Zechariah~ Chapter Three

This chapter continues the theme of the 'good and comfortable words' towards Jerusalem.
Their return and restoration after the Babylonian captivity is typical of their restoration at the return of Christ.

V-1. Joshua the High Priest. Zech 3:1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
It is certainly meaningful that the high priest at this time is named Joshua, which is the Hebrew version of the name. 'Jesus' , the High Priest who shall preside over the restoration of the Temple in the millennium. That this is a picture of Christ will become even more clear in a later chapter.
A. He represents the spiritual side of Israel at that time while the political side is represented by Zerubbabel. Hag 1:1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
B. He is a direct descendant of Aaron through Eleazer and his father Jehozadak had been among the captives carried away into Babylon 70 years before. 1 Chr 6:15 And Jehozadak went into captivity, when the LORD carried away Judah and Jerusalem by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar.
C. Three principle 'Joshuas' in the Bible.
1.Joshua the son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, who led Israel into the promised land.
2. Joshua the High Priest ,who was a leader in the restoration of the Temple.
3.Both these are types of Jesus, our 'Joshua' who will restore all things. and lead us into the millennial reign.
D. Satan stood ready to resist as he always tries to hinder God's people in their work.

V-2. The Lord rebukes Satan. Zech 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?
A. We haven't the power to rebuke him ourselves. Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
B. The Brand plucked out of the fire is Israel. Amos 4:11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.
Amos 4:12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
Rom 11:5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
They had been cast into the fire of punishment and plucked out by the mercy of God. Shall Satan be able to destroy those on whom the Lord has showered mercy?

V-3. Joshua's filthy garments. Zech 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Their sin in the past had been their defiling of their worship. Garments of the High Priest typified the condition of the people. This had led to the captivity in the first place. Mal 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Mal 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Mal 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? Saith the LORD of hosts.

Vv 4-5. God will now clean them up and accept their worship. Zech 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.
Zech 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.
Isa 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
Isa 62:1 For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Isa 62:2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
Isa 62:3 Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
Isa 62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

Vv 6-7. Zech 3:6 And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,
Zech 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.
The Lord promises them another Temple and a chance to walk in honor among the nations

V -8. Zech 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.
Joshus and his brethren are types or signs as ; Ezek 12:11 Say, I am your sign: like as I have done, so shall it be done unto them: they shall remove and go into captivity.
Ezek 24:24 Thus Ezekiel is unto you a sign: according to all that he hath done shall ye do: and when this cometh, ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD.
A. The BRANCH is a definite prophecy of Christ Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
Isa 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;

V - 9. Zech 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.
The new priest is to have a new breastplate; one which has but one stone. After all ,He will represent ONE people before God. The Redeemed! Our High Priest IS our access to God.
Heb 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
A. Seven eyes - Complete knowledge of all that transpires in his kingdom. Zech 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
This is the all-seeing Lamb of Rev 5:6 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.

V -10. Zech 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.
This is the time prefigured in the Feast of Tabernacles. It took place after the year's labor was done and was a time of sending gifts and rejoicing. For Israel, it will be the very first time in all their history that they shall be free from worry about attack from some quarter.