In Zechariah’s next of ten visions in the night, he was shown Joshua, the high priest of Judah, standing in a heavenly court, along with Joshua’s accuser, Satan, and his defender, the Lord.
Joshua’s appearance represented the spiritual condition of the people of Israel at the end of their seventy-year exile in Babylon. This exile had been imposed on them by God to root out extreme idolatry and unfaithfulness, and there was much for Satan to point out when accusing them before the Lord. (As he would with me!) But Joshua and his people were the apple of God’s eye, and the Lord was not going to permit Satan’s accusations to stand against them.
Zechariah describes the encounter he witnessed in his vision:
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan: “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was dressed with filthy clothes as he stood before the Angel. 4 So the Angel of the Lord spoke to those standing before Him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then He said to him, “See, I have removed your guilt from you, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.” Zechariah 3:1-3 (HCSB)
Wow, the grace of God is simply amazing, and is poured out upon believers without limit.
Before we criticize Joshua for his appearance, let us remember that this is likely how we will appear when we first approach the Lord. Many believe that when we encounter God, He will look admirably upon our good deeds. And at some point, He will, indeed, do that. But first, He must remove the filthy garments of sin which covered each one of us before we turned to Christ. He is able to do this for all people of faith because Jesus bore all of our selfishness, hurtfulness, and filthiness when He voluntarily hung on a cross, dying in our place to pay the penalty for our sin. We all deserve to suffer the death that Christ suffered for us. Jesus, the precious and pure Lamb of God, surrendered Himself to be the all-encompassing sacrifice, and the Father raised Him from the dead to bring us new life. God’s grace and mercy is offered today to all who would partake of it by humbly reaching out, in faith, to Christ.
As the apostle Paul wrote in the New Testament book of Romans:
1 Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, 2 because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, 4 in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1-4 (HCSB)
Just as we have a Savior in the Lord Jesus Christ, scripture tells us that we also have an accuser who is working against us to try to trip us up. This concept is also documented in the book of Job. Satan is seen accusing one of God’s favorite followers, Job, of only being faithful because he was so blessed and favored.
In what follows, the word “fear” means faithful respect and obedience due to God’s glory and majesty. As someone has said, if we fear God, we need not fear anything else.
Reading from the first chapter of Job:
8 Adonai (the Lord) said to the satan, “Did you notice my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth—a blameless and upright man, who fears God and spurns evil.”
9 Then the satan responded to Adonai, saying, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have you not made a hedge around him, his household, and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and strike everything he has, and he will certainly curse You to Your face!” Job 1:8-11 (TLV)
With God’s permission, Job ended up going through some incredibly difficult testing and trial by fire of his faith at the hand of Satan. Though the Lord permitted this, He would later heal, bless, and restore Job to an even greater position than before.
Reading from Job 42:
10 So Adonai restored what Job had lost, after he prayed for his friends and Adonai doubled everything that Job had before. 11 Then all his brothers, all his sisters and everyone who had known him before, came to him and ate bread with him in his house. They consoled him and comforted him for all the calamity that Adonai had brought upon him. Each of them gave him a piece of money and a gold ring.
12 So Adonai blessed Job’s latter days more than at his beginning. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. Job 42:10-12 (TLV)
Though likely not as difficult as the experience of Job, we all face times of trial and suffering. Some of these bad times may come at the hand of dark beings from Satan’s realm, others we may bring on ourselves due to our own sin and shortcomings, but the vast majority of the bad things which happen in our lives occur simply because we live in a fallen world, and until God’s kingdom comes, bad things will continue to happen in this world.
It is God’s plan to bring us into His future kingdom, one without any more accusers, tears, sickness, or death. Because of Jesus offering, we believers will be made holy and worthy to stand in God’s presence one day, clothed in His righteousness. As former prison chaplain Robbie Strong used to tell his inmate church goers, “Be there!”
Reflection
What loss or suffering, past or present, do I need to take before the Lord for healing today?
Lord, thank You that we need not face accusation from You, but rather, redemption through faith by the loving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross at Calvary. We acknowledge our sin and our shortcomings to You, and have an eternal gratitude that You bore all the punishment for them in our place. Your goodness, mercy, grace, and love are given without limit. We ask that You place a hedge of protection around us and our loved ones, bless the work of our hands for You, and enable us to be a blessing to others. We ask this, with thanksgiving, praying in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a blessed and beautiful day in the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 