Zechariah 3:9

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. FOR BEHOLD THE STONE THAT I HAVE LAID BEFORE JOSHUA - expressing the ground for encouragement to the Jews in building the temple: 'I (Yahweh) have laid the (foundation) stone, as the chief architect, before (in the presence of) Joshua, by the hand of Zerubbabel' (Zechariah 4:10; Ezra 3:8), so that your labour in building shall not be vain. Antitypically, the (foundation) "stone" alluded to is Christ, before called "The Branch." Lost any should think from that term that His kingdom is weak, He now calls it "the stone," because of its solidity and st...

He more fully sets forth what we have observed in the last verse; but he speaks figuratively. He says that there were seven eyes on the stone which was set before Joshua; and that God would in one day take away the iniquity of the land, so that nothing would prevent it from recovering its ancient glory. This is the import of the whole; but interpreters vary, especially as to the eyes. Almost all Christians agree as to the stone; for they think Christ to be meant; and we know that there are many similar passages, where Christ is called a stone, because the Church is on him founded; “Behold, I lay in Zion a precious stone,” says Isaiah in the Isaiah 28:1; and in Psalms 118:1 and in other places there are similar words. I yet think that the Prophet alludes to the temple, which was then begun to be built; but at the same time I take this as admitted, that Chris

6-10 All whom God calls to any office he finds fit, or makes so. The Lord will cause the sins of the believer to pass away by his sanctifying grace, and will enable him to walk in newness of life. As the promises made to David often pass into promises of the Messiah, so the promises to Joshua look forward to Christ, of whose priesthood Joshua's was a shadow. Whatever trials we pass through, whatever services we perform, our whole dependence must rest on Christ, the Branch of righteousness. He is God's servant, employed in his work, obedient to his will, devoted to his honour and glory. He is the Branch from which all our fruit must be gathered. The eye of his Father was upon him, especially in his sufferings, and when he was buried in the grave, as the foundation-stones are under ground, out of men's sight. But the prophecy rather denotes the attention paid to this precious Corner-stone...

Verse Zechariah 3:9. _FOR BEHOLD THE STONE THAT I HAVE LAID_] Alluding no doubt to the _foundation stone_ of the temple: but this represented _Christ Jesus_: "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a STONE, a tried stone, a precious CORNER STONE, a SURE FOUNDATION," Isaiah 28:16. This means Christ, and none other; on him his whole Church rests, as a building does on its foundation. _UPON ONE STONE_ SHALL BE _SEVEN EYES_] This is supposed to mean the _providence_ of God, as under it all the work should be completed. There may be an allusion to the _seven counsellors_, which stood always about the persons of the Asiatics sovereigns; and those who were the governors of provinces were termed the _eyes of the king_. T

FOR BEHOLD THE STONE, THAT I HARE LAID BEFORE JOSHUA - This must be an expansion of what he had said, or the ground of it, being introduced by, for. It must be something future, to be done by God Himself, since God says, “I will grave the graving thereof;” something connected with the remission of sins, which follows upon that graying. The stone, then, cannot be the stone of foundation of the material temple (Rashi). For this had long before been laid. The head-cornerstone, the completion of the building , had nothing remarkable, why God should be said to grave it. The plumbline was not a part even of the material temple. “The stone is one stone.” But to interpret it by other prophecy, one stone there is, of which God says, “Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, he that believeth shall not make haste”...

EXPOSITION ZECHARIAH 3:1 _§ 6. The fourth vision: Joshua the high priest before the angel._ ZECHARIAH 3:1 HE SHOWED ME. The Septuagint and Vulgate give, "The Lord showed me." Some suppose that it was the interpreting angel who showed this vision; but his duty was to explain, not to present, the visions. So in Zechariah 1:20 it is the Lord who shows the "four craftsmen." This vision is closely connected with the last. In that it was declared that the Lord would again dwell in Jerusalem, and visit his people with blessings. But to fit them for the presence and favour of Jehovah they must be pure. To this end they must have a hol

FOR, BEHOLD, THE STONE THAT I HAVE LAID BEFORE JOSHUA,.... Not the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; nor the first and foundation stone of the temple laid by him in the presence of Joshua; but Christ the Stone of Israel, whom the builders refused, the foundation and corner stone of the spiritual building the church: and this was laid before Joshua to build his faith upon, to view his safety and security on it, and to take comfort from it for himself; and to lay it before others, and instruct them in the nature and use of it, for their comfort also. It was prophetically laid before him in the prophecies of Christ, that went before; and typically, when the foundation of the temple was laid, Ezra 3:9 the temple being a type of the church, and the foundation of it a type of Christ: and this being done by Jehovah, shows that he is the chief builder; that this stone must be an excellent one,...

STONE (_ See Scofield) - (1 Peter 2:8). _ SEVEN EYES Compare (Zechariah 4:10); (Revelation 5:6)....

CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The fourth night vision (Zechariah 3:1) _ 2. The message of the vision (Zechariah 3:6) Zechariah 3:1. The fourth vision is like the first and second, closely connected with the foregoing one. It gives the crowning event of Israel's restoration. The prophet recognizes in the figure, which is seen by him, Joshua the high priest, who is standing before the angel of the Lord, while at his right hand stands Satan to oppose him. Joshua was not clothed with his clean, priestly robes, but he wears filthy garments. Jehovah rebukes Satan and terms Jerusalem a brand plucked from the fire. After the accuser is rebuked, the filthy garments of the high-priest are removed, his iniquity is fo

THE TRIAL OF JOSHUA. Several corrections are necessary in this paragraph, some of which are confirmed by the LXX. In Zechariah 3:2 read, And the angel of the Lord said. In Zechariah 3:4 f. read with LXX, Take the filthy garments from off him (And he said unto him, Behold I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee); and clothe him with rich apparel, and set a fair mitre, etc. In Zechariah 3:8 we should probably read, Thou and thy fellows which sit before thee are men which, etc. Among the Hebrews any disaster was regarded as a sign of Divine displeasure or, to use a common Heb. figure of speech, a sign that the Lord was bringing a charge against the person afflicted. The satan or opponent for here, as in Job, the word i