Zechariah 3:7

Thus saith the Lord of hosts,.... For this Angel was no other than the Lord of armies in heaven and in earth: If thou wilt walk in my ways; prescribed in the word of God, moral, ceremonial, and

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.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts; the Father, whose will Christ reveals to us. If thou Joshua, wilt walk in my ways; obey the precepts and holy commands of the law. Wilt keep my charge; the special charge and office of the high priest. Thou shalt also judge my house: be chief and ruler in the temple, and in the things that pertain to the worship of God there. And shalt also keep my courts; not as a door-keeper or servant, but as the chief, on whom others may wait and give attendance; and at last shalt have place among glorious angels, . Thus saith the Lord of hosts; the Father, whose will Christ reveals to us. And shalt also keep my courts; not as a door-keeper or servant, but as the chief, on whom others may wait and give attendance; and at last shalt have place among glorious angels, .

Zechariah 3:7 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.Ver. 7. If thou wilt walk in my ways, and keep my charge] That is, if thou wilt walk in all the commandments (moral) and ordinances (Levitical) blameless, as holy Zacharias did, Luke 1:6, and so approve thyself righteous before God, by taking heed to thyself first, and then to all thy flock, which is thy charge, the Holy Ghost’ s depositum, and the purchase of Christ’ s own blood, Acts 20:28. Godliness is the highway to happiness; the good old way that hath been ever beaten by all those saints that now find rest to their souls. The very first steps in this way are repentance from dead works, and faith toward God in Christ Jesus. By these, men return to God from whom they have departed; are brought near to him, and set in the way of his steps, Psalms 85:13 "We are his workmanship," saith the apostle, "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them," Ephesians 2:10, not without good advice and due direction, Ephesians 5:15. Walk circumspectly, walk by rule and by line, Galatians 6:16. Lift not up one foot till you find sure footing for the other, as those, Psalms 35:6. Christians (and especially ministers) are funambulones, saith Tertullian; if they tread but one step awry they are gone, and may draw many with them. Then thou shalt judge mine house, and shalt also keep my courts] i.e. Thou shalt rule in my temple, and wait at mine altar. The Pope and his prelates catch at the former, but let go the latter; where Christ saith, "feed my sheep," Bellarmine saith the meaning is, Rule like a king; Barenius, Take to thyself the supreme government of the Church. But a preaching bishop is a just wonder among them, a Vir portenti, as those priests in the next verse are called. And I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by] i.e. Among the seraphims (as the Chaldee here interprets it), thou shalt walk arm in arm (as it were) with angels, Matthew 22:30 Hebrews 12:22. He seems to allude to the walks and galleries that were about the temple. Heaven is the reward of walking in the way that is called holy; the end of men’ s faith, the salvation of their souls. Christ tells us that in his Father’ s house are many mansions for us, John 14:2 (such as have far better gardens and galleries than Mahomet fondly promiseth his sword-men in his fool’ s-paradise), and it is a part of his joy that we shall be one day where he is, attended with innumerable angels, John 17:24, who will be glad of our company.

(7) Walk in my ways refers to personal holiness. Keep my charge.—To the due discharge of his official duties. Then thou.—The word “thou” is emphatic, and helps to mark the apodosis. My house.—On this passage Wright remarks: “The words ‘my house’ seem to have been chosen to correspond with ‘my courts’ in the parallel clause. Though the two ideas are closely related, they are not identical in meaning. The expression ‘my house’ is probably to be understood in a metaphorical sense for my people (comp. Numbers 12:7; Hosea 8:1; Hosea 9:15, ἆκοςΘεοῦ; Hebrews 3:6; 1 Timothy 3:15), because the word judge takes an accusative after it of the person, and not of the thing, with the exception of an accusative of cognate meaning, as ‘to judge judgment’ (Jeremiah 5:28; Jeremiah 30:13; Jeremiah 21:12). The word ‘house’ may possibly have been chosen in preference to that of ‘people’ to avoid giving offence, as the people were then under Persian rule (Schegg). If the word ‘house’ be understood metaphorically, the sense is that the high priest was to direct the people in all things respecting the law of God, and especially to judge those who ministered in the sanctuary (Hitzig, Pressel, &c.). Others think that the Temple then in course of construction is referred to (Hengstenberg, Keil, Kliefoth, Pusey). In the latter case the meaning is not very different, namely, that the high priest was to rule and direct the services of the sanctuary and Holy of holies, and to keep away every kind of idolatry and ungodliness from its outer courts (Hengstenberg).” Thus Joshua is confirmed in his office of high priest, which had been called in question by the accusation of Satan (has-Sβtβn).Places to walk—i.e., as in margin, “walks,” meaning paths. LXX., ἀναστρεϕομένουςἐνμέσψ, “living among” vocalising the word differently. Ewald understands the word as meaning “leaders, but if that were its signification it would be followed by “from among,” instead of “among.” Among these that stand by.—The angels of the heavenly court. Etymologically, assistants; but in legal phraseology, assessors. The whole scene is drawn on the model of an Oriental Darbαr. He is promised free spiritual access to God among the holy angels. Observe the introverted parallelism of this verse—“wilt walk,” “wilt keep;” then “shalt keep,” “places to walk.” “A gratuitous justification furnishes no excuse for inaction and sin, but leads to more entire obedience . . . Fidelity in God’s service shall be gloriously rewarded.” (Moore.)

Verse 7. If thou wilt walk in my ways] If ye, Israelites, priests and people, now restored to your own land, will walk in my ways, c., ye shall be a part of my family and have places-mansions-in eternal glory, with all them that are sanctified.

7. judge my house] This may mean “my people,” Numbers 12:7; Hosea 8:1; the Jewish Church being spoken of, like the Christian, as the house of God, 1 Timothy 3:15. “Judgment, in the place of God, was part of the High Priest’s office.” (Pusey.) See Deuteronomy 17:8-13. But it may be used in its more obvious and restricted sense (comp. “my courts,” in the parallel clause) of the Temple with its priests and ministers. places to walk] a place of access, R. V. text; meaning presumably of access to God. Thou shalt be admitted to the immediate presence and throne of God. There is no need, however, to depart from the rendering of A. V. and R. V. margin. Comp. Ezekiel 42:4 for the word, and see next note. among these that stand by] i.e. among the angels, who were still standing round the Angel of Jehovah, in attendance upon Him as He spoke, Zechariah 3:4. The courts and chambers of the material house, so the promise runs, shall be places where angels ever come and go. The obedient priest shall realise in his ministry their presence and their fellowship. The material and the sensible shall fade away as it were from his sight, lost in the higher glory of the spiritual and the heavenly. The promise directly refers to the ministry of Joshua and his fellows and successors on earth; even if it includes a pledge of a higher ministry after death: “In the resurrection of the dead I will raise thee to life, and give thee feet walking among these Seraphim.” Targum. To one priest, we know, who walked in the ways and kept the charge of the Lord (Luke 1:6), the promise was literally fulfilled by the appearance of an angel to him in the Temple (Luke 3:11); and the readiness with which the people surmised what had happened (Luke 3:22) might seem to shew that his was not an altogether singular and unheard of experience.

If thou wilt walk in My ways and if thou wilt keep My charge - Both of these are expressions, dating from the Pentateuch, for holding on in the way of life, well-pleasing to God and keeping the charge given by God.

In Zechariah 3:6-10 is contained the address which the angel of Jehovah makes to Joshua — again not as a private individual but as the representative of the people — concerning his duties and