This chapter, Zechariah 6, written after the return of the Jews from Babylon, and when they were seeking to rebuild the temple, was intended to encourage them in that work. It speaks therefore of Joshua, Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah (those which had come from Babylon) by name. But “no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation,” and although some event previously to take place may occupy the chief part of it, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is looked forward to as the ultimate point, the true consummation. So here, after an allusion to the history of God’s providence in the four great monarchies, and to the judgment of Babylon, the prophet comforts the hearts of those who were returned thence with a direct prophecy of Christ.
Christ is the great object of the love of God, and the Spirit of God in Scripture always looks on to Him. No matter what the substance of the prophecy, no matter what the circumstances of those addressed, He looks forward, seeing all things as they concern Christ, and His future glory. The Jews, for instance, had many deliverers raised up for them of God in times of need— “saviors, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies” (Neh. 9:2727Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. (Nehemiah 9:27)); but the moment the Holy Spirit begins to speak of these many “saviors,” He looks onward; they were but types of the “Savior.” When Adam fell, and judgment came in, Christ is promised-the woman’s seed, as the bruiser of the head of the serpent. After the trial of Abraham’s faith in Isaac, the promise is made unto his seed, “which seed is Christ.” (Gal. 3:1616Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)) Again, “Out of Egypt have I called my son,” we are taught, referred to Christ. (Hos. 11:11When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (Hosea 11:1)) And so here: “He shall build the temple of the Lord: even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne.” It is the “man whose name is The BRANCH” who shall do all this. Zerubbabel is merely a type. (Zech. 6:1212And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: (Zechariah 6:12)) Nothing is spoken casually, but all with a view to the ultimate purpose of the glory of God in Christ. Whether it affect the destinies of man, of Israel, or of the church, all center in Jesus. God’s thoughts about Jesus are marked on all.
It must have been a great comfort to the saints of old to have future glories thus opened to them; for whenever the Holy Spirit had awakened spiritual desires in any heart, those desires could not be satisfied with anything then seen of temporal deliverance or blessing. (John 8:5656Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. (John 8:56)) Much had they to thank the Lord for—to sing His praise for what He had done; but there was always either the actual presence of evil, or the fear of danger and evil still. In the days of Josiah, when there was so great a returning to the ways of the Lord, and such a passover kept that the like of it had not been since the days of Samuel the prophet, yet even then was Jeremiah uttering denunciations against the evil of the people, and the Spirit of God, in denouncing their sin, ever referred to the new covenant, holding out the Lord Jesus as the one in whom alone the fullness of blessing was to center.
And so with the church now. We have indeed greater blessings and clearer revelations, but still there is evil; for we are yet in the body. In times of the greatest revival, there has ever been that mixed with them which tended to evil. We have surely much cause to thank God and rejoice; yet we must still be looking onward to the future blessings in Christ. Never, till He appears, will the full desires of our hearts be given us; never, until we “awake in His likeness,” shall we really be “satisfied” (Psa. 17:1515As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. (Psalm 17:15)). Nothing less will suffice, because the Spirit of Christ is in us. Constant dissatisfaction and constant thanksgiving meanwhile; for if we know Jesus risen, nothing short of the full power of His resurrection can content. (Phil. 3:10-1610That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 16Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. (Philippians 3:10‑16)) Our hopes run on to God’s ultimate purpose of complete blessing.
And here we have union of hope with the Jews. They indeed are looking for earthly glory—their city and temple being rebuilt, and so forth—that part of the future blessing (Zech. 14:8-118And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. 10All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses. 11And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. (Zechariah 14:8‑11); Ezek. 4:11Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: (Ezekiel 4:1)) which Psalm 72 speaks of; and we also look forward to see the earth “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,” whilst our own immediate portion in the heavenly glory is our peculiar hope. Both earthly and heavenly glories meet in Jesus, and will be manifested when He comes. He is the Head of both. “The counsel of peace “is between Jehovah and Jesus.
But where is Jesus now? As “the man whose name is The BRANCH,” the “priest upon His throne,” an earthly throne He does not yet rule. Peace is not yet established upon the earth; for Satan is yet exercising his power. But there is a throne upon which He does sit. He has sat down upon the “Father’s throne,” “at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” and that “when He had by Himself purged our sins;” there He is as the High Priest of His people. And thus is given to us a plain revelation of “the counsel of peace.” Peace is our portion even now. We are set in the exercise of faith, by which we know and have this peace in our souls whilst waiting for its establishment on the earth and the time of the manifested glory.
There is a “counsel of peace” which belongs to us—an assured peace; peace indeed in the midst of present trouble, but still God’s peace. If it were not God’s peace, it would be good for nothing. I may, it is true, have my spirit much disturbed and know trial of heart, but still I have a title to perfect peace amidst it all, not only peace with God, but “the peace of God” to rule my heart in. every trial. (Phil. 4:6,76Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6‑7))
Had not man been in rebellion against God, there would have been no need for “the counsel of peace.” Adam in paradise needed it not. But man has rebelled; and though its modifications may be various, rebellion against God is still the characteristic of the unconverted heart. Such was his rebellion that peace between man and God seemed impossible; but now—wondrous grace!—we see that there is not only peace, but a “counsel of peace”—thoughts of God concerning peace, thoughts which Jesus alone could meet: “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.”
Supposing God had made peace with Adam, the peace could not have lasted; the enmity in the heart of man, or that produced by the power of circumstances thwarting his will, would very soon have broken it again. Look at Israel. They were placed in outward peace with God, owned as His people, favored in every way, and yet what was the result? Continual murmuring on their part; constant rebellion. As to moral peace with God, they had scarcely undertaken to keep His law than they set up a golden calf to worship, and thus failed directly. And it would always be the same: it must be so; for the very will of man is altogether wrong. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
But now “the counsel of peace” is between God and Jesus, instead of man, and hence security. It is not merely peace, but “the counsel of peace.” The word “counsel “implies deliberate purpose. What solidity must there be in that peace which God had a “counsel” about, and all the engagements of which the mind of Jesus fully entered into and accomplished!
I have said that peace is our proper portion as the children of God-peace both as to sin and as to circumstances. Now it is true that the latter we have not outwardly yet; but God is taking up all that concerns us, and has taken upon Himself to make “all things work together for our good;” and the knowledge of this gives peace (if we will use our privilege) in all circumstances; be they even those of trial, perplexity, and sorrow. Was it not so with Jesus? Who can be so tried as He? (“Consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds”) yet He had always peace. And so might we. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.”
But then it is most important to see that the “counsel of peace” is entirely between God and Jesus. The moment we begin to rest our peace on anything in ourselves we lose it. And this is why so many saints have not settled peace. Nothing can be lasting that is not built on God alone. How can you have settled peace’? Only by having it in God’s own way. By not resting it on anything, even the Spirit’s work, within yourselves, but on what Christ has done entirely without you. Then you will know peace, conscious unworthiness; but yet peace. In Christ alone God finds that in which He can rest, and so is it with His saints. The more you see the extent and nature of the evil that is within, as well as that without and around, the more you will find that what Jesus is, and what Jesus did, is the only ground at all on which you can rest.
God could no more rest in anything here than Noah’s dove could find a rest for her foot amidst destruction that deluged the world. But Jesus comes in, and here on this earth, where honor to God was wanting—here He glorified God. When God’s eye rested upon Jesus, He was perfectly satisfied. Till that moment God hath not seen anything in this earth of which He could say, as of itself, “in this I am well pleased.” He had gone on, it is true, dealing with man in love and grace, but He could find nothing wherein to rest. “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one,” and so forth, was what God saw when He “looked down from heaven.” But when Jesus was searched throughout, nothing was found but perfect love and perfect devotedness to God; even when forsaken of God, He still justifies Him, “But thou art holy” (Psa. 22:33But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. (Psalm 22:3)).
Had it ended there, had it been only Christ’s own perfectness, all the result would have been to show out the more clearly our sinfulness and ruin by the contrast. But according to “the counsel of peace,” He gave Himself a sacrifice to “make peace.” There was no need of making peace for Himself, it was ever His; it was for us that He “made peace by the blood of the cross,” and thus is He unto God a “sweet savor of rest” for us.
Our peace is established in what He did, and “the counsel of peace” is “between them both.” Jesus has accomplished that which God purposed towards us.
In order to this, it was needful that He should “bear our sins” (1 Peter 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)), and this He did as the “sin-offering.” “He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”
In the sacrifices, when the offerer laid his hand upon the head of the victim, there was in that act the complete identification of himself with the victim. Now there are two great characters in the sacrifice of Christ, the one that of the burnt-offering; the other, that of the sin-offering. We lay our hands on Him as the “burnt-offering,” thus identifying ourselves with Him “Accepted in the beloved,” all His perfectness, all His “sweet savor” unto God is ours. But then as to the “sin-offering,” it is just the reverse, the hand laid upon the victim, it became identified with my sins, charged with my guilt.
Well, beloved, the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus had this double character. He has completely accomplished the purpose of God, all that which was in “the counsel of peace.” This “counsel of peace” was not between me and God, though I have, as the fruit of it, the enjoyment of the peace. I had not to do with it in any sense; it was “between them both.” All is done, and Jesus, both the accomplisher and the accomplishment, has sat down, in proof that all is finished, on the throne of God. (Heb. 10:12-1412But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12‑14))
But, perhaps, it may be asked, “Why, if the work is perfectly accomplished, is He yet a priest upon the throne?”
He is not there at all as a priest to work out righteousness for us; He is our righteousness, and we are the righteousness of God in Him. (1 Cor. 1:33Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3); 2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)) “This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.” His sitting down is the proof that He has nothing more to do in that way for His friends, and now He only waits “till His enemies be made His footstool.”
But then in order that we may have the enjoyment of these things, He is acting in another way as priest. Having the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us we consequently see many things in ourselves contrary to Him-many things that would hinder fellowship with God. Now here it is that the present ministry of Christ comes in. We need His priesthood in order to maintain our communion with God: we need Him daily, as it is said, “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” We need the presence of perfect righteousness on our behalf before God, and He has ever before His eyes, and that “for us,” the accomplisher of “the counsel of peace”—“Jesus Christ the righteous.”
Here, then, is “the counsel of peace” which was purposed between God and Jesus. Here, and here only, have we peace. If ever our souls have any idea of rest except in that which is the perfect rest of God, if ever we are looking for peace anywhere else, be it where it may, we have got out of God’s way of accomplishing peace, off the ground of this “counsel of peace.” He has not called us into “the counsel;” it is that which is entirely independent of ourselves—“between them both”—accomplished and everlastingly sure. Nothing can ever touch it. God has publicly owned His acceptance of Christ’s work, by seating Him at His own right hand. The Holy Spirit is sent to witness to us that Jesus is now “on the throne of God,” having “by one offering perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:1414For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Hebrews 10:14)).
We may have a great deal of trial (we know we shall), trial from circumstances around, trial from within, exercise of conscience, and the like; but still, we have the perfect certainty of God’s favor, “and if God be for us, who can be against us?” With Paul we may reckon, because of his having given Jesus for us, along with Jesus upon everything. This is the true way to reckon upon his kindness. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Observe, he says “the peace of God.” Again, the word is, “Be careful for nothing.” If one single thing were excepted, God would not be God. Well, if exercised, and troubled in spirit, tempted to be “careful,” let us go to God about it. Our wishes may possibly be foolish wishes, still let us go and present them to God; if they are so, we shall very soon be ashamed of them.
We have need of this “counsel of peace,” because all that we are in ourselves is enmity against God. I cannot go out of this “counsel” to look at my own heart for a moment; it is “between them both.” Is the Christian to make Christ’s cross less complete? On that alone his peace can rest. The moment we come to establish its perfectness, the moment we seek to add a single thing, we are adding, or rather taking away, something from the perfectness of “the counsel of peace.”
Who or what shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, these things shall, as means for mortifying the flesh, only minister to Christ’s glory. Shall death? it will only bring us into His presence. Shall life? it is that by which we enjoy His favor. “Nothing shall separate!” He is “on the throne” as the eternal witness of peace accomplished, and thence He ministers it to us. (Rom. 8:28-3928And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28‑39))
The Lord give us grace to look at Him alone!
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