Page:Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah (Baron, David).djvu/209

 dictions in the former prophets that in a time to come the Redeemer, whom God promised to raise up in Israel out of the House of David, would combine in His own Person the two great mediatorial offices of Priest and King, and be at the same time the last and greatest Prophet, through Whom God would reveal Himself more fully and perfectly to man. Thus, for instance, in the I loth Psalm it is predicted of the theocratic King, Who " shall strike through kings in the day of His wrath," and "judge among nations"

" The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent. Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek"

Now, of this royal Priest, whose priesthood was to be " for ever," Joshua was already told in the 3rd chapter that both he and his " fellows of the Aaronic family were anshei mopheth literally, " men that are a sign," i.e., types so that there could be no shadow of a possibility of his understanding this new and fuller message about the Priest-King in the 6th chapter as referring to himself, beyond the fact that in his official capacity as high priest he (like all the other priests of the House of Aaron) fore shadowed the Person and office of the One who should be the true and only Mediator between God and man.

To return for a moment to the symbolical action which preceded the delivery of the verbal message, there is truth in Pusey's observation, that the act of placing the crown on the head of Joshua, the high priest, pictured not only the union of the offices of Priest and King in the person of the Messiah, but that He should be King, being first our High Priest. " Joshua was already high priest; being such, the kingly crown was added to him. It says in act what the Apostle says in plain words, that Christ Jesus, being found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him."

But to remove any possibility of mistake or doubt, " the Man " to whom the attention of Joshua is directed away from himself is introduced by the well-known