CHAPTER 3
(519 B.C.)
JOSHUA, THE HIGH PRIEST
1And He showed me Joshua the High Priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. (At about this time, the Lord had spoken through the Prophet Haggai, from this day will I bless you [Hag. 2:19]. Consequently, this Blessing, which will be both material and Spiritual, now commences, with the material part promised to Haggai and the Spiritual part given to Zechariah.
The first phrase speaks of the first High Priest, Joshua, after the captivity, succeeding his father Josedech, who died in Babylon. Joshua, as the High Priest, was representative of the entirety of the Priesthood, and also of Israel. The Angel of the LORD, at least in this instance, is Jehovah, as proved in the next Verse. Zechariah is seeing all of this in a Vision, which gives us a glimpse into the spirit world.
And Satan standing at his right hand to resist him, is the same personality described in Job 1:6-12 and 2:1. As well, Joshua the High Priest didnt see the Vision, only Zechariah. Satan resisting Joshua the High Priest, in effect, is resisting all of Israel, with an effort to stop these Prophecies from being fulfilled.)
2And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke you, O Satan; even the LORD Who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (The first phrase contains the Lords Answer to Satans accusation of Joshua the High Priest and, in effect, all of Israel. The Lords Rebuke paralyzed the hostile power. Even the LORD Who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you, portrays the second rebuke by the Lord of Satan, and is done so by design. It is not that the second rebuke is needed, at least as far as Satan is concerned, but that the certitude of Gods action is not lost on any, and especially the Believer. In other words, the Lord is saying that these predictions concerning the Restoration of Israel are most definitely going to come to pass. Satan will not be able to stop this.)
3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel. (At stated, Joshua was a representative of the entirety of Israel. The truth, as evidenced here, was: Israel, in fact, had no moral worth, to which Satan points, thereby claiming his right to hinder.)
4And He (the Lord) answered and spoke unto those who stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him He said, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with change of raiment. (The idea of this Verse is: the Lord is going to cleanse filthy Israel, which will take place at the Second Coming, but only when Israel properly repents, which she most definitely will do, thereby accepting as her Saviour, Lord, and Messiah the One Whom she crucified, the Lord Jesus Christ. The filthy garments cannot be taken from him, i.e., Israel, until this Repentance is enjoined.)
5And 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. (And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head, proclaims a request of Zechariah. The fair mitre stood for the official headdress of Aaron, which was to be worn by all High Priests, and which bore upon its front the golden plate inscribed: Holiness unto the Lord [Ex. 28:36-38].
This proclaims the fact that, at the Second Coming, Israel will be restored and will in fact become a nation of Priests for the entire world. The phrase, So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments, proclaims the Priestly garments, which now are pure and clean.)
CHARGE TO JOSHUA
6And the Angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying (the word protested here means to solemnly and earnestly admonish, meaning that even though all of this would happen in the distant future, still, Joshua, who was the type, must also serve as an example of Righteousness),
7Thus says the LORD of Hosts; If you will walk in My Ways, and if you will keep My charge, then you shall also judge My House, and shall also keep My Courts, and I will give you places to walk among these who stand by. (Five things are said in this Verse; since five is the number of Grace, we know that it is only enabling Grace which can help the High Priest to obey the charge and reap the benefits.)
VISION OF GODS SERVANT: THE BRANCH; HIS ANOINTING
8Hear now, O Joshua the High Priest, you, and your fellows who sit before you: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth My Servant the BRANCH. (The first phrase proclaims the fact that Joshua and all who are with him are to give all of their attention to this very important announcement that is about to be made. Even though Joshua was not privileged to see the Vision as Zechariah, no doubt Zechariah related it to him word for word. The two words, your fellows, refer to his fellow Priests, who aided him in his ministerial duties, and who took their orders from him and sat with him in counsel.
For they are men wondered at, implies that they are a foreshadow of future events, which actually spoke of good things. For, behold, I will bring forth My Servant the BRANCH, speaks of Christ, Who Alone will be able to bring all of this to pass. He will do so by going to the Cross, which Israel eventually must, and will, accept!)
9For behold the Stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one Stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, says the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that Land in one day. (For behold the Stone that I have laid before Joshua, is symbolic of the Messiah, called The BRANCH [Isa. 28:16; Ps. 118:22; Mat. 21:42; Acts 4:11; Eph. 2:20-21; I Pet. 2:4-7]. Upon one Stone shall be seven eyes, signifies the Holy Spirit upon Christ, with the number seven implying a perfect union. John saw the same Vision, but enlarged [Rev. 5:6].
John also saw seven horns, which Zechariah did not see, which pertain to total dominion. This was because Christ had already gone to the Cross, thereby guaranteeing this dominion, which had not yet taken place at the time of Zechariah. Whereas the seven eyes speak of perfect illumination, likewise, and as stated, the seven horns speak of perfect dominion, all made possible by what Christ did at the Cross.
Behold, I will engrave the graving there, says the LORD of Hosts, has to do with the Incarnation. Christ, as The BRANCH, supplies life and food to His People, who rest beneath its shadow. As the Stone, He is to them an imperishable foundation.
And I will remove the iniquity of that Land in one day, refers to the day of Christs visible Return to Earth, when all Israel shall be saved and ungodliness turned from Jacob [Zech. 12:10-13:1; Rom. 11:25-29]. Israel will mourn and repent for three days; on the third day, they will live [Hos. 6:2].)
UNIVERSAL PROSPERITY
10In that day, says the LORD of Hosts, shall you call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. (In that day, has to do with the coming Kingdom Age, when the Lord will Personally reign supreme from Jerusalem, and over the entirety of the world. There will then be universal peace and prosperity, of which this last phrase is a symbol [Mic. 4:4].)