Shabbat Shalom. Turn this meeting to Zechariah chapter 3, and we are going to read those 10 verses of this chapter, an extremely interesting chapter in the prophecy of Zechariah. Zechariah, of course, was a Hebrew prophet who preached to the southern tribe of Judah and Benjamin, who returned from Babel after 70 years of being in captivity, and he was the one that was given ministry from Jehovah to encourage the Jewish people who returned to the land but have been discouraged and stopped the building of the Beit HaMikdash, the temple in Jerusalem. And so chapter 3 verse 1 and he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered, and he spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garment from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with changed garment. And i said let them set a fair mitre upon his head so they set a fair mitre upon his head and they closed him with garments and the angel of the Lord stood by and the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua saying thus says the Lord of hosts If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for there are men wondered at, for behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, says the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor, under the vine and under the fig tree. And that's the end of the third chapter of the prophet Zechariah. Those of you that haven't been with us in our previous session that we have had together in our ministry meetings, Just by way of giving you a measure of what had been already before us, the Hebrew prophet, his name Zechariah, means Jehovah remembered.

He was speaking to the remnant of our people who were back in the land of Judah, but very much discouraged because of the opposition that they have had. And so Zechariah and Haggai, those two prophets, have been risen by God to give messages of encouragement to the Jewish people. And about 520 BC, Zechariah was speaking to the nation. The Lord gave him eight visions in the first six chapters. And apparently all these visions were given to him in one day. Now, that was not a dream. That was a vision, a real sight of what God is going to do with his beloved nation, the nation of Israel and his beloved city, the city of Jerusalem.

So he's given them a preview. He took them back to past history and he moved them forward to future day when Israel will be restored. And can you imagine, beloved brothers and sisters, if you would have been there discouraged, you would delight to hear these kind of messages from this young man by the name of Zechariah. God remembers the fact that he had promised a blessing to the nation of Israel and he will surely bring it to pass. So we have already covered three visions. The first vision was a vision of the man riding on a red horse. The second vision was a vision of the four horns and the four carpenters or craft men the third vision was the vision of the man with a measuring line in his hand he was going to measure the city of Yerushalayim because he is intending to recover that city to restore the Jewish people back to the land and so now beloved brothers and sisters if God is going to restore Israel one day in the future how he's going to do that Israel after all just like you and i by nature we have filthy nature sinful nature the Bible tells us in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

All have sinned, Jew and Gentile, men and women, nations around the world. All have sinned, all under the sun. All those that are born are born with a sinful nature. So how can a holy God, this is what's amazing here, restore such a sinful nation in a coming day? In chapter 3, we have a great lesson of the promises of the restoration of the Jewish people back to himself, not only at the time of Zechariah, 520 BC, but it takes us all the way to the millennial age, to the kingdom age, when Mashiach will come and restore the nation to himself. So, Zechariah sees this fourth vision, and the title of this vision is really the vision of the clean garment provided by God to Joshua, the high priest.

Now, in verse 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, we see the vision itself. And in verses 6 to 10, we see the words of the angel of the Lord to Joshua concerning Israel's future. So listen to this, how beautiful it is. And I want to suggest, brothers and sisters, that as we study this passage, just imagine how much it also applied to us as believers in our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, in the church age in which we live in. It says in verse 1 Zechariah now sees another vision and he showed me the one who shows him is the angel of Jehovah this we previously said the pre-incarnate Messiah so what does he show in verse 1 Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand in order to resist him.

In a way it is a court session. You have the judge, you have the one that is accused, you have the accuser, and you have the lawyer or the protector, the one who is representing the accused one. God is now taking Zechariah in a vision to a court where there is a judge an accuser a defender and of course the one that is accused and so we see Joshua the high priest the Hebrew name is Yeshua very similar to the name Yeshua the Messiah that we have in the new testament in the brit hachadasha if you read the old testament the masoretic text in the book.

Of Ezra in the book of hagai you will notice if you know the Hebrew that the word is very similar almost the exact Hebrew letters, Yeshua, beautiful name, the name Yeshua, or Yehoshua. In the Bible we have the prophet Isaiah, in Hebrew we call him Yeshaya. We also have the prophet Hosea, in English you say Hosea. We also have the leader of Israel who brought our nation into the promised land, his name is Yehoshua, and of course we have this man by the name of Yeshua. Who was this Yeshua he was a high priest when our Jewish people came from Bavell after 70 years captivity there in the land of Bavell Yeshua or Yehoshua this man was one of the leaders of the nation of Israel he came together with Zerubbabel and with another about 42,000 Jewish people who returned to the land when the 70 years of captivity have ended he came as the high priest and he is a representation of the nation of Israel before the Lord turn to Ezra to make a connection there in Ezra chapter 2 it says in verse 1 now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity of those which have been carried away whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah everyone unto his city and look at the name it begins with the two great leaders one is more or less the political leader Zerubabel and the other one is the religious leader.

It says in verse 2, which came with Zerubavail, and then it. Says the first name after Zerubavail is Joshua. The first person's name that is mentioned here in our chapter is Yeshua. He was that high priest. And as the high priest, his responsibility was to represent the people of Israel before the Lord here was that high priest that we read about him in Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 1 now many verses that we can look in the old testament concerning this Yeshua or yehoshua so what we really see here Yeshua is a representation of the whole nation of Israel now here the high priest is standing before the angel of the Lord and the angel of the Lord is this pre-incarnate Messiah but look who is there appearing in the midst of this heavenly scene we have here and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him here we see Satan the one that had tempted Eve in the garden of eden he's the one that is continuously resists the people of God who are accusing the people of God Satan in the Bible is called in Revelation chapter 12, the accuser of the brethren.

His Job description, what he does, what his desire is to accuse the people of God on a day-by-day basis. I don't have to tell you, but if you turn to Job 1 and to Job 2, you will notice that when the angels of God appeared before the throne of God, Satan was right there in the midst of them. And when God asked Satan, have you considered my servant Job, how faithful he is? And Satan immediately found a way to find accusation in Job. He tried to find some fault in the servant of the Lord. And in fact, beloved brothers and sisters throughout the whole history, whether it is Israel, our nation, or whether it is the church of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, Satan is constantly accusing the people of God that's what he does his Job he's standing there and by the way you notice it says he's standing at his right hand to resist him the Hebrew word here for resist less it no it's really the same thing of what Satan's name is Satan was there standing in order to accuse him the word resist here or to oppose or to be against him or to be his adversary by the way Satan is our adversary as well you know that every day he would try to find faults in the people of God he's accusing God's people on a regular basis constantly accusing the people.

Of God it was John in his epistle in first John chapter 2 who said to the believers he says my little children these things i write unto you first John chapter 2 and verse 1 that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the father Yeshua the Messiah the righteous Yeshua is our advocate and Satan is our accuser and he's standing in the presence of God seeking to find fault in every one of us then you know beloved brothers and sisters there is much that he can accuse us with because we all fail as believers even those of us who are already saved realize that we fail the Lord sin creeps in into the life of all mankind and Satan is accusing the people of God in Revelation chapter 12 in verse 10 in the middle of the tribulation we find Satan cast to this earth the Bible tells us that he's called the accuser of the brethren the brethren in context in Revelation chapter 12 are the Jewish people who remained.

In the tribulation period and Satan is constantly accused them just the same like he accused Job and in this case Satan is accusing Joshua the high priest of Israel actually Joshua representing the whole nation of Israel and you know frankly if you want to accuse the nation of Israel there is much to accuse much failure disobedience to the Lord all sort of things in the history of our nation just the same as there is much to accuse the church of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah throughout the history of the church age there is no perfection among God's people so the court seen is God there Joshua the high priest the angel of the Lord and also Satan the one who accuses the man by the name of Joshua in the next verse two look at Jehovah's words to Satan this is so comforting to the heart of the believer we read when the Lord said unto Satan the Lord rebuke thee or Satan even Jehovah that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee is not this a brand plucked out of.

The fire i love this thought here you know sometimes we think that we individually have to have some sort of a discussion with Satan and we need to talk to Satan and to rebuke Satan but you never find this in the Bible what we find in the Bible that the Lord does the rebuking of Satan we don't need to give Satan any time we need to give our time for Yeshua for the Messiah and not to be occupied with Satan at all because the Lord is the one that is going to rebuke Satan we read in Jude about those false teachers likewise these are filthy dreamers defile the flesh despise dominion and speak evil of dignities he's speaking about false teachers and then he said yet michael the archangel when he contend with the devil he disputed about the body of Moshe Moses he dare not bring against him railing accusation but he said the Lord will rebuke you instead of michael discussing with Satan and bring an accusation even he did.

Not bring accusation against him but the Lord rebuke Satan there is no need for the people of God to give him the time of the day and that's what he does sometimes he draws us as if it were to give him the time instead of keeping our eyes focused on Yeshua Jesus our Messiah who loved us and gave himself for us and have fellowship with him here we find that Satan was rebuked by the Lord himself and we read in this text verse 2 the Lord said unto Satan Satan is mere angel that was created by God and fell and his disobedience to God brought him down and now his animosity against God and God's people and against the Messiah on an ongoing basis he's accusing the people of God, but Jehovah himself rebuked Satan and said to him, the Lord have rebuked you, Satan.

And then he said, notice in the very same verse, the Lord said, I have chosen Jerusalem. You might look at Jerusalem and the people of Israel, when you say Jerusalem here, it's synonym with the people of Israel, the Jewish people. He said, listen, I have chosen this nation. They are not better than other nations of the world but i have chosen these people just the same like the body of Messiah we have been chosen in the Messiah before the foundation of the world not because we are better than any other people across the street because we are not but it's the election the choosing of God is totally the grace of God and Jehovah said to Satan he said to him listen i have chosen Jerusalem i've elected this nation and then he's saying to said he says is not this a brand that had been plucked out of the fire you know what happened really beloved brothers and sisters the word here for brand is like piece of wood in Hebrew we call it ud it's a piece of wood that had been taken from out of the fire it was ready to be consumed but God took this piece of wood out of the fire before it will be totally consumed that will happen to you and i as well beloved brothers.

And sisters it is really the grace of God the God that plucked us out of this fire and brought us to himself that's what really happened with us with believers that will happen with the nation of Israel that's the grace of God he saved us by grace he paid a price for our sins when the Messiah died for us he had plucked us out of the fire again Jude he mentioned that in his writing he says beloved building up yourself in a most holy faith praying in the holy Spirit keep yourself in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus the Messiah unto eternal life of some have compassion making a difference and others save with fear pulling them out of the fire hating even the garment spotted by the flesh what he's really saying that Israel nationally have been plucked out of the fire of God's judgment because of sin Israel and each and every one of us who are saved we have been plucked out by the Lord from the fire as a piece of wood.

That have been taken out of the fire. That's what he is really saying here in this text, in verse 2. So, he continues here in the scene that Zechariah is seeing here in this fourth vision. It says in verse 3 that Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and he stood before the angel. Really, we learn here that Joshua, the filthy garment representing to us, the nation of Israel as a sinful nation filthy garments and he needed to be declared righteous but how could he approach God or minister to God and be on behalf of Israel as a nation how they can do that if they have filthy garments so we see the condition of Joshua here in verse three and he stood before the angels having filthy garments there is a verse in Isaiah chapter 64 when Israel will confess their sin they would say all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before the Lord you know it teaches us again a principle in Scripture that even our righteous deeds that we do comes from the old nature which we have as far as God's concern is really called filthy rags and that's why Joshua is closed here with filthy garments standing and you know what when you have somebody exposed with his sins and his failure and Satan is standing there and he's accusing him and.

He's saying look at this person he has filthy garments how can you accept him look at him and Jehovah says yes I know I know that he has filthy garment I know that he is a sinner representing the nation I know the failure of the nation of Israel they are my people I know that and I'm going to do something about the nation of Israel I'm going to make them suitable for ministry for service in this world in which they are called to represent and to serve and so even though Joshua is clothed with filthy garments stood before the angel then we find out the answer from the Lord in verse 4 then he spake unto those that stood before him apparently there were other angels that were standing there before him and he said take away the filthy garments from him and unto him he said behold i have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee and i will close thee with a change raiment that's what he's saying to Joshua that is a grace of God this is the.

Righteousness of God provided for Joshua in clothing him with a garment of salvation and brothers and sisters it's really on the basis of the work of Yeshua the Messiah Jesus the Messiah every one of us who have accepted him and believed on him we have received these garments this clothing this righteousness that had been given to us because of the finished work of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and that's what really happened here God is saying i'm going to remove from him these filthy raiment and i'm going to provide him with a change of raiment and in between there you notice in this verse 4 he says i've caused thy iniquity to pass from thee you know all the iniquities all the guilt that he deserved to be judged for and punished for God says i'm going to totally remove it this is so beautiful to see beloved brothers and sisters and you know it didn't start here already in Genesis chapter 3 when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of eden.

And you remember what they were hiding from the Lord and they covered themselves with garments of fig leaves and they were not satisfied they couldn't appear in the presence of the Lord that's why they were hiding so when God challenged Adam he says Adam where are you have you taken of the fruit that i told you not to eat he says yes then he blamed the woman you remember the story the woman blamed the serpent and then God disciplined them he judged them but if you remember in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 21 God had clothed them with a garment but it's a garment of skin that skin came from an animal that animal had to die that animal had to shed its blood in order that Adam and Eve will be covered and clothed with this garment of skin and this animal in type in picture represent to us Yeshua the Messiah and his death for us on the tree the just one have died for the unjust that he might bring us to God what an amazing.

Lesson to learn from here and so he's telling here those that stood by there he says you better take away from him these filthy garments and then i'm going to take away remove from him his iniquity and i have put on him clothes and change raiment can you imagine how Joshua felt clean garment while before he had filthy garment the filthiness represents sin and sin nature but the clothes the clean garment they've been clothed with represent the righteousness of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah what a beautiful lesson to learn here in these verses another lesson here that we learn that God does not improve the old nature the old nature has no value in the presence of God he gives us new nature he gives us a divine nature he gave Joshua this completely new raiment which speaks to us of the garment of salvation provided for us by our Lord Jesus the Messiah it speaks also and i'm just going to read a verse in Isaiah Isaiah tells us in chapter 61 Israel's singing verse 10 it says i will greatly rejoice in.

Jehovah my soul should be joyful in my God for he has clothed me with a garment of salvation he has covered me with a robe of righteousness as the bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments and as the bride adorneth herself with her jewels that's the forgiveness of God and Joshua must have felt it in the presence there accused by Satan truthfully dirty garments deserve to be punished and yet God says wait a minute wait a minute Satan i have a purpose for this man he is going to be my servant he is going to represent the nation of Israel before me and in type he's speaking about the whole nation who represent the whole world before Jehovah in the coming days I'm going to give him a complete new raiment he is no longer going to be in the same old way that he was before that's what happened to you and I when we accepted Yeshua the Messiah God does no longer look at us as we are in Adam in the Adamic nature.

All this is passed away you remember 2nd corinthian 5 those that are in the Messiah Yeshua new creation all things are passed away and all things become new in the person of Yeshua the Messiah so now go down with me to verse 5 again we are in this scene this vision and notice he's now placing on the head of Joshua a mitre now this is extremely interesting it says in verse 5 and he said let them set a fair mitre the word for fair in Hebrew word is tahor and the word for mitre is sanif it's really speaking about the hat that the high priest used to wear we find it in Exodus chapter 28, put on him a pure mitre upon his head so they set a pure mitre upon his head and they closed him with garment and the angel of the Lord stood by there.

If you remember when Aaron the high priest used to represent Israel before Israel was taken to captivity in the tabernacle Aaron used to represent the nation of Israel and used to wear a. Mitre that mitre was like a head like a turban and on top of this head you had a special sign that says holiness unto Jehovah Kadosh o Kedusha le Adonai now here we see that now Joshua the high priest is receiving this mitre that makes him now suitable to represent the nation of Israel before the Lord his old raiment have been set aside the new raiment is upon him his iniquities have passed away from him the pure mitre is set upon his head and upon it of course as we read in Exodus chapter 28 it says kadosh le Adonai their holiness unto Jehovah now he is ready to represent the nation of Israel before actually if you notice the end of the verse 5 he said that the angel of the Lord stood by again the angel of the Lord pre-incarnate Messiah he's watching all this he's standing by it's all this going before in the vision that has happened to this Joshua and Zechariah is viewing all this and he's going to share this now with the people of Israel.

To encourage them to continue to build the temple in the city of Jerusalem now, what is the Job of the priest? You know, historically the ministry of the priest he's called Holy Priest he goes in to the presence of God to represent Israel before the Lord when he comes out he's a royal priest he represents God before the nation he's a holy priest going in he's a royal priest coming out and that's what Joshua was to the nation of Israel today in this present day of the church age we don't have individual priests as we had historically among the people of Israel in fact the Bible teaches us in the book of Peter that all believers are priests he calls us a holy priesthood yeah a holy priesthood and a royal priests in fact every true believer in Yeshua the Messiah is called priests before the Lord we are not needing to go to a certain high priest somewhere in a certain city and to confess before him our sins going to a closet or something like that we are to go directly to the presence of God through our blessed Lord Yeshua the Messiah who sits upon the throne of grace and we are to present.

Before him the needs of God's people every believer is a priest today in the church age in the ecclesia age but in historically for the nation of Israel Joshua is representing the nation but as a type of the nation Israel is representing the world before the Lord and that's how it's going to be in the kingdom age so the vision is in verses 1 to 5 Joshua accused by Satan Jehovah rebuking Satan and giving Joshua a new raiment making him suitable for his presence to serve him among God's people so in the next verses beloved brothers and sisters verses 6 to 10 we have the words of the Lord the angel of the Lord to Joshua himself very precious to see for the people that were very discouraged in verse 6 the angel of the Lord is charging Joshua now that you are cleansed he says to him in verse 6 the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua and he said unto him the word protested in the Hebrew is yaad it's a destiny he's telling to Joshua Joshua has.

Represented the nation of Israel here is the destiny that you have he told him i'm charging you to follow the destiny that i have chosen for you Joshua saying it really to Israel the nation i have chosen you for a purpose you have a yard you have a plan that God has for the nation of Israel you have a destiny a ministry to do so he's charging him says he's protesting it's very strong word not merely saying it by words but he's giving him a command i have a plan and a purpose for you and i'm calling you now to do what i have called you to do and so he's giving him now the responsibility that Joshua will have if he will submit to the Lord you notice in the next verse seven twice he used the word if it says the Lord of hosts if you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my charge then thou shalt also judge my people and shall also keep my courts and i will.

Give thee places to walk among these that stand by Joshua here is a challenge the destiny the yard the purpose the plan that i have for you is to serve me among your people the Jewish people Israel is a nation and again Joshua is representing the nation Israel you have a plan that i have purposed this for your life the nation of Israel but in order to fulfill this plan obedience to the word of God must happen i want to make an application for us also you and i are believers in Yeshua the Messiah how do you think the Lord can use us if we are not walking with the Lord?

If we are out of fellowship with the Lord, how can he use you and I for service among the people of God if we are not submissive to his will? That is very challenging. So Joshua was told in verse 7, Joshua, Jehovah of hosts, again, many times I think it had been counted by some, the word Jehovah of hosts mentioned 52 times in this book Yehovah Sebaot Jehovah Host if you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my charge then you shall be judge in my house and you also keep my courts and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by the challenge is obedience obedience is gives delight to the heart of God you know the biggest problem that we have brothers and sisters is the necessity to submit to obey the word of the Lord we have a problem with it many times we find ourselves in a state of disobedience the only one that fully pleased the father never deviated from the word of God was Yeshua the Messiah he lived a life of obedience John 4 he said my meat and my drink is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.

He said elsewhere i always do the will of him that sent me i'm obedient to the word of God well Joshua are you going to be serving me now that i've given you positionally new garment mitre you are ready to serve me now you will need to submit to me if you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my charge then notice beautiful here in verse seven two things then you will judge my house and then you will keep my courts now the house was not yet built in 520 bc because our own Jewish brethren have stopped building the house after they returned from bavell 15 years they were so discouraged that the house of God was not built so Joshua here is to encourage the people of Israel to build this temple the house of God the courts around there and the Joshua will serve as it says here in verse 7 God going to give him in his house it says you.

Also will judge in my house and you will keep my courts we sang in our songs one of the songs one thing i desire it is to be in the courts of the Lord to come to the house of the Lord there's a verse that teaches us in the Scripture it is better to be a doorman in the house of the Lord than to be elsewhere in a place of celebration why because the Hebrews of old who understood the word of God recognized what a privilege it is to be part and in the service of the house of God what a privilege it is to serve the Lord and the people of God and so here he is giving him that charge that is his yard his purpose his goal his destiny to serve the Lord and his people but it demand obedience to the word of God so he continues he's heading now towards the end and he's giving him now a promise and Jehovah himself now promised Joshua and promised.

Israel's priests that he one day is going to send the Messiah the Messiah is the answer the Messiah is the one that is going to come in the future 520 bc look forward to the coming of the Messiah God is saying to Joshua it says here in verse 8 here now oh Joshua the high priest you and thy fellows that sit before thee for they are men wondered it for behold i will bring forth my servant the branch one of the messianic titles that we have throughout Scripture is the word the branch in Hebrew what is a branch a branch is a shoot that come forth out of a stock out of a tree it's a branch that flows out and it is such a beautiful title of the Messiah Hatzemach that you can trace it throughout Scripture how it applies to the person of Yeshua the Messiah yes Joshua I have cleansed you I have forgiven your iniquities removed them away from you I have covered you with a new raiment you make sure that you live a life of obedience.

In order to serve me in a court but Joshua listen to this i have a program and a plan that one day i'm going to send the Messiah the tzemach the branch who is going to come and he's called listen here he's called my servant God says about Yeshua the Messiah he says elsewhere behold my servant there is one that brought so much delight to God that he's called my servant now i would like you please to bear with me because there are at least four passages in the Scripture that use the very same title to the Messiah and this is the title called the bridge and i would like you please to turn with me to those four passages the first one is Isaiah chapter 4 and i'm reading just the first two verses and in that day seven women shall take hold of one man saying we will eat our own bread and wear our own apparel only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach.

In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be beautiful. And glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel God take us Isaiah 750 bc writing about the future coming of the Messiah and he's saying in that day the branch of Jehovah shall be beautiful he is talking about the second coming of the Messiah it is through the Messiah the branch that is going to come in the future that is going to escape and be delivered turn to Jeremiah chapter 23 and verses 5 and 6 there we read again about the branch but another aspect of the branch behold the days come again looking to the future day to the kingdom age sayeth Jehovah that i will raise unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in this earth in his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called Yehovah Tzidkeinu Jehovah our righteousness it's talking about the person he's called the branch yes but here in Jeremiah he is the branch.

Of David you see in Isaiah he was called the branch of Jehovah in Jeremiah he's called the branch of David it's so beautiful to see that he's talking here about the same person the Messiah that is called the branch now there are other passages such as Jeremiah 33 verses 14 to 17 and Isaiah chapter 11 that we often read a shoot shall come forth out of the stem of jesse when we light the menorah we often read the text from Isaiah 11 a shoot going to come out of the stem of jesse this is the branch of David now one more passage turn to Zechariah chapter 6 in verse 12 and 13 again notice speaking about the same person the branch and he speck unto him and he said thus speaks the Lord of hosts saying behold the man whose name is the branch and he shall grow up out of his place even he shall build the temple of Jehovah and he shall bear the glory and shall.

Sit and rule upon his throne and he shall be a priest upon his throne and the council of peace shall be between them both. Now, I don't know if you noticed this, beloved brothers and sisters. It is very good to be discerning as we read the Scripture. In Isaiah, he's called the branch of Jehovah. In Jeremiah, he's called the branch of David. In Zechariah, chapter 3, he's called my servant, the branch. And in Zechariah chapter 6, he is called the man whose name is the branch. If you know your Bible, you know that in the Brit HaChadasha, in the New Testament, we have four Gospels. The Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

All these four Gospels present before us the person of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And every one of these Gospels look at him from a different aspect or from a different point of view. Matthew represents him as the king. That takes us to Jeremiah where we read about the branch of David. The king of Israel is coming. He's a descendant of David. He's called in the Bible Ben David, the son of David. In the Gospel of Mark, we see the Messiah as the servant of the Lord. Here in Zechariah chapter 3, he is called my servant, the branch. In the Gospel of Luke, we see him as the perfect man, the son of man.

We have his genealogy from Adam all the way until the Messiah has come. And we find out that there in the gospel of Luke is presented as the perfect man again Zechariah chapter 6 behold the man whose name is the branch and of course the gospel of John Yohanan there we see the Messiah in his divine nature He is not only a son of man, but he is the son of God. And this is exactly what Isaiah was saying. He is the branch of Jehovah. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The king, the servant, the man who is also God the son. You see, the same Jewish writer who gave us the Old Testament, the Tanakh, wrote about the future coming of Messiah.

And the Jewish writers of the New Testament looked back to this same promised Messiah from the Old Testament Scripture and presented him before us in the full gospel. He is the eternal Son of God who was willing to become a man and went down all the way to the cross and became the servant of the Lord. But one day he's going to be the king of Kings and Lord of lords. That's the Messiah. That's the Tzemach. That's the branch that Zechariah received this vision and that the Lord is speaking to Joshua about the future coming of the Messiah. Now look at the conclusion, beloved brothers and sisters.

Verse 8, He is that wonderful branch, but he is more than just a branch. Because in verse 9, that very same branch is also the stone. It says in verse 9, For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the engraving thereof, says the Lord of hosts, And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. Now, how can God restore Israel to himself? How can Israel, as he says here, I will remove the iniquity of that land? This land in verse 9 is the same land that we read in chapter 2, verse 12, the holy land.

It's the land of Canaan, the land of Israel, and it is representing the Jewish people. When you talk about the land, you talk about the people. When you talk about Zion, you talk about the people of Israel. When you talk about Jerusalem, you talk about the nation of Israel. It is the same thing. If God is going to remove the iniquity of the people of Israel, it must be on the basis of the stone. And you notice he used that word, the servant, the branch, but he's also the stone, the stone that I have laid. Joshua, before you, he's saying to them, and you remember that, brothers and sisters, one of the other messianic titles of Yeshua is the Hebrew word Eben.

In Psalm 118, it says, Even ma'asu ha'bonim, the stone which the builders have refused. He became the chief cornerstone. You know, when Yeshua came, in his first coming, he was rejected. Our Jewish people, and today as well, have not accepted him in his first coming. And it was prophetically given to us by Isaiah, by the psalmist of Israel, That they will not accept him in his first coming. But God says. Upon one stone. Verse 9b. Shall be seven eyes. Behold I will engrave. The graving thereof. Says the Lord of hosts. I will remove the iniquity of the land. In one day. In other words. What God is really saying.

The same Messiah who is the bread. Is also a stone. And the stone was rejected. Peter said this to us as well the stone with the builders reject he became the chief corner and one day the Messiah who is rejected he's going to be coming in his second coming and he's going to be the one that upon him there will be an engravement what will be engraved upon him and how was that to happen you know at the cross when Yeshua died for us it was a token of God's satisfaction with the work of the Messiah with respect to the need of the nation of Israel and the sin and the need of all the world and it was engraved in him you know when he was pierced as he was hanging on the tree they pierced his hands they pierced his sides they nailed him to a cruel cross as he was hanging there between heaven and earth what a shameful death Yeshua the Messiah had died and by the piercing of the Messiah and by his death on the cross it gives Israel a ground for redemption it gives you and I a ground.

For forgiveness we can come to God and say God be merciful to me a sinner I don't come to you on a basis of my good deeds and my good works I'm coming to you on the basis of the finished work of the Messiah Yeshua that's the way that he's presented here in this chapter and you know it says here that he will remove he's going to engrave on the stone the removal of the iniquity of this land and it says in one day and you know when that would happen the work of the Messiah already happened one day years ago when he died some 2 000 years ago but it takes us to the future when Israel is going to be restored and the Bible Isaiah said it is very beautiful in Isaiah chapter 66 and in verse 8 he says who has heard such a thing who has seen such a thing shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day?

And then he said, Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. In other words, when Zion, when Israel have confessed their sin before God, now God will restore the nation in a day. As it says here in verse 9 of Zechariah chapter 3 I will remove the iniquity of this land in one day when Israel as a nation will repent before the Lord can a nation be born at once and a nation indeed is going to be born in the future day at once when Israel will acknowledge the Messiah at the second coming now the concluding verse 10 is the promise of future rest and blessing for the land of Israel he is concluding here in this verse and he says and in that day says the Lord of hosts shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree that's taking us to the prophet Micah in chapter 4 when there is this beautiful promise one of the promises is to sit under the vine and under the fig tree it's a promise of rest and a promise of protection when Israel is going to be restored in a future day there is a promise that they will rest.

And they will invite as you notice that in verse 10 every man will invite his neighbor and they will sit under the vine and under the fig tree Israel will no longer suffer persecution there will no longer be anti-semitism Israel will be restored the stone had been engraved with the promise the iniquity will be totally removed and one day in the future day Israel the nation will be restored to the land and the people of Israel will recognize that Jesus Yeshua is truly that promise Messiah Micah 4 verses 1 to 4 speaks about the fact that everyone will sit under the vine and under the fig tree well beloved brothers and sisters this is the fourth vision the Zechariah the Hebrew prophet received from the Lord concerning the period of time when he was living among the return remnant and the future when Israel the nation is going to be restored to highlight here in closing beautiful verse where the Lord said to Joshua in verse 4.

He answered and he spake to those that stood before him take away his filthy garment from him And then he says, Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass away, and I will clothe thee with a changed raiment. Now, I trust that all of us here are believers in Yeshua, in Jesus the Messiah, that if you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you listen to my voice, I tell you, this is the fundamental truth of the Bible. The only way to receive forgiveness of sins is only on the basis of the finished work of the Messiah if you don't have the Lord Jesus in your heart you need to recognize this because one day we're going to stand before the judge and we're all going to have to answer to him he will ask us this one simple question why would i let you come into my presence on what basis how can i a holy God let you a sinner come into my presence if you don't have the Lord in your heart what are you going to tell him you did some good works you accomplished some things in your life you have done some good activities in your life you have been a good man a decent woman well God is going to say to you listen the only way that I can allow you to come into my presence is on the basis of this branch this stone the Lord Jesus the Messiah who loved you gave himself for you died on the.

Cross for your pay for the penalty of every sin that you have committed take him into your life accept him into your heart tell him that you are a sinner and you need forgiveness and he will receive you and you will be like Joshua here having a new garment and you will sing that song He had clothed me with a garment of salvation.