Reading
Zechariah 3:-10

1He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before Yahweh’s angel, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. 2Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn’t this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?”

3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, “Take the filthy garments off him.” To him he said, “Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich clothing.”

5I said, “Let them set a clean turban on his head.”

So they set a clean turban on his head, and clothed him; and Yahweh’s angel was standing by.

6Yahweh’s angel solomnly assured Joshua, saying, 7“Yahweh of Armies says: ‘If you will walk in my ways, and if you will follow my instructions, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these who stand by. 8Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign; for, behold, I will bring out my servant, the Branch. 9For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua: on one stone are seven eyes; behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10In that day,’ says Yahweh of Armies, ‘you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.’”


Devotional

In the Bible, clothing is often a symbol of either sin or holiness. Joshua the high priest wears filthy clothes, a clear indication of his guilt. But when God forgives a person, the dirty garments of sin are replaced by clean robes of holiness.

 

This is what happens to Joshua in this vision. It’s also why the book of Revelation portrays the multitude of believers wearing white robes. They all “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

 

When Jesus returns, we will find ourselves standing before the judgment seat of God to give an account of how we have lived.  We all deserve a guilty verdict, because, as Paul puts it, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). None of us would stand a chance of being acquitted, except for one thing: We have an advocate, someone who speaks to the Father in our defence, Jesus Christ.

 

Zechariah gives us a glimpse of what happens when we stand before God. The high priest, Joshua, is standing before the Lord, dressed in filthy clothes, a symbol of the sinfulness of even the most religious human being. Satan is also standing there to accuse him. There is nothing Joshua can say to defend himself.

 

The Lord, however, rebukes Satan and says, “Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Then the Lord gives Joshua clean garments and says, “I have taken away your sin.”

The only way you and I can escape God’s judgment is to have the Lord Jesus take our sin upon himself and speak up in our defence.  Jesus wants to be our defence, and He is our only hope.