The series of eight visions is finished and now God speaks directly to Zechariah by some other manner.
Today's passage is rich with Messianic prophecy. Zechariah tells us, "The word of the Lord came to me: 'Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon.'" (Zechariah 6:9-10a) These three men arrive with an offering of silver and gold sent by the Jews still living in Babylon.
The Lord gives clear instructions about what Zechariah is to do after taking possession of the offering, "Go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah." (Zechariah 6:10b) Josiah is likely a metalworker. He will be commissioned to make something special with the gold and silver.
"Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak.." (Zechariah 6:11) Zerubabbel, the governor and prince of the line of David, would have held title to the kingship of the nation had Persia allowed the people to re-establish the monarchy. He is not mentioned here and we don't know his reaction to seeing a gold and silver crown placed upon the head of the high priest, but it's important to keep in mind that God is not making Joshua the king of Judah. Joshua can't be made the king of Judah since he springs from the line of Levi. He has the right to minister before God as a priest, but not as a king. Judah is the royal line of the nation of Israel, and only a man descended from David has the right to the throne. As if we needed more proof that Joshua is not now the king of Judah, we will learn in verse 14 that his wearing of the crown is momentary and symbolic. So we have to ask ourselves: what did God mean by placing a king's crown on the head of the high priest? And why did He want the crown kept as a memorial of what He did on this day?
Zechariah's main message is always that the King is coming. The word he receives from the Lord in today's passage has Messianic implications. The placing of the crown upon Joshua's head foretells of One who will hold both the office of king and priest at the same time. This is what the Lord orders Zechariah to say while ceremonially placing the crown on the head of the high priest, "Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.'" (Zechariah 6:12-13) The Lord is using the crown and the high priest Joshua as symbols of things to come. Joshua is not building the temple; Zerubbabel is the man building the literal temple of Zechariah's day. The Lord said earlier in the book, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple: his hands will also complete it." (Zechariah 4:9) We know by this that the temple God speaks of today is another temple, the one the Messiah will establish when He reigns as both king and high priest.
Joshua is acting as a stand-in for the One who is to come. This is why the Lord instructs Zechariah to say, "Here is the man whose name is the Branch." Joshua cannot possibly be the man whose name is the Branch; the Branch is clearly to come from David's line. (Jeremiah 23:5, Jeremiah 33:15) Joshua represents the King who holds the mighty scepter in one of David's Messianic psalms, "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'" (Psalm 110:4) King David foresees the Messiah as a king and a priest at the same time, just as Melchizedek was. In Genesis 14 we meet this mysterious figure known as Melchizedek, king of Salem, who was also a priest of God. He was not of the nation of Israel, which did not yet exist in the days of Abraham, and therefore he was not of the priestly line of Levi. But God, who is sovereign over all and chooses whom He will, made this man Melchizedek a priest. God, who is sovereign over all, has the authority to make the Messiah both a king and a priest, as Zechariah says in verse 13, "There will be harmony between the two." There is no contradiction found in the making of one person both a king and a priest; a precedent was set for just such a dual office in Genesis.
The Apostle Paul, who is believed to be the author of the book of Hebrews, says of Jesus of Nazareth, of the line of David, who has the right to hold the office of priest though He is not of the line of Levi and more specifically is not of the line of Aaron, "Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins...And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way Christ did not take on Himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to Him, 'You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.' And He says in another place, 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'" (Hebrews 5:1,4-6) Paul takes these two quotes from Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:4. God chooses the high priest. He has the right to select the man He wants to stand before Him as a mediator between Himself and the people. He appointed Melchizedek even though he was of another nationality and not of any tribe of Israel. In the same way God has the authority to appoint a high priest from the nation of Israel but of another tribe than that of Levi.
The high priest entered into the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement to make an offering for sins using the blood of animals. This rolled back the sins of the people for another year. But Christ took His own blood and entered the Most Holy Place of heaven to make an offering for our sins so perfect and holy that it could roll them back forever. Paul sets forth Jesus as the mediator of the new covenant, for upon His death and resurrection the old covenant of the law was fulfilled and satisfied in Him, and now we live under the new covenant of grace...of salvation by faith and not by works. The Apostle Paul points out that when Christ entered the Most Holy Place, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." (Hebrews 9:12)
So we see that the crowning of the high priest Joshua is symbolic of One who will hold the offices of king and priest (whose name Jesus, the Hebrew Yeshua, is a variation of Joshua and means "rescuer" or "deliverer"), and that the temple Zechariah speaks of is not the temple presently under reconstruction in his day, but a temple that is to come. After completing the ceremony of the crowning of Joshua, the Lord says, "The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God." (Zechariah 6:14-15) "They that are far off" refers to the Gentiles, to those who are not the covenant people of the Lord. This was not fulfilled in Zechariah's time. The Gentiles weren't a great deal of help with the rebuilding of the temple; in fact, most of the Gentiles surrounding Jerusalem hindered the project. But a day is coming in which those who once were far off from Israel but who have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13) will be joined with Israel in the worship of the One who is both king and high priest. Christ will be the political leader of the world and He will be the spiritual leader of the world. And the temple He builds will not be an earthly one made by hands. There will be no need for a temple then; the temple will be Christ Himself, as the Apostle John saw in his vision of the reign of Christ, "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." (Revelation 21:22)
Everything that takes place in our passage today is symbolic of something else, of something yet to come, of something better. A King is coming to rule the world in peace and righteousness. A high priest is coming who can absolve us of our sins. No literal temple will be needed in that day when we will be able to worship our Lord and King and Priest face to face.
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