Snatched from the Fire

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a log snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed in filthy garments and was standing before the angel. And he responded and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you and will clothe you with festive robes.” Then I said, “Have them put a clean headband on his head.” So they put the clean headband on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the Lord was standing by. Zechariah 3:1-5

This is the fourth vision that the prophet Zechariah sees, but it is different than the first three visions. For example, the first three visions have been a very encouraging word to God’s people. Yahweh promises blessing, judgment for the nations who have oppressed Israel, expansion for the coming kingdom and the promise of God's personal presence among his people. We see a picture of spiritual restoration for Israel which includes many peoples and nations being added to their number.

Now, after these first three visions we come to the fourth. And we find out that for all that God is promising there is a requirement of national transformation and reformation that must occur. Yahweh has to restore the purpose and function of the nation. In Exodus 19:6 Yahweh has spoken to the people through Moses and said, “You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Remember the people were rebuilding the Temple, so in fact God needed to restore the priestly function (and worship) to the nation. We can refer to Ezekiel 22 and realize that the priesthood had been severely polluted before and during the exile. So, God is going to purge and clean the nation, and restore confidence in their priestly function.

We notice that in this vision there is no interpreting angel. It is God himself (angel of the Lord) who shows up. Joshua is standing before the angel of the Lord, which signifies priestly ministry, but there is also a judicial aspect to the vision. Satin is standing at the right side and accuses Joshua. The standing to the right represents accusation under the law (Ps. 109:6). Now Joshua is the high priest and represents the entire nation of Israel. So Satin accuses Joshua (Israel) because of their sins as he does for all believers. But stop the press! This is in the presence of Almighty God. And what does he do? God defends his people, he has chosen them, and gives a double rebuke to Satin. Yahweh goes to say that Israel is a burning stick snatched from the fire. Now while this “fire” could refer to slavery in Egypt (Jeremiah 11:4), or similar oppression, considering the context, this likely refers to the Babylonian exile that the people of Israel has recently escaped from.

Next, we find Joshua (Israel) dressed in filthy clothes. The Hebrew word used here is the strongest expression in that language for filth, such as the most vile and disgusting acts and character. The nation was completely covered in guilt and shame and ironically in the vision, the high priest is standing before the Lord in this manner. The angel of the Lord has the filthy clothes removed and replaces them with rich, pure garments. By God’s own gracious choice, he removes sin (justification), washes us clean, and places his pure royal clothes upon us. So, Joshua moves from corporate, national, filthy sinfulness and passes through God’s divine forgiveness and experiences the new life of Yahweh’s rich righteousness, purity, joy and glory. Israel is restored to her calling as a nation by God’s infinite loving kindness and forgiveness, washing away all the dirt, filth and contamination of sin. And mark this, it is not just the removal of sin, but the replacement of those dirty clothes with pure, holy, divine righteousness.

Application

When accusation comes, know that Almighty God is standing right there with a double rebuke. He snatches you out of the fire of tribulation and clothes you with his perfect righteousness. He does not delegate this defense, he shows up in person to rebuke the enemy and choose his people with loving kindness. He washes away the junk of this life. The choices we make and the wrongs done to us. We are cleansed with his holy hands and made new, dressed in royal righteousness. If you belong to Jesus Christ, the enemy has nothing on you. The God we serve is standing right there, ready to defend his people. Put your faith in the God who is there! The one who pursues you, cleanses you, and pulls you out of the fire. Put your hope in the God who replaces filthy rags with his rich and glorious righteousness!