Zechariah · chapter 6 of 14
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Zechariah 6 closes the eight night visions with four chariots that come out between two bronze mountains and range over the earth, while the Spirit of the Lord is set at rest in the north. Then the prophet receives a symbolic command: to make a crown of silver and gold and set it on the head of Joshua the high priest to announce the Branch, who will build the temple and reign as a priest on his throne.
This chapter closes the series of visions of the night of the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month of 520 BC. The eighth vision echoes the first: messengers ranging over the earth. Then, with a symbolic act, the chapter joins the two lines of promise in the book: the priesthood of Joshua and the reign of the Branch.
Zechariah lifts his eyes and sees four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and the mountains are bronze. The first chariot has red horses, the second black, the third white and the fourth dappled horses. The angel explains that they are the four spirits of heaven going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The black ones go to the north country, the white ones follow them, and the dappled ones go to the south country. The strong horses are eager to range over the earth, and the Lord tells them to go. Those going north have set the Spirit of the Lord at rest in that land.
Then a word of the Lord comes to the prophet: take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Make crowns and set them on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
He is to tell him that the man whose name is the Branch will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. He will build the temple, bear royal honor, sit and rule on his throne, and be a priest on his throne; there will be peaceful counsel between the two offices. The crowns will be a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen son of Zephaniah. Those who are far off will come and help build the temple, and so you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me; this will happen if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The angel explains that the chariots are the four spirits of heaven going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. The image teaches that the events of history are under God's government.
The chariots going north have set the Spirit of the Lord at rest in that land. Babylon lay to the north, the source of danger, and the line indicates that God's judgment on it has quieted his anger.
The prophet is to announce that the man whose name is the Branch will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. Here the promise goes beyond Joshua: the Branch is the awaited descendant of David, whom Christians identify with Jesus.
The Branch will bear royal honor, sit and rule on his throne and be a priest on his throne. Joining kingship and priesthood was unthinkable in Israel, where they were separate offices; the promise points to someone who will fulfill both.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Bronze mountains. — Zechariah 6:1
Answer: The four spirits of heaven going out after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth. — Zechariah 6:5
Answer: From the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who had come from Babylon. — Zechariah 6:10
Answer: On Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. — Zechariah 6:11
Answer: He will build the temple of the Lord and rule on his throne. — Zechariah 6:12-13
Answer: Those who are far off. — Zechariah 6:15
Zechariah 6 encourages us to look at history with the certainty that God governs it. The chariots go out at his command and return with the rest of his Spirit. In a class or small group you can ask how reading the news changes when we remember that no human power escapes his command.
The promise of the Branch, who will build the temple and be king and priest, also invites us to think of Christ, who reigns and at the same time intercedes for his own. And the ending reminds us that blessing is joined to obeying the voice of the Lord.
Zechariah 6 closes the night visions with the chariots ranging over the earth and the crown that points to the Branch. Chapter 7 changes form: almost two years pass, and a practical question arrives about whether to keep fasting, to which the Lord answers with a call to justice and mercy.
The act is symbolic: Joshua represents and anticipates the one who will unite priesthood and kingship. The text does not say Joshua is king. Christians see in the act an announcement of Jesus, king and high priest (Hebrews 4:14; 7:1-3).
The text does not explain the colors. Some link them to the directions they head or to different roles, such as war or peace. What the text says clearly is that they go to range over the earth by the Lord's command.
It probably means that God's judgment on the north, where Babylon came from, has calmed his anger against that land. It is a way of saying that justice has been done.