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
“[Zechariah] is told to take silver and gold from three men who have recently arrived from Babylon. The fourth man, Josiah son of Zephaniah, may have been a smelter or craftsman, since Zechariah is told to go to his house (presumably with the silver and gold) after meeting the other three. It is unlikely that the silver and gold is simply the personal property of the new arrivals. More likely it is a gift from the Jewish community who are still living in exile in Babylon. these men have come as their representatives.
Zechariah is told to take the sIlver and gold, make a crown with it, and set it on the head of the high priest, Joshua. This is quite unexpected, since it was normally kings, not priests, who wore crowns… The act is clearly symbolic, because after the oracle has been spoken, the crown is removed again. It is not that Joshua has been installed in a new office, as would be the case at a real coronation, but with the royal crown on his head he represents something, or rather, someone. The essence of the oracle is that he is the man whose name is the Branch.”
Barry G. Webb in The Message of Zechariah: Your Kingdom Come (TBST; Downers Grove: IVP, 2003) 107-108.
We need the help of commentators who have studied the prophetic books to gain insight from the texts with wealth and generosity in view.
And yet, notice how clear this prophecy is if we slow down and read it bit by bit. And see the link to generosity which acknowledges that Jesus is Lord.
We see three exiles bring gifts from Babylon to be used to make a crown to put on the head of a guy named Joshua, which is the Hebrew name for Jesus.
This seems to foreshadow the three magi who come from the East (remember that Babylon is modern day Iraq which is East of Israel). Consider the focus of their gift.
It’s symbolic: they prophet proclaim that Jesus is priest and king. So, what is our lesson about generosity from Zechariah today? Give to show that Jesus is priest and king.
By priest, Jesus is the way to God. As King, He is our Lord to obey. And remember that we are exiles (strangers in a foreign land called earth). Heaven is our eternal home.
Use the silver and gold that you have to acknowledge and advance the kingdom of Jesus, who is our priest and our king.