Bible Commentaries
Zechariah 6

Verses 1-8

v. 1. And I turned and lifted up mine eyes, or, "And again I lifted up my eyes,". and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains, the location of the vision being somewhere in the mountainous country near Jerusalem, very likely between Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives; and the mountains were mountains of brass, firm and immovable.

v. 2. In the first chariot, harnessed to it, were red horses, signifying war and bloodshed; and in the second chariot black horses, the color of misfortune, of mourning, and of death;

v. 3. and in the third chariot white horses, implying joy and victory; and in the fourth chariot grizzled and bay horses Cf Revelation 6:8.

v. 4. Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, the one who had acted as interpreter in all the visions, What are these, my lord?

v. 5. And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, the four winds as the instruments of the Lord's will, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. Cf Psalms 104:4; Psalms 148:8. The agency of the winds in the work of destructive judgment is mentioned also elsewhere in the Bible Cf Revelation 7:1.

v. 6. The black horses which are therein, that is, the chariot drawn by these horses, go forth into the North country, where the great world-powers, Assyria and Babylon, were situated; and the white go forth after them, victory following death and destruction; and the grizzled go forth toward the South country, where Idumea and Egypt were situated.

v. 7. And the bay went forth and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth, visiting all the countries of the world with a terrible, universal judgment, with war and bloodshed, with death and destruction; and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth, carrying out the Lord's command upon the various nations.

v. 8. Then cried he, the angel, upon me and spake unto me, in great excitement, saying, in the name of the Lord, Behold, these that go toward the North country have quieted My Spirit in the North country, have caused the Spirit of Jehovah to rest there, to be satisfied with the extent of the punishment inflicted upon the world-powers. It is clear that the angel is speaking of a last great Judgment, by which all the enemies of the Lord would be overthrown, in order that His Church may be safely established.

Verses 9-15

The Crowning of the High Priest

v. 10. Take of them of the captivity, exiled Jews living in Babylon, who had come up to Jerusalem at that time, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, as a committee of the Jews residing at Babylon, and come thou the same day and go into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, who was showing these emissaries the hospitality of his house;

v. 11. then take silver and gold, evidently of the precious metals sent by the Jews of Babylon, and make crowns, a double crown or one of several bands, and set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest, as a type of the combined priesthood and kingdom which shall be conferred upon the Messiah;

v. 12. and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name Is The BRANCH, t he Zemach spoken of in 3:8; and He shall grow up out of His place, Jeremiah 33:15, as a root out of a dry ground, Isaiah 53:2, and He shall build the Temple of the Lord, the real Sanctuary of Jehovah, the Church of the New Testament;

v. 13. even He shall build the Temple of the Lord, accomplishing His great work in spite of the lowliness of His origin; and He shall bear the glory, being adorned with kingly glory and honor, and shall sit and rule upon His throne, as the true King of His Church; and He shall be a Priest upon His throne, uniting in His person the offices of king and of priest; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both, the two offices being united in one person. Up. Psalms 110.

v. 14. And the crowns shall be to Helem, or Heldai, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen, the son of Zephaniah, to the hospitable, kindness of the son of Zephaniab, for a memorial in the Temple of the Lord, so that future generations would be reminded of the example of these two men. Moreover, the example of the messengers from Babylon was not to be forgotten.

v. 15. And they that are far off, like the men who had in this case brought their offerings, shall come and build in the Temple of the Lord, representatives of various heathen nations joining in the upbuilding of the Lord's great spiritual Temple, His holy Church, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you, as the Messiah Himself says, John 3:16. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the Lord, your God, this being added by way of admonition lest any one deliberately lose the blessings which are offered in and by the coming of the Messiah. Thus the establishment and growth of the Church of the New Testament is definitely sketched, also for the strengthening of our faith.