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Chapter 6

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Chapter 6:1-6. Eighth Vision, of the Four Chariots

Zechariah sees four chariots, coming from between two mountains of
bronze - they may stand for Mount Zion, and the Mount of Olives, with the Kidron valley in between them. The chariots seem to stand for angelic spirits, which are powerful to fulfil the will of God. The black horses go to
the north - the region from which invasions by Assyria and Babylonia had
come. The dappled horses go south, the direction of Egypt, which had also threatened Israel.

The horses were straining to go, that is, the angels were eager to do
God's will, but would not start until He gave the word. The white horses went west, to lands farther out over the sea. Nothing is said of going to the east, perhaps because the desert directly east was practically impassable.

Those going to the north are specially said to have appeased God's
spirit, by overcoming the great enemies of Israel which came from that
direction.

Chapter 6:9-15. Symbolic Crowning of Joshua as High Priest 

The prophet was ordered by the Lord to take silver and gold from those
who had just come from Babylon, and to go on the same day to the house of Josiah, and make a crown for the head of the high priest Joshua. Zechariah should tell Joshua that the Lord said: Here is the man called the Branch - he will branch out from the place and build the temple. He will rule on his throne and will be a priest on his throne. He will build the temple. Then the crown is to be put in as a memorial in the temple.

Is this a real action, or a vision? More likely a real action, but a
symbolic one, such as the prophets sometimes carried out, e. g., Jer 19.10-13 and Ezek 4.1-8. The latter view seems more likely. 

Are there two men involved here, Zerubbabel, the civil authority as king
and Joshua, the high priest? The Hebrew text seems to indicate Joshua has both positions. This could be a foreshadowing of the fact that the Messiah - designated, as so often, by the word Branch - would be both King and Priest. The Septuagint changes the wording, and has the king on the throne, the priest at his right, with harmony (shalom) between them. (Many versions follow the Septuagint on this matter). We think the Hebrew reading more likely to be true, and note that all of this is fulfilled completely in Christ, the Messiah as priest and king. The Targum, the Talmud, and the Rabbis all see the Branch as messianic.

Those who are far away, the gentiles, will come to help build the
temple. We saw this before, in that Cyrus and later Darius did aid the
reconstruction of the temple.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Subpages (1): Chapter 7:1 - 8:23
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