1 And he shewed me Ioshua the high Priest, standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
2 And the Lord said vnto Satan; The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, euen the Lord that hath chosen Ierusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand pluckt out of the fire?
3 Now Ioshua was clothed with filthie garments, and stood before the Angel.
4 And he answered, and spake vnto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthie garments from him. And vnto him he said, Behold, I haue caused thine iniquity to passe from thee, and I wil clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 And I said, Let them set a faire mitre vpon his head. So they set a faire mitre vpon his head, and clothed him with garments, and the Angel of the Lord stood by.
6 And the Angel of the Lord protested vnto Ioshua, saying;
7 Thus sayth the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walke in my wayes, and if thou wilt keepe my charge, then thou shalt also iudge my House, and shalt also keepe my Courts, and I will giue thee places to walke among these that stand by.
8 Heare now, O Ioshua the high Priest, thou and thy fellowes that sit before thee: for they are men wondred at: for behold, I will bring foorth my seruant the Branch.
9 For behold the stone that I haue layd before Ioshua: vpon one stone shall be seuen eyes, behold, I will engraue the grauing thereof, saith the Lord of hostes, and I will remoue the iniquitie of that land in one day.
10 In that day, saith the Lord of hostes, shal ye call euery man his neighbour vnder the vine and vnder the figge tree.
The restoration of the church. (1-5) A promise concerning the Messiah. (6-10)1-5 The angel showed Joshua, the high priest, to Zechariah, in a vision. Guilt and corruption are great discouragements when we stand before God. By the guilt of the sins committed by us, we are liable to the justice of God; by the power of sin that dwells in us, we are hateful to the holiness of God. Even God's Israel are in danger on these accounts; but they have relief from Jesus Christ, who is made of God to us both righteousness and sanctification. Joshua, the high priest, is accused as a criminal, but is justified. When we stand before God, to minister to him, or stand up for God, we must expect to meet all the resistance Satan's subtlety and malice can give. Satan is checked by one that has conquered him, and many times silenced him. Those who belong to Christ, will find him ready to appear for them, when Satan appears most strongly against them. A converted soul is a brand plucked out of the fire by a miracle of free grace, therefore shall not be left a prey to Satan. Joshua appears as one polluted, but is purified; he represents the Israel of God, who are all as an unclean thing, till they are washed and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Israel now were free from idolatry, but there were many things amiss in them. There were spiritual enemies warring against them, more dangerous than any neighbouring nations. Christ loathed the filthiness of Joshua's garments, yet did not put him away. Thus God by his grace does with those whom he chooses to be priests to himself. The guilt of sin is taken away by pardoning mercy, and the power of it is broken by renewing grace. Thus Christ washes those from their sins in his own blood, whom he makes kings and priests to our God. Those whom Christ makes spiritual priests, are clothed with the spotless robe of his righteousness, and appear before God in that; and with the graces of his Spirit, which are ornaments to them. The righteousness of saints, both imputed and implanted, is the fine linen, clean and white, with which the bride, the Lamb's wife, is arrayed, #Re 19:8|. Joshua is restored to former honours and trusts. The crown of the priesthood is put on him. When the Lord designs to restore and revive religion, he stirs up prophets and people to pray for it.
6-10 All whom God calls to any office he finds fit, or makes so. The Lord will cause the sins of the believer to pass away by his sanctifying grace, and will enable him to walk in newness of life. As the promises made to David often pass into promises of the Messiah, so the promises to Joshua look forward to Christ, of whose priesthood Joshua's was a shadow. Whatever trials we pass through, whatever services we perform, our whole dependence must rest on Christ, the Branch of righteousness. He is God's servant, employed in his work, obedient to his will, devoted to his honour and glory. He is the Branch from which all our fruit must be gathered. The eye of his Father was upon him, especially in his sufferings, and when he was buried in the grave, as the foundation-stones are under ground, out of men's sight. But the prophecy rather denotes the attention paid to this precious Corner-stone. All believers, from the beginning, had looked forward to it in the types and predictions. All believers, after Christ's coming, would look to it with faith, hope, and love. Christ shall appear for all his chosen, as the high priest when before the Lord, with the names of all Israel graven in the precious stones of his breastplate. When God gave a remnant to Christ, to be brought through grace to glory, then he engraved this precious stone. By him sin shall be taken away, both the guilt and the dominion of it; he did it in one day, that day in which he suffered and died. What should terrify when sin is taken away? Then nothing can hurt, and we sit down under Christ's shadow with delight, and are sheltered by it. And gospel grace, coming with power, makes men forward to draw others to it.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.