The stone with seven eyes

The Lord made another revelation to Prophet Zechariah with the words:

For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day (Zech 3: 9).

The New King James version translates this with these words:

For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription, Says the LORD of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

Context

The Lord had just restored the High Priest Joshua to his place and had promised to make him great if he would walk in the ways of the Lord. 

The Stone

• Translated as ‘eben, which means a plummet (stone of destruction), precious stone, tool for work.
• Is it a literal stone or symbolic of something? It could be symbolic.
• It was laid in front of Joshua, indicated that he was able to look at it.

Possible symbolisms

• The High Priests’ garments were encrusted with 12 stones engraved with the names of the tribes which reminded God about His promise when they appeared before Him to make the yearly atonement (Ex 28: 12).
• The prophets symbolically referred to Jesus as “the stone which the builders refused” (Ps 118: 22), a tried and true and precious cornerstone which was laid in Zion (Isa 28: 16).   Apostles Paul and Peter explained that this cornerstone was Jesus (Eph 2: 20; 1 Pet 2: 6).
• Jesus told Peter that the church was built on Himself (the Lord), who was its rock or firm foundation (Mt 16: 18).

Parallels in scripture

1. The Prophet was told that the stone had seven eyes. In order to understand this, we  need to go to Revelation 5: 6, where Apostle John stood before Jesus the stone:

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

2. Jesus is the ROCK and chief cornerstone of His church.

The High Priest Joshua  was in a situation related to the restoration of the  physical temple made with hands, but God was prophesying to him about the Eternal Church, whose Chief Stone or foundation was Jesus. He is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the earth for the Redemption of our sins. He would later become the Great High Priest, making the sacrifice of animals and role of the High Priest obselete.

This is really a message of eternal hope and love.

I hope to deal with the seven eyes on the stone when I return. Blessings!