Written By: God through Inspiration
Penned By: Zechariah
Date Penned: (1-8 520-518BC)(9-14 480BC)
Overview: Messages while Rebuilding the Temple (c 1-8)
Theme: Zechariah's Night Visions (c 1-6)
Message: Zechariah Sees the High Priest (v 1-10)
Zechariah: Chapter 3 Commentary
(3:1) Joshua was Israel's High Priest when the remnant returned to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the walls (Haggai 1) Satan accused ("resisted") Josuha, who represents the nation of Israel here. The actuations were accurate - Joshua stood in filthy garments (sins) Yet God revealed his mercy, stating that he chose to save his people anyway. Satan is always accusing people of their sins before God (Job 1) But he greatly misunderstands the breadth of God's mercy and forgiveness toward those who believe in him. Satan the Accuser will ultimately be destroyed (Revelation 12) while everyone who is a believer will be saved (John 3) To be prepared we can ask God to remove our clothing of sin and dress us with his goodness.
(3:2) God punished Judah through the fire of great trials but he rescued the nation before it was completely destroyed, like "a brand plucked out of the fire"
(3:3,4) Zechariah's vision graphically portrays how we obtain God;s mercy. We do nothing ourselves, it is at God's initiative that our filthy garments (sins) are removed, and God provides us with new, clean clothes (The righteousness of God - 2 Corinthians 5) All we need to do is repent and ask the Lord to forgive us. When satan tries to make you feel dirty and unworthy, remember that the clean clothes of Christ's righteousness make you worthy to draw near to the Lord.
(3:5-7) The Greek name for Joshua is Jesus, meaning "the Lord saves" This Joshua should not be confused with the warrior of the book of Joshua. Both the warrior Joshua and the High Priest Joshua, however, have been seen as symbols of Jesus, the Messiah.
(3:7-10) There was no priesthood during the exile so it had to be reinstated upon the return to the land in this vision, Joshua was installed as the High Priest. One of the High Priest's duties was to offer a sacrifice on the Day of Atonement to make amends for all the sins of the people. The Priest was the mediator between God and the nation. He represented the coming Messiah (Isaiah 11:1) who would change the entire order of God's dealings with people's sin (Hebrew 10) Jesus the Messiah was the High Priest. who offered once and for all the sacrifice of himself to take away our sins in his new order, every Christian is a priest offering , a holy , cleansed life to God (1 Peter 2)
(3:8,9) The Branch refers to the Messiah. The meaning of the stone with seven facets ("eyes") is unclear, It could mean the Branch himself as the foundation stone of the Temple, or the rock struct by Moses that produced water for the Israelites (Numbers 20) or the Renewed spiritual priesthood of the church. These verses were fulfilled hundreds of years later by Jesus Christ. God said "I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day and this was fulfilled in Christ who "hath suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God'' (! Peter 3) You cannot remove your sins by your own effort. You must allow God to remove them through Christ.
(3:10) God promises that each person will have his own home during Christ's reign (Micah 4) This is a symbol of peace and prosperity
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