◄ Zechariah 3:10 ►
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.'"
Study Bible
On that day
This phrase is often used in prophetic literature to denote a future time of fulfillment, a day of divine intervention or blessing. In the context of Zechariah, it points to a messianic age, a time when God's promises will be fully realized. The Hebrew term "yom" (day) can signify a literal day or an era, emphasizing the certainty and divine timing of God's plan.

each of you
This phrase indicates inclusivity and personal involvement. The prophecy is not just for a select few but for all who are part of God's covenant community. It underscores the personal nature of God's promises and the communal aspect of His blessings.

will invite his neighbor
The act of inviting a neighbor suggests hospitality, peace, and fellowship. In ancient Near Eastern culture, sharing a meal or inviting someone to one's home was a sign of friendship and reconciliation. This phrase implies a future time of harmony and unity among God's people, reflecting the peace that the Messiah will bring.

to sit under his vine and under his fig tree
This imagery is rich with symbolism. The vine and fig tree represent prosperity, security, and peace. In ancient Israel, these plants were common symbols of a settled and blessed life (1 Kings 4:25, Micah 4:4). The phrase suggests a return to Edenic conditions, where there is no fear or want, and each person enjoys the fruits of their labor in peace.

declares the LORD of Hosts
This title for God emphasizes His sovereignty and power. "LORD of Hosts" (Yahweh Sabaoth) is a military term, portraying God as the commander of heavenly armies. It assures the reader of the certainty of the prophecy, as it is backed by the authority and might of God Himself. This declaration is a divine guarantee that the promised peace and prosperity will come to pass.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Zechariah
A prophet who ministered to the Jewish people after their return from Babylonian exile. His prophecies often focus on the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah.

2. Joshua the High Priest
In the context of Zechariah 3, Joshua represents the priesthood and the people of Israel. His cleansing symbolizes the purification and restoration of the nation.

3. The LORD of Hosts
A title for God emphasizing His sovereignty and command over the heavenly armies. It underscores His power to bring about the promised peace and restoration.

4. The Vine and Fig Tree
Symbolic of peace, prosperity, and security. In ancient Israel, sitting under one's vine and fig tree represented a time of safety and blessing.

5. The Day of the LORD
A prophetic term often used to describe a future time when God will intervene decisively in human history, bringing judgment and salvation.
Teaching Points
Promise of Peace and Security
The imagery of the vine and fig tree represents God's promise of peace and security for His people. Believers can find comfort in God's assurance of spiritual peace through Christ.

Community and Fellowship
The invitation to neighbors signifies the importance of community and fellowship among God's people. Christians are called to foster relationships and share the blessings of God's kingdom with others.

Messianic Fulfillment
This prophecy points to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who brings true peace and restoration. Believers are encouraged to look forward to the complete realization of God's kingdom.

Restoration and Renewal
Just as Joshua was cleansed and restored, God offers spiritual renewal to all who come to Him. This encourages believers to seek personal and communal renewal through repentance and faith.

Hope in God's Promises
The certainty of God's promises provides hope and motivation for believers to live faithfully, trusting in God's future plans for His people.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the imagery of the vine and fig tree in Zechariah 3:10 reflect God's promises of peace and security for His people?

2. In what ways can we invite our "neighbors" to experience the peace and blessings of God's kingdom today?

3. How does the promise of restoration in Zechariah 3:10 connect to the broader theme of Messianic fulfillment in the New Testament?

4. What practical steps can we take to foster community and fellowship within our church or local community, reflecting the invitation mentioned in this verse?

5. How can the assurance of God's future promises motivate us to live faithfully in our current circumstances?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Micah 4:4
This verse also uses the imagery of sitting under one's vine and fig tree to describe a future time of peace and security, connecting the promise of restoration to the Messianic age.

1 Kings 4:25
During Solomon's reign, the people of Israel experienced peace and prosperity, symbolized by each man living under his vine and fig tree, foreshadowing the ultimate peace promised in Zechariah.

John 1:48-50
Jesus' interaction with Nathanael under the fig tree can be seen as a fulfillment of the peace and revelation promised in the Old Testament, pointing to Jesus as the Messiah.
Sermons
Messiah's TimesWilliam Jay.Zechariah 3:10
The Stone with Seven EyesNoah Levings.Zechariah 3:10
The Times of Gospel PeaceGeorge Hutcheson.Zechariah 3:10
Christians a WonderB. Beddome, M. A.Zechariah 3:8-10
Jesus Christ, the Stone Whereon are Seven EyesT. Bagnall-Baker, M. A.Zechariah 3:8-10
Messiah's MissionW. Forsyth Zechariah 3:8-10
No Engraving Without WoundWilliam Jay.Zechariah 3:8-10
The Cornerstone of the ChurchGeorge Hutcheson.Zechariah 3:8-10
The Stone Before JoshuaJ. R. Macduff, D. D.Zechariah 3:8-10
The World's Wants and God's ProvisionsHomilistZechariah 3:8-10
The World's Wants and God's ProvisionsD. Thomas Zechariah 3:8-10
People
Joshua, Zechariah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Affirmation, Almighty, Another's, Armies, Declares, Fig, Fig-tree, Guests, Hosts, Invite, Neighbor, Neighbour, Says, Sit, Tree, Vine
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 3:10

     4440   fig-tree
     4534   vine
     5181   sitting
     5355   invitations

Library
June 24. "I Will Clothe Thee with Change of Raiment" (Zech. Iii. 4).
"I will clothe thee with change of raiment" (Zech. iii. 4). For Paul every exercise of the Christian life was simply the grace of Jesus Christ imparted to him and lived out by him, so that holiness was to put on the Lord Jesus and all the robes of His perfect righteousness which he loves to describe so often in his beautiful epistles. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved," he says to the Colossians, "bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering"; and, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Right of Entry
'I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.'--ZECHARIAH iii. 7. A WORD or two of explanation will probably be necessary in order to see the full meaning of this great promise. The Prophet has just been describing a vision of judgment which he saw, in which the high priest, as representative of the nation, stood before the Angel of the Lord as an unclean person. He is cleansed and clothed, his foul raiment stripped off him, and a fair priestly garment, with 'Holiness to the Lord' written …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A vision of Judgement and Cleansing
'And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3. Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel. 4. And He answered and spake unto those that stood before Him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him He said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Change of Raiment
"Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments."--Zech. iii. 4, 5. G. Ter Steegen. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Lord Jesus, all my sin and guilt Love laid of old on Thee, Thy love the cross and sorrow willed, Love undeserved by me. The victory over death and hell Thou, Lord, for me didst win; And Thou hast nailed upon …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Home Occupations and Travels in England and Wales.
1828--1833. On their return home Martha Yeardley was attacked with a severe illness, consequent probably on hard travelling and bad accommodation during the journey. Under date of the 18th of the Fifth Month, J.Y. writes:-- How circumstances change! Last Yearly Meeting we were in London with the prospect of a long journey before us, and now my dear Martha is on a bed of sickness, and I have myself suffered; but through all there is a degree of peaceful resignation in the belief that all is done …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

How to Make Use of Christ, as Truth, for Comfort, when Truth is Oppressed and Born Down.
There is another difficulty, wherein believing souls will stand in need of Christ, as the truth, to help them; and that is, when his work is overturned, his cause borne down, truth condemned, and enemies, in their opposition to his work, prospering in all their wicked attempts. This is a very trying dispensation, as we see it was to the holy penman of Psalm lxxiii. for it made him to stagger, so that his feet were almost gone, and his steps had well nigh slipt; yea he was almost repenting of his …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Sum and Substance of all Theology
Note: On Tuesday, June 25th, 1861, the beloved C. H. Spurgeon visited Swansea. The day was wet, so the services could not be held in the open-air; and, as no building in the town was large enough to hold the vast concourses of people who had come from all parts to hear the renowned preacher, he consented to deliver two discourses in the morning; first at Bethesda, and then at Trinity Chapel. At each place he preached for an hour and a quarter. The weather cleared up during the day; so, in the evening, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 26-38. ^c 26 Now in the sixth month [this is the passage from which we learn that John was six months older than Jesus] the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth [Luke alone tells us where Mary lived before the birth of Jesus. That Nazareth was an unimportant town is shown by the fact that it is mentioned nowhere in the Old Testament, nor in the Talmud, nor in Josephus, who mentions two hundred four towns and cities of Galilee. The …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Concerning Worship.
Concerning Worship. [780] All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own Spirit which is neither limited to places times, nor persons. For though we are to worship him always, and continually to fear before him; [781] yet as to the outward signification thereof, in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it in our own will, where and when we will; but where and when we are moved thereunto by the stirring and secret inspiration …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Having spoken of the general notion of blessedness, I come next to consider the subjects of this blessedness, and these our Saviour has deciphered to be the poor in spirit, the mourners, etc. But before I touch upon these, I shall attempt a little preface or paraphrase upon this sermon of the beatitudes. 1 Observe the divinity in this sermon, which goes beyond all philosophy. The philosophers use to say that one contrary expels another; but here one contrary begets another. Poverty is wont to expel …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Thoughts Upon the Appearance of Christ the Sun of Righteousness, or the Beatifick vision.
SO long as we are in the Body, we are apt to be governed wholly by its senses, seldom or never minding any thing but what comes to us through one or other of them. Though we are all able to abstract our Thoughts when we please from matter, and fix them upon things that are purely spiritual; there are but few that ever do it. But few, even among those also that have such things revealed to them by God himself, and so have infinitely more and firmer ground to believe them, than any one, or all their …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the Practice of Piety.
Those hindrances are chiefly seven:-- I. An ignorant mistaking of the true meaning of certain places of the holy Scriptures, and some other chief grounds of Christian religion. The Scriptures mistaken are these: 1. Ezek. xxxiii. 14, 16, "At what time soever a sinner repenteth him of his sin, I will blot out all," &c. Hence the carnal Christian gathers, that he may repent when he will. It is true, whensoever a sinner does repent, God will forgive; but the text saith not, that a sinner may repent whensoever …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Its Meaning
Deliverance from the condemning sentence of the Divine Law is the fundamental blessing in Divine salvation: so long as we continue under the curse, we can neither be holy nor happy. But as to the precise nature of that deliverance, as to exactly what it consists of, as to the ground on which it is obtained, and as to the means whereby it is secured, much confusion now obtains. Most of the errors which have been prevalent on this subject arose from the lack of a clear view of the thing itself, and …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way.
What Christ hath done to purchase, procure, and bring about our justification before God, is mentioned already, viz. That he stood in the room of sinners, engaging for them as their cautioner, undertaking, and at length paying down the ransom; becoming sin, or a sacrifice for sin, and a curse for them, and so laying down his life a ransom to satisfy divine justice; and this he hath made known in the gospel, calling sinners to an accepting of him as their only Mediator, and to a resting upon him for …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Covenant of Works
Q-12: I proceed to the next question, WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN HE WAS CREATED? A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge upon pain of death. For this, consult with Gen 2:16, 17: And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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