John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 6

Here we have another vision, and the Prophet distinguishes it from the former visions by saying that he turned, as if to say that some time had intervened. They were not, therefore, continuous visions; instead, he turned elsewhere, and then he raised his eyes, and the Lord revealed to him what he now relates.

But as the vision is obscure, interpreters have given it different meanings. Those who think that the four Gospels are designated by the four chariots offer a very weak interpretation. I have elsewhere reminded you that we are to avoid these futile refinements, which fade away on their own. Allegories, I know, delight many; but we should reverently and soberly interpret the prophetic writings, not fly in the clouds, but always keep our feet on solid ground.

Others think that the changes meant are those we know occurred in Chaldea and Assyria. Since Nineveh was overthrown so that Babylon might be the seat of the empire, they suppose that this is meant by the first chariot, whose horses were red. Then they think that the Persian empire is intended by the second chariot, as the Jews had, at the beginning, suffered many grievous hardships. Afterwards, by the white horses are signified, as they suppose, the Macedonian power, as Alexander treated the Jews with humanity and kindness. By the fourth chariot, they understand the Roman Empire, and think that the horses are of different colors because some of the Caesars raged cruelly against the Jews and the Church of God, while others showed more leniency. But I do not know whether these things are well-founded.

We see that the fourth chariot went to the south, wandered through various regions, and almost through the whole world. Since this cannot, therefore, be applied to Chaldea, the simpler view seems to be that the four chariots signify the various changes that occurred not only in Chaldea and among the Babylonians but also in Judea and among other nations; and this may be easily gathered from the context.

But as all these things cannot be stated at the same time, we will treat them in the order in which the Prophet relates them.

I will now repeat what I have elsewhere said respecting the words that he raised his eyes, as indicating the divine authority of what was predicted. These words indeed signify that he did not present what he had vainly imagined, nor offer tales he himself had fabricated, but was attentive to what was revealed to him. They also signify that he was somewhat set apart from ordinary life to be an interpreter between God and men. Therefore, authority is ascribed here to the prophecy, as Zechariah did not come forward to speak of uncertain things, but as one sent from heaven, for he delivered nothing but what he had received from above.

He now says that four chariots appeared to him, that came forth from mountains, and that the two mountains where the chariots were seen were mountains of brass. The Prophet undoubtedly understood by these mountains the providence of God, or his hidden counsel, by which all things were decreed before the creation of the world; and therefore he says that they were mountains of brass, because they could not be broken.

The poets say that fate is unavoidable (ineluctable); but as this sentiment is profane, it is enough for us to understand this in terms of God’s eternal providence, which is immutable. And here the counsel of God is most aptly described to us; for before things manifest in action, they are enclosed, as it were, between the narrow passes of mountains, since what God has decreed is not apparent, but lies hidden, as it were, in deep mountains.

Thus, we begin to acknowledge the counsel of God only when experience teaches us that what was previously hidden from us has been decreed in this or that manner. But Zechariah did not add in vain that they were mountains of brass; it was to teach us that God’s counsel is not changeable, as foolish people imagine, who think that God is uncertain about the outcome and is, as it were, held in suspense. For according to their notions, events depend on the free will of men.

They entertain the idea that God foreknows what is to come conditionally, as if this or that will not happen unless it pleases men. And though they do not confess that God is changeable, yet we gather from their erroneous ideas that there is in God nothing sure or certain. The Prophet therefore says here that they were mountains of brass, because God has fixed before all ages what he has purposed to do, and has thus fixed it by an immutable decree, which cannot be broken by Satan, nor by the whole world.

Thus we see how suitable this representation is when the Prophet says that chariots came forth from mountains.

With regard to the chariots, we have seen elsewhere that angels are compared to horsemen, for they ride swiftly, as it were, through the whole world to carry out what God commands them. So also, whatever changes take place, they are called the chariots of God.

For either angels are ready to do anything in obedience to God, or the very events themselves are God’s chariots; that is, they are, as it were, swift heralds who announce to us what was previously unknown. Let us therefore know that all events that unbelievers call fortuitous are God’s chariots, his messengers, who declare and proclaim what was previously concealed from us. And there is nothing strained in this similitude or metaphor.

As to the color of the horses, interpreters, as I have already intimated, have toiled with great anxiety; and though I do not venture to assert anything as certain, yet the probable conjecture is that the black and white horses represent the Babylonians rather than the Persians, but for a purpose different from what interpreters have thought.

For the reference must be to the Jews when it is said that black horses and then white horses went out towards Babylon; for the Holy Spirit indicates that liberty was given to the Chaldeans to harass the Jews and to fill all places with darkness. The blackness, therefore, of which the Prophet speaks signifies the calamities brought on the Jews.

The whole of that time was dark, full of grief and sorrow, during which the Chaldeans possessed the eastern empire, and Babylon was the supreme seat of government or of the monarchy. A very different time succeeded afterwards, when the Babylonians were conquered and the Persians enjoyed the eastern empire.

The color, therefore, was white, for the favor of God shone anew on the Jews, and liberty was then immediately given to them to return to their own country. Thus we see that the Prophet rightly adds that the color of the horses was white; for such was the favor shown to the Jews by the Persians that the sun of joy arose for them, which gladdened their hearts.

But the Prophet makes no mention of the first chariot as going out, and for this reason, as interpreters think, because the empire of Babylon was then overthrown. But they are mistaken in this, as I have already hinted, because they do not refer the colors to the state of God’s Church.

Therefore, the Prophet, I do not doubt, intentionally omits the mention of the going out of the first chariot, because the Jews had experienced the riding of God’s judgment in their own land, for they had been severely afflicted. As God, then, is accustomed to carry out his judgment first on his own household, and as it is written, judgment begins at his own house, (1 Peter 4:17), so he intended to observe the same order in this case: that is, to chastise the sins of the chosen people before he moved on to the Chaldeans and other nations.

As to the last chariot, the Prophet says that it went out toward the south, and then it went elsewhere, and even through the whole world, for God had permitted this.

Now, as to the meaning of this Prophecy, nothing will remain obscure if we hold to these elements of truth: that all events are designated by the chariots, or all the revolutions that take place in the world, and that the blind power of fortune does not rule, as foolish people imagine, but that God thus openly makes his own counsel known to us.

And why the horses are said to have been some red, some black, some white, and some somewhat red, the plain answer is this: because God had sent out his chariots over Judea, which was full of blood. By this, then, the red color is meant.

But he also shows that their enemies would have their time, and this had been partly fulfilled; for God had ridden over them with his chariots, having driven his wheels over their land when Nineveh was overthrown.

And though the Spirit did not simply refer to the Assyrians or the Chaldeans, as if he meant by the black color to designate the wars carried on among them, but rather the calamities brought by them on the Jews, yet I consider the black color to mean in general the terrible disturbances that took place throughout the whole of the East. The Jews could not expect anything agreeable from that quarter, for shortly afterwards a heavier weight fell on their heads.

But in the third place, the Prophet adds that there were white horses, that is, when the time was accomplished in which God intended to deliver his Church.

But he says that the chariots not only went out to the East, or to Babylon; but he says that they also ran through the south and then visited the whole world.

So that we may more fully understand this, we must regard the design of the Prophet. He meant here, undoubtedly, to bring some comfort to the Jews, so that they might not succumb to their hardships, however sharply God might chastise them.

And Zechariah sets before them here two things. First, that no part of the earth, or any country, would be exempt from God’s judgments, for his chariots would pass through all lands. Secondly, that though the chariots of God, terrible in their appearance on account of the black and red color, had visited Judea as well as the north, yet the time had already come in which God, having been pacified, would change the state of things.

And therefore, in the third place, he sets before them another color. For God’s chariot had been sent out through Judea, and then God’s vengeance had visited Nineveh, and afterwards Babylon. Only this sequence had concluded, because it had already been partly fulfilled, for God had removed the darkness and brought sunshine to the Jews, and that from Chaldea, since the Persians, who then possessed the empire, had begun to treat the Jews with kindness.

From this verse we learn that the primary purpose of the vision was that the Jews might know that the dreadful tumults in Chaldea, which had partly happened and were still to take place, were not stirred up without a purpose.

Instead, all things were governed by God’s hidden counsel. Furthermore, God had so disturbed and embarrassed the state of that empire that its end might be expected.

Therefore, there is no reason for anyone to labor too anxiously to understand the significance of every part of the prophecy, since its overall meaning is clear. But why does the angel expressly speak of the land of the south rather than of the land of the north, or of the whole world?

It is because the eyes of all were fixed on that region. For Chaldea, we know, had been, as it were, the grave of the Church, from which the remnant had emerged, so that there might be some people by whom God would be worshipped.

The angel then here invites the Jews to consider the providence of God, so that they might know that whatever changes had taken place in that country had come from the hidden counsel of God.

The words, they have quieted my spirit, are understood by interpreters in two ways. Some think that God’s favor towards his people is indicated here, as if he had said that he was already pacified. Others, by the word "spirit," understand the vengeance of God, because he had sufficiently poured out his wrath on the Chaldeans. Both meanings fit the context well.

For it was no small comfort to the Jews that God had poured out his wrath on the Babylonians until it was satisfied, as when someone does not cease to be angry until he has fulfilled his desire. This way of speaking often occurs in Scripture.

I am therefore inclined to accept the second explanation: that God began to be quieted after the second chariot had gone out, for he was then reconciled to his chosen people, and their deliverance immediately followed.

So that the Jews might know that God would be favorable to them, he tells them to remain quiet and undisturbed in their minds until these chariots had completed their course through the whole of Chaldea. For what the angel now says would be fulfilled: namely, that the Spirit of God, who previously seemed to be disturbed when he enveloped all things in darkness, even in Judea itself, would be quieted.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since we are exposed here to so many evils, which often suddenly arise like violent tempests, O grant that, with hearts raised up to heaven, we may submit to Your hidden providence. May we, though tossed here and there according to the judgment of our flesh, yet remain fixed in this truth which You would have us believe—that all things are governed by You, and that nothing takes place except through Your will—so that in the greatest confusions we may always clearly see Your hand and know that Your counsel is altogether right, and perfectly and uniquely wise and just. And may we always call upon You and flee to this refuge—that though we are tossed here and there, You may always sustain us by Your hand—until we are at last received into that blessed rest which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son. Amen.

This vision was given to Zechariah so that he might inspire weak minds with better hope, because the Jews found that they were hard-pressed on every side by their neighbors, since enemies rose up against them before and behind, so that there was no end to their troubles. Therefore, those who had returned from exile thought themselves wretched in such a situation.

They might indeed have lived in quietness among the Babylonians, and they had become accustomed to that kind of life, so that exile was not so very grievous to them. Thus, the favor of God was turned into loathing and was almost hated by them, for they thought it better to be deprived of their country than to be daily exposed to new assaults.

Furthermore, the possession of the land was not desirable in itself, except in relation to the hope given them; that is, because God had promised by His prophets that the kingdom of David would again be made glorious, and also that the grandeur and glory of the temple would be greater than ever before.

When the Jews found themselves continually harassed by their enemies, they thought that all that had been promised was in vain. There is therefore no doubt that many complaints and many clamors were everywhere raised. Therefore, so that they might stop murmuring against God in this way, this vision was given to the Prophet, in which he is commanded to take silver and gold from four men, and to make two crowns to be set on the head of Joshua the high priest.

The design was to make the Jews feel assured that the condition of the people would be as safe as it was formerly, when the kingly office and the priesthood flourished. For these were the chief ornaments, or the two eyes, as it were, of the body — the priest, a mediator between God and men — and the king, representing God in governing the people.

Thus, we see that the restoration of the Church is set forth by the two crowns. But we must also observe that the two crowns are placed on the head of Joshua, which was new and unusual. A mitre, we know, was given to the priests; and we know also that kings were adorned with a diadem. But no one individual was to wear both a royal diadem and a sacerdotal mitre.

Here, then, we find a union of royalty and priesthood in the same person, which had never before been the case, for God had made a distinction in His law between the two offices. Thus, we see that something previously unknown is set forth by this prophecy: namely, that the same person would be both a king and a priest.

For what Jerome says, among other things, that there might have been many crowns, is weak and frivolous. Furthermore, he contradicts the words of the Prophet, for shortly after he adds that there would be a counsel of peace between the two — that is, between royalty and priesthood. Regarding what the same author thinks, that there was one crown given to the high priest, it is also false; besides, he undermines as much as he can the whole doctrine of the Prophet.

But I leave these trifles, for there is no ambiguity in Zechariah’s words when he says that God commanded him to take silver and gold, so that he might make two crowns to set on the head of the high priest. We now understand the Prophet's design regarding the object of the prophecy, and also the meaning of the words.

Let us now inquire why the Prophet was instructed to take gold from four men, for he says, Take from the transmigration. The word הגולה, egule, is to be taken in a collective sense, as in many other places. Take then from the exiles, who have now returned from Babylon to their own country.

But he later mentions four men; and there is some abruptness in the passage, but nothing that obscures the meaning of the Prophet. For he says, Take from Heldai, and from Tobiah, and from Jedaiah; and then he adds, go in that day, enter the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.

The Prophet no doubt had been commanded to go to these four, and to enter the house of one of them. This is evident from the end of the tenth verse (Zechariah 6:10), where he says, who have come from Babylon. He had spoken only of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, and then he adds that they had come from Babylon.

I come now to the answer. Some interpreters think that these four men supplied the gold and the silver because they were leading men among the people and surpassed others in piety. Therefore, they think that these four men were chosen, as a mark of distinction, to supply the gold and the silver to make the crowns. But I conjecture from the end of the chapter that their weakness is highlighted here, because they were weak in faith, did not believe the promises of God, and thus disheartened others by their example.

It is indeed certain that they were men in high authority and surpassed all others, so that the eyes of all were fixed on them; this is certain. Yet their lack of faith is what is rebuked here, because they did not pay sufficient attention to God’s promises and thought themselves disappointed in their hope. For they had left Babylon, where they enjoyed great abundance, and returned to the holy land, only to find it uncultivated and desolate.

Indeed, great patience was required when they had to plow among thorns and brambles, for that land, as I have already said, had not been regularly cultivated. Those who had been sent from the East indeed lived here and there in it, but lions and wild beasts had come into it, so that the desolation of the land made much work necessary when the Jews returned.

I therefore do not doubt that the Holy Spirit here rebukes these four men, who ought to have been leaders and standard-bearers to others; on the contrary, they undermined the confidence of the common people. And this, I say, may be learned from the end of the chapter, where God commands the two crowns to be placed in the temple as a memorial to them, so that they might see there the condemnation of their unbelief, as we will show in its proper place.

The Prophet is instructed to set the two crowns on the head of the high priest. This, as I have said, was intended as a symbol to denote the union of the two dignities in the person of Christ. It was necessary until the coming of Christ to select the high priest from the descendants of Aaron, and it was also required that the kings should be from the seed of David, so that we observe a distinction between the royal office and the priesthood, not only regarding the persons but also regarding the families.

It would indeed have been a strange thing to see a king from the tribe of Levi, and it would have been contrary to God’s appointed order to see a priest from the tribe of Judah and from the family of David. Since, then, the king was adorned with his own diadem, and since the high priest had his own proper mitre, what could this mean, but that the same man was to wear two crowns? Undoubtedly, we observe that there is some change here in the past order of things, and that something unusual is presented. But there is nothing new in this, — that the Redeemer, who had been promised, should be eminent as a king and a priest. For this had been predicted in Psalm 110: Jehovah said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, — this is what belongs to the right of a king; it afterwards follows, Thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchizedec. Though kings must then have been chosen from the family of David and the tribe of Judah, and though priests must then have been taken from the Levitical tribe, yet the Spirit foretold that a king would come who was to be a priest, as had been the case with Melchizedec. This very thing is what the Prophet now confirms.

Zechariah being ordered to set the crowns on the head of Joshua, we are not to regard this as if Joshua had immediately taken on the two offices of a king and a priest, for he was satisfied with his own. But the Prophet shows in the type what was to be expected at the coming of the Messiah. For the time had not yet come when Christ should receive the royal diadem, as it is said in Ezekiel:

Take away the diadem; set it aside, set it aside, set it aside, until he shall come, whose it is (Ezekiel 21:26, 27).

Here we see that the Prophet points out a length of time during which the royal diadem was to be trodden under foot, as it were. Though the royal crown had not yet lain in the dust sufficiently long, the Prophet did nothing presumptuously. For the Jews could not have conceived what is here promised had not the symbolic priest come forth wearing the two crowns. Nor could this have been so suitable to the person of Zerubbabel; for though he was of the family of David and was a type of Christ, he did not yet have the name of a king, nor did he have any regal power. He could not, therefore, have been so suitable a person. It is no wonder, then, that God brought forward the high priest Joshua, who was a type and representative of Christ. And He brought him forward with a double crown because He who was to come would unite, according to what follows, the priesthood with the kingly office.

Those who think that the crowns were deposited with these four men pervert the meaning of the Prophet. For they were, on the contrary, placed in God’s temple to be a memorial to them.

Therefore, it appears that, as I have already said, they were not required to supply the gold because they excelled all others in piety and holiness. Rather, it was necessary to condemn their lack of faith, since they thought their hope was disappointed when God did not immediately fulfill what He had promised.

Let then these crowns, says the Spirit, be a memorial to them. This means that whenever they look on these crowns, they may check themselves and know that their expectations are very unreasonable. They may also realize that they themselves are too hasty when they wish all prophecies to be accomplished in one day. Furthermore, the whole people may know that they had complained without reason, as these suspended crowns shall be a memorial and a testimony.

So now we see more clearly why the Prophet had been ordered to take gold and silver from these four men: it was so that he might make crowns, which were afterwards to be deposited in God’s temple. Finally, he adds.

The Prophet also states that men would come from remote lands to contribute labor or wealth towards the building of the temple; for the word building may refer to either of these two things. Come then shall those from far. Before this time, gifts had been presented by Gentile nations, but the temple was built only by Solomon and his people.

God then promises here something more, and that is, that helpers would assist in building the temple, who had been until then wholly aliens. It is indeed certain that in the age of Zechariah contributions had been made by Cyrus; but the Prophet refers to nothing of this kind: he promises something more.

Hence it follows that this prophecy must necessarily be referred to the promulgation of the gospel, for it was then that strangers began to contribute their labor and their wealth towards building a temple to God. Though Cyrus then gave a large sum of money towards the erection of the temple, yet the allusion here is not to his liberality.

And after Cyrus no stranger had been so liberal, for Herod, who raised up a great and a very splendid building, was not from far; in fact, he wished to be thought one of the people. We then see that this prophecy can only be referred to the building of the spiritual temple, when Gentiles, formerly remote from God’s people, joined them as friends and brought their labor to the work of building the temple—not with stones or wood, or with other corruptible materials, but with the doctrine and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

He then adds, you shall know that Jehovah of hosts has sent me to you. We have spoken of this kind of knowledge elsewhere. It was indeed fitting for the Jews from the first to feel assured concerning the truth of this prophecy; but when the effect or experience itself was added, they then began to know more clearly. It is then the same as though the Prophet had said, “God, who speaks by my mouth, will not disappoint you, as He will eventually accomplish what I now declare; and experience itself will be a witness that I have been a true and faithful Prophet.” And He calls Him the God of hosts, so that the Jews, hearing that what he had said proceeded from Him whose power is infinite, might be confirmed in their faith. There was then no reason for them to doubt the accomplishment, for there is nothing that can resist God when it pleases Him to unfold His power.

It follows, If by hearing you will hear the voice of Jehovah your God. Zechariah promises to the Jews here conditionally—if they became obedient to God and continued in obedience to His word and His doctrine; for unbelief deprives men of all participation in God’s favor. It is indeed true that if all had become unbelieving, Christ still would have come; for God, as He is true, would not change His purpose even if the whole world were to become false.

Since, then, the faithfulness of God does not depend on men, we ought not to take what the Prophet says here, If you will hear the voice of Jehovah, as though they could, by being unfaithful to God, have rendered void the accomplishment of this prophecy. Their defection then, indeed, that of the whole nation, could not have prevented Christ from coming forth in His own appointed time.

But the Prophet had another thing in view, even this—that the Jews would become partakers of this blessing, or would enjoy, so to speak, this favor, if they embraced God’s promise and obediently submitted to His law. For though Christ has already come as the Redeemer of the world, yet we know that this benefit has not come to all, and why?

Because many through unbelief close the door against God and His grace through Christ. Hence the faithful alone really know that God has spoken, and really partake of His favor, and for this reason: because they hear His voice; that is, they first by faith receive what God offers, and then they do not fall away from His truth, but continue in the obedience of faith to the end.

What the Prophet then had in view was to show the Jews that these things were spoken in vain, as far as they were concerned, if they did not attend to God. And he shows the way in which they were to be attentive: even by hearing the voice of God, that is, by renouncing their own thoughts and by not esteeming God untrue, though He promised what seemed incredible. If then they denied themselves, banished their own imaginations, wholly attended to God’s word, and believed what he had said as a Prophet, he assures them that they would really find what he taught them to be true to their own salvation, even this—that Christ would come to be a king and a priest, to secure perfect happiness for His people.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since Your Son has been made known to us, through whom is brought to us the perfection of all blessings and of true and real glory—O grant that we may continue settled in Him, and never turn here and there, nor fluctuate in any way, but be so satisfied with His kingship and priesthood as to deliver ourselves wholly to His care and protection, and never doubt that we are so sanctified by His grace as to be now acceptable to You; and that relying on Him as our Mediator, we may offer ourselves as a sacrifice to You with full confidence of heart, and thus strive to glorify You through the whole course of our life, that we may eventually be made partakers of that celestial glory which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son. Amen.