Zechariah 3
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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, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
5 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. And the angel of the Lord stood by.
6 And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying,
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.
8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch.
9 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.
10 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
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Commentary
This vision of Zechariah pictures the wonders of the great salvation that has been provided for us by Jesus Christ. Joshua, as high priest, had come with Zerubbabel and the returning exiles to minister before the Lord in their behalf. As high priest he represented all the people.
But, Satan is there also. He is the source of all the opposition that the Jews faced. In addition he points to the filthiness, the unbelief, the sins of the people. He claimed it was not right for God to help Joshua. Thoughts of the hopelessness of ever getting the people to love God supremely and fulfill their mission tempted the leaders.
God’s grace rebuked Satan. The truth presented in this vision of removing the filthy garments of sin and giving us the robe of Christ’s righteousness fills us with hope. The Lord loves us and is with us. Let us go forward in faith. To get the glorious meaning of this vision read the chapter, “Joshua and the Angel,” in the book, Prophets and Kings. You will be made strong. Notice this one statement: “Their earthliness will be removed, that through them the image of Christ may be perfectly revealed” (p. 589).
David Manzano
Retired Pastor, USA
