Zechariah 3:6-10 - Homiletics

The priesthood eclipsed.

"And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua," etc. The ancient Jewish priesthood, as we saw in our last, being fully restored, what was to become of it in process of time? The answer to this was partly conditional, partly not so. If faithfully discharged by Joshua and his fellows and successors, that priesthood would be for many generations a thing of honour and blessing. In any case, it would ultimately be altogether eclipsed by another priesthood of a far more glorious kind. Such seems to be the full purport of the rest of this chapter. We may consider the conditional promise in the first place, and the unconditional in the second.

I. THE CONDITIONAL PROMISE . (Verses 6, 7.) Under this head we may notice:

1 . The marked solemnity of its manner. By whom made? The Angel-Jehovah. In what attitude? That of standing, as most impressive (see Pusey, in loc .). With what language? That of protestation, and protestation in God's name.

2 . Its twofold condition. Being, on the one hand, apparently personals" walking in God's ways," and, on the other, apparently ministerial—keeping God's "charge" or ordinances (compare "Take heed to thyself, and to the doctrine," of 1 Timothy 4:16 ; also Acts 20:28 ).

3 . Its threefold blessing. The preceding conditions beings observed, Joshua and those after him, representing the restored priesthood, should have the honour and privilege

II. THE UNCONDITIONAL PROMISE . However things might turn out with this Joshua (or Jesus) and his successors regarding this restored Levitical priesthood, they were but "men of marvellous signs" (so Pusey and others). In other words, they were but types and figures of a far greater and holier "Jesus"—a Priest who was some day to be "brought forth." This Priest, while like these in some respects, was to differ from them in many others. For example besides being a Priest who was to be "brought forth" and to supersede these, he was also to be:

1 . From a wholly different line; viz. that of "David" and Judah (see Hebrews 7:13 , Hebrews 7:14 ).

2 . In a very different position. Not merely a Judge (see supra ) as well as Priest, under Persian or other chief rulers, but a King (compare what is said of the "Branch" in Jeremiah 23:5 ; also Zechariah 6:12 , Zechariah 6:13 ).

3 . Of a far superior nature. Divine, i.e; as well as human (compare, once again, what is said of the "Branch" in Jeremiah 23:1-40 ; as "Jehovah our Righteousness;" also what is said here of the "stone" and the "seven eyes," with Daniel 2:34 , Daniel 2:35 , Daniel 2:44 , Daniel 2:45 ; Zechariah 4:10 ; Revelation 4:5 ; Colossians 2:9 ).

4 . Doing a far higher work; viz. partly because suffering in his own glorious Person (as shown by the "graving" engraven on this "Stone"), and not merely offering sacrifice; partly, also, because "removing iniquity" fully and once for all ("in one day"), and not merely partially and for a time ( Hebrews 10:11-14 ; Hebrews 9:13 , Hebrews 9:14 ); and partly because, by so doing, he brought in perpetual peace.

The whole passage, thus interpreted, serves to illustrate:

1 . A peculiar feature of Holy Writ. We can hardly believe that the prophet himself understood all that we have now gathered from his words. This taught us about the Old Testament prophets generally in 1 Peter 1:10 , 1 Peter 1:11 , and almost necessarily implied, in fact, in the Divine inspiration of Scripture. Tills exemplified also in the case of bad men (Numbers 22-24.; John 11:51 , John 11:52 ) when "carried away" ( φερόμενοι , 2 Peter 1:21 ) by the Spirit of God. Even in the case of demoniac inspiration (so to describe it), something like this is true, the speech of the man or woman possessed expressing more than they themselves can be supposed to mean or to know.

2 . The great object of Holy Writ; viz. to testify of the "Branch," the "Day spring", the "Lord our Righteousness" (comp. John 5:39 ; Luke 24:25-27 ; 1 Peter 1:11 , as before; 1 Timothy 3:15 ). Always, as here, the Scriptures seem to hasten away from what is temporary and conditional to what is eternal and, in one sense, unconditional, viz. to those sufferings and subsequent glories of the Incarnate Word which the apostle seems to understand by that remarkable expression, "the sure mercies of David" ( Isaiah 55:3 ; Acts 13:34 ). So true is that which we find written in Acts 10:43 and in the end of Revelation 19:10 .