Well, Shalom, everyone. God bless you. Once again, we want to welcome you to the Bible classes of the Holy Scriptures and Israel, where we study the Word of God, systematically, of course, one book at a time, one chapter at a time, and one verse at a time. And with the help of the Lord, we seek to learn from His Word, and we really are so thankful that we have this privilege of studying the Word of God together. Well, we will pray now before we will turn to Zechariah, Zechariah chapter three. This is the, the, the message that we will share today in the second half of Zechariah chapter three. Let's pray together. Let's ask the Lord to bless us.

Abba, Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the eternal word. Thank you for your promises, and thank you for the encouragement that we can have from your word. And above all, thank you for the person and the work of our Lord Yeshua Jesus, the Messiah, in whose name we pray. Amen, amen. So please, my dear friends and dear brothers and sisters, turn with me to Zechariah chapter 3. This will be the second message on Zechariah chapter 3, because we didn't quite finish in our previous meeting this fourth Vision that the, prophet Zechariah have seen. Again, to remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that, Zechariah have seen eight visions. And let me just read, first of all, in Zechariah, chapter three, and I'm going to read only the second half of this short chapter. Chapter three has only ten verses, and I'm reading from verse six to the end.

Zechariah chapter three and verse six. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith 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. Verse 8. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows, that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth my servant, the branch, in Hebrew, tzemach, for behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving, the rock, 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 he call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. And here I'm stopping, beloved brothers and sisters, with the reading of the second half of Zechariah chapter 3. I just want to pause here and remind us all that the book of Zechariah is divided in such a way. Just remember this, maybe in your mind, or just to help you to remember that we have an introduction to the book of Zechariah in chapter 1, verses 1 to 6, where Zechariah is being presented before us, and the call of Zechariah is being presented before the reader.

To remind you that the meaning of the name Zechariah comes from the Hebrew word zachar or zechar, meaning that God that remember, the remembrance of Jehovah. In other words, by virtue of the name of the prophet Zechariah, God is presenting before Israel that he did not forget his people Israel. Jehovah remembers. Then we continue in chapter one and verse seven, and as we are studying together all the way to the end of chapter six, we have the eight visions that Zechariah received from the Lord to speak to Israel, to the Jewish people, and to assure them through these visions that he is intending to restore the nation. Just let me quickly give you these eight visions. The first one is Zechariah 1, 7 to 17, the vision of the horsemen among the myrtle.

Zechariah 1 verse 18 to 21, the vision of the four horns and the four carpenters. Number three, Zechariah 2 verses 1 to 13, the vision of the clean garment for, the vision of the men with the measuring line. And then in chapter 3 verses 1 to 10, the vision of the clean garments for Joshua, who is Israel's high priest. That's where we are in our Meeting today in Zechariah chapter three, verses one to ten. Then the fifth vision is the vision, in Zechariah four, verses one to fourteen, the vision of the lampstand and the olive tree. the sixth vision is the vision of the flying scroll, chapter five, verses one to four. Then the seventh vision is the vision of the woman in a basket, chapter five, verses five to eleven. And the final vision, the eighth vision, is the vision of the four chariots, which is found in Zechariah chapter six, and verses one to eight.

Then we all say, as we will study together, we will have four questions in chapter 7 and chapter 8 that were given to Israel about fasting. Is that the way that I ask you to fast for me? Are you really fasting for my glory, for your relationship with me, God is asking Israel? And finally, in chapter 9 verse 1 to chapter 14 verse 21 of the prophecy of Zechariah, we have the twofold burdens of the Lord for his people Israel, and ultimately he will assure them that he will restore them back to himself and establish a messianic kingdom. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, the prophecy of Zechariah takes us from the time that Zechariah received the word of the Lord in about 519 or so BC, and it takes us all the way to the end of the tribulation kingdom, and even into the thousand years millennial age, the messianic kingdom, when Israel is restored and the world is enjoying a kingdom where the king of kings The Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus the Messiah will rule and reign over this world.

The church saints, we who belong to the assembly, to the ekklesia, we will rule and reign with him over the earth. What a blessed era that will be in the future day. Well, the visions have been given to Zechariah in order to speak and to assure him and the nation of Israel that ultimately Israel will be restored. Remember when Zechariah was preaching to Israel, Israel, the nation, was regathered back to the land.

They began to build the second temple in the land of Israel, in the city of Jerusalem, but because they had so much opposition, they were discouraged, they stopped to build the temple, and the Lord raised Zechariah, Chagai and Malachi, the post captivity prophets to encourage them to continue on and to press on, promising them that the Mashiach will come, the Mashiach will come, the Messiah will come to ultimately restore the nation back to God.

Well, This is now the fourth vision. We have already spoken about the first three visions, the vision of the horsemen among the myrtle trees, the vision of the four horns and the four carpenters, the vision of the men with a measuring line, and we have already covered the vision, this is the fourth vision in chapter three of Zechariah verses one to five, we have covered the vision of the clean garments that were given to Joshua, who is Israel's high priest. The first five verses. You remember that, beloved brothers and sisters? We have already learned in chapter three verse one that Zechariah sees another vision. In verse two, we see that Yehovah's word was, given, to, to, to, Joshua, who was there.

Zechariah sees a vision, and this vision, what does he see? He sees, Joshua the high priest, he sees him standing before the angel of the Lord, representing the preen, the pre-incarnate Messiah. This is the Lord Jesus, the pre-incarnate Messiah. And we see Satan standing there and resisting, resisting Joshua, who representing the nation of Israel. Well, if you remember, the Satan is the accuser of their brethren. He hates God's people. He hates Israel. He hates the assembly, the ekklesia, the church. He hates anyone and everyone in every dispensation who belongs to the Lord. And that's why he's standing there to accuse God's people.

And so the Lord had to tell Satan, if you remember, we read already in verse two, the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, Satan. Even the Lord that have chosen Jerusalem. Oh, you might accuse Jerusalem, accuse the Jewish people, accuse the people of Israel. There is much to accuse them, but I rebuke you. Why? Because I have chosen Jerusalem, the Lord said to Satan.

And you remember, we read that now he says, he says to Satan, is not this, namely Joshua, representing the people of Israel, is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Oh, yes, the nation was ready to perish because of their sins and because they disobey the Lord, but I pluck them like a brand that is coming out of the fire. And again, by interpretation or by application, beloved brothers and sisters, you and I were plucked out of the fire of God's righteous indignation against sin. And God have taken us out of this world and have taken us and forgiven our sins on the basis of the finished work of the Lord Jesus the Messiah and washed our sins away. And so we see what the Lord is saying to Satan and what he's saying to Joshua representing, accused by Satan, but representing Israel before the Lord, we read what happened. Although Joshua's condition, his clothes were filthy, he had a filthy garment as he stood before the angel, this is the angel of the Lord, yet the Lord have changed his garment.

He have cleansed him. And so we read in verse four, we read, and And he answered and he spake unto those that stood before him, Take away the filthy garment from him. And he said to him, Behold, I have caused thine iniquities to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a changed raiment. Let's remind us of this great salvation that the Lord had provided for the nation of Israel once he will restore them back to himself. Wonderful passages to read. I'm just thinking of a verse that we read in Isaiah 61 and verse 10 when Israel will ultimately will be restored. We read, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God.

Why? Because he has clothed me with a garment of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewel, and as the earth that bring forth her bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God cause righteousness and praise to spring before all the nations. In other words, the Isaiah is speaking at about seven hundred years before the coming of the Messiah to the nation of Israel, and he's telling them, listen, that's what will happen when you will come to acknowledge the Messiah in a future day, because on the basis of the Messiah's righteousness, you will be clothed with a robe of righteousness. You and I can say this already today, because we are forgiven, we have been clothed with the garment of salvation, because we have already In this present day of the church age, have acknowledged the Lord Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and therefore we are forgiven today already, and we are part of the heavenly company, the ekklesia.

But Zechariah doesn't see the church age. Zechariah doesn't know anything to do with the church age because Zechariah is connecting and speaking about the nation of Israel because the church age was a mystery that was hid in God, not revealed to the children of man until the death, burial, resurrection of the Messiah and the coming of the Holy Spirit of God to form the body of Christ, the body of Messiah. So now that the Lord have cleansed, he said, I have cleansed thee. And so on in verse 5, he said, I said, and let them set a fair mitre upon his head, and they set a fair mitre upon his head, and they clothed him with garment, and the angel of the Lord stood by. Here we see the pre-incarnate Messiah is presented here as the Malach.

Yehovah, the angel of the Lord, and here he's standing by, he's giving the command, and really he is the one, beloved brothers and sisters, the eternal son, the eternal son is the one that, in anticipation, in a vision given to Zechariah, giving him the information concerning the day that, Israel will ultimately be restored. Now, notice in the verses that we have read today, verses six to ten, it's really a continuation, because in verses six to ten, we have the words of the angel of the Lord to Joshua, to remind you that if you will read in Ezra chapter, chapter two, verses one and two, And if you will read in the prophet Haggai, you will notice that Joshua was one of those that returned to the land, when, from Babylon, when God have called his people to come back to the promised land. According to Ezra chapter two verse two, it says, which came, those that came with Rehoboam, and the first one to mention there was Joshua.

He was the high priest. Nehemiah is mentioned there, Saraiya, and Relaiya, and Mordechai, and Bilshan, and Mispar, and Bigvai, and Rachum, and Banna, and so on. The number of the men from the people of Israel. Many, there was about 50,000 Jewish people who returned to the land from Babel, headed up by Zerubbabel, to back to the promised land after the 70 years of captivity, the Babylonian captivity. And now they are in the land, they began to rebuild the temple. They were opposed by the nations surrounding, around, surrounding them, and they stopped to build the temple, and the Lord raised Zechariah, Haggai, and Malachi to speak unto them, to encourage them to continue on.

And so now in verses six to ten, the Lord speaking to Zechariah, to Joshua, notice what he said, the angel of the Lord charging Joshua, look at the charge that he's giving the high priest of Israel, Joshua, who representing in the vision that Zechariah, see, he's representing the nation. Remember, the high priest is always going into the presence of God to represent the people of God before God.

When he come out, he representing God before God's people, before the nation. And so here now we read in verse six, and the angel of the Lord protested. That word protested is coming from the Hebrew word vayad. Yad in Hebrew simply means he enjoined, he witnessed, he charged, he testified, he gave him a purpose and a destiny. And he said to him, this is what you are going to do, what you are going to be and what you are going to do.

So the angel of the Lord protested. I don't know why the King James Version used the word Protestant, but in the Hebrew language, the word is ya'ad. Ya'ad is to give him a destiny, a purpose, and a project to do, to accomplish. So the angel of the Lord gave a command, a charge to Joshua, and he's saying to Joshua. Notice two things he's saying to him in verse 6. He's saying to him, if thou will walk in my ways, and if thou will keep my charge. Notice there are two things. If you will walk in my ways, live for me, and if you will, he says, if you will keep my charge or my commandments and obey me. Again, Joshua is representing the nation of Israel. And he's saying to Joshua, Joshua. If you are going to walk in my way, then if you are going, notice twice the word if, if, if, if you will walk in my way, and then he said, he gave them answer, he said, then, number one, thou will also judge my house.

Secondly, and then shall thou also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. So what God is really saying to Joshua, Joshua, if you will obey my word, if you will follow my instruction, if you will be obedient to me, and if you will keep my charges, and if you will walk in my ways, then you will be blessed.

Then thou shalt be, not as you shall judge my house. Now here's again, brothers and sisters, he's speaking about the house of the Lord, the temple, the Beit HaMikdash, the temple that was there in Jerusalem, and God wanted the Jewish people to rise up and to finish the house, to rebuild the house in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Ezra, in the days of Zechariah, in the days of Haggai, he wanted the people of Israel to build the house of the Lord, to finish that and to establish that. Of course, God knew that the temple will be destroyed again later on. By the Romans, some 500 years later, he knew that. But he's giving them a promise here and now. He says, if you will walk with me, if you will obey me, if you will walk in my way, then you will keep my charge, then you will also judge, you will rule over my house, Joshua.

And not only that, you will also keep my courts. Again, notice the courts and the house. The house is the temple, the house of the Lord, the courts is the courts of the temple in the city of Yerushalayim. And really what he's saying to Joshua, Joshua, if in your days, you, the high priest of Israel, and your people, and the priest, those, the priest that's supposed to lead the nation, If you will and your priests will be faithful, the high priest and the priest of Israel will be faithful to walk with the Lord and to obey his word, then you will also judge my house, and you will also keep my courts.

Now, he says, I will give thee a place to walk among these that stand by. These that stand by, these are the priests of Israel, and I want you to notice, brothers and sisters, what happened during those days, that it didn't take too long when the people of Israel rebuilt the second temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel, according to what we read in the prophecy of Ezra, what we do learn that it didn't take too long and the priest Began to corrupt themselves.

It didn't take too long that the priesthood among the nation of Israel did not follow the Lord. And they didn't live for God, and God knew that, and therefore, if you remember where we read in the, in the, in the book of, specifically in the, in fact, I will read, if you turn with me for a second to the prophecy of Malachi, Malachi, you will notice what happened to the priests. It says in Malachi chapter two, and now, O ye priest, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my name, says the Lord of hosts, and I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessing, and I, for I have already cursed them, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and I will spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts, and one shall take you away with it.

He says in verse four, you shall now, you shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you that my covenant might be with Levi. The tribe of Levi says the Lord of hosts. But you see what happened? Israel have gone astray again. But when he's speaking to Zechariah, through the vision he's preparing Israel in the finishing of the building of the temple, the second temple, and to live for the Lord, and sadly, God knew it. It didn't take too long, and there was a second departure once again. And then remember what happened, that the Lord, when the Messiah came, at about, in the beginning of the new era, and then he lived for thirty years, and he presented himself before our people of Israel, and Israel as a nation did not accept him. And most of the struggle that the Lord Jesus the Messiah had is not with the ordinary Israeli individual, but it was with the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the, those that were descendants of the priestly line.

So what happened here is that Zechariah is receiving in this vision the call of the Lord in verses seven and verses six and seven, he giving a charge to Joshua, representing of course Israel, the priesthood and the nation, and he's saying to the priesthood, he's saying to the nation of Israel, if you will obey my word, if you will walk in my ways, if you will keep my charges, then you will be a blessing.

Now brothers and sisters, by application, isn't it the same for the church age today? God said to his own people, if you will walk in my way, if you will keep my charge, if you will be submissive to me, you will be a blessing. You will be a blessing. You can be a testimony to the world around us and also to the people of God. But if you will not, we read in 1 Peter 4, judgment must begin at the house of God. And you know the church, the assembly, is seeing the new covenant, the Brit HaChadashah, as the household of God.

The church is the household of God in this present day age. In Israel's day, there was a literal, physical Beit HaMikdash, a temple, a house of God. There were priests, the Levites were the priests, and the Levi'im were called to present the nation before the Lord and to lead the nation of Israel aright. So, if we will look at these verses, verses, six and seven, God is saying to Joshua in verse seven, representing the priesthood, representing the nation, if you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, Then you will judge my house, and then you will keep my courts, and I will give you the places to walk into. In other words, you will be able to be a testimony for me.

God is saying to Joshua in the vision that Zechariah is seeing. Now again, to remind you, Zechariah, representing the nation, God said he replaced the dirty garment with a clean garment. He forgave the nation, just like he forgave you and I. But we are still called to live for the Lord. And so now, in the next verses, and I love these verses, verses 8, 9, and 10, only three verses.

In these three, next three verses, the Lord is going beyond. The days when Zechariah was in the land of Israel, when the Jewish people were back in the land, when the, the time around the 519 or 20 BC. In fact, in these and next verses, Joshua and Israel and Zechariah is taken beyond the days, the present day in which they lived, and the prophecy and the vision is taking us all the way to the future day of the Messianic kingdom, when the Messiah Jesus, the one we know, will come in the future day to restore the nation and to establish a blessed Arab Messianic kingdom. And so notice what we read. In verse 8, Yehovah promised Joshua and Israel, and the nation of Israel, he is promising that he will send someone that is called the branch.

Someone that is titled the branch. In Hebrew it says tzemach, ha tzemach, the branch. You know the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah have many titles, many description that the Hebrew scriptures give to the Messiah. He is called by Daniel the son of man, ben ha'adam. He is called by Moses as a prophet like unto me, God will raise from among you. He is called the seed of the woman. You have many titles and many names that the Messiah is called by the Hebrew Scripture that have been fulfilled, some of them in the New Covenant, the New Testament, but one of the beautiful titles that were given to the Messiah is the branch.

And I think it's so precious to read this in these next verses. So notice that in verse 8, Yehovah is promising to Joshua, namely to Israel, that he will one day send one that is called the branch, in Hebrew Tzemach. Let me read verse 8. It says, Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows, you, the high priest, and thy fellows, namely the other priests of Israel, that sit before thee, for they are men that wondered it, they amazed it. And he's saying, for behold, I will bring, listen, I will bring forth my servant the branch.

Now this is very kind of, it's so beautiful. And I tell you why it is so beautiful, because God never left his people Israel without giving them a promise of restoration. You know, no wonder, no wonder, beloved brothers and sisters, our Jewish people, the, while the vast majority, you might say, are not so much interested in spiritual things, but the Lord never left. Never left the nation, never left them stirred up, many within the nation that always are anticipating the coming Mashiach, the coming Redeemer, the coming seed of the woman, the coming prophet of all, the coming priest, the coming king, and the coming branch, the coming Tzemach.

The coming Tzemach, a little branch that will grow out from the, from a tree, you might say, or from the bottom of a tree. And so he said, I will bring, notice that he's speaking to Joshua, again, Zechariah sees it in a vision. It is the vision that we call there, the vision of the clean garment for Joshua, Israel's high priest. So he's promising to Joshua that he will send the branch.

Now, if you research the Hebrew Scriptures, you will find out that the, the branch, the subject of the branch is mentioned many, many times in the Hebrew Scriptures. In fact, the Hebrew word semach is mentioned many times in the Word of God. In fact, in Isaiah chapter 4 and verses 1, 2, and 3, we read, In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excel, excellent, and, appealing for those of Israel who have escaped. Notice that in Isaiah chapter 4 and verse 2, he's called the branch of Jehovah, the branch of the Lord, tzemach Yehovah. In Isaiah 11, in verse 1, 1 to 5, we read, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Again, tzemach, or netzer Yishai, is a branch that will come forth out of the stem of Jesse.

Here, beloved brothers and sisters, in Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 8, we read, Now hear, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit with thee, for they are men wondered at, for behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch. Later on in chapter six of the prophecy of Zechariah, where we are in the same book, and in verse twelve, we do read, beloved brothers and sisters, once again, we read, Then speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch.

From his place he shall branch out, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Now, these are beautiful verses. And I want you to notice that all these four verses specifically, Isaiah 4, 2, Isaiah 11, 1, Zechariah 3, 8, and Zechariah 6, 12, have a reference to the Messiah who will come in the future day as Zechariah sees in the vision. And that he is the one that is called the branch.

In fact, when we read these four verses, in Isaiah 4 and verse 1, he is called Tzemach Yehovah, the branch of the Lord. That, beloved brothers and sisters, is speaking of the deity of the Messiah. He is the branch that came from Yehovah. Then in Isaiah 11 and verse 1, he's called Tzemach Yishai or Netzer Yishai, and this representing the fact that the Messiah will be a king because out of Jesse and David, the king of Israel came, and therefore the branch will be not only divine, but he will be a king, the king of the Jews, the king of Israel.

Then in Zechariah, where we are now, in Zechariah chapter, three and verse eight, the Lord called him in a third, you might say, presentation in verse eight, and he's called here, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse eight, he says, we, we read that now, O Joshua, the high priest, down thy fellow that sit before thee, for there are men wondered, for behold, I will bring my servant, the branch. So the branch is not only divine, he's Tzemach Yehovah, the branch of the Lord. He's not only a king, he's the branch that came out of Jesse, whose son David, the king of Israel, and he's a descendant of David, the king, but also the branch is a servant of Yehovah. And so we read here in this chapter, in verse 8, My servant the branch. The Messiah is not only divine, the Messiah will not only be a king, but the Messiah will be a servant.

And then if you turn with me to chapter 6 of Zechariah, and there in verse 12 we read, beloved brothers and sisters, there we read that the Messiah will be a man, a perfect man. We read in verse 12, And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, Ha'ish, Tzemach Shmo. Now it's so beautiful, the reason that it is so beautiful, because all these four titles, or we can say, all these four passages that speak of the coming one, The branch are represented or representing him as the one that will be number one divine. He's coming from heaven. He's the branch of the Lord. He's going to come down to this world to become a king. He's a descendant of Jesse and King David. He's going to be a servant here in this world who will serve God and will serve God's people, but he will be a man just like you and I, yet sin apart.

I mean, this is fascinating, beloved brothers and sisters, when we learn about the branch, the doctrine, the teaching of HaTzemach, the branch that the Hebrew scripture teach us about him. But even more, it's so interesting to learn that when we speak about the person of the Lord Jesus as the branch who is divine, who is a king, who is a servant and a perfect man, we immediately are reminded of the four Gospels that we have in the New Covenant, in the Brit HaChadashah. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And every one of these four Gospels, beloved brothers and sisters, presents before us the beauty of the person of our Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah. And God is presenting him before us to remind you that the Gospel of John presents him as the divine person, as God himself, God the Son. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, John 1 and verse 1.

The same was in the beginning with God, all things were made by him, and without him nothing was made, which was made in him was life, and the life was the light of man, and the light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. He is the eternal Son of God, he is presented to us in the Gospel of John. Well, in the Gospel of Matthew, he is presented for us as the King of Israel, the King of the Jews. You remember the wise men in chapter 2 and verses 1 and 2, they came from the east and they came and they said, where is he that was born? Melech HaYehudim, the king of the Jews. When the Messiah was born into this world, he was born to be the king.

Later on in the Gospel of Matthew, we do read a quotation in chapter 21 from the prophet Zechariah. And we read it in chapter 10 of Zechariah in verses 9 and 10, where we read in Zechariah chapter 9 verses 9 and 10, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold thy king cometh unto thee. He's the king. He's the rejected king today, but he will be the accepted king in the second coming when Israel will acknowledge him and accept him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But continuing, beloved brothers and sisters, in the Gospel of Mark, he is presented as the servant of the Lord. No genealogy in the Gospel of Mark. A servant doesn't need any genealogy, and he came to serve. We read in Mark chapter 9, we read that he came to serve, to present himself as the servant of the Lord. He did not come to be ministered unto, but he came to minister, to serve. And you find out in the Gospel of Mark, the word immediately, immediately, immediately, he constantly served here upon the face of this earth at his first coming. This is the Tzemach, the branch, the Messiah. And of course, in the Gospel of Luke, he is presented as the Son of Man, as the perfect man. We read of him in Luke chapter 19, verses 8, 9, and 10, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. And so, beloved brothers and sisters, in this passage that we are learning here, God making a promise to Joshua the high priest and to the nation of Israel that one day, in the future day, he will send a branch.

Hatzemach. The messianic title of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. According to this passage, he is presented as a servant. Verse 8, and I'm rereading it again. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit with thee, for there are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth another, he says, I will, he's speaking about the future. I will bring forth my servant the branch. He is promising, he is promising to Joshua, he is promising to the people of Israel that one day the branch will come. And I can just imagine that when the prophets of old have searched the scripture, the Hebrew scripture that is before the New Covenant, the New Testament was given unto us, they were wondering, who is that branch? When he's going to come? How he will come? What does God mean when he's saying the branch?

And of course they developed the teaching of the Messiah, the branch, HaMashiach HaTzemach, the branch that will come in the future day. And no wonder when Isaiah was writing his prophecy in Isaiah chapter 11, He said in chapter eleven and verse one, he said, And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. This is Isaiah eleven verses one and two.

And we read in verse three, And he shall make him of a quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, and he will not reprove after the hearing of his ears, but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And listen to this verse five of Isaiah eleven, speaking about the future reign of the branch.

Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness shall be the girdle of his reins. When the Messiah will come at his second coming, the branch, HaTzemach, he will not be only a servant, the Gospel of Mark. He will not only be a perfect man, the Gospel of Luke, but he will ultimately be a king that will rule in righteousness, the Gospel of Matthew. But even more, that branch, who is a servant, who is a man, who will be a king, is much more than just a man, a king and a servant. He is a divine person. He is God the Son. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glorious of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. That's the branch, the God-man, the Messiah Jesus. They have already come, as far as we are concerned, some two thousand years ago. But as far as the prophecy of Zechariah through this fourth vision, the vision of Joshua receiving a new garment representing Israel restoration, the branch will come, and on the ground of his death, burial, and resurrection, Israel will receive these garments of salvation, just like you and I receive these garments of salvation today. How wonderful to see the beloved brothers and sisters, the branch of Jehovah, the branch of David, the branch, the servant, the man that is called the branch.

And that is a messianic prophecy that's speaking to us about the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, at both his first coming and his second coming. He came to serve and die. He will come to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. So now that the Lord promised to, to Joshua and to the nation of Israel and has, revealed that vision to Zechariah in verses 9 and 10, just as we close this third chapter, the branch is not only, the Messiah is not only called the branch, but he is that stone that the builders refused in his first coming, but he became the chief cornerstone. And so we read in verse 9, for behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua, notice that word here is very beautiful here, because the word the stone here in Hebrew is ha'even, even. Ha'even, it says here in verse nine, ha'even asher natati lifnei Yehoshua, the stone that I have given and presented before Joshua, upon one stone, not many stone, upon one stone shall be seven eyes.

Behold, I will engrave the, graving the roof, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day, God is saying to Joshua as he revealed this in a vision to Zechariah. Now notice that, the stone One stone, a single stone, and he will have the seven eyes. When you think about the seven eyes, it's representing the fact that he, the number seven is a full number, full number, a complete number. It speaks about perfection and completeness, and these eyes of his can see everything that is going on. You remember when we studied the book of Revelation, we read of our, of the Messiah, that Yohanan, John, from the island of Patmos, received this vision of the glorified Messiah in a role of a judge, that his eyes were like a, like a fire piercing through. He sees everything that is going on.

That seven eyes is very similar to what I just read in Isaiah 11, the sevenfold Spirit of God that is laid, laid upon him. You remember we read Isaiah 11, the sevenfold Holy Spirit of God, one Holy Spirit, sevenfold attribute of the Spirit of God. Notice that in Isaiah 11 verse 2, and the Spirit of the Lord is upon him. This is number one. And the Spirit of wisdom, number two, the Spirit of understanding, number three, the Spirit of counsel, number four, the Spirit of might, number five, the Spirit of knowledge, number six, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, number seven, the sevenfold Spirit of God is residing of that branch of Jesse, the Messiah. The, the Spirit of God that was not given unto him by measure.

The perfect man. Here we see in Zechariah chapter three and verse nine that that stone that God have laid shall be, shall have upon that one stone will be the seven eyes, representing before us the fullness of the fact that he sees everything. He sees everything. Everything is, is before him open and naked with the one with whom we have to do.

Seven eyes. Now notice that word for stone. If you go for a moment back to the, to the book of Daniel, just for a moment, quickly, in Daniel chapter two. The, the, the Lord said to Daniel, and as Daniel sees in a vision, in chapter two, it was, Nebuchadnezzar that have seen a dream dream, and Daniel give him the interpretation. In chapter seven is Daniel seeing vision, and in the vision we see the Son of Man, the Messiah, that is, like a stone that will ultimately destroy all those that reject him.

And so we read in Daniel two at verse thirty one, when Daniel give the interpretation to Nebuchadnezzar, he says in verse thirty one, Thou, O king, so as and behold a great image, this great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the form thereof was terrible. This image head was of fine gold, and he gave him the list of the, the, the gold, the silver, the brass, and the, and the iron, and the partly iron and partly clay of the vision that we're speaking of all the kingdoms that will rule, the four empires that will rule over the world from the days when the Jewish people were taken captive until the end of the days, the end of the tribulation period. But then Daniel is explaining to Nebuchadnezzar in verse 34, And you saw until that a stone was cut without hand, and smote upon, smote the image upon his feet, and were of iron and clay, and break them in pieces.

Then was the stone, the iron and the clay and the brass and the silver and the gold was broken to pieces together. And then he said to them, he said to him, he says, and he became, everything became like chaff. And then he said at the end of verse 35, and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. That stone is the Mashiach, Yeshua, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, who is today is rejected, but one day he will be accepted by Israel, the nation, and by all the nations of the world, beloved brothers and sisters. Just one or two more verses, turn to the book of Psalms quickly, in Psalm 118, we do read in verse 22. Psalm 118 and verse 22, the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. That stone is the Messiah himself. And the stone was rejected at his first coming, and God knew that. He knew that the Messiah will be rejected at his first coming. The stone which the builders reject him, and when Israel, the nation, did not accept the Messiah, Jesus, at his first coming, blessing flow to the world.

And when Israel will accept the Messiah at his second coming, blessing will flow to the world in the future day. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. In other words, when the Messiah was rejected and despised and he died shamefully on the cross, he provided salvation for sinners like you and I and like all the nations of the world that whoever come to trust in him will receive forgiveness of sins. He's the branch.

He's the stone. He's the one that was once rejected and he will be accepted in the coming day. I just want to close with verse 10. In that day. When the Messiah will come, notice that at the end of verse nine it says that I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day, beloved brothers and sisters, God is looking forward for the day that He will restore the nation of Israel, and in one day He will restore the nation back to Himself. Just like Isaiah said in Isaiah 66 and verse eight, he said, Who hath heard such a thing?

Who has seen such a thing? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Zion will come to a point that she will travail, and nations shall be born in a day when Israel will come to know the Messiah and acknowledge that Jesus, that Yeshua, whom Israel rejected at his first coming, he is indeed the branch, he is indeed the stone. And so in conclusion, listen to this, the end of verse nine, I will remove the iniquities of that land in one day. And verse ten says, in that day says the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under, notice under a vine and under the fig tree. Whenever you read the expression sitting under a vine and sitting under a fig tree, it speak of the beautiful age of blessing.

All sitting under a vine, no longer fear, no longer war, no longer conflict, is a day of restoration of the nation, but beyond the nation of Israel. It's the whole world will ultimately come to be blessed by God, but Israel must accept the branch. Israel must accept the stone. Israel must accept that Yeshua, Jesus, is indeed the one that came from heaven down to this world to provide redemption for us.

He is that stone that the builders rejected. He is the branch that came down to this world, the servant of Jehovah. And how beautiful it is, beloved brothers and sisters, to come to know him today. Not to delay, not to wait only until the future, it will come. But today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart, accept him, recognize that he is indeed the promised Redeemer who loves us and who gave himself for us. And with this, beloved brothers and sisters, we have finished with the fourth Vision that Zechariah have seen. In the next meeting together, we'll continue with chapter four, and we will learn about the fifth vision that God have shown Zechariah concerning God's dealing with his earthly people, namely the people of Israel. Well, may the Lord bless his word and encourage our hearts today. And so, Father, Abba, we thank you for your word. Bless your word, we pray, for we ask it in Yeshua's name.

Amen and amen. Well, God bless you, my dear friend. Until the next time, we will say to you, Shalom, Shalom. Bye-bye.