(REFLECTIONS ON Zechariah 3:1-10)

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

In today’s Scripture, we see Joshua the high priest that came back to Jerusalem from exile to participate in the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord.

However, the spiritual leader for the Jews faced his own struggles along the way. Joshua was standing before the angel of the Lord, prepared to do the work of the Lord. However, standing at his right hand was Satan, the adversary and accuser.

Although we often think of Satan as a fallen angel, dressed in red, holding a pitchfork, and perhaps with a very scary and ominous face, the original Hebrew of this term actually means adversary or accuser.

Standing to the right of Joshua, is not the angel, is not the voice of God, but the voice of his accuser. What is this adversary or accuser accusing Joshua of? Is this the sound and voice of the world, a spiritual force, or perhaps even Joshua’s own voice of doubt?

Voices come to us from all different directions, places, physical, spiritual, internal, and external. How do these voices impact our lives, our faith, and our own self value and self worth?

2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

The Lord’s voice comes into the picture, and it is the Lord that rebukes the adversary and accuser. The rebuke stops and negates the accusation coming against Joshua.

Yes, Joshua is not perfect, he needs to be cleansed and prepared to serve the purposes of God, but it is the Lord that chose him, and will do the cleaning, and it is not for the accuser or even Joshua himself to diminish his worth in the eyes of the Lord.

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke 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 iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.”

Joshua is made clean not because of his own righteousness, but by the mercy and grace of the Lord that chose him for His purposes. The voices in Joshua’s head try to prevent him from being used by the Lord, by causing doubt and guilt, but the Lord brings renewal, revival, and cleansing, taking away Joshua’s iniquity away.

We are also called by the Lord, cleansed by Him through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are no longer our own, but have been purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ, so that we are His.

No longer shall we listen to and be bound to the voices of the world, the accuser, the adversary, even when that voice is our own. But through Christ, by the Holy Spirit, God has made us righteous in His sight.

The Lord rebukes the voices, negating them, vetoing them, and saying you are Mine, and I am yours!

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Zechariah 3