This is probably one of my favorite passages in the entire Old Testament, basically because of how rich in meaning it is for us who are Christians.
In this passage, Joshua, the high priest was standing before the Lord, and Satan was hurling accusations against him.
What’s more, they were probably true accusations, for Joshua was standing before the Lord with clothes stained with sin.
But at that point, the Lord said,
The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!
Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire? (Zechariah 3:2)
Very interesting to me that it says, “The Lord said, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan.’” Could it be that this messenger (angel actually just means “messenger”) was Jesus himself?
At any rate, the Lord rebukes Satan, saying, “This is a man I’ve already saved. How dare you accuse him!”
The messenger then tells those around to take off the filthy clothes from Joshua, and he said to Joshua,
See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you. (Zechariah 3:4)
He then charged Joshua,
If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. (Zechariah 3:7, NASB)
The interesting thing here is that He first cleansed Joshua, and then He charged him to follow after and serve Him.
God promised that if he did, Joshua would continue as the high priest for His people. Not only that, he would have free access before God.
One final thing. It’s ironic, but then is it really ironic for the God who knows and plans everything?
He tells Joshua of another Joshua that would come. (Jesus is simply the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua).
He said that this “Joshua” would come in all the wisdom of God (the seven eyes on the stone) and in a single day, he would wipe out sin forever by his death on the cross.
And when Jesus comes back and reigns, we shall finally find true peace. (Zechariah 3:8–10)
What can we get from all of this? We all, like Joshua, stood before God, stained with sin. Satan stood against us hurling accusations against us.
But when we turned to Christ, Jesus became our advocate, defending us, and rebuking Satan.
He then took off our filthy garments and clothed us with righteousness, not because of anything we had done, but because of what he had done on the cross.
And now, having already been cleansed, we are urged to follow him and serve him as his priests. As we do, we find that we have free access to Him along with all the saints.
Paul put it this way,
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation — if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. (Colossians 1:21–23)
