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9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. 12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14 The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.” ~ Zechariah 6:9-15
Today, we return to our study of the book of Zechariah. In our last study, we considered that at the end of time as we know it, God will exact His judgment on Babylon which had its beginning at the Tower of Babel. Ultimately, evil will be gathered up under the name Babylon under which organized evil had its beginning among man. And so, when the end comes, God will judge Babylon by wiping it out. At that point the fight against evil will be over.
In v.9-11 of today's text we read, "9 The word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak."
During this time in the history of the nation of Israel, every now and then, a new caravan of once captive Jews would return to Jerusalem from Babylon. Now, on this particular day a caravan of latecomers arrived having left Babylon years after the first group had come back. And this group was made up of men named Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Josiah who desired to contribute their gold and silver to the rebuilding of the temple.
Interestingly, these men had God-honoring names. Heldai meant "the Lord’s world." Tobijah meant "God is good." Jedaiah meant "God knows." And Josiah meant "the Lord supports." So they all had names that spoke positively of the character of God.
Now, on that very same day that the Lord spoke to Zechariah, this caravan arrives. God's providence always dovetails beautifully. And Zechariah is told to go and meet them. And, according to v.11, Zechariah was told that these men would bring silver and gold for the temple, but God tells Zechariah to take the silver and gold "and make crowns" of it. The word "crown" is written in the plural in the Hebrew and so it should read "crowns." And, in the Old Testament, with the exception of one passage, the priestly office and the kingly office were always kept separate. According to our text, the crown was meant for Joshua the high priest.
Now, in Hebrews 7:1-3 we read, "This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever."
A careful study of Melchizedek reveals he was the Lord Jesus in His pre-incarnate state. And, the afore quoted passage says he was a "king of righteousness” and a "king of peace. Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever."
In v.12-13 we read, "12 Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.'"
You will remember the word, "branch" in the book of Zechariah refers to the future Messiah who will come to the Jewish nation. This is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And, this message that the Lord has given to Zechariah has a double fulfillment: one for Joshua the high priest and the other for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
These visions the Lord gave to Zechariah were not only for the Jews of Zechariah's time, they also refer to the Messiah in the future. The "branch" is the Messiah who will come at the end of time. Just as Joshua was the high priest then and would be given strength by God to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, there will come another who will build the future temple. His name will also be Joshua or Yeshua and He will also receive the crowns of priest and king.
In Revelation 19 we read of a vision of the coming Christ which reads, "And he says, I saw heaven open and behold, a white horse and He who sat on him was called, Faithful and True. And in righteousness, He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head, were many crowns. And He had a name written that no one knew except Himself."
So here, the vision is of a priest who sits upon his throne. Interestingly, a King, who is both King and priest. The Lord Jesus will be both in His kingdom. When He came the first time, He cleansed the temple. And then just after He left, God came in 70 A.D. and destroyed the temple. But there’s coming a day when God will send the Messiah back to rebuild the temple.
In v.13 we read the Branch or Messiah "will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two."
In the end, the Messiah will come to be the King and the Priest of all. In Psalm 110:4 we read, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'"
Melchizedek was a priest who was also a king. The Messiah will be the same. According to Hebrews 1:3, the Lord Jesus is at the right hand of the Father right now as a priest. And, in Hebrews 1:13, all things had been put under His feet a King. And as King, He rules. And as Priest, He intercedes. The Lord Jesus will make peace between the office of king and the office of priest. In His kingdom, there will be no separation of Church and state.
In v.14-15 of today's text we read, "14 The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15 Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God."
The far off ones in v.15 are the Gentiles who will make a contribution to the building of the Millennial Temple. And, they will be a people who were not a people who will become God’s people in God’s kingdom. The fulfillment of His kingdom will happen because God has so planned it. But whether or not we are participants in it will be dependent upon whether we obeyed His voice.
According to Jewish tradition, Zerubbabel’s temple had a big high window in it up somewhere on the wall. And hanging in that window at the height of the temple, hung the crown of Joshua, a constant reminder that the King was coming. And, this King will include you and me in His kingdom, because as High Priest, He died for His creation.
