Zechariah 6

Zechariah is made to see horses of different colors in this sixth chapter of His book of prophecy. Horses such as these will be seen by John in Revelation 6. In both cases these beasts are frightening representatives of the power of God. We might expect that a mighty nation could not be shaken by a few horses. Of course these animals are different then the cavalry of some ancient land. These animals come with the great force of the Almighty. They can secure the borders of The Promised Land from those enemies who may come from the north or the south. As Zechariah says, all of these horses were strong.

The prophet is told by an angelic messenger that these beasts are going out "to the four winds of heaven." Throughout the history of the Lord's speech to us we are given a sense of another realm where the Lord dwells. That realm seems also to rule over the earth, and the going out of these beasts is an expression of the Lord's reign from heaven over the affairs of Israel at the time of the restoration and over the nations of the world more generally. It is the Lord who rules over all. That is why these horses present themselves before Yahweh Almighty, the Lord of all the earth, before they move in His power.

The horses are not reluctant to do their Lord's bidding. They are ready to use their strong power, and eager to obey Him. They move forward in battle to patrol the earth. The great powers in the day of Zechariah are to the south and especially to the north. The Lord is able to place His Spirit at rest over a region so that no trouble can come from mighty kings and powerful armies and empires. This is the vision that God has for His people, a message of the Lord's sovereign control, and an expression of His intention to use powerful means to protect His people.

What will God do when He has secured the borders of His land? Zechariah is told to bring a message to some men who are to make a royal crown for the priest Joshua who is mentioned here and in other places. This man is himself used as a sign for things to come. He is given the name "the Branch," a messianic title used previously in this and other prophetic books. The timing is perfect for a great story to be told, and in that story that he lives out, Joshua is allowed to play the part of a royal high priest, one who is far greater than Joshua.

The reason the timing is perfect is that the people of the restoration are to build a temple for the Lord in what is a new beginning for the Lord's faithful servants. At the head of their efforts are three men, as far as the story is told in this book. One is Zerubbabel, in the kingly line of David. The second is Joshua the priest, who is permitted to play the role of a royal priest here. The third, the one we would most easily miss, is the prophet Zechariah. Of course He is here throughout as the one through whom the Word of the Lord comes. It is within the context of the building of the temple that we can see our great Priest Jesus Christ, who is also our King and our Prophet.

He is building a temple that is far beyond the edifice that the men of the restoration built in Jerusalem. He is raising up a glorious resurrection temple. He is the first stone in that temple, an assembly built upon the blood of the only Redeemer of God's elect. Now we are being built up as living stones in that temple through faith in Jesus Christ, though our glory which is to come is veiled until the proper time. Jesus is building that temple even now. He shall reign in the land of Resurrection forever, the borders of which will be perfectly secured from the intrusion of any enemy force. His Land shall be a glorious place that is governed according to the counsel of His perfect wisdom and peace.

The crown for Joshua that is made as a part of this story is to be kept in the temple of the Lord as a reminder. It is to be a reminder to the ones who made it, and yet they will one day die. Presumably it could be a reminder to those who will follow them as long as the temple lasts. The day will come when the building will be taken down after Christ has risen from the dead as the more perfect temple of the Lord. Then the church will move forward with the Word of the gospel, through which our Prophet, Priest, and King is gathering stones for His new living house.

We who were once far off have a place in that temple, because our royal priest offered up His life for us as an atoning sacrifice. This is the price of our freedom in Christ. This is what it cost for us to have a place in the final resurrection temple, when heaven will come upon the earth in the perfect day of restoration and renewal. Let us move forward with the diligence of faithful obedience to our God even today. Let us hear His voice in the words of Zechariah the prophet, and beseech Him that He will not only be with us through a true life of communion with Him, but that He will also live through us in mission and service for the glory of His great Name.