Zechariah 6:9-15

Zechariah 6:9-15

[9] And the word  of the LORD  came unto me, saying,  [10] Take  of them of the captivity,  even of Heldai,  of Tobijah,  and of Jedaiah,  which are come  from Babylon,  and come  thou the same day,  and go  into the house  of Josiah  the son  of Zephaniah;  [11] Then take  silver  and gold,  and make  crowns,  and set  them upon the head  of Joshua  the son  of Josedech,  the high  priest;  [12] And speak  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:  [13] Even he shall build  the temple  of the LORD;  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.  [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 the LORD.  [15] 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  the voice  of the LORD  your God. 

What does Zechariah 6:9-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The visions ended and Zechariah awoke from his dream-like state. What follows is a symbolic act that took place in Jerusalem at the Lord"s command.
"The position of this actual ceremony after the eight visions is significant. The fourth and fifth visions, at the center of the series, were concerned with the high priest [1] and the civil governor in the Davidic line [2]. Zechariah here linked the message of those two visions to the messianic King-Priest.... Thus restored Israel is seen in the future under the glorious reign of the messianic King-Priest." [3]
"Immediately following the overthrow of Gentile world power by the earth judgments symbolized by the horsed chariots ( Zechariah 6:1-8) occurs the manifestation of Christ in His kingdom glory ( Zechariah 6:9-15) typified by the crowning of Joshua the high priest. This is the usual prophetic order: first, the judgments of the day of the Lord; then full kingdom blessing ( Psalm 2:5, cf. Psalm 2:6; Isaiah 3:24-26; cf. Isaiah 4:2-6; Isaiah 10:33-34; cf. Isaiah 11:1-10; Revelation 19:19-21; cf. Revelation 20:4-6).
"The eight night visions have ended, but the coronation of Joshua is closely connected with these revelations which extend in scope from Zechariah"s day to the full establishment of Israel in blessing. The crowning of King-Priest Messiah is thus set forth symbolically by the coronation of Joshua , which is not a vision, but an actual historical Acts , which evidently took place the day following the night of visions." [4]
". . . this oracle serves as a comment on and climax to the night visions as a whole." [5]
Some commentators connect this oracle with the preceding vision as the other oracles in chapters1 , 2 , and4connect with the visions in their contexts. [5] Nevertheless even these writers acknowledge that this oracle was not originally part of the vision in Zechariah 6:1-8 but supplements the earlier mention of the Branch in Zechariah 3:8.
"Unlike vision one, number eight does not have its own oracle of response, though ... the oracle that follows it ( Zechariah 6:9-15) may serve it as such as well as bringing the whole series to an end." [7]
The lesson that this symbolic act illustrated was that Messiah would appear as a king-priest and rebuild God"s temple in the days of Israel"s future restoration (i.e, the Millennium).
"This is one of the most remarkable and precious Messianic prophecies, and there is no plainer prophetic utterance in the whole Old Testament as to the Person of the promised Redeemer, the offices He was to fill, and the mission He was to accomplish." [8]