Zechariah 6

John Waddey Commentary On Zechariah 6 CHAPTER VI The Four Chariots (Zechariah 6:1-8)“ …Behold there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses…” (6:1­3). The final of the eight visions is introduced with the usual formula for new revelations: “ I lifted up mine eyes, and saw…” Charging forth into the valley, between two great mountains, the prophet sees four chariots, each drawn by different colored horses. When he asked the meaning, the angel explained “ These are the four winds of heaven (spirits, footnote) which go forth from standing before the Lord…” (Zechariah 6:5). John saw the four winds of heaven prepared to bring judgments upon the sinful world of his day (Revelation 7:1). Jeremiah writes of four winds scattering the people of Elam (Jeremiah 49:36).

In Revelation 6:1-8, John uses four horses to symbolize his message. The man on the white horse came forth conquering. The rider of the red horse took “ peace from the earth….that they should slay one another.” The man on the black horse symbolized famine and hard times. The rider of the pale horse was named Death and Hades (the open grave) followed him. In Revelation 6:7-8 the pale horse is identified as pestilence (See footnote). These are pictorial representations of what Ezekiel calls God’ s “ four sore judgments” the sword, famine, evil beasts and pestilence” (Ezekiel 14:21).

The mountains from whence the chariots came are pictured as made of brass. This was the hardest metal the ancients knew. No specific mountains are identified. Since the chariots of judgment came from God and the two impregnable mountains stood between God and the seer, perhaps they are to be understood as “ gate towers guarding the entrance into the palace of the Supreme Ruler” (Laetsch).

“ The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country. And the strong went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth” (Zechariah 6:6-7).

The chariot drawn by “ the black horses” was sent “ toward the north county” (Zechariah 6:6), i.e. north of Jerusalem. This expression is commonly used of the Assyrian and Babylonian nations, both of which were now broken and subservient to Persia. So cruel had they been, to God’s people, that further judgments, would be sent upon them. The black horses symbolized famine. In the first vision God had said that he was “ sore displeased with the nations*’ because of their cruelty toward Israel (Zechariah 1:15). “ The grizzled” horses went “toward the south country” which most likely is Egypt, but may include Edom and Ethiopia. All of whom were ancient enemies of Israel.

The “ strong” horses of verse seven almost certainly refer to the red bay horses as they the only ones not get assigned. Red symbolizes bloodshed and war. These strong horses were eager to go on their mission of judgment. “ They sought to go” and received the divine command, “ get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth” (Zechariah 6:7). Their mission was broad, encompassing all of God’ s enemies. When all had done their assigned work, God’s spirit was quieted, i.e., was satisfied that appropriate judgment had been rendered (Compare Ezekiel 16:42).

The cycle of eight visions opened with attention focused on the heathen nations that had humiliated Israel (Zechariah 1:8-15). They close with a symbolic description of God’ s righteous judgment on them.

The Symbolic Crowning of Joshua (Zechariah 6:9-15)“ Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, whither they are come from Babylon; yea, take of them silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest…” (6:9-11). In this section the prophet sees no vision, rather he is instructed to perform a symbolic act that will be predictive of the coming messiah. He was to take the Jewish brothers, recently arrived from Babylon, the land of captivity, and go to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah (not be confused with Zephaniah the prophet of pre-captivity times). The three, Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah had brought with them gifts of gold and silver for the temple project. They would serve as verifying witnesses. Zechariah was to fashion a double tiered crown of the gold and silver and place it on the head of Joshua the high priest and then speak this oracle:

“ Thus speaketh Jehovah of host…Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah…and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zechariah 6:12-13). The name Branch was immediately familiar to every devote Hebrew. Isaiah has written of a “ shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots…” (Isaiah 11:1) and Jeremiah had related God’ s promise to “ cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land…” (Jeremiah 33:15).

Earlier God had promised Zechariah, to, “ bring forth (his) servant the Branch” (Zechariah 3:8). The term pictures the dynasty of David as a tree that had fallen or been cut down. From the roots of the fallen tree a little shoot appears that eventually grows to be a tree mightier than the original one. All understood this to speak of Messiah, David’ s heir, promised by God (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

Joshua helped to build the material temple in Jerusalem, but Messiah would build God’ s spiritual temple, the church (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17). It would be made of living stones (1 Peter 2:5).

The two crowns united as one on Joshua’ s head symbolized that Messiah would combine the two offices of king and priest over God’ s people. Under Moses’ system kings were of the tribe of Judah and priests of Levi. Neither could fill the other post. But through David, in Psalms 110:4, God had promised his Son that he would be a king forever after the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:18). Upon his resurrection and ascension, Jesus was given David’ s throne, when seated at God’ s right hand (Acts 2:28-31). There he will reign until every enemy is subdued (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).This totally undermines and destroys the speculations and theories of the premillennialists who deny the Lord’ s kingdom’ s present existence and who look for a later earthly reign.

For Christ to “ bear the glory” speaks of his royal majesty as “King of kings” (1 Chronicles 29:25; 1 Timothy 6:15-16).

“ The counsel of peace shall be between them both.” The two offices of priest and king will be united in him without discord or conflict with God’ s law. In the words of the author of Hebrews, “ the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (Hebrews 7:12). In his role as priest, the Messiah will bring peace to all who seek him, be they Jew or Gentile. (See Ephesians 2:16-18).

“ And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah”(Zechariah 6:14). The symbolic crown (see foot note) was then placed in the hands of the three witnesses “ for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah” (Zechariah 6:14). Its presence would be a perpetual reminder of the messianic promise until the Savior came. “ HelenT of (Zechariah 6:14), is the same as Heidai” of (Zechariah 6:10). Authorities are unsure if it is a copyist’s error or a variation of his name.

And they that are far off shall come and build In the temple of Jehovah…” (Zechariah 6:15), looks forward, to Messiah’s day, when Gentiles would be given equal access to God’s house (Ephesians 2:16-22). That glorious day when the doors of Messiah’s kingdom were opened and Cornelius and his family were admitted, saw the prophecy fulfilled in its last detail (Acts 11:15-18). Note that Gentiles would help in building up Jehovah’s temple. This is seen in the Christian age when the church primarily consists of Gentile disciples with only a sprinkling of Jews within it. Zechariah Chapter Six Verse 1 In this chapter, we have the concluding vision in the series of eight, the vision of the four chariots of God (Zechariah 6:1-8); and an altogether different type of revelation from God to Zechariah, in which by impressive symbolical actions, the coming of the Redeemer of the world is prophesied, namely, the Branch, the Messiah, the holy one who is both Priest and King, Jesus Christ the Lord (Zechariah 6:9-15). Zechariah 6:1“And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.“Here there come into view four chariots and two mountains. These chariots are symbols of the power of God. “The angels of God are often called the chariots of God (Psalms 48:17, and Psalms 18:10)”;[1] and evidently these great powers also appear in Revelation 9:14, where the loosing of the four angels at the great river Euphrates is mentioned. These and also similar visions of chariots and horses are symbols of the universal power of the Eternal in his government of human affairs. Their number, “four,” should not be understood as any kind of limitation, but as a suggestion that God’s power is universal, bearing upon the “four corners of the earth,” encompassing “the four winds of heaven,” etc. “The mountains were mountains of brass …” The metallic nature of these mountains forbids the notion that they were literal. We may also reject with confidence the allegations of scholars like Mitchell who find here some borrowing by the prophet from Babylonian mythology which alleged that the abode of Deity was guarded on either side by a brass mountain! We believe that God gave the vision to Zechariah and that he was in no way indebted to the silly myths of Babylon. Leupold cited a number of “interpretations” of the mountains thus: They are the two fundamental forms of divine appointment (Lange): they are the actual hills Zion and Moriah; they represent church and state; and Luther made them the law and the prophets.[2]Since no inspired interpretation of the meaning of the brass mountains is available, we may safely pass over them as inert figures in the vision. Verse 2 “In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses.“Instead of attempting to assign some mystical or specific significance to the various colors of the horses, perhaps we should accept them in the sense of their representing various ways in which the judgments of God are visited upon his enemies. Furthermore, we unhesitatingly identify them as similar in meaning and purpose to the so-called Four Horsemen of the Apocalpyse. The red horse stands for war, the black horse for famine, the pale horse for death; and the white horse suggests triumph and victory. One should read in this connection the series of seals, trumpets, and bowls in the Book of Revelation. Most significantly, the horse and chariot were the ancient equivalent of the modern tank in warfare, hence their association with the judgments of God. Whereas the previous visions have been directed to the particular affairs of Israel, this one looks to the judgment of God upon the nations, a judgment already concluded in the overthrow of Babylon, but a judgment yet to fall upon a succession of enemies of the divine purpose which would appear in history. Baldwin called the horses, “Symbols of God’s initiative in international affairs."[3] Hailey also understood these varicolored horses to, “indicate God’s judgments of famine, pestilence, and sword, which were victorious in their mission."[4]Verse 4 “Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?“The answer to this inquiry is given in the next verse, but the answer does not appear in the terminology that we might have expected. Verse 5 “And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four winds of heaven, which go forth from standing before the Lord of the whole earth.““The four winds of heaven …” “Wind is the basic word for spirit”;[5] and it is far better to read “spirit” here. After all “winds” do not “stand” before the Lord! The use of the expression, “stand before the Lord” shows clearly what is meant. When Gabriel appeared to Mary, he said, “I am Gabriel who stand in the presence of God” (Luke 1:19); and the expression is repeatedly used in Scripture with regard to the holy angels. Therefore, we find full agreement here with Unger who saw that, “There is every reason to believe that these chariots represent personal beings, that is, angelic messengers."[6]Understanding the meaning of the word here as “spirits” rather than as “winds” is far superior to the critical fad of emending the text to make it say something more readily understood. Many find the temptation to “emend” the place almost irresistible: The addition of a single letter in the Hebrew gives the following reading: “These, that is, the chariots and horses, go forth to the four winds of heaven after they have presented themselves before the Lord.[7]The angelic messengers that stand ready to obey the command of God may be considered almost innumerable, if not actually so. Jesus, on the night of his betrayal, mentioned “twelve legions of angels” as ready to answer any summons from the Father. When it is remembered that a single angel slew 180,000 of Sennacherib’s army on a single night, how vast must be the power of the entire angelic host? Verse 6 “The chariot wherein are the black horses goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south.“This and the following verse merely reveal that the heavenly patrol, if we may call it that, was actually moving to do God’s will. Some scholars have emended these verses to provide a more uniform picture, even coming up with all four directions, north, south, east, and west; but this is absolutely unnecessary. Four directions are no more effective as a symbol than are two. North and south can mean the whole world as easily as north, south, east, and west. “The chariot …” The chariots are not really mentioned here, only the horses, these two words having been supplied by the translators. Verse 7 “And the strong went forth, and sought that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.““Sought that they might walk …” The eagerness of the angelic host to execute the judgments of God upon powers hostile to his will appears here, indicating that God restrains the powers ever poised to pour out his wrath upon the ungodly. At the proper moment, God will give orders to “Loose the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphrates” (Revelation 9:14). That same principle of God’s restraining powers that would destroy men is apparent here. In this connection, it should be remembered that the human race was sentenced to death in Eden, that the sentence was never repealed; and that, in time, it will be summarily executed. God, however, will not suffer the frustration of his purpose of redeeming the full harvest of the saved from this earth; and, therefore, the great destructive forces that are always ready to execute men are by the Father’s gracious love and longsuffering restrained. Verse 8 “Then cried he, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.““They have quieted my spirit …” “Both chariots going to the north have done this: they have put down God’s Spirit there. That means they have caused God’s anger to cease there."[8] As to how that was accomplished, it resulted from God’s severe punishment of the great Babylonian power that had so cruelly treated Israel, along with a reversal of the captivity itself through the efforts of another great power that had succeeded the old Babylon, Cyrus, Although God’s anger had been satisfied by the Judgment against Babylon, “the north country,” there were other great powers yet scheduled for judgment and destruction. Babylon only of the four great world kingdoms had in Zechariah’s time been fully punished; therefore, in its case alone does God now say his anger is satisfied. The others had as yet to expiate their sin.[9]Mitchell also mentioned this as a possible interpretation. “The prophet here again reminds his people of the past, and this time, of their deliverance from the Babylonians by Cyrus."[10] However, he went on to apply it to the future, but we do not think that negates its application to the past also. Verse 9 “And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying.“The revelation given on this occasion did not come by means of a vision, but through some other means. “God… spoke in the prophets by divers portions, and in divers manners” (Hebrews 1:1); but we are not told in this particular instance how God spoke to Zechariah. “The eight night visions have ended, but the coronation of Joshua is closely connected with those visions."[11] This symbolical action also served to emphasize the strong Messianic thrust of the entire prophecy. Verse 10 “Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah; and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, whither they are come from Babylon.““Them of the captivity …” This could have other possible meanings, but here the meaning is: “Those who have been in exile but have returned to their country."[12] The names of the returnees given here were deeply religious names carrying these affirmations of faith in God: “Hildai = the Lord’s world; Tobijah = the Lord is good; and Jedaiah = the Lord knows."[13]“Come thou the same day …” This connects the event of Joshua’s crowning with the night visions as having occurred in close succession and causes the coronation to serve to some extent as explanation of the visions. The whole section of Zechariah looks to the revelation of the Messiah and the setting up of his spiritual kingdom. “The house of Josiah …” Josiah was apparently the host of the three who had come from Babylon bearing gifts, either from the government, or from the captives who had chosen to remain in Babylon. Verse 11 “Yea, take of them silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the High Priest.“We shall defer the consideration of the crowns (or crown) and take up first the object of the coronation. Was it indeed Joshua, as our text flatly declares, or should we allow the speculations of critics who boldly claim that, “Zerubbabel and not Joshua, must be the subject of the address in Zechariah 6:11; for it is he who was building the Temple."[14] It is hard to imagine a more erroneous perversion of the sacred text. First of all, such a notion is founded upon a total misunderstanding of what temple Messiah would build. Indeed Zerubbabel was building a second temple; but the temple which Jesus Christ would build never had any connection whatever with the earthly temples of the Jews, which were never God’s, except in an accommodative sense, and which God repeatedly destroyed from the face of the earth. In the second place, there is no textual authority at all for the substitution of the subjective imaginations of men for the written Word of God. Who are these men who boldly write Zechariah here instead of Joshua?

They have no authority; they are clearly ignorant in many instances of the most basic truths of Holy Scripture; and they are gullible and pitiful Christians indeed who will allow such godless tampering with the sacred Word. Baldwin exposed this raid on the Bible thus: It is claimed that a scribe replaced Zerubbabel’s name with that of Joshua, and so made the prophecy more credible. If it could be demonstrated that scribes were in the habit of adjusting texts in this way, the argument would be more weighty, but the evidence is all in the other direction. None of the ancient versions has Zerubbabel’s name in this verse. Moreover, supposing that a scribe meant to delete all references to the Davidic-prince (Zerubbabel), he did not do so in Zechariah 6:13. It is best to allow the text to stand, and to regard Joshua as the one who was crowned.[15]Furthermore, “If a scribe removed the name of Zerubbabel here, he would have needed to remove the clear allusion to him in Zechariah 6:13."[16]As a matter of obvious truth no scribe ever meddled with this passage; it is the modern critics who are trying to do that. Their reasons for trying to get Zerubbabel into this passage are based upon the false notion that God would re-establish the Davidic monarchy, something God never intended, nor promised, to do.

The promise of “raising up one to sit upon David’s throne” was a prophecy of Christ ruling upon the throne of his spiritual kingdom. That the crowning of Joshua was a symbolical action, and that there was no intention whatever of actually making him the king of Israel is clear from a number of considerations: The fact that the High Priest Joshua who could not wear a crown, here does so, proves that the act is typical, delineating the priestly kingship of Christ according to Hebrews 7:1-5, and Psalms 110:4.[17]The further fact of the crown not being worn by Joshua at all, but laid up in the temple as a memorial (verse 14) also emphasizes the typical nature of the action. The function of this revelation is that of combining in one symbolical person (Joshua) the two offices of priest and king in order to prophesy that the Messiah would be both high priest and king. Once this is understood, how ridiculous is the notion that Zerubbabel was the one originally meant. He was disqualified in every conceivable way. He was not a priest and could not have represented that office, no matter what might have been done to him. Also, he was the grandson of Jeconiah (Matthew 1:12); and Zerubbabel positively fell under the prophetic curse against Jeconiah to the effect that, “No man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah” (Jeremiah 22:30).

The false allegation that the inspired prophet Zechariah actually installed Zerubbabel as the center of this symbolical action is a denial of his inspiration, and not only that, but a slander making him ignorant of the divine curse against the house of Jeconiah, Zerubbabel’s grandfather. Zerubbabel never fitted into this passage, nor was he ever in it, except in the subjective dreamings of the critics. “And make crowns and set them upon the head of Joshua …” Scholars have made quite a problem out of the use of the plural here, affirming that, “It was a crown of silver and gold”;[18] “The crown is singular, though the noun is plural”;[19] “It signifies the two metals of which the crown was made”;[20] The original indicates one splendid crown made up of several circlets, for it was intended for the head of Joshua alone."[21] We believe this latter opinion to be true. To be sure, it would take a composite crown of multiple components to represent properly the crown of the glorious Messiah, represented in prophecy as “Crowned with many crowns” (Revelation 19:12), “King of kings and Lord of Lords.” It is the complexity of Messiah’s crown that is represented here by the plural. As Barnes summed it up: It is all one then, whether the word designates one single crown, so entitled for its greatness, or one united royal crown uniting many crowns, symbolizing the many kingdoms of the earth, over which our High Priest and King should rule.[22]Verse 12 “And speak unto him, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah.““Behold the man …” Strangely, these very words were used by the Gentile governor when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate (John 19:5). A little later, he added, “Behold your king!” “The man whose name is the Branch …” We have already noted that this was a technical word fully understood among the Jews as referring to the promised Messiah; and such an action as this made it impossible to take the action any other way except as a symbolical prophecy of the coming Messiah, revealing the extremely important truth that the Messiah would combine in himself the offices of both the kingship and the high priesthood. “He shall grow up out of his place …” is suggestive of Isaiah 53, where the humility and humanity of Jesus are prophetically outlined. “He shall build the temple of Jehovah …” As Keil forcefully stated it: “That these words do not refer to the building of the earthly temple of stone and wood, is so obvious, that even Koehler has given up this view here, and understands the words as relating to the spiritual temple."[23]Note that the promise here is not that of “completing” the earthly temple, which Zerubbabel was already in the process of doing, but that of “Building the Temple.” There is no way that the name of Zerubbabel could ever have fitted into this passage. How blind are those who vainly suppose that it did! Of course, two different temples are of necessity in view. Verse 13 “Even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.““Even he shall build the temple of Jehovah …” So weighty a promise is repeated for emphasis. See further comment below. “And he shall bear the glory …” This is terminology that never applied to the earthly monarchs of Israel, and the appearance of these words here denotes that the Messianic age is being spoken of. “Shall sit and rule upon his throne …” Zerubbabel was denied this on the basis of Jeremiah 23; Jeremiah 30; the promise must be understood of the Messiah. Joshua also did not qualify, for the priesthood never included the kingship. Not even Moses was both king and priest. Only Jesus Christ our Lord can be meant by this passage. “And the counsel of peace shall be between them both …” There is much difference of opinion about what this means. “It is a reference to Joshua and Zerubbabel”;[24] “The counsel of peace shall be between Jesus and the Father”;[25] We believe that Harley is correct in the explanation that, “Peace will be provided by the Branch holding the twofold office of king and priest."[26]“He shall build the temple of Jehovah …” The repetition of this clause at the end of Zec 6:12 and the beginning of Zec 6:13 has been cited as suggestive of the combining of two literary units; but we agree with Baldwin who suggested that the repetition “was deliberate."[27]It was a device to distinguish between “he” Joshua and “he” the Branch, as well as between the temporary temple and the one to come.[28]A careful study of the passage shows how necessary such a repetition is and how it illuminates and emphasizes the true meaning of the passage. Verse 14 “And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah.“We are surprised here by the names apparently being changed from those mentioned in Zechariah 6:9; but we refuse to find any problem here. Any of those mentioned could have borne two or more names; and as Baldwin suggested, “It may be that Heldai preferred to use his more dignified name for official purposes; or the names could have been interchangeable."[29]“The crowns shall be… for a memorial in the temple …” Note that Joshua did not wear the crown. His coronation was a brief, symbolical act only. The crown never any more pertained to him; and it did not even remain in his possession. Verse 15 “And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of Jehovah; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God.““They that are far off …” If there is an expression in the entire Old Testament that means “Gentiles,” it is this one, being exactly the terminology used by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost when Peter announced the gospel as being for “them that are afar off” (Acts 2:39), thus placing a divine seal upon this whole revelation and certifying it as a prophecy of the times of the Messiah and of the coming of the Gentiles into the church of God. The ones that were “far off” were those not included with Israel in the covenant. They were the nations, or Gentiles of the world. In the new era, however, even the Gentiles would be admitted to fellowship with God. “If ye will diligently obey …” Neither the future building of the true temple of God as the church of Jesus Christ, nor the glorious Advent of Him who would build it, was doubtful in the slightest degree. All that was promised would be accomplished with or without Israel’s participation; but the persons who would participate in the new order, or have anything at all to do with the true kingdom of God, depended upon an obedient spirit in the participants. The vast majority of secular Israel would have nothing of a spiritual kingdom; but the holy apostles constituting the “righteous remnant” of the true Israel would hail the Messiah when He came, worship Him as God, rally together after His crucifixion and resurrection, and then go forth into all the world shouting, “He is risen,” sealing their testimony with their blood, and establishing the church of Christ throughout all the world for millenniums of time! This great revelation of the Christ as both Priest and King is one of the great passages of the Bible. It should be studied in connection with Psalms 110:4, and Hebrews 7. Bible Study Questions From Zechariah Chapter Six1. Using Zechariah 6:1-8 what was Zechariah’ s final vision (Zechariah 6:1-3)? Where would God’ s judgment fall (Zechariah 6:4-6) and how would God feel about this (Zechariah 6:7-8)? Zechariah’ s final vision was of four chariots pulled by horses of four different colors – red, black, white, and dappled. The mountains were bronze (normally symbolizing God’ s judgment). These four chariots represented the four spirits (winds) of heaven that would go forth after standing before the Lord. The black and white horses would go to the land of the north (where most of Israel’ s enemies came from) and the dappled horses would go to the south (where the rest of their enemies came from). Those that went to the north would appease God’ s wrath there so they must have gone forth to bring about God’ s judgment on them. Possibly the colors symbolize death (black) and victory (white), but it is hard to correspond the dappled horses to anything concrete.

The red horses are left out altogether, so they might come at a later phase in the judgment since they probably symbolize the bloodshed at the last battle. This vision shows that God is angry with the nations who have been against His people and will be satisfied only when His judgment is carried out against them. 2. Based on Zechariah 6:9-15 what did God do to Joshua (Zechariah 6:11) and what did this represent (Zechariah 6:12-13)? What was the purpose of the crown (Zechariah 6:14-15) and how can we apply that? God made an ornate crown for Joshua and set it on his head, which was representative of the coming Branch. Jesus would branch out from where He was and build the temple of the Lord. Not only that but He would also sit on the throne as a priest, so that both “ offices” were joined into one. The crown made for Joshua would be a reminder of this promise and when the exiles returned to build this temple they would know that the Lord Himself had sent Zechariah to speak these words. The contingency upon the fulfillment of this promise was whether or not Joshua would completely obey the Lord. This shows us that God not only has great promises for us, but that He wants us to remember these promises so that we will walk in obedience to Him. 3. Consider the revelations God gave Zechariah in 1-6. How would these have encouraged the people? How do they encourage you about your future? God was going to judge the earth for their sin against His people and would restore them once again to Jerusalem. Jerusalem and the temple would be rebuilt, the Lord would remove their sin, and He would be in their midst and wall of protection around them. They would be ruled by their righteous Branch who would be both priest and king, peace would prevail and everyone would have all they needed to experience God’ s rest. All of things that caused problems related to sin and that would be judged and removed, while the only One who would truly satisfy them, God, would be with them with an attitude of acceptance and blessing. This shows us that although things may be difficult now God is at work to bring about His best in our lives, not just temporarily, but permanently; therefore, we must not give up but continue to serve Him since we will spend eternity in His blessing. More Questions From Zechariah Chapter Six1) What did Zechariah see? (Zechariah 5:1) 2) What were its dimensions? (Zechariah 5:2) 3) What did this vision represent? To where was it going forth? (Zechariah 5:3) 4) Which specific sins are mentioned as being written on the scroll? (Zechariah 5:3-4) 5) What will happen to the house wherein the scroll enters? (Zechariah 5:4) 6) What else did Zechariah see going forth? (Zechariah 5:5-6) 7) What was inside of it? (Zechariah 5:7) 8) What did the woman represent? (Zechariah 5:8) 9) What was cast down on the opening of the ephah? (Zechariah 5:8) 10)What did the two women do with the ephah? (Zechariah 5:9-11)

Zechariah 6:1

Zechariah 6:1. The first 8 verses of this chapter have virtually the same meaning as the closing ones of the preced¬ing chapter. Four chariots represents the four corners of the earth unto which the power of God reaches, and this power was sent forth from Jerusalem that is situated in the midst of various mountains.

Zechariah 6:2

Zechariah 6:2. Bed symbolizes bloodshed and black brings famine. Both of these conditions bad to come before the revolution predicted could be accomplished.

Zechariah 6:3

Zechariah 6:3. These horses merely signify some of the various effects that would result from the events of the invasion by a heathen power.

Zechariah 6:4

Zechariah 6:4, Again the prophet is left to make inquiry on the subject, evidently to get the matter in the focus of his attention and also to direct the thoughts of the reader,

Zechariah 6:5

Zechariah 6:5. Four spirits are the same as “four corners” in verse 1.

Zechariah 6:6

Zechariah 6:6. As the north country denotes Babylon (see the comments on Isaiah 14:31), so the south would mean Judah that was taken to Babylon.

Zechariah 6:7

Zechariah 6:7. These horses represent the activity in general that took place as all this revolution was going on that was to chastise and reform God’s people.

Zechariah 6:8

Zechariah 6:8. Quieted my spirit in the north country. This is a reference to the fact that the people of God were cured of idolatry by their stay in that country. When they came out of the captivity in that land they left their idolatry in it and that, “quieted” the spirit of God; it satisfied Him with their reformation.

Zechariah 6:9

Zechariah 6:9. This verse is another assurance of the inspiration of Zechariah.

Zechariah 6:10

Zechariah 6:10. The men named were among them who came back from Babylon. Zechariah was told to take these men and enter the house of Josiah who was then living in Judea.

Zechariah 6:11

Zechariah 6:11. The men named who had come from Babylon had brought along some silver and gold. They did this by the direction of the reigning king in Babylon, according to Ezra 1:4. Zechariah was to use some of that metal in making a crown to be placed on the head of the high priest. This was to indicate that the service of the altar was to be resumed.

Zechariah 6:12

Zechariah 6:12. This is another instance where the prophet advances his prediction of favor for God’ s people from fleshly to spiritual Israel. This and the following verses of the chapter predict the work of Christ and his kingdom upon the earth. He is called The Branch by way of importance and because His work was destined to grow up out of his place. The temple that he was to build is the church which is recognized by that name in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 6:16.

Zechariah 6:13

Zechariah 6:13. Priest upon his throne. Christ was to unite in himseif the two offices of priest and king. That was never permitted in the Mosaic system; the two were not even from the same tribe. The kings were from the tribe of Judah and the priests were from the tribe of Levi. In 2 Chronicles 26:16 is an account of a king who tried to assume the office of priest but got into serious trouble with the Lord over it.

Not only was Christ lo be both king and priest, but his followers are said to be, likewise. (See 1 Corinthians 4:8; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10 Revelation 19:16.) However, we should understand that Christians rank second in these positions compared with Christ. Counsel of peace shall be between them both. The first word is defined by “ advice” and “ plan” in the lexicon, and it has been rendered “purpose” in the A.V. The thought is that the two functions will cooperate in complete harmony.

Zechariah 6:14

Zechariah 6:14. The men named were out-standing Jews who came back from the captivity. The crowns (mentioned in verse 11) were to serve to them, or in their sight, as memorials or reminders of the prediction made in verse 13.

Zechariah 6:15

Zechariah 6:15. The term far off identifies the prediction as applying to the Gentiles who were to be included in the service under this Priest-King. (See Acts 2:39 and Ephesians 2:13-19.) This great twofold office of Christ was to be for the benefit of all mankind regardless of race or nationality.