Zechariah 6:14 Commentary and Bible Study

The names of the individuals found here vary from those given in verse 10, but it is likely that they are the same four individuals, two of them having additional names. These men are all given evangelical names which Alfred Jones interprets as: Heldai – life; Helem – strength; Tobijah – distinguished of the Lord; Jedaiah – Jehovah has known; Josiah – given of the Lord; Hen – grace, favour. There was much a spiritual Jew would have understood – but there were certain things they would have found difficult. The crowns are entrusted to these men not for them to wear but to store up in the temple, until the time when the sign is fulfilled. It was to be a reminder to them that God had promised them a wonderful future with the coming of the Messiah.In the coming day of the Lord, ‘they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD.’ This is a promise of the call of the Gentiles. It is a scenario so different to that which those who heard Zechariah’s words could have imagined. They regarded the nations around as their enemies who were opposing the work of rebuilding, but here Zechariah speaks of the Gentiles coming from far and assisting with the work. This is wonderful evidence of the power of God to turn every situation into something good. The Gentiles are not seen as slave labour coming to build but as willing workers doing what is uppermost in their hearts. For this to happen, they must not only come, but have renewed hearts that desire to serve the Lord, that have turned from their idols, and now live for God. Of course these things are expressed in the language of the day, and it is not necessary to understand that the Gentiles need to leave their native country to fulfil this prophecy. We translate this description of physical building into something much more wonderful – the building of a spiritual temple. Zechariah has already told us that God is the Lord of all the earth, that the four spirits of heaven are sent to walk to and fro through the earth, and that Jerusalem will be expanded as towns without walls. The temple which the Gentile converts will build will be throughout the whole world: ‘And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people’ (Revelation 14:6).Peter loosely quotes from verse 15 when he says, ‘The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call’ (Acts 2:39). This is what is happening now in the gospel age. We are all building a temple to the Lord: not a literal temple and not built with literal trowels and spirit levels, but one built out of believing men, women and children, built with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is preached and taught.