This expression occurs in Zechariah 6:1313Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6:13) and was written after the return of the Jews from Babylon. They were seeking to rebuild the temple, and this was intended to encourage them in that work. But “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation,” and as with many other scriptures, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is looked forward to as the ultimate point, the true consummation. So here the prophet comforts the hearts of those who had returned with a direct prophecy of Christ.
Christ, the Central Object
Christ is the great object of the love of God, and the Spirit of God in Scripture always looks on to Him, seeing all things as they concern Christ and His future glory. And so here, “He shall build the temple of the Lord; even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne” (Zech. 6:12-1312And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord: 13Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6:12‑13)). It is “the man whose name is The BRANCH” (vs. 12) who shall do all this. Zerubbabel is merely a type. Nothing is spoken casually, but all with a view to the ultimate purpose of the glory of God in Christ. Whether it affects the destinies of man, of Israel or of the church, all centers in Jesus.
It must have been a great comfort to the saints of old to have future glories thus opened to them, for whenever the Holy Spirit had awakened spiritual desires in any heart, those desires could not be satisfied with temporal deliverance or blessing. Even in the days of Josiah, when such a Passover was kept that the like of it had not been since the days of Samuel, yet even then Jeremiah was uttering denunciations against the evil of the people, and the Spirit of God, in denouncing their sin, always referred to the new covenant, holding out the Lord Jesus as the only One in whom the fullness of blessing was to center.
So it is with the church now. We have indeed greater blessings and clearer revelations, but still there is evil, for we are yet in the body. In times of the greatest revivals, there has always been a mixture which tended to evil. We have surely much cause to thank God and rejoice, but nothing really to satisfy. We must still look onward to the future blessings in Christ. Never, till He appears, will the full desires of our hearts be given us; never, until we “awake in [His] likeness,” shall we really be “satisfied.” Nothing less will suffice, because the Spirit of Christ is in us. Our hopes run on to God’s ultimate purpose of complete blessing. Both earthly and heavenly glories meet in Jesus and will be manifested when He comes. “The counsel of peace” is between Jehovah and the Messiah.
But where is Jesus now? He does not yet rule; peace is not yet established upon the earth. But there is a throne upon which He does sit, and thus is given to us a plain revelation of “the counsel of peace.” We have this peace in our souls, while waiting for its establishment on the earth and the time of the manifested glory. There is a “counsel of peace” which belongs to us, an assured peace, peace indeed in the midst of present trouble, but still God’s peace. If it were not God’s peace, it would be good for nothing. I may, it is true, have my spirit much disturbed and know trial of heart, but still I have a title to perfect peace amidst it all—not only peace with God, but peace concerning every circumstance, because God is “for us” in it all.
Had not man been in rebellion against God, there would have been no need for “the counsel of peace.” But man has rebelled, and rebellion against God is still the characteristic of the unconverted heart. Such was his rebellion that peace between man and God seemed impossible. But now we see that there is not only peace, but a “counsel of peace” — thoughts of God concerning peace, thoughts which Jesus alone could meet. “Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God!”
It Is Between God and Jesus
But now “the counsel of peace” is between God and Jesus, instead of man, and hence security. It is not merely peace, but “the counsel of peace.” The word “counsel” implies deliberate purpose. What solidity must there be in that peace which God had a “counsel” about and all the engagements of which the mind of Jesus fully entered into and accomplished! It is most important to see that “the counsel of peace” is entirely between God and Jesus. The moment we begin to rest our peace on anything in ourselves, we lose it. And this is why so many saints have not settled peace. Nothing can be lasting that is not built on God alone. We must not rest on anything, even the Spirit’s work, within ourselves, but on what Christ has done entirely without us. In Christ alone God finds that in which He can rest, and so it is with His saints. The more we see the extent and nature of the evil that is within, as well as that without and around, the more we will find that what Jesus is — and what Jesus did — is the only ground at all on which we can rest.
Our peace is established in what He did, and “the counsel of peace” is “between them both.” There are two great characters in the sacrifice of Christ: the one, that of the burnt offering; the other, that of the sin offering. We lay our hands on Him as the “burnt offering,” thus identifying ourselves with Him. “Accepted in the beloved,” all His perfection — all His “sweet savor” unto God — is ours. But then as to the “sin offering,” it is just the reverse with the hand laid upon the victim; it became identified with my sins, charged with my guilt. He has completely accomplished the purpose of God, all that which was in “the counsel of peace.”
Accomplished, Sure and
Everlasting
Here then is “the counsel of peace” which was purposed between God and Jesus. Here, and here only, we have peace. If our souls have any idea of rest except in that which is the perfect rest of God, we have gotten off the ground of this “counsel of peace.” He has not called us into “the counsel,” which really is entirely independent of ourselves — ”between them both” — accomplished, sure and everlasting. Nothing can ever touch it. God has publicly owned His acceptance of Christ’s work by seating Him at His own right hand. The Holy Spirit is sent to witness to us that Jesus is now on “the throne of God,” having “by one offering ... perfected forever them that are sanctified.”
We may have a great deal of trial from circumstances around, trial from within, exercise of conscience, and the like, but still we have the perfect certainty of God’s favor, and “if God be for us, who can be against us?” This is the true way to reckon upon His kindness: ”Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus.” Observe, he says, “The peace of God.” Again, the word is, “Be careful for nothing”; if one single thing were exempt, God would not be God. If exercised and troubled in spirit, tempted to be “careful,” let us go to God about it. Our wishes may possibly be foolish wishes. Still, let us go and present them to God. If they are so, we shall very soon be ashamed of them.
Our Need
We have need of this “counsel of peace,” because all that we are in ourselves is enmity against God. I cannot go out of this “counsel” to look at my own heart for a moment; it is “between them both.” Is the Christian to make the cross of Christ less complete? On that alone his peace can rest.
Who or what shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Shall tribulation or distress or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? No, these things shall, as means for mortifying the flesh, only minister to Christ’s glory. Shall death? It will only bring us into His presence. Shall life? It is that by which we enjoy His favor. “Nothing shall separate”! He is “on the throne” as the eternal witness of peace accomplished, and thence He ministers it to us.
J. N. Darby, adapted