Zech. 3
When the soul has been truly awakened by the voice of God, and the conscience exercised as to its state before Him, the great question then is, How can I meet God? I have been offending Him, and living without Him all my life; how can I stand before Him? Oh! how can I ever be fit to dwell in His holy presence? These questions, all important to every lost sinner, are fully answered in the scene before us.
“And he showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, Ο Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Here, Joshua represents Jerusalem,—the Jewish people. But they are guilty and polluted. He “was clothed with filthy garments,” a true type of every sinner’s condition before God. “There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” His “filthy garments,” like the rags of the far country, bear witness to his guilt and pollution. But as he is, he stands before God. And now, what will He do with him? What can He do with such a guilty one? Will He cast Him out? Will He say, “O, he is blacker than I thought he was; how can I make him whiter than the snow? Oh, no! blessed be His name! He will cast out his sins, but not himself. None who so came, ever was cast out, and none ever shall. He has given His word, that “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” On no account—on no consideration will He “cast out.” It is His will to save. But Satan is “standing at his right hand to resist him.” Mark the place he takes, “his right hand.” He seeks to resist his deliverance; to terrify, degrade, and paralyze him. If he could, he would have him thrown back into the fire, out of which, God in His boundless mercy had plucked him. But the Lord speaks for the poor trembling sinner. “The Lord rebuke thee, Ο Satan......is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” He throws His shield around him, who can touch him? He has been plucked as a brand out of the fire, by the mighty arm of God’s salvation, and all the powers of hell are as nothing; they cannot reach him now. God is everything to him, He spreads the wing of His protection over him, and he is safe forever. Oh! what a refuge for the soul! and it is open to all, “whosoever will, let him come.” May every unsaved sinner who reads this paper, flee at once. Stay not, I pray thee, until thou hast finished it. Thy need is urgent—thy danger is great—Satan is at thy right hand, watching to deceive thy soul, and hold thee in his fearful grasp. Flee, Oh! flee at once for thy life,—thy soul’s eternal life! The door stands wide open night and day, and the voice of Jesus still says, “Come unto me—I will give you rest.”
Thus we learn, that the presence of God, is the only place of safety and blessing for a guilty soul. It is the only place where we can get rid of our sins—our filthy garments; and it is the only hiding place from the dreadful enemy of souls. How could Joshua have answered Satan? How could he have resisted him? He was guilty, polluted, and unfit for the divine presence. Had he been dealt with as he deserved, the lake of fire would have been his portion forever. God alone could meet his need, and silence the accuser.
The Lord now takes Joshua’s case entirely into His own hands, and answers for him in every matter. Joshua opens not his mouth. What could he say? He was guilty, and as such, he was cast upon the grace of God. Divine mercy was his only resource. And now, God acts towards him according to what He is in Himself. His own love directs Him, and He meets all his need in the riches of His own grace. “And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him.” His sins which were many are all forgiven, not one is left. They are put away according to the demands of holiness, and the perfectness of the work of the cross. God cannot look on sin; it is unbearable to His nature; but He can put it away, blessed be His name, and this is the first thing He does for the soul that is before Him. “Take away the filthy garments from him.” What can Satan now say? He is silenced forever. Sin, the armor in which he trusted, is put away. And now, sin gone, the soul saved, and Satan silenced, the God of mercy, with grace and love ineffable, speaks directly to the sinner himself. “And unto him he said, Behold I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee.” Oh! what tender compassion for a troubled soul, and what a solid ground of peace these words are! What can be more solid, sure, or unchangeable than the word of God? “BEHOLD, I HAVE CAUSED THINE INIQUITY TO PASS FROM THEE.” Oh! troubled soul, look again at these blessed words. Think on whose they are! He can never deceive; and be assured, that this is God’s way in grace with every soul that is really cast on what He is. They are fitted and intended to give you immediate peace in His holy presence. Can you ever doubt more, with such an assurance before you? Surely not! It is God who says it, and that is enough. Such are His ways in grace to every soul that believes in Jesus. “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10:12, 1312For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:12‑13).
And now that the filthy garments are gone, Joshua is clothed with raiment of God’s own providing. The best robe is put upon him. “I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” God not only speaks for Joshua, but He acts for him. Joshua now stands before the Lord, not in “filthy garments,” but in divine righteousness. So will it be with Israel in the latter day. The Lord will undertake the cause of His beloved people, and stand up for them against every adversary. He will cleanse them from all their defilements, and clothe them in garments of salvation. It is in His heart to bless them, and they shall be blessed. “Even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” But He cannot clothe a guilty people with a robe of glory; therefore, His way is, first to cleanse, and then to clothe. This is God’s way of dealing with all them that believe. Our filthy garments are displaced by the spotless robe of righteousness. Our sins being washed away in the blood of Jesus, we are clothed in the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21), Rom. 3:19-2619Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Romans 3:19‑26).
But this is not all. The Lord is acting in grace, and He blesses like Himself. He makes Joshua a priest before Him. Not only is he cleansed, and clothed, but mitered. And I said, “Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So, they set a fair miter upon his head.” Blessed type of Israel, when, as “a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation,” they, being delivered out of the hands of their enemies, will serve the Lord in holiness and righteousness, all the days of their life. (Exod. 19; Luke 1) True worship is the overflowing of the heart. When we know that our sins are all forgiven, and that we stand before God in divine righteousness, and are accepted in the beloved, the heart is not only full, but overflowing. In such a condition we can only praise, adore, and worship God in whom are all our springs. Every desire of the heart has been satisfied, and every wish met, so that we can only give thanks to the Lord for all His mercies.
We have now come to the end of the first division of this interesting chapter, including ver. 1-5. It naturally divides itself into three. The first, as we have seen, unfolds God’s ways in wondrous grace, with a guilty sinner. He acts from Himself. The second division (ver. 6, 7) shows us the responsibility of those who are the subjects of such grace. “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.” Grace leads to godliness, and is the only power of a holy walk with God. (Titus 2:11-1511For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 15These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee. (Titus 2:11‑15).)
In the third division (verses 8-10) we have the hope of glory. Joshua being brought into the place of blessed nearness to God, and happy fellowship with Him, the bright hope of glory is fully and distinctly set before him. “Behold, I will bring forth my servant, THE BRANCH.” Jesus, who was once the lowly rod from, the stem of Jesse, shall, in that long looked-for day of glory, come forth, as the BRANCH of the Lord, beautiful and glorious. “Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.” “And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all the vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.” (Isa. 22:2424And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. (Isaiah 22:24).) But He is not only the BRANCH on which all the glory hangs; He is the sure foundation on which it all rests. “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. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.” He will be the sure foundation-stone of Israel’s blessing in the latter day, and of all blessing and glory throughout the whole millennial scene. The “seven eyes” denote the perfect intelligence of Him who rules over all.
Thus the Lord, in wondrous love, translates the believer in Jesus, from the depths of ruin and misery, to the heights of glory and blessedness. There is no middle ground, no resting place between. He finds him as a brand in the fire, rescues him from it, and sets him in His own presence “in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” O, what an exchange! from the depths of the darksome pit, to the lofty summits of light and glory! from being a child of wrath and an heir of hell, to be a child of God and an heir of heaven! from being black as a smoking brand, to be whiter than the snow, and fitted for the paradise of God! From being in the place of utter distance, to be brought near to the throne of God, as a worshipping high priest; crowned with “a fair miter,” and clothed in “garments of glory and beauty.” And what makes all this wondrous blessing so deeply valuable and comforting to the heart, is the assurance that God Himself does all Joshua says nothing, and does nothing. He has got to the end of himself, and begun with God, and so leaves all to Him.
The wanderer no more will roam,
The lost one to the fold hath come,
The prodigal is welcomed home,
O Lamb of God, through Thee
Though clothed in rags, by sin defiled,
The father did embrace his child;
And I am pardon’d, reconciled,
Ο Lamb of God, in Thee!
It is the Father’s joy to bless,
His love has found for me a dress,
A robe of spotless righteousness,
Ο Lamb of God, in Thee!
And now my famish’d soul is fed,
A feast of love for me is spread,
I feed upon the children’s bread,
Ο Lamb of God, in Thee!
And when I in Thy likeness shine,
The glory and the praise be Thine,
That everlasting joy is mine,
O Lamb of God, in Thee!