The Branch, The Stone

Read Zechariah 3
 
Zechariah 3:6-10 The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: 7 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here. Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day. 10 In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,” declares the Lord Almighty.
 
GOD’s vision of redemption continues. Joshua and the others are men symbolic of things to come. Here is a lesson for our lives. Do we show to the next generation the things to come? What will come? Salvation, removal of mankind’s dirty clothes, will come to the entire world.
   Note how the LORD’s words are consistent from the beginning of the Bible to this point. As God told the Jews during the exodus, he tells them again, “If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then…” In one way or another, the LORD has always finished his gracious stipulation with an assurance. “Obey, and you will be my people.” “Obey, and you will live in plenty in the Promised Land.” “Obey, and I will bless you and watch over you.” Here he specifically tells Joshua: 1) You will govern my house. 2) You will have charge of my courts. 3) You will have a place among these standing here. God has chosen Joshua and the priests are to be his diligent disciples. They must show to the Jews and the nations that God’s blessings flow unto his own.
   Then what? Jesus will come to transform the earth. What powerful images: Jesus is God’s servant, the Branch, who will bear gospel fruit and cover his people in God’s salvation. Jesus is the stone I have set in front of Joshua! Indeed he is the stone the builders rejected; he is the capstone who holds the universe in sure order; he is the Foundation of his church.
   Jesus is also the seven eyes on that one stone. He sees throughout the earth to know salvation belongs to all who believe in him. Through his crucifixion, Jesus has removed the sin of this land in a single day. Jesus is your brother. In him you become one with God and with other believers. You will invite your neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree. The peace of God will come in Christ.
   Do you wonder about your past sins? Then wonder no longer. In Christ they are gone. Be a symbol for others, so they may know of the things to come in God’s eternal promises.