LESSON II. ZECHARIAH'S VISION OF JOSHUA. ZECH. iii. B.C. 520.-To Zechariah also were shown many visions of encouragement and prophecy, of which this is one of the most remarkable. And the angel shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 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? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. 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. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. the LORD stood by. So they set a fair And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, 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. 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. 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. In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree. COMMENT. It was a time of grief and trouble, when the restoration of Jerusalem seemed impossible, with the Great King unfavourable, and the hereditary enemies of Judah on the watch to harass the few stragglers among the ruins. They were also conscious of the heavy load and deep stain of national sin, which they might well feel as too great not to prevent their return to the favour of God. That obstinate corruption, which Ezekiel had shown them to have prevailed for so many years, must keep them back from hope. Therefore God showed His prophet the existing high priest, Joshua, standing before the Angel of the Lord, namely, the Messenger of the Covenant, I AM, who had appeared to Moses in the Bush. Joshua, representing the whole Jewish people, was clothed in filthy garments, the token of sin, and Satan, the accuser, stood beside him, enhancing all the guilt and shame that might weigh him down. But the answer was the grave, calm words, "The Lord rebuke thee, even the Lord who hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" For prayer had prevailed, the remnant was saved, plucked from the fire of misery and captivity! Then, to show that the sin was taken away for ever and pardoned, the foul garments were taken from him, and the beautiful robes of the high priest, blue, white, and scarlet, with the gold bells and pomegranates, the jewelled breastplate, and the fair mitre, inscribed “Holiness unto the Lord" was set on his head. It was like the Day of Atonement, when, after the scapegoat had borne away the sin, and intercession had been made, the high priest changed the garments stained with the sacrificial blood, for his robes for glory and for beauty. So the stain was put away, and the promise of blessing to the faithful for the future was renewed! And further was given the renewed hope of the BRANCH, the Rod of the Stem of Jesse, as made known by Isaiah, the Branch from whom the True Vine should flourish. The Branch-yes, and the Stone, the Stone of Israel, promised by Jacob, the chief corner-stone spoken of by Isaiah as the Stone, the chief corner-stone; and the true meaning of this Stone is marked by its being said to have seven eyes, even as the cherubim are full of eyes, to show the universal sight and vigilance of the Lord. But the type is here even more clear than the direct prophecy, for we see the High Priest, Joshua, the Lord our Salvation, clad in the filthy robes of the sin of all mankind, and with Satan contending with Him, until having put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, He stands before God in all His priestly glory, to mediate for His Church unto the end of time. "The Lord rebuke thee," are the words quoted by St. Jude as an example that even to Satan himself a railing accusation ought not to be used. He says the words were spoken by Michael the archangel, when disputing with Satan about the body of Moses; and some have therefore thought that the body of Moses means the Jewish people represented by Joshua, and that it is this scene which is referred to; but though this cannot of course be decided, there remains St. Jude's lesson to rebuke a hasty tongue even when justly indignant in a good cause. LESSON III. HINDRANCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT. B.C. 519.-EZRA I—5; ZECH. iv. 6--10; vi. 11-15. Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua* the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which was at Jerusalem : and with them were the prophets of God helping them. At the same time came to them Tatnai, governor on this side the river, and Shethar-boznai, and their companions, and said thus unto them, Who hath commanded you to build this house, and to make up this wall? Then said we unto them after this manner, What are the names of the men that make this building? But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, that they could not cause them to cease, till the matter came to Darius: and then they returned answer by letter concerning this matter. And the LORD said unto Zechariah, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. * The name, originally Jehoshea, is in a state of transition. The High Priest is called both Joshua and Jeshua. For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. And the LORD said unto Zechariah, Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, 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 the LORD: Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; 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. * And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God. COMMENT.—The encouragement of the prophets caused Zerubbabel and Jeshua to begin again with vigour upon the Temple; but they had scarcely done so before the two Persian satraps of Syria came down on them to inquire into their proceedings; but the Jews appealed to the decree of Cyrus, and as the laws of Persia were unalterable, the satraps consented to send to the court of the king, Darius Hystaspes, for search to be made for such a document. The historian says the eye of God was on the Jews, so that their enemies could not cause them to cease. In the Book of Zechariah, we find proof indeed of this care. Without describing the wonderful visions in which revelations were made to Zechariah, it will be enough to quote the promises. To Zerubbabel, the mountain of difficulty should become a level plain, and he who had long ago laid the foundation of the Lord's House, should finish the work, with the head stone of the corner, while all the people shouted “Grace! grace!" Not by power, not by might, as when his ancestor Solomon had built the first Temple, “but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts," should his patience prevail. And as to those who had despised the day of small things, and laughed to scorn the feeble Jews who had begun to raise up the Temple in poverty among the stones of the ruins, they should see Zerubbabel on the completed wall, measuring it with the plummet in his hand. 66 Precious words are these to all of us, both for the warning, "not to despise small things," for doth not the preacher say, He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little" (Ecclus. xix.), and was not that half of the widow's living more than all that the rich cast into the treasury? And precious too is the assurance that by God's Spirit our mountains shall become plains, when once we boldly strive to surmount them. But Zerubbabel's companion Joshua had his promise too, and it was full of prophecy. Zechariah was bidden to crown him with a royal crown and declare to him that "the Man whose name is the Branch," should be the true builder of the Temple of the Lord, and bear the glory, and be a Priest upon the Throne, bearing the Counsel of Peace !-Yea, all that were afar off should have a part in that Temple. Who can fail to see here the true JESUS, called a Nazarene (the very word for a green branch"), and Himself the true Branch that God made for His own self, crowned with many crowns, the Great High Priest on the Throne of God for ever and ever, and building up His Church, an Holy Temple unto the Lord, gathering in all that are afar off. Truly the prophecies became clearer as the time of the promise drew nearer. LESSON IV. THE DEDICATION. B.C. 515.--EZRA vi. and vii. (abridged). Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the rolls, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. And there was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written : In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shethar-boznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: |