Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. (Zechariah 3:1)
The Prophet Zechariah saw a heavenly courtroom where Joshua , representing the people of Judah was standing before the Angel of the LORD and was being accused by satan. This is not the Joshua who succeeded Moses, but the high priest who returned to Jerusalem with the exiles. (Ezra 3:2)
satan: The Hebrew is literally ‘the Accuser’. Revelation 12:10 calls satan “the accuser of the brethren” He is fulfilling his ministry here. Also, when you accuse the people of God you are also participating in the ministry of satan.
satan (the accuser) hates it when God’s people come into the presence of the LORD in prayer, in worship, reading and meditating the word. He will do all he can to stop you.
And the Lord said to satan, “The Lord rebuke you, satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:2)
The Lord rebuke you, satan!
God does allow satan to attack and harass His people, but He always strictly regulates what satan is allowed to do. satan wanted to destroy Simon Peter, sifting him like wheat (Luke 22:31-32) but Jesus prayed for Peter and stood beside him and did not allow satan to carry out his evil intentions.
Jude 1:9 tells us that Michael the archangel used this same phrase in battling against satan. The example here of the Angel of the Lord and of Michael shows us a model for spiritual warfare – that we always should battle with the Lord’s authority. It is always “In the name of Jesus’. This is the way the Apostles did it.
Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?
A brand is a burning, burnt, or smoldering piece of wood which will be consumed completely if it isn’t plucked from the fire.
Joshua the High Priest had a place of high standing – next to the Angel of the Lord and protected against satanic attack. Still, this place of high privilege was not based on Joshua’s own goodness or merit; he himself was rescued as a brand plucked from the fire.
Don't forget that some of you (including me) would not have even been here had not the Lord intervened. It was not our good efforts that saved us, it was His grace that saved us.
When John Wesley (the famous preacher who founded the Methodist movement) was only six years old, he was trapped in a burning house and was only rescued when one neighbour climbed on another’s shoulders and pulled him out of window. A picture of the scene was drawn for Wesley and he kept the drawing until he died, and wrote under it Zechariah 3:2: Is this not a brand plucked from the burning?
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by. (Zechariah 3:3-5)
As Joshua the High Priest stood in the presence of the Lord, satan accuses him of standing before God in filthy garments. Nevertheless, the Lord fixes the problem by cleansing Joshua, taking away the filthy garments and the iniquity they represented.
But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousness are like filthy rags; (Isaiah 64:6)
And I will clothe you with rich robes:
Joshua not only enjoys having his iniquity removed, he also is given a positive righteousness – clothed with rich robes. The thought of being clothed by God in righteousness runs.
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
When the prodigal son having lost everything came to the father in his filthy rags
“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.
(Notice the Father did not condemn Him, but the presence of the Father, brought conviction)
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. (Luke 15:20-22)
In having the best robe placed on him, the Father was telling the Prodigal as well as all observers that his position as son was being restored. This robe was not anyone else’ robe but the robe of the father himself.
Let them put a clean turban on his head:
The turban was part of the High Priest’s garments and on the front it had a gold plate inscribed with the phrase Holiness to the Lord (Exodus 28:36-38).
Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘If you will walk in My ways,
And if you will keep My command,
Then you shall also judge My house,
And likewise have charge of My courts;
I will give you places to walk
Among these who stand here. (Zechariah 3:6)
If you will walk in My ways and if you will keep my command:
Salvation is by grace. It is not because of our good works. In other words, obedience does not bring salvation. But obedience is the fruit or evidence of our salvation. Lord Jesus said, “If you love me you will keep my commandments” He was not talking to the unsaved but the saved.
Three things that happen as we keep His commands
- Then you shall also judge My house,
- And likewise have charge of My courts;
- I will give you places to walk among these who stand here.