Slices
Prepare
‘’Tis finished the Messiah dies … The reign of sin and death is o’er’ (Charles Wesley, 1762). Use these words to inform praise to our great God.
Bible passage
Clean garments for the high priest
3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?’
3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4 The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’
Then he said to Joshua, ‘See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.’
5 Then I said, ‘Put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.
6 The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.
8 ‘“Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9 See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
10 ‘“In that day each of you will invite your neighbour to sit under your vine and fig-tree,” declares the Lord Almighty.’
Explore
Joshua is in no state to stand up in court. Like the lost son arriving home from a pig sty, Joshua is filthy (v 3). He is faced with two formidable figures, the angel of the Lord and Satan. The ‘accuser’ (v 1; Revelation 12:10) questions God’s choice of Joshua. Thankfully, we have an advocate who knows the worst about us but still chooses to be for us (v 7). The Lord compares Joshua to a fire-blackened stick (v 2), possibly like one found in the burnt-out Temple ruins.* It could be discarded, like a bruised reed or a smouldering wick (Matthew 12:20). But not by God.
The re-clothing readies Joshua for service (vs 4,5). The Lord then looks for his allegiance (v 7). Walking in God’s ways, Joshua will become part of the big story (‘symbols of things to come,’ v 8, NLT). That’s our identity – sins forgiven, equipped for service, contributing to the greatest show on earth! The three images (vs 8,9) – the servant, the Branch and the stone – point to what is to come, the promised one (Isaiah 49:6; 11:1–3; 28:16) who has the all-seeing, penetrating eyes of God (v 9), and also deep compassion which brings forgiveness.
* John L Mackay, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Christian Focus, 1994, p92
Respond
What does the image in verse 10 conjure up for you? Allow that image to inform your prayers for your church.
Deeper Bible study
God knows the worst about me but still loves me and accepts me in Christ, freeing me from feelings of condemnation and guilt. Amazing grace!
Zechariah now sees a court scene set in heaven. The Hebrew text says he sees ‘the Satan’ (v 1). This is not a name but a title, ‘the accuser’, or ‘the counsel for the prosecution’. Joshua the high priest, who represents the nation before God, stands in the dock before ‘the angel of the Lord’, who acts with God’s authority as the judge.
The accusation is not spelt out, but in the context it is clear that the issue is the moral and spiritual state of returned exiles. Joshua’s clothes are ‘filthy’ (v 3) – a strong word, implying not just dirty but also ritually impure. The prophets made clear that the Exile was punishment for the nation’s repeated unfaithfulness to God, evidenced by covenant-breaking. Had anything really changed? Why should God accept them now? Such questions must have tormented some of the returned exiles who still felt guilty of sin. God rejects the Satan’s accusation in the strongest terms and declares Joshua, and so the nation, cleansed from sin, symbolised by the change to rich clothing. No justification is given for this other than God’s choice of his people. The stone with seven ‘eyes/facets’ (see v 9) possibly echoes the golden plate on Aaron’s turban, which was inscribed ‘Holy to the Lord’.1 There is a conditional element to this restoration (vs 6,7): Joshua, and therefore the people, should keep the requirements of the covenant.
God adds a promise. The restoration of Joshua and community leaders points to the coming of ‘my servant, the Branch’ (v 8). This repeats Jeremiah’s prophesy of a future righteous, just and wise descendant of David.2 Jesus was this ‘Branch’.3 His atoning sacrifice on the cross is the basis on which God could forgive sins in the past and does so today.4
Thank God for the amazing grace of forgiveness through faith in Christ. Seek the Spirit’s help to clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love.5
1 Exod 28:36–38 2 Jer 23:5,6; 33:15,16 3 Rom 1:2–4 4 Rom 3:21–26 5 Col 3:12–14
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezekiel 32,33; 2 Peter 1
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray that God will continue to inspire SU staff, volunteers and partner organisations to develop resources around the interests and concerns of children and young people, and truly meet them ‘where they are’.
