Following the day when God’s judgments go forth to all the earth,
Christ shall be manifested in His kingdom glory as the Priest-King on His own throne.
Zechariah 1
1 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.
2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses;
3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses.
4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?
5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.
7 And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.
8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.
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 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:
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 obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Zechariah 1 – J. Vernon McGee
Zechariah 6:1-15 – The Vision of the Chariots
This is a vision of protection and deliverance. Four chariots issue from the mountains around Jerusalem. The colors of the horses represent the commission that the drivers were to execute against the nations. Black denoted defeat and despair; the bay acted as a patrol of defence. Note the closing incident, which foreshadowed the union of the offices of priesthood and kingship in the person of our Lord. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Zechariah 6:12—Behold the Man whose name is The BRANCH.
Three men came from Babylon, where many Jews remained, even after the return under Ezra and Nehemiah; they brought presents to the new-found temple. Their names were Robust; the Goodness of God; God-knows. Of the gold and silver a double crown was made, and placed on Joshua’s head: one circle, as emblem of the priest; the other, of the king—the two signifying the final gathering of Israel’s outcasts to the Messiah, who would then be recognized as their true King and Priest. In the Jewish commonwealth it was without precedent for the same man to be both king and priest; but as the time drew nearer the advent of the Lord, revelation concerning his marvelous Person grew in clearness, and the majestic combination of glory in his character became apparent. In his Church Christ is Priest and King, after the order of Melchisedec, and between the two offices is no dispute.
As Branch, He is a scion of David’s ancient stock; and through his far-reaching boughs the sap of the eternal purpose breaks into flower and fruit. He sprouted out from his place, Bethlehem, as predicted, and as befitted one of David’s line.
As Builder, He began to build the Temple of the Lord, laying its foundations in the blood of his cross. He quarries the stones from the hearts of his people, and superintends the plan of the growing structure, as its Architect. Through the ages tier after tier is being added, though the builders pass and He will place the top-stone at his second advent. The Temple grows towards completion. Let us ask whether we have been built into its fabric, or left as those huge boulders at Baalbec, shaped for the Temple but never carried beyond the quarry. —Our Daily Homily
Zechariah 6:12 – What a fine emblem of death is that floating of the trees of Lebanon after being sawn into planks and made ready to be fixed as pillars of the temple! Is it not just so with us? Here we grow, and are at length cut down, and made ready to become pillars of the temple. Across the stream of death we are ferried by a loving hand, and brought to the port of Jerusalem, where we are safely landed, to go no more out forever, but to abide as eternal pillars in the temple of our Lord. The Tyrians floated these rafts; but no stranger, no foreigner shall float us across the stream of death; no king of Tyre and Sidon shall do it; Jesus Christ, who is the “death of death and hell’s destruction,” Himself shall pilot us across the stream, and land us safe on Canaan’s side. (Spurgeon)