom the people are called upon by God Himself to render
honour. Who is this man? The man Christ Jesus! “When He bringeth in the
first-begotten into the world He saith, Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
II. That His
pedigree was strikingly singular. “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.” He came down from heaven and
tabernacled on this earth, which was not His place. A great soul, dominated by
a supreme sympathy with the Supremely Good, can grow anywhere, in its place or
out of it. It can subordinate the most hostile external elements and forces for
its own will and interests.
III. That He is one
whose mission is sublimely glorious. “He shall build the temple of the Lord,”
etc. Zerubbabel was now engaged in the work of rearing the material temple at Jerusalem;
and a more glorious work than this is not given to man, viz. to promote the
public worship of God.
IV. That He is one
whose position and functions are transcendently exalted. He is on a throne.
1. As a priestly King.
2. As a glorious Reconciler.
The Mediator between God and man. The reconciliation, the
atonement.
V. That He is one
whose power to attract others to His enterprise is immensely great. The
Gentiles were to be themselves stones in the building, and agents in the
rearing of it. (Homilist.)
The man whose name is the
Branch--
On Christ’s name, the Branch
The text and context are a remarkable prophecy of the coming of
the promised Messiah in the flesh, who is described by His natures, His offices
of Priest and King, and His work in building the spiritual temple of the Lord.
1. Some observations upon the occasion and reason of this name the
Branch, given to the promised Messiah, before His coming in the flesh.
2. Scriptures of the New Testament where He is designed the Branch (Luke 1:78). For “day spring” the margin
has sun rising or branch (Matthew 2:23). Nazareth had its name from
a branch, which, though not the same word as in our text, yet is of the same
signification.
3. The Scripture account of Jesus Christ, under the name and
designation of the Branch.
1. Learn the advantage of studying the Old Testament.
2. Be restless in your endeavours, until this Branch, this man, be
excellent, desirably glorious and precious to you, and in your esteem.
3. Behold the man whose name is the Branch. Behold Him in His person,
in His natures.
4. Come and take up your dwelling under the shadow of this man whose
name is the Branch. (James Robe, M. A.)
The Branch
The words are addressed to Joshua the priest, but they represent
the Divine Saviour.
I. The beauty of
this “Branch.” What is it that most especially constitutes the beauty of the
Divine character? Not justice by itself; not mercy by itself; but the
marvellous union of both, the harmony between these Divine attributes, by which
God can be “a just God and a Saviour.” That union has been discovered perfect
and complete in the person of the Lord Jesus, the God-man-mediator, so in Him
is the very perfection of beauty. It is indeed said of Him, “There is no beauty
that we should desire Him”; but these expressions refer to the meanness of His
birth, and to the prejudices of His nation.
II. The shadiness
of this Branch. The term brings to our minds the exposed state of the sinner,
in the “weary land” of this world. He stands exposed to the wrath of God. He
wants “shade”--something that will interpose between him and the intense heat
from above, and afford him a protection from it. By whatever emblem the
precious blood and perfect righteousness of Christ are represented to us in
Scripture, the idea always conveyed is that of security against the effects of
Divine wrath, consequent on human transgression. The shade of the “righteous
Branch” is the interposing mediation of our exalted Redeemer. The shade of this
Branch is extending itself every day.
III. The
fruitfulness of this Branch. The two figures are united in Canticles. “I sat
down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.”
In Revelation is described the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruit,
and whose leaves were not for shade only, but also for healing.
IV. The strength of
this Branch. “He shall bear the glory.” He shall bear the weight of all the
cares and concerns of His whole Church, both small and great, even of every
individual, however important or insignificant; and He shall be found both able
and willing to support them all. And He “bare our sins in His own body on the tree.”
(F. Elwin.)
The man whose name is the Branch
There is a difference between the manner in which the
prophets, before and after the captivity, spoke of the Messiah. To the prophets
after the captivity, the invasion of the Babylonian armies, the destruction of
their city and temple, and the very return of the Jews were all past events.
The fulfilling hand of the faithful Inspirer of foregoing predictions had swept
them all aside; and nothing remained to turn their attention from that near
approach of the Messiah of which they all speak in terms so remarkably
explicit. Among other types and figures of heavenly things which the Jewish
prophets used, are personal types, of which the text is an example. Here Joshua
is expressly made the type of Him who was both King and Priest. This could not
apply to Joshua himself, seeing that he was only a priest.
I. The emphatic
appellation given to the Messiah,--the Branch. The verb whence the word is
derived signifies “to grow,” “to sprout.” It is specially applied to trees,
some of which in part decayed, and that to the very roots, will often send
forth new shoots, which shall surpass, in greatness and fruitfulness, the
original stock. This expression, as applied to Christ, is--
1. Eminently prophetical (Isaiah 11:1). The stem of Jesse was
decayed. At the time of its lowest depression, the Branch, the Messiah, shot
forth.
2. As descriptive of His Personal progress to glory and dominion. Of
the progress of His religion in the world. And of the work of Christ in the
heart.
3. As indicating the secret and mysterious mode of His operations.
The metaphor is taken from vegetation, the process of invisible influence which
out of rude elements frames the stately tree, and from a bud develops the
goodly branch. There is an unseen principle at work, and that principle is the
working of God Himself. We see this m the progress of our Saviour from
sufferings to glory. And in the progress of His religion in our world.
II. The great work
to which the Messiah was appointed. “He shall build the temple of the Lord.” A
parallel may be presented between the material temple and the spiritual house.
In conclusion notice--the union of the kingly and priestly offices in Christ. (R.
Watson.)
The man whose name is the Branch.
I. The person here
spoken of. Who is this wondrous, mysterious man? Not certainly Joshua, the high
priest, on whose head the crowns were to be placed. For the message is
addressed to Joshua, as concerning some one else. Joshua, the crowned high
priest, is the type of another, greater than himself, to whom he and all others
are to look for blessing. These words seem to point to one already known, to
one whose name is familiar. And so it is. Isaiah had borne testimony regarding
Him (Isaiah 11:2-9; Isaiah 23:5; Isaiah 32:6; Isaiah 33:15-16). Is not this the
substance of the Lord’s message to every generation of the sons of men? Is not
this the great central message of the Book of God, and of every faithful
messenger of His? Must not this be the keynote of our preaching? The Branch is
none other than the Messiah, our blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. It
tells of one who has taken our nature. Our Redeemer is man. But not man alone.
He is the God-man. Son of God and Son of Man, a Divine, and therefore an
all-sufficient Saviour.
II. His work. “He
shall build up the temple of the Lord.” This work was entrusted to Zerubbabel,
but he was only a type of the true temple builder. For the true temple is the
spiritual temple, the temple into which all believers are built, and of which
Jesus Christ is the foundation stone. And this Builder is also the Owner, the
Ruler, a Priest, a Royal Priest. The headship of Christ is a personal matter;
the great question for each one is, Am I a loyal subject of the Church’s Head
and King? Is He the ruler of my life? It is also said, “He shall be a Priest
upon His throne.” What you and I need is a priest to remove guilt, to make
atonement for sin, to satisfy Divine justice, and reconcile us to God. “Him
hath God exalted, a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins.” (William Findley, M. A.)
Verses 9-15
And set them upon the head of Joshua
The matchless man in history
The crowning, the work, and the position of Joshua spoken
of in these verses, are obviously employed to symbolise some coming man who
would be matchless in all history.
Concerning this matchless man, we are taught--
I. That He is one
whom heaven commands the people to honour. The prophet is commanded to go to
certain men of the more distinguished who had returned from Babylon,
representative men it may be. He was to take these men, whose names are here
given, to the house of another distinguished man, here called Josiah, the son
of Zephaniah. From that house silver and gold were to be taken, with which
crowns were to be made, and placed upon the head of Joshua, the son of the high
priest. By general consent of expositors, this was a mere symbolical
transaction--a transaction pointing to some great man whom heaven will require
all men to crown with the highest dignity. Here is a character symbolised by
the name of Joshua, to whom the people are called upon by God Himself to render
honour. Who is this man? The man Christ Jesus! “When He bringeth in the
first-begotten into the world He saith, Let all the angels of God worship Him.”
II. That His
pedigree was strikingly singular. “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.” He came down from heaven and
tabernacled on this earth, which was not His place. A great soul, dominated by
a supreme sympathy with the Supremely Good, can grow anywhere, in its place or
out of it. It can subordinate the most hostile external elements and forces for
its own will and interests.
III. That He is one
whose mission is sublimely glorious. “He shall build the temple of the Lord,”
etc. Zerubbabel was now engaged in the work of rearing the material temple at
Jerusalem; and a more glorious work than this is not given to man, viz. to
promote the public worship of God.
IV. That He is one
whose position and functions are transcendently exalted. He is on a throne.
1. As a priestly King.
2. As a glorious Reconciler.
The Mediator between God and man. The reconciliation, the
atonement.
V. That He is one
whose power to attract others to His enterprise is immensely great. The
Gentiles were to be themselves stones in the building, and agents in the
rearing of it. (Homilist.)
The man whose name is the
Branch--
On Christ’s name, the Branch
The text and context are a remarkable prophecy of the coming of
the promised Messiah in the flesh, who is described by His natures, His offices
of Priest and King, and His work in building the spiritual temple of the Lord.
1. Some observations upon the occasion and reason of this name the
Branch, given to the promised Messiah, before His coming in the flesh.
2. Scriptures of the New Testament where He is designed the Branch (Luke 1:78). For “day spring” the margin
has sun rising or branch (Matthew 2:23). Nazareth had its name from
a branch, which, though not the same word as in our text, yet is of the same
signification.
3. The Scripture account of Jesus Christ, under the name and
designation of the Branch.
1. Learn the advantage of studying the Old Testament.
2. Be restless in your endeavours, until this Branch, this man, be
excellent, desirably glorious and precious to you, and in your esteem.
3. Behold the man whose name is the Branch. Behold Him in His person,
in His natures.
4. Come and take up your dwelling under the shadow of this man whose
name is the Branch. (James Robe, M. A.)
The Branch
The words are addressed to Joshua the priest, but they represent
the Divine Saviour.
I. The beauty of
this “Branch.” What is it that most especially constitutes the beauty of the
Divine character? Not justice by itself; not mercy by itself; but the
marvellous union of both, the harmony between these Divine attributes, by which
God can be “a just God and a Saviour.” That union has been discovered perfect
and complete in the person of the Lord Jesus, the God-man-mediator, so in Him
is the very perfection of beauty. It is indeed said of Him, “There is no beauty
that we should desire Him”; but these expressions refer to the meanness of His
birth, and to the prejudices of His nation.
II. The shadiness
of this Branch. The term brings to our minds the exposed state of the sinner,
in the “weary land” of this world. He stands exposed to the wrath of God. He
wants “shade”--something that will interpose between him and the intense heat
from above, and afford him a protection from it. By whatever emblem the
precious blood and perfect righteousness of Christ are represented to us in
Scripture, the idea always conveyed is that of security against the effects of
Divine wrath, consequent on human transgression. The shade of the “righteous
Branch” is the interposing mediation of our exalted Redeemer. The shade of this
Branch is extending itself every day.
III. The
fruitfulness of this Branch. The two figures are united in Canticles. “I sat
down under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste.”
In Revelation is described the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruit,
and whose leaves were not for shade only, but also for healing.
IV. The strength of
this Branch. “He shall bear the glory.” He shall bear the weight of all the
cares and concerns of His whole Church, both small and great, even of every
individual, however important or insignificant; and He shall be found both able
and willing to support them all. And He “bare our sins in His own body on the
tree.” (F. Elwin.)
The man whose name is the Branch
There is a difference between the manner in which the
prophets, before and after the captivity, spoke of the Messiah. To the prophets
after the captivity, the invasion of the Babylonian armies, the destruction of
their city and temple, and the very return of the Jews were all past events.
The fulfilling hand of the faithful Inspirer of foregoing predictions had swept
them all aside; and nothing remained to turn their attention from that near
approach of the Messiah of which they all speak in terms so remarkably
explicit. Among other types and figures of heavenly things which the Jewish
prophets used, are personal types, of which the text is an example. Here Joshua
is expressly made the type of Him who was both King and Priest. This could not
apply to Joshua himself, seeing that he was only a priest.
I. The emphatic
appellation given to the Messiah,--the Branch. The verb whence the word is
derived signifies “to grow,” “to sprout.” It is specially applied to trees,
some of which in part decayed, and that to the very roots, will often send
forth new shoots, which shall surpass, in greatness and fruitfulness, the
original stock. This expression, as applied to Christ, is--
1. Eminently prophetical (Isaiah 11:1). The stem of Jesse was
decayed. At the time of its lowest depression, the Branch, the Messiah, shot
forth.
2. As descriptive of His Personal progress to glory and dominion. Of
the progress of His religion in the world. And of the work of Christ in the
heart.
3. As indicating the secret and mysterious mode of His operations.
The metaphor is taken from vegetation, the process of invisible influence which
out of rude elements frames the stately tree, and from a bud develops the
goodly branch. There is an unseen principle at work, and that principle is the
working of God Himself. We see this m the progress of our Saviour from
sufferings to glory. And in the progress of His religion in our world.
II. The great work
to which the Messiah was appointed. “He shall build the temple of the Lord.” A
parallel may be presented between the material temple and the spiritual house.
In conclusion notice--the union of the kingly and priestly offices in Christ. (R.
Watson.)
The man whose name is the Branch.
I. The person here
spoken of. Who is this wondrous, mysterious man? Not certainly Joshua, the high
priest, on whose head the crowns were to be placed. For the message is
addressed to Joshua, as concerning some one else. Joshua, the crowned high
priest, is the type of another, greater than himself, to whom he and all others
are to look for blessing. These words seem to point to one already known, to
one whose name is familiar. And so it is. Isaiah had borne testimony regarding
Him (Isaiah 11:2-9; Isaiah 23:5; Isaiah 32:6; Isaiah 33:15-16). Is not this the
substance of the Lord’s message to every generation of the sons of men? Is not
this the great central message of the Book of God, and of every faithful
messenger of His? Must not this be the keynote of our preaching? The Branch is
none other than the Messiah, our blessed Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. It
tells of one who has taken our nature. Our Redeemer is man. But not man alone.
He is the God-man. Son of God and Son of Man, a Divine, and therefore an
all-sufficient Saviour.
II. His work. “He
shall build up the temple of the Lord.” This work was entrusted to Zerubbabel,
but he was only a type of the true temple builder. For the true temple is the
spiritual temple, the temple into which all believers are built, and of which
Jesus Christ is the foundation stone. And this Builder is also the Owner, the
Ruler, a Priest, a Royal Priest. The headship of Christ is a personal matter;
the great question for each one is, Am I a loyal subject of the Church’s Head
and King? Is He the ruler of my life? It is also said, “He shall be a Priest
upon His throne.” What you and I need is a priest to remove guilt, to make
atonement for sin, to satisfy Divine justice, and reconcile us to God. “Him
hath God exalted, a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins.” (William Findley, M. A.)
Verse 13
A Priest upon His throne
The Priest of the world and King of men
It is in accordance with the law of prophetic development from the
beginning that the external circumstances of the nation at the moment should
supply the mould into which the promise is run.
Here, the kingless band of exiles are heartened for their task by the thought
of the Priest-King of the nation, the Builder of an imperishable dwelling place
for God.
I. The true hope
of the world is a priest. The idea of priesthood is universal. It has been
distorted and abused; it has been made the foundation of spiritual tyranny. The
priest has not been the teacher nor the elevator of the people. Yet there the
office stands, and wherever men go, by some strange perversity they take with
them this idea, and choose from among themselves some who shall discharge for
their brethren the double office of representing them before God, and of
representing God to them. That is what the world means, with absolute and
entire unanimity, by a priest--one who shall be Sacrificer, intercessor,
representative; bearer of man’s worship, channel of God’s blessing. This is the
result of the universal consciousness of sin. Men feel that there is a gulf
between them and God. The Jewish people, who have at all events taught the
world the purest theism, and led men up to the most spiritual religion, had
this same institution of a priesthood for the very centre of its worship. What
is the priest whom men crave? The first requisite is oneness with those whom he
represents. We have a Priest “in all things made like unto His brethren.” The
next requisite is that the priests should possess, at all events, a symbolic
purity--expression of the conviction that a priest must be cleaner and closer
than his fellows. And we have a Priest; who is “holy, harmless, undefiled.” And
again, as in nature and character, so in function, Christ corresponds to the
widely expressed wants of men, as shown in their priesthoods. They sought for
one who should offer gifts and sacrifices on their behalf. They sought for one
who should pass into the awful Presence, and plead for them while they stood
without. They sought for a man who should be the medium of Divine blessings
bestowed upon the worshippers, and we know who hath gone within the veil for
us. “We have great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son
of God.”
II. The Priest of
the world is the King of men. “He shall be a Priest upon His throne.” In Israel
these two offices were jealously kept apart. The history of the world is full
of instances in which the struggles of the temporal and spiritual power have
caused calamities only less intolerable than those which flowed from that
alliance of priests and kings which has so often made monarchy a grinding
tyranny, and religion a mere instrument of statecraft. Our Priest does rule.
The “kingdom of Christ” is no unreal fanciful phrase. The foundation of His
rule is His sacrifice. Men will do anything for him who does that for
them. His rule is wielded in gentleness. Priestly dominion has ever been
fierce, suspicious, tyrannous. The sway of this merciful and faithful High
Priest is full of tenderness. The end of His rule is, that His subjects may be
made free in obedience.
III. The Priest-King
of men builds among men the temple of God. Christ is Himself the true temple of
God. Christ builds the temple. Christ builds this temple because He is the
temple. By His incarnation and work He makes our communion with God and God’s
dwelling in us possible. Christ builds the temple, and uses us as His servants
in the work. Christ builds on through all the ages, and the prophecy of the
text is yet unfulfilled. Its fulfilment is the meaning and end of all history.
In one of the mosques of Damascus, which has been a Christian Church, and
before that was a heathen temple, the portal bears, deep cut in Greek
characters, the inscription, “Thy kingdom, O Christ, is an everlasting kingdom,
and Thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.” Those words are graven
over the temple which Christ rears. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Christ--Priest and King
I. Notice this
significant designation of the Lord Jesus--“The Branch.” The family of David
was like a decayed tree, the stump of which alone remains; but from so lowly
and unlikely an origin, a shoot or scion would emanate, which would again
become a noble forest tree, and perpetuate the memory and influence of the
royal line. Certainly David’s race had reached a low ebb when Joseph went up
from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David
which is called Bethlehem, to be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, because
they were of the house and lineage of David. Through a branch the fulness of
the root is carried to the fruit, which swells in ruddy beauty on its
extremity, and presently falls into the hand of the wayfarer: so Jesus is the
blessed channel of communication between the fulness of God and the thirsty
wastes of human need.
II. The combination
in Christ of the priestly and kingly offices. “He shall be a Priest upon His
throne.” Man’s nature demands a priest. Conscious of sin and defilement, he
rears an altar wherever he pitches his tent; and, selecting one of his fellows,
he separates him from the ordinary duties of life, and bids him stand as
mediator and priest between God and himself. It was thus that Micah addressed
the young man, the Levite of Bethlehem-Judah, when he said, “Dwell with me, and
be unto me a father and priest; and I will give thee ten pieces of silver by
the year, and thine apparel, and thy victuals.” If an argument were needed to
prove the unity of the human family, it surely would be suggested by the
universal distribution of temples and altars over the world, as though men were
everywhere alike in this--that they know themselves to be sinful, and desire to
find some way of propitiating and approaching the Almighty. In the Levitical
system, and, above all, in Jesus Christ, God has met this universal craving of
the human heart. Man also requires a king. God had designed to meet this need
by Him self being Israel’s King, that they should not be “like other nations,”
but a peculiar people unto Him. How remarkable it is that the Kingship of Jesus
should have been so accentuated in His trial! It was the centre around which
the storm raged. Pilate challenged His claims: “Art Thou a king, then?” and
Jesus asseverated them: “Thou sayest that I am--a king.” The faded purple robe
flung over His shoulders, the reed in His hand, the mocking bending of the
knee, the crown of thorns on His brow, were but the grotesque and heartless
mockery of His claims. And since He has passed into the glory, He is still the
Priest-King. Not Aaron, but Melchizedek, is the true type of our Saviour now.
As Aaron, He made atonement and propitiation for sin; but as Melchizedek, He
has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. “This Melchizedek was king
of Salem, and priest of the Most High God.” As priest, Jesus pleads the merit
of His blood; as king, He exerts power on our behalf. As priest, He pacifies
the guilty conscience; as king, He sends thrills of His own victorious life
into our spirits. As priest, He brings us nigh to God; as king, He treads our
enemies under His feet. It is of great importance to us all to think of our
Saviour in this dual aspect. On the one hand, we get all the benefit of His
cross and passion; on the other, all the benefit of His resurrection and
session at the right hand of God. May it not be that the weakness of thy
Christian life is due to the fact that thou hast viewed Him only in the light
of Calvary, and hast not, with Stephen, seen Him seated at the right hand of
the Majesty on High--a prince as well as a Saviour--a Saviour because a prince?
He accounts Himself absolutely responsible to achieve the uttermost salvation
of those who trust in Him. If there is some sin which defies thee, at least it
shall not be too strong for Him. And if the outflow of His delivering
power towards thee seems restrained and ineffective, be sure that, in some one
particular, which He will be quick to show thee, if only thou art willing to be
informed, there has been a failure to yield Him the obedience which is due to
Him as thy king.
III. As the
Priest-King, Christ builds the temple of God. Twice over this is affirmed; but
what untold comfort the assurance must have brought when first addressed to
that little band of exiles! Their temple site was strewn with ruins: it seemed
almost hopeless to contend with those heaps of rubbish, impossible to rear a
fabric worthy of the past and adequate for the future; but these words must
have greatly heartened them. As the hand of inspiration drew aside the vail,
they beheld another and greater than either Joshua or Zerubbabel, working with
them and for them, and bearing the chief responsibility in all the toils and
labours of their new erection--He; not they. They would work with new energy
and courage, knowing, as they did, that they were fellow workers with God. What
difficulty could daunt, what enemies thwart or frustrate, the work of His right
hand? If these words should be read by any who are losing heart because of the
difficulties presented by their parish, their church, or the souls of their
charge, let them be reassured, as they behold the trowel in the hands of the
Priest-King; and let them be sure that He will succeed. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
A Priest upon His throne
As the enthroned king, Jesus reigns over His church as the
vicegerent of God. He as king reigns over the intellects, the hearts, the
wills, the bodies of all who yield allegiance to Him. He distributes to all His
people the gifts of God according to His will. At His hand every good and
perfect gift must be sought, and from His hand received. He giveth gifts to men
through the power of His delegated authority received from the triune God. He
is the true Joseph reigning over the kingdom of the true Pharaoh. As Pharaoh
raised Joseph from his prison, and made him ruler over all the land of Egypt,
so the eternal Father has raised Jesus from His cross and tomb to enthrone Him
at His own right hand in the heavenlies. As Pharaoh’s commission to Joseph was
“Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be
ruled,” so Christ is revealed to us as being over God’s house as its delegated
king. As Pharaoh’s gifts were distributed by Joseph to the needy Egyptians, so
God’s good gifts of grace come to us through the kingly ministry of Jesus. It
is from Jesus seated on the throne of grace as the priest upon His throne that
we are bidden to seek pardoning mercy and aiding grace in every time of need.
This revelation of Jesus as being the giver of grace as Heaven’s enthroned
king, is one that does not receive the recognition it demands. This is of
course a necessity in all those theological systems in which the continuous
priestly ministry of our ascended Lord is denied or ignored. But even where His
ministry of priestly intercession is recognised He is not seen to be the priest
sitting on His throne. That all the blessings of the kingdom of the incarnation
come to us through His intercession is confessed. But men fall to see that
these blessings are given to us by Him as the bountiful king of that kingdom.
Nay, not unfrequently men shrink in dread from the statement that every good
and perfect gift coming from the Father of Light is given to us not only by the
hand, but according to the will, of the ascended Lord. Yet unless this truth be
grasped Jesus’ mediatorial ministry is not fully confessed. That He is the
mediator of the new covenant is a matter of faith. “There is one God, and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Now His mediation means
that through Him, “the Word made flesh,” we draw nigh to God in worship and
God’s gifts of grace come to us. This truth does not involve the idea that God
has ceased personally to reign and to give gifts. The recognition of Jesus’
delegated sovereignty does not involve the denial of God’s essential
sovereignty as an ever-living fact. When by Pharaoh’s authority Joseph ruled
Egypt this was not the virtual abdication of his power by Pharaoh; nay, it was
the strengthening of his dynasty and the perfecting of his rule. Between him
and Joseph there was perfect oneness of conviction as to the policy to be
adopted in that crisis of his nation’s life. In raising Joseph to his high
position, and giving him liberty of action, he was but carrying out in the most
effective way the policy his own wisdom approved. So the enthronement of Jesus
as man, as king of the Church, is not the dethronement of God. For the
sovereignty of the Son of Man is a delegated sovereignty, and its glory must
exalt the throne of Him whose delegate He is. The wisdom and the love of the
only Potentate is revealed in the king He has enthroned. And still more is this
seen to be true when we remember the absolute union of thought and action that
there is between them. What our King hears He speaks. “What the Father doeth
that doeth the Son likewise.” In an union so close there is no place for
conflict of action or variance of will. Not by constraint but by union Jesus in
His delegated sovereignty rules according to the will of God. He is a throned
king, and gives His gifts according to His own free will. But even in His free
rule He is the minister of the Father’s pleasure because of His absolute
conformity with the will of God. With full assent of mind then grasp the truth
of Jesus’ delegated sovereignty. See Him throned by God in the Church as the
giver of His supernatural gifts. See in the revelation of Jesus as enthroned in
Heaven, and hence ruling over His Church in Paradise and on earth, the
fulfilment of Zechariah’s glorious vision. Gazing by faith on Jesus at God’s
right hand, in Him, “Behold the Man whose name is the Branch,” who has “built
the temple of the Lord,” and who in it “bears the glory,” and “as a priest upon
His throne” sits and rules. (G. Body, M. A.)
Of Christ’s offices in general
There are three.
1. The office of a prophet. He builds the Church by the Word of the
Gospel, which it is His work to promulgate as a prophet.
2. The office of a priest. To expiate the sins of His people, to
purchase peace for them, and to manage their cause with God.
3. That of a king: for He has a throne, which denotes His kingly
office. He is “a priest upon His throne,” denoting the reward of His
sufferings. In Him the glory of all these offices is to meet. The text affords
foundation for the following doctrine--Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the
offices of prophet, priest, and king, both in His estate of humiliation and
exaltation.
I. The verity or
reality of these offices in Christ.
1. From plain scripture testimony.
2. From His name Christ, or Messiah, the anointed one. The unction
signified--
II. The necessity
of His exercising these offices. This will be clear if we--
1. Consider our misery by sin, ignorance, guilt, and bondage. We were
ignorant of the way of returning to God again; and therefore Christ as our
prophet must teach us; our priest must make atonement for us; our king must
bring us back again, leading captivity captive.
2. Consider the salvation which the elect were to be made partakers
of.
3. Consider Christ as mediator of the covenant, who behoved to deal
with both parties, in order to bring them together.
4. Consider the work of conversion; what the soul needs.
5. Consider our daily necessities.
6. Consider the promises, which are the stay and staff of the
Christian’s life, without which they could never bear up.
III. When did Christ
execute these offices? As He was the Redeemer of the Church in all ages so did
He execute these offices in all ages of the Church. But more especially after
His incarnation, and that in His twofold state of humiliation and exaltation.
These three offices are not to be divided, especially when they are executed in
a way that is effectual for the salvation of the subjects thereof. Wherever He
executes one of these offices in a saving way, He executes them all.
Inferences--
1. How great and glorious is our Lord Jesus Christ, who was meet to
bear all these offices at once, and exercise them at once, so as one does not
mar or clash with another!
2. Let this commend Christ to you as a full and a suitable Saviour.
3. You cannot take Christ as a Redeemer, if you take Him not in all
His offices.
4. Employ this mighty Redeemer in all the offices wherewith He is
invested, and which, as mediator, He exercises for the benefit of the ruined
race of mankind. (T. Boston, D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》