Zechariah 3:1-10

Zechariah 3:1

And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

 

This is vision number four where  Zechariah is shown the condition of the priesthood and how corrupt it became before the seventy year captivity.  And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.  (Ezra 10:18)  Joshua himself took a strange bride and his sons also followed in his footsteps by also taking wives of the false religions.  The angel of the LORD they were standing before was Christ himself.  Satan was there to resist the work of the LORD in rebuilding the temple and also Satan was there to accuse Joshua as Satan is the accuser of the brethren. Satan tempts people and then when they obey him, he then accuses them of being disobedient.

 

There is also a great parallel here in that the Lord Jesus Christ also came to take a Gentile bride along with those Jews who believed on him.  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  (Psalm 2:8)  Satan has always been instrumental in opposing the work of the building of the church as he has tried persecution, infiltration, false churches like Roman Catholicism, false Bible versions, etc.

 

Zechariah 3:2

And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

 

The Lord Jesus Christ is here telling Satan that God the Father will rebuke him because at this time God still has a purpose for the nation of Israel which will be to rebuild the temple so the Messiah would come to his temple.  Jerusalem would also be the place where the Messiah would be crucified and when he is arisen from the dead, he will then begin the mass evangelization of the world at Pentecost.  Another great parallel in this verse is the LORD who also chose the New Jerusalem which is the body of believers who would take the gospel to the ends of the earth.  The brand plucked out of the fire means that Jerusalem has suffered enough for her rebellion and now is taken out of judgment and placed back into favor.  There will also come a time on the last day when the church of Christ will be taken out of the temptations and trials of this world and be transported to Heaven as a brand taken out or rescued from the fire.

 

Zechariah 3:3

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

 

Since Joshua had represented the time before the Babylonian captivity, he is shown here as having filthy garments not because of dirt but because of sin which ran rampant in Judah when they followed the ways of the northern kingdom.  He stands before the Lord Jesus Christ in these filthy garments.  A parallel exists between Joshua and Jesus as Jesus became sin for all the Elect of the world and was also laden with sinful garments until the sacrifice was complete.  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

Zechariah 3:4

And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

 

Just as the Lord Jesus Christ removed the filthy garments of sin from the believer because of his sacrifice on Calvary, he will remove the filthy garments of sin to be removed from Judah.  {13} And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;  {14} Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;  (Colossians 2:13-14)  Now because of salvation, the garments we wore which were loaded with sin are given the new garments of salvation.  And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.  (Jude 23)  We go from the sinful garments to the garments of praise on Christ.  To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.  (Isaiah 61:3)

 

The Lord Jesus himself has removed the filthy garments of sin from Joshua and replaced them with a new change of raiment.  He has passed on the former iniquities of Judah and now they are starting fresh with a new change of clothes, clothes of the righteousness of Christ to those who were saved in Judah.  Then the other angels who were attending had removed the filthy, sin-stained clothes of Joshua and he now was dressed in clean clothes as one begins a new day with clean clothes, Judah began a new era.

 

Zechariah 3:5

And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.

 

The mitre was the turban which the high priest wore.  Since all his clothes were dirty and then replaced with new clothes of the high priest, the mitre or turban for his head would also be replaced.  The word “fair” is understood as “clean.”  This was done as the Lord Jesus Christ had stood by to watch Joshua receive the clean turban.  And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.  (Exodus 28:4)  The mitre is mentioned 13 times in 9 verses in the Old Testament.

 

Zechariah 3:6

And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,

 

Then the LORD protested unto Joshua.  The word “protested” carries with it the meaning of “admonish or give warning.”

 

Zechariah 3:7

Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

 

Since Joshua was now able to stand in the presence of God, he does so with the new garments and then receives this admonition from the LORD.  God now gives Joshua a covenant of condition.  If Joshua will walk in the ways of the Lord by obeying the law of God and keeping to its precepts and if Joshua will keep the charge of the LORD, that is, the office of High Priest as holy and according to the law then the LORD will allow him to judge his house which means he will allow him to rule with the honor of the office of High Priest.  {6} Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.  {7} And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.  (Numbers 3:6-7)  To keep means to “preserve, guard, or protect.”  Joshua is commissioned to keep the courts of the temple free from the contamination of sin and to make sure nothing unholy happens there.  Then if he keeps all the ways of the LORD and does not stray, then he will have a place among the people as one who is their leader and guide in spiritual matters.  As God guides him, then he will be the guide to the people to keep them from making the same sins that the generation before them did.

 

Zechariah 3:8

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

 

Joshua is now told to listen to what the LORD has to tell him.  Not only him but also those who are the other priests who have also been cleansed and qualified to work in the temple and to walk in the ways of the LORD concerning the spiritual and judicial dealings with the people.  Joshua being the High Priest was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the High Priest of the body of believers.  Now that they were back in the land, the people now look upon them as a sign or a token of the coming Messiah who is here called the “Branch.”  In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.  (Isaiah 4:2)  The fulfillment of the coming of Messiah would not yet happen for about 500 years.  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  (Isaiah 11:1) The Lord Jesus Christ was in the lineage of David as Jesse was the father of David. 

 

Zechariah 3:9

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

 

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.  (Isaiah 28:16)  The stone which Joshua has before him is the Lord Jesus Christ himself because Christ is the foundation of the temple.  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  (1 Corinthians 3:11)  The seven eyes represent the fullness of the body of believers just as the seven spirits represent the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.  (Revelation 5:6)  God will also engrave the names of the Elect upon the palms of his hands.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.  (Isaiah 49:16)  The iniquity of the land shall be removed in one day and that one day will be on Calvary when the Lord Jesus Christ will be crucified for his elect, not only in Israel but for all those in the world till the last one is saved on the last day.  The only way any iniquity can be removed is through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.  (Psalm 103:12)

 

Zechariah 3:10

In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.

 

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. (Micah 4:4)  Then we see a scenario of peace.  A person who sits under their vine or tree is sitting in the shade and it is a figurative expression which shows a setting of national peace and domestic contentment.  In the East the grape vine is used for shade because of its big leaves.  Then the fig tree with its thick branches and broad leaves makes it great for sitting under them to get some shade from the scorching sun.  Nathanael was under the fig tree when Christ saw him.  Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.  (John 1:48)  There will be no fear anymore because all will be saved and the enemies of Christ and the Christian has been judged and sent to eternal damnation.  The LORD has decreed this eternal peace for his redeemed children.  This looks forward to the new Heavens and the new Earth when all the children of God will be neighbors as well as brethren.

Back