Page 251 - Through New Eyes

The Worlds of Exile and Restoration 251

A more complex case is presented in Esther. At the begin-
ning of the story, Mordecai wants to have influence at court, but
shows a needless rebellious streak in refusing to bow to Haman
(Esther 3:2; cf. Genesis 23:12; 33:3; 42:6; 43:26; Ruth 2:10;
Esther 8:3); and Mordecai also tells Esther to conceal her identity,
cloaking her witness (Esther 2:9-10; cp. Daniel 1:8). When as a
result of Mordecai’s proto-Pharisaical and proto-Zealot behavior
the Jews are put in danger, Esther is compelled to reveal her
heritage and bear witness. The result is the salvation of the Jews
and the elevation of their leaders into positions of influence. The
compromised Mordecai, whose name means “Worshipper of
Marduk,” received honor when he assisted the king (Esther 6);
but he received a permanent position when he stopped conceal-
ing his witness (Esther 10).
The books of Ezra and Haggai describe the return of the
people to the land and the rebuilding of the Temple. As the peo-
ple began to rebuild the Temple, God gave a series of visions to
Zechariah, contained in Zechariah 1-6, that explained the nature
of the Temple. To be sure, to the outward eye the new Temple
was not very glorious (Ezra 3:12; Haggai 2:3); but the spiritual
reality of the Restoration was such that the entire heavens and
earth were going to be shaken (Haggai 2:4-9). Thus, if we are
going to understand the trw nature of the Restoration establish-
ment, we must move back into the realm of vision.
As we have seen, the Temple courtyard is the equivalent of a
garden-sanctuary, leading to heaven. The altar was a holy
mountain and ladder to heaven, but so were the bronze pillars
Jachin and Boaz. The bronze shaft was equivalent to the bronze
altar, and the capital to the heavenly temple.
This is alluded to in Zechariah 6:1,

Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four
chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains;
and the mountains were bronze mountains.

The meaning of this verse and its allusions have been widely
debated, but I believe that the clue lies in the nature of the vi-
sions themselves. Zechariah is identified as one of the twenty-
four chief priests of the Temple (Zechariah 1:1 with 1 Chronicles
24:4-19; Nehemiah 12:1, 4, 16).10 He had access to the Holy