Ashkelon shall see, and shall fear;

Gaza, and shall tremble exceedingly;

And Ekron, and ashamed is her expectation;

And perished hath a king from Gaza,

And Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

Zechariah 6:13Even He - Literally, "He Himself." The repetition shows that it is a great thing, which he affirms; "and He," again emphatic, "He," the same who shall build the temple of the Lord, "He shall bear the glory." Great must be the glory, since it is affirmed of Him as of none beside, "He shall bear glory," "He should build the temple of the Lord," as none beside ever built it; He should bear glory, as none beside ever bare it, "the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" John 1:14. This word glory is almost always used of the special glory of God, and then, although seldom, of the Majesty of those, on whom God confers majesty as His representatives, as Moses, or Joshua Num 27:20, or "the glory of the kingdom" given to Solomon 1 Chronicles 29:25. It is used also of Him, a likeness of whom these vicegerents of God bare, in a Psalm whose language belongs (as Jews too have seen,) to One more than man , although also of glory given by God, either of grace or nature .

So in our Lord's great High Priest's prayer lie says, "Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine ownself with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was" John 17:5; and prays, "that they also whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me, where I am; that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me" John 17:24. So Paul, applying the words of the eighth Psalm, says of our Lord, "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and horror" Hebrews 2:9; and the angels and saints round the Throne say, "Worthy is the Lamb which was slain to receive power and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing, and those on earth answer, Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever" Revelation 5:12-13. That glory Isaiah saw; in His miracles He "manifested forth His glory" John 12:41, "which resided in Him" John 2:11; in His Transfiguration, the three Apostles "saw His glory" Luke 9:32, shining out from within Him; "into this His glory" (Luke 24:26; add 1 Peter 1:11-12), He told the disciples at Emmaus, the prophets said, that He was to enter, having first suffered what He suffered; in this His glory He is to sit, when He judges. "And He shall sit and rule on His Throne" Matthew 19:28; Luke 9:26. His rule shall be, not passing but abiding, not by human might, but in peaceful majesty, as God says, "Yet have I set My king upon My holy bill of Zion" Psalm 2:6, and again, Sit Thou on My Right Hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool" Psalm 110:1; and the angel said to Mary, "The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end" Luke 1:32-33.

And He shall be a priest upon His Throne - He shall be at once king and priest, as it is said, "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedec." When the Christ should reign, He should not cease to be our Priest. He, having all power given to Him in heaven and earth, reigneth over His Church and His elect by His grace, and over the world by His power, yet ever liveth to make intercession for us. Rup.: "Not dwellings now on what is chiefest, that "by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invincible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" Colossians 1:16-17, how many crowns of glory belong to Him, One and the Same, God and man, Christ Jesus! He then "will bear glory and will sit upon His throne and shall be a priest on His throne."

continued...

Even he shall build the temple - Joshua, not Zerubbabel.

He shall bear the glory - Have all the honor of it; for none can do this but himself. The Messiah is still intended.

And shall sit and rule upon his throne - For the government of the Church shall be upon his shoulder.

And he shall be a priest upon his throne - He shall, as the great high priest, offer the only available offering and atonement; and so he shall be both king and priest, a royal king and a royal priest; for even the priest is here stated to sit upon his throne.

And the counsel of peace shall be between them both - Whom? Zerubbabel and Joshua? Certainly not Zerubbabel, for he is not mentioned in all this prediction; but, as the Messiah is intended, the counsel of peace - the purpose to establish peace between heaven and earth, must be between the Father and the Son.

Even he shall build the temple of the Lord,.... Which is repeated, as Kimchi observes, for confirmation sake:

and he shall bear the glory; that is, of building the temple; and the phrase denotes that the glory of it shall be upon him, shall be hung upon him, as in Isaiah 22:24 and so shall be visible; that it would be weighty and heavy, he having many crowns on his head, put there by all the saints, who everyone of them ascribe glory to him; that it would continue, and not pass away like the glory of this world; and that he, and he alone, should bear it; not Joshua, nor Zerubbabel, nor the ministers of the word, nor members of churches, nor any other, but himself; he, and he alone, shall be exalted:

and shall sit and rule upon his throne; in heaven, having done his work on earth, where he is at ease and rest, and exercises power and authority; he rules over the whole world, and the kings of it in general, and in particular over his saints, by his Spirit, word, and ordinates, feeding, protecting, and defending them:

and he shall be a Prince upon his throne; he is both Priest and King, and exercises both offices at one and the same time, and even now in heaven; having offered himself as a sacrifice on earth, by which he has put away sin for ever, and perfected his people; he is set down upon his throne, as a King crowned with glory and honour; and ever lives as a Priest the throne, to make intercession for them; by appearing in the presence of God for them; by presenting his blood, sacrifice, and righteousness, to his divine Father; by offering up the prayers and praises of his people; by declaring it as his will that such and such blessings be bestowed upon them; and by applying the benefits of his death unto them:

and the counsel of peace shall be between them both; not between Joshua and Zerubbabel, who should agree together, as they did, in the administration of government belonging to their distinct offices; rather between the priestly and kingly offices of Christ; nor the council of peace between the Father and the Son, concerning the salvation of the elect; for that was past in eternity; but better the Gospel of peace, called the whole counsel of God, which, in consequence of Christ being a Priest on his throne, was preached to both Jews and Gentiles; which brought the glad tidings of peace and salvation by Christ to both, and was the means of making peace between them both.

Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the {q} glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between {r} them both.

(q) Of which Joshua had but a shadow.

(r) The two offices of the kingdom and priesthood, will be joined together in such a way, that they will no longer be separated.

6:13 The glory - Of both kingly and priestly office; the glory of both those crowns shall abide on him. Shall sit - Which speaks both his royal magnificence, and the perpetuity of it. A priest - The great high - priest, to offer the great sacrifice to God, to make reconciliation, to intercede for his people. The counsel of peace - The peace made for God's people shall rest upon these two, the kingly and priestly office of Christ; by his priestly office he shall make their peace with God, by his kingly office he shall deliver them from their spiritual enemies.

13. bear the glory-that is, wear the insignia of the kingly glory, "the crowns" (Ps 21:5; 102:16; Isa 52:13). He himself shall bear the glory, not thou, Joshua, though thou dost bear the crowns. The Church's dignity is in her head alone, Christ. So Eliakim, type of Messiah, was to have "all the glory of his father's house hung upon him" (Isa 22:24).

sit-implying security and permanence.

priest . throne-(Ge 14:18; Ps 110:4; Heb 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1-28).

counsel of peace . between . both-Joshua and Zerubbabel, the religious and civil authorities co-operating in the temple, typify the peace, or harmonious union, between both the kingly and priestly offices. The kingly majesty shall not depress the priestly dignity, nor the priestly dignity the kingly majesty [Jerome]. The peace of the Church, formerly sought for in the mutual "counsels" of the kings and the priests, who had been always distinct, shall be perfectly ensured by the concurrence of the two offices in the one Messiah, who by His mediatorial priesthood purchases it, and by His kingly rule maintains it. Vitringa takes "His throne" to be Jehovah the Father's. Thus it will be, "there shall be . peace between the Branch and Jehovah" [Ludovicus De Dieu]. The other view is better, namely, "Messiah's throne." As Priest He expiates sin; as King, extirpates it. "Counsel of peace," implies that it is the plan of infinite "wisdom," whence Messiah is called "Counsellor" (Isa 9:6; Eph 1:8, 11; Heb 6:17). Peace between the kingly and priestly attributes of Messiah implies the harmonizing of the conflicting claims of God's justice as a King, and His love as a Father and Priest. Hence is produced peace to man (Lu 2:14; Ac 10:36; Eph 2:13-17). It is only by being pardoned through His atonement and ruled by His laws, that we can find "peace." The royal "throne" was always connected with the "temple," as is the case in the Apocalypse (Re 7:15), because Christ is to be a king on His throne and a priest, and because the people, whose "king" the Lord is, cannot approach Him except by a priestly mediation [Roos]. Jesus shall come to effect, by His presence (Isa 11:4; Da 7:17), that which in vain is looked for, in His absence, by other means. He shall exercise His power mediatorially as priest on His throne (Zec 6:13); therefore His reign is for a limited period, which it could not be if it were the final and everlasting state of glory. But being for a special purpose, to reconcile all things in this world, now disordered by sin, and so present it to God the Father that He may again for the first time since the fall come into direct connection with His creatures; therefore it is limited, forming the dispensation in the fulness of times (Eph 1:10), when God shall gather in one all things in Christ, the final end of which shall be, "God all in all" (1Co 15:24-28).

6:9-15 Some Jews from Babylon brought an offering to the house of God. Those who cannot forward a good work by their persons, must, as they are able, forward it by their purses: if some find hands, let others fill them. Crowns are to be made, and put upon the head of Joshua. The sign was used, to make the promise more noticed, that God will, in the fulness of time, raise up a great High Priest, like Joshua, who is but the figure of one that is to come. Christ is not only the Foundation, but the Founder of this temple, by his Spirit and grace. Glory is a burden, but not too heavy for Him to bear who upholds all things. The cross was His glory, and he bore that; so is the crown an exceeding weight of glory, and he bears that. The counsel of peace should be between the priest and the throne, between the priestly and kingly offices of Jesus Christ. The peace and welfare of the gospel church, and of all believers, shall be wrought, though not by two several persons, yet by two several offices meeting in one; Christ, purchasing all peace by his priesthood, maintaining and defending it by his kingdom. The crowns used in this solemnity must be kept in the temple, as evidence of this promise of the Messiah. Let us not think of separating what God has joined in his counsel of peace. We cannot come to God by Christ as our Priest, if we refuse to have him rule over us as our King. We have no real ground to think our peace is made with God, unless we try to keep his commandments.