Join us as we delve into Zechariah Chapter 6, exploring the fascinating visions of chariots, the symbolic significance of the branch, and the profound prophecies shaping Jerusalem’s destiny. With reflections from Allen J. Huth’s personal Bible reading journals, gain greater understanding of biblical prophecies, their meaning in the immediate and long-term, and how they intertwine with the coming of a messianic figure.
00:00:09 Introduction to ADDBIBLE and Ezra Project
Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in Zechariah chapter 6. We’ll listen to Zechariah chapter 6 from our guest reader Brian Taylor, Vice President General Manager of Salem Communications. He will read the 15 verses of Zechariah 6.
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The Book of Zechariah, Chapter 6 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses, all of them strong. Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said to me, These are going out to the four winds of heaven after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country. When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, Go, patrol the earth. So they patrolled the earth, and then he cried to me, Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country. And the word of the Lord came to me, Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jediah, those who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. take from them silver and gold and make a crown and set it on the head of joshua the son of jehozak the high priest and say to him thus saith the lord of hosts behold the man whose name is the branch for he shall branch out from his place and she shall build a temple of the lord it is he who shall build the temple of the lord and shall bear royal honor and shall sit and rule on his throne and there shall be the priest on his throne and the council of peace shall be between both of them And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Helam, Tobijah, Jedidiah, and Hen, the son of Zephaniah. And those who are far off shall come and help build the temple of the Lord. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you, and you shall come to pass if you will diligently obey the Lord your God.
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In 1991, in my personal Bible reading journal, I noted that I had read the first nine chapters of the book of Zechariah on the same day, and I noted various verses out of various chapters. So, on chapter 6, I noted verse 12. In 2001, I read Zechariah 4 through 6, along with Revelation 18. So I’m going to share that whole thing, though I shared it once before. I’m going to share it again today. I wrote, An Angel Talked to Zechariah. Though I don’t know much about angels, they show up in Scripture. I hope they show up in my life too from time to time. And then I kept going because of Revelation 18, and I wrote, From angels in the Old Testament all the way to angels in Revelation. This angel came down from heaven with great authority and illuminated the earth with his glory. An angel. We have seen angels in virtually every chapter of Zechariah so far. And we’ve had some discussion about angels. But here is another depiction of a very powerful angel with great authority. And the angel illuminated the earth with his glory. And I wrote an angel. So these angels are powerful beings, agents of God Almighty. Ten years later, in 2011, I wrote about this chapter. Is Joshua the high priest of the lineage of David, so that the branch is Jesus? And then I wrote, Zacharias saw many visions interpreted by angels. How cool would that be? And like 10 years before, I was reading Revelation at the same time, so I made another note about angels in this journal entry concerning the book of Revelation. I wrote, angels must have various positions of authority. This one has, quote, great authority, and that’s according to Revelation 18. Chapter 6 opens with the vision of chariots coming out between mountains, and those chariots are going to go to and fro across the earth. They patrol the earth. Verse 8 summarizes the vision, Then he cried to me, Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my spirit at rest in the north country. My ESV footnote on this verse reminds us that Judah’s main enemies always came from the north. Babylon, Assyria, Persia, since to the west is the Mediterranean Sea and to the east is the desert. The footnote goes on to say, Victory is easily accomplished and God’s spirit is set at rest in the north country, the former home of his enemies. This implies the full and final defeat of those opposed to God. That prophecy may be futuristic, but it also probably relates to Babylon, the nation that defeated and destroyed Jerusalem, and the place where those in Jerusalem were taken to captivity. They will be an enemy no more, as the walls of Jerusalem and the temple are to be rebuilt. Some of the exiles that have returned from Babylon have brought back with them silver and gold. And verse 11 says, Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And verse 12 says, And say to him, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold the man whose name is the branch, for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. I refer again to my footnotes in my ESV Study Bible, my footnote concerning verse 12. Joshua is to be crowned as a symbol of the reality to come, the branch, a reference to Jeremiah 33, 15. Zechariah reiterates Jeremiah’s promise of a coming king who will flourish and branch out and build the temple of the Lord and will bear royal honor, reflecting the authority and legitimacy of the king’s rule. The coming king will sit on his throne with a priest also seated on a throne. As in Jeremiah 33, the continuance of the Davidic monarchy and the Levitical priesthood are intertwined. The king is necessary to rebuild the temple while the Levitical priests stand before the Lord in that renewed temple offering sacrifices. Between them both, the future king and the future priest, there will be a council of peace And flowing from that peace and harmony between these two officers will be peace and blessing for the nation. Often prophecy has a double meaning. The first meaning here is that Joshua, the high priest, will build the temple. That’s the theme of Zechariah, remember? But let’s go back to Jeremiah to see some more information about the branch. In Jeremiah chapter 33… Verse 14, it says, In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called. The Lord is our righteousness. So the branch will execute justice and righteousness, and that is an attribute of the Messiah. That’s the double meaning of this prophecy in chapter 6 of Zechariah. In the immediacy, the temple will be rebuilt. In the long run, the branch will sit in that temple and execute justice and righteousness. But let’s not forget the closing part of this chapter. It says, you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God. The initial prophecy did come to pass. The walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt and the temple was rebuilt. The secondary prophecy, the long-term prophecy of the branch, is yet to come. Our application from this chapter may be that very last verse. We want to see the Lord Jesus come again. It has to do with whether or not we will obey the voice of the Lord our God. And He shall come. The fulfillment of the prophecy does not depend on us, but we may see it sooner or later based on our obedience to the Lord. So, Father, we come to you. We thank you for the prophecies of the book of Zechariah. We thank you for the branch that will come and rule with justice and righteousness. And we pray that you might find us faithful. You might find us obeying the voice of the Lord in our own lives. Come, Lord Jesus, come. We ask it in your precious name. Amen. Thanks for listening to ADDBIBLE today. To support ADDBIBLE, visit EzraProject.net, the donate button. For a one-time gift of $39 or more, we will send you a free copy of one of our Day by Day Through the Bible books. And for a gift of $100 a month, we will send you the entire 11-volume series covering all 66 books of the Bible, chapter by chapter. You will get a book a month for the first 11 months of your $100 a month contribution. So support the Ezra Project today by going online and hitting the donate button at EzraProject.net. We started on radio on October 1st, 2024. I hope you noticed some differences in ADDBIBLE from other programs. For example, we are fully committed to the Word of God. That’s why we play full chapters on the air, not sound bites. It takes a lot of our program time, but it’s my belief it’s more important for you to hear the Word of God than me. You may also have figured out by now I’m not a pastor, just a layman like most of you. So these recordings are not based on sermons. They’re based on my personal walk through the Bible over several decades of my life. Therefore, ADDBIBLE is a unique perspective of how the Bible impacts life, not a teaching series you get at your church. I share personal Bible reading journal entries from my life, from my journals, I’ve never thought would ever be shared with anybody. What I share are raw, authentic notes from Bible intersections of my own life. My life is no different from yours, so I hope the stories and applications I share are relevant to your life as well. I hope you are enjoying this unique radio program and therefore will help us stay on the air. We have so much more to share. Visit EzraProject.net and donate today. Or send a check to the Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. That’s Ezra Project 1399 South Havana Street, Suite 201E, Aurora, Colorado, 80012. When you do, I will send you your first copy of a day-by-day through the Bible book. 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