In my absence from worship on July 31, I am posting a few blog entries to cover the Old Testament story/selection from the day. In this post, we will look at the story being told in Zechariah 3, placing it in the timeline, and pointing out relevant notes from it. In the next post, we will look to see pictures of Jesus present in this reading, and then, in the third post, we will talk a bit about what this says to us in our daily lives now.
To begin today, let's place Zechariah and his words in the timeline of the Old Testament. On the large scale, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land approximately 1,500 B.C. Kings Saul, David, nad Solomon led Israel approximately 1,000 B. C., following which the kingdom split in two, Israel to the north, and Judah to the south. Israel was defeated by the Assyrians approximately 740 B.C., leaving Judah behind. Judah was then defeated by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem destroyed, right around 586 B.C. Seventy years later, under the rule of the Persians, the Israelites began to be sent back to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, approxmiately 520 B.C., under the leadership of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest. In essence, God resurrected a nation that He had killed, in a great preview of the resurrection of Jesus.
It is in the time period of rebuilding Jerusalem when Zechariah comes to speak to God's people. We are told in Ezra's book (Ezra 5:1) that Zechariah along with his fellow prophet Haggai were on hand to exhort the people in the rebuilding of the temple. Through God's working, Darius (the same one who saw Daniel saved from the lion's den) began sending the Israelites back and clearing the way for them to rebuild. The people began the work well enough, but then began to focus on their own homes. God sent His prophets to remind them that He is foremost among them, and that, while they should pay attention to their own homes, His home was also of vital importance to their well-being, as He had cleared the way for them to return to their "homeland."
As part of his message, Zechariah then paints this picture recorded in Zechariah 3. Joshua is the high priest who returned along with Zerubbabel, and is likely the figure we see here. You notice, reading through the text, that Satan is accusing Joshua. Joshua is depicted wearing filthy garments, the garmens of sin. Then, the messenger of God declares that Joshua's filthy clothing should be removed and clean garments with pure vestments be placed upon him. In many respects, this is symbolic of God restoring the priesthood as the temple is being rebuilt, along with a reminder that it is God alone who cleanses His people, starting even from the one called to be His highest priest.
As you read through the end of chapter 3, you will notice that God, speaking through Zechariah, not only reminds His people that part of being His people includes them remaining faithful to Him, but He also starts to point ahead. Here we have a reminder of something that God had spoken through Isaiah a couple of centuries earlier, that the Branch would spring up from the root of Jesse, a descendant of David, who would sit on the throne and rule forever. In what Zechariah is saying here, God is reminding Joshua the priest that He is a sign of the One to come. The Branch, the coming one, will not only rule from the throne of David, but will also serve as priest, like Joshua and his fellow priests. The stone with the seven eyes is a rminder that this One will see all things, and that nothing is hidden from Him, whether the things of this earth or the matters of the heart and soul. In this One, the iniquity of God's people would be removed in a single day (in other words, it would not be a lenghty thing, but something that happened rather quickly), and in that day, God's people would respond with an invitation to come into the bounty of the Lord.
Speaking through Zechariah, God reminds His people of a few important things. First, God communicates that is is He who performs the cleansing of His servants, especially His priests. It isn't that they are cleaner than others, but that God makes them clean. God removes their sin-laden clothing and clothes them with His own righteousness (which we later see as Christ's righteousness). Second, God reminds His people that His priests are merely a sign pointing toward the great Priest, the One who would come and remove the iniquity of the world in a single day. That same Priest would see all things. As a consequence of that, God's people would recognize the great action done for them, and would then extend hospitality to others to share the fruits of what has been given to them, living generous lives, just as they have been generously given.
In the next post, we will talk a little about how we see Jesus in this chapter (I'm sure you have already seen quite a few connections to Him!).
To begin today, let's place Zechariah and his words in the timeline of the Old Testament. On the large scale, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land approximately 1,500 B.C. Kings Saul, David, nad Solomon led Israel approximately 1,000 B. C., following which the kingdom split in two, Israel to the north, and Judah to the south. Israel was defeated by the Assyrians approximately 740 B.C., leaving Judah behind. Judah was then defeated by the Babylonians, and Jerusalem destroyed, right around 586 B.C. Seventy years later, under the rule of the Persians, the Israelites began to be sent back to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, approxmiately 520 B.C., under the leadership of Nehemiah the governor and Ezra the priest. In essence, God resurrected a nation that He had killed, in a great preview of the resurrection of Jesus.
It is in the time period of rebuilding Jerusalem when Zechariah comes to speak to God's people. We are told in Ezra's book (Ezra 5:1) that Zechariah along with his fellow prophet Haggai were on hand to exhort the people in the rebuilding of the temple. Through God's working, Darius (the same one who saw Daniel saved from the lion's den) began sending the Israelites back and clearing the way for them to rebuild. The people began the work well enough, but then began to focus on their own homes. God sent His prophets to remind them that He is foremost among them, and that, while they should pay attention to their own homes, His home was also of vital importance to their well-being, as He had cleared the way for them to return to their "homeland."
As part of his message, Zechariah then paints this picture recorded in Zechariah 3. Joshua is the high priest who returned along with Zerubbabel, and is likely the figure we see here. You notice, reading through the text, that Satan is accusing Joshua. Joshua is depicted wearing filthy garments, the garmens of sin. Then, the messenger of God declares that Joshua's filthy clothing should be removed and clean garments with pure vestments be placed upon him. In many respects, this is symbolic of God restoring the priesthood as the temple is being rebuilt, along with a reminder that it is God alone who cleanses His people, starting even from the one called to be His highest priest.
As you read through the end of chapter 3, you will notice that God, speaking through Zechariah, not only reminds His people that part of being His people includes them remaining faithful to Him, but He also starts to point ahead. Here we have a reminder of something that God had spoken through Isaiah a couple of centuries earlier, that the Branch would spring up from the root of Jesse, a descendant of David, who would sit on the throne and rule forever. In what Zechariah is saying here, God is reminding Joshua the priest that He is a sign of the One to come. The Branch, the coming one, will not only rule from the throne of David, but will also serve as priest, like Joshua and his fellow priests. The stone with the seven eyes is a rminder that this One will see all things, and that nothing is hidden from Him, whether the things of this earth or the matters of the heart and soul. In this One, the iniquity of God's people would be removed in a single day (in other words, it would not be a lenghty thing, but something that happened rather quickly), and in that day, God's people would respond with an invitation to come into the bounty of the Lord.
Speaking through Zechariah, God reminds His people of a few important things. First, God communicates that is is He who performs the cleansing of His servants, especially His priests. It isn't that they are cleaner than others, but that God makes them clean. God removes their sin-laden clothing and clothes them with His own righteousness (which we later see as Christ's righteousness). Second, God reminds His people that His priests are merely a sign pointing toward the great Priest, the One who would come and remove the iniquity of the world in a single day. That same Priest would see all things. As a consequence of that, God's people would recognize the great action done for them, and would then extend hospitality to others to share the fruits of what has been given to them, living generous lives, just as they have been generously given.
In the next post, we will talk a little about how we see Jesus in this chapter (I'm sure you have already seen quite a few connections to Him!).
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