THE GIFT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne.

And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen, son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.”

Zechariah 6:9-15

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Through the first five and a half chapters of the book of Zechariah, we have covered all eight of the visions experienced by the prophet. At the end of chapter 6, we find a shift toward a coronation event which begins with a simple offered gift, one gift that would lead to another divine one. Look again at these words here:

The word of the Lord came to me: “Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua son of Jozadak. Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne.

And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen, son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.” Zechariah 6:9-15

In our passage for today, we find the Lord directing Zechariah to repurpose a gift he would receive from three Israelite exiles who were visiting their homeland from Babylon. Of interest, the three men – Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah – are only mentioned here in the Old Testament. Perhaps this is because it really isn’t the givers that God focuses on but the gift, a gift of two precious metals: silver and gold.

Now, you would think the rightful places for these valuable metals would have been in the storehouse along with other high-value items but as we see in the scriptures, God had other things in mind. He tells Zechariah to take the silver and gold to the house of Josiah where he was to melt it down, “make a crown”, and “set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua”. In turn, we find God making it clear that there would also be a ruler, a Branch, who would “branch out”, “build the temple of the Lord” and be “clothed in Majesty”. This Branch mentioned was Zerubabbel, the new governor of Judah following the Babylonian captivity, who God had commanded along with Josiah the high priest to rebuild the temple. Note that the crown would eventually be placed within God’s temple as a memorial, a remembrance.

Actually, all this, including the crown, carried with it a future foreshadowing for the true King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus, was coming and not only would He reign over all creation in majesty but He would carry the dual role of being a high priest and reigning King. He was the Messiah the prophets had been telling about, a gift of God who not only came to rule but more so to save humanity from their sins, a gift far more priceless than the silver and gold from Babylon used by Zechariah to fashion a crown.

That gift from God, the gift of His one and only Son Jesus, is a gift that continues to keep giving today, more than 2,000 years after His coming. To everyone who receives Him as Savior, He grants the gift of salvation and a piece of the kingdom to come, the kingdom where all Christians will inherit and live with God and Jesus forever.

Have you received the gift God has sent you, the gift of everlasting life only found through Jesus, His Son?

If not, won’t you believe and trust in Jesus today and receive a present far more valuable than silver or gold, a gift that will never perish, even when this world as we know it does.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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