Zechariah 6 reminds me of a logic test.
One form of question lists seemingly unrelated objects with the goal
of deducting the connection between all of them. Hands, Face,
and Band might all be related to a watch. It is not always easy
to recognize how the pieces fit together at first. In today’s
chapter we are given a number of images that seem completely
unrelated, let’s see if we can logically find the connection.
The chapter begins with the prophet seeing “four
chariots coming out from between two… mountains of bronze“.
Bronze is a symbol for judgment. They have four different color
horses, “all of them
powerful“. The angel
explains, “These are the four
spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the
Lord of the whole world“.
Each heads in a different direction, “they
went throughout the earth“.
I believe these are the four horsemen of Revelation 6. This is
during a time when Christ is taking possession of the earth from
Satan and the anti-Christ is waging war, culminating in the battle of
Armageddon. All the armies of the world are quickly defeated,
“given My Spirit rest“.
God rests only at completion. We see this in the pattern of
creation; “in six days the Lord
made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but
he rested on the seventh day”
(Exodus 20:11). Friend, you will not find peace until you
realize who you are battling against.
The
next object given is a crown of gold and silver that is made from the
offerings given from the exiles that have returned. We read,
“make a crown, and set it on
the head of the high priest, Joshua“.
Students of scripture know that the king of Israel and the High
Priest had separate roles and every time a king or priest took on the
duties of the other, they were removed from service. This is
because there is only one King that is High Priest and that is
Christ. Here is a nice piece of trivia; the Hebrew word for the
Messiah is “Yeshua” which translated into English as Joshua.
The New Testament writers wrote in the common Greek that dominated
the day. The Greek word for “Yeshua” translates into
English as Jesus. All three names mean, “The
Lord is Salvation”.
The
final object given is “the
man whose name is the Branch“.
We read, “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“.
I believe Zechariah was seeing a picture of the temple of the risen
Christ. Recall what Jesus told the Jewish leaders after they
asked for a sign of His Authority? “Destroy
this temple, and I will raise it again in three days… But the
temple He had spoken of was His body”
(John 2:19). Zechariah writes, “He
will
be a priest on His throne.
And
there will be harmony between the two“.
The Branch connects everything to the source of life. The
chapter ends with a call, “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“.
Friend, the answer to the question is you!
All of this is given so that those that are far away will come and
call on the Name of the Lord and receive His peace and live in
harmony. I invite you to make the connection and find rest in
Christ today.