Saturday, November 21, 2009
Christ among the Myrtle Trees
(Zechariah 1:1-13)
Both Israel and Judah had been carried away captive—the northern 10 tribes by Assyria around 722 B.C. and Judah by Babylon around 586 B.C. Though Israel would never be restored, Jews began returning to Judah approximately 70 years after the Babylonian invasion. Zechariah prophesied during the early return of Jews to Jerusalem.
Zechariah had a vision of a “man” (8) among myrtle trees. That “man,” we later read, was none other than the “angel of the Lord” (12). Conservative scholars unanimously agree that appearances of the “angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament are pre-incarnate appearances of Christ Himself.
Interestingly, we find the angel of the Lord (Christ) addressing the “Lord of hosts” (12). Not only does this conversation present a slightly veiled reference to two members of the Holy Trinity, but it also indicates the everlasting priesthood of Jesus Christ, the angel of the Lord. In verse 12 we find Christ interceding on behalf of Judah and Jerusalem in fulfillment of his unchangeable Melchizedek priesthood (Heb. 5:10). He, the Son of God, intercedes before God the Father on behalf of God’s people.
And what was God’s response to Christ’s intercession? The Bible says the “Lord answered the angel…with good words and comfortable words” (13). God’s judgment was stayed as Christ interceded for His people! Restoration to fellowship between God and His people became a reality because of the Intercessor, Jesus Christ. And so it’s true of us today: Jesus stands ready to plead the merits of Calvary on our behalf (I Tim. 2:5), reconciling sinful men to a Holy God (Col. 1:21).
