CLEAN GARMENTS FOR THE HIGH PRIEST

                                Zechariah 3:1-10

The encouraging scene Zechariah had witnessed IN THE LAST CHAPTER was suddenly replaced by a gross and terrifying sight! Joshua the High Priest is seen standing before the Lord in what appears to be a court scene. He was not your regular priest. The High Priest was appointed to represent Israel before Yahweh. After sacrificing a bull for his own sin, he could enter the Temple's Holy of Holies with the animal's blood as an atonement for the people's sin. But what makes this filthy vision so detestable is the excrement splattered all over his white robes! Guilt is written all over, as the Accuser (Satan) calls for his condemnation. The scene is charged with tension, fear and a sense of hopelessness.

The fifth vision introduces us to Joshua the High Priest who later in this chapter symbolizes THE BRANCH. Joshua was the High Priest at the time the Jews returned from Babylon some sixteen years before (Ezra 2:2; 3:1-3). Joshua represented Israel before the Lord. There is no reference to his personal character as a man but as High Priest representing Israel he is standing before the “Angel of the Lord” in filthy clothes.

Verse 1: “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.”

The vision is a court scene that is both dramatic and moving. Joshua is seen standing before the “Angel of the Lord” in filthy garments while Satan is at his right side. A hush seems to fill the court room after the prosecuting attorney finished deliberating. The words of the Accuser are not stated but a guilty verdict is implied by the Defense Attorney’s response! The malicious Adversary stands in the presence of the Lord to proclaim Israel’s sins and their unworthiness to receive any mercy. John Mac Arthur comments: “the situation is crucial: if Joshua is vindicated, Israel is accepted; if Joshua is rejected, Israel is rejected. The entire plan of God for the nation was revealed in the outcome. Israel’s hopes would either be destroyed or confirmed ” (MacArthur Study Bible, p.1342).

Verse 2-4: 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?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 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 rich garments on you.”

The Defense Attorney is Christ Himself as “the angel of the Lord!” His past covenant with Israel was an incontestable promise to Abraham and later to king David. Israel can never be eradicated as a nation in spite of her sins and He is the only One who judges the outcome. God wrote the Script and no one can alter it! Israel’s accusation is futile because God has already revealed his will for the people by delivering them from captivity and sovereignly choosing Jerusalem. They are described as “a burning stick snatched from the fire”(v.2).

The Accuser’s charge may have been legitimate because the people had violated Yahweh’s demands for holiness. They became vile in His sight, falling short of His desire for them to be “a priestly kingdom” (Ex.19:6) But Satan’s charge is met by Yahweh’s rebuke “the Lord rebuke you, Satan.”

Our attention now turns to the High Priest, Joshua (v.3). We would expect him to be clothed in white raiment with the ephod on his chest and a turban on his head. But we are shocked and repulsed at the sight! His garments are filthy as he stands before the Lord. The root word for “filthy”suggests human excrement or vomit. The same Hebrew word is found in Deut.23:14; Isa.28:8; Isa. 36:12.

The phrase pictures the habitual condition of defilement of the priesthood and its people. McComiskey is graphic at this point: “Feelings of revulsion turn to wonder: Must God turn his back on this repulsive sight and vent his anger at this affront to his holiness? It seems that the accuser is justified in calling for God’s judgment on the sin this filth represents.”

But suddenly the scene changes in verse 4 as God’s justice turns to mercy: “Take off his filthy clothes.” The removal of the soiled garments silenced the Accuser, making his charge baseless, because the Supreme Judge has done the unthinkable: He has removed Israel’s guilt by a sovereign act of grace. But notice what follows! Not only do the angels remove his filthy clothes but they replace them with rich, white garments. The High Priest now stands in glorious splendor! The Lord assures him: “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.” In verse 5, Zechariah seems to jump to his feet: “Then I said, 'put a clean turban on his head'”(v.5)! In quoting Pusey's commentary, David Baron suggests: “the act of placing the crown on the head of Joshua, the high priest, pictured not only the union of the offices of Priest and King in the person of the Messiah, but that He should be King, being first our High Priest” (The Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah, p.193) The High Priest re-clothed, symbolizes God's promise to Israel both for the present and the future (12:10-13:1; Rom.11:25-27).

The application for the Christian is profound! Just think of what we were before Christ and what we are now in Christ! We are all as an unclean thing and “all our righteousness are as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6) with result:“the wages of sin is death” (Rom.6:23). But God who is rich in mercy has offeres us the rich garments of His righteousness so that “by grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph.2:8) Salvation is the beginning of the Christian life. Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit transforms us from within. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor.3: 18). We too need cleansing because our daily walk is often contaminated by sin. Yet, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9)

In these last five verses, the Angel of the Lord again speaks words of assurance to Joshua who represents Israel. It is a call for His people to live holy lives if they are to serve Him.

Verses 7-10: This is what the Lord Almighty says: “If you will walk in my ways 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. Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 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. In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree” declares the Lord Almighty.

The summons to hear imparts a sense of urgency to this section. There is new material to be understood; “Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you.” The summons to listen included Joshua and his companions. His companions were most likely fellow priests over whom Joshua exercised spiritual authority. But a quantum leap seems to be suggested from the early verses to these verses. The Lord identifies these men as “symbolic of things to come!” You may wonder why Joshua is not associated with these men? Perhaps it is because “my servant, the Branch” fulfills the role of Joshua by becoming Himself both High Priest and King. Both Servant and Branch have messianic significance! The Servant concept appears in Isaiah as someone who would one day bring redemption to His people: “my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities” (Isa.53:11). Later. Jeremiah talks about The Branch associated with king David: “I will raise up to David a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely” (Jer.23:5; 33:15). The Branch reappears in Zechariah 6:11-12 also as King. Thomas McComiskey adds: “whom God will bring forth into the arena of world history….Joshua and his fellow priests symbolizes the work of this servant-priest” (The Minor Prophets, p.1078).

Dr. G. Coleman Luck makes an interesting analysis of the Branch as it relates to the Gospels. “In the Old Testament prophecy this title ‘the Branch’ is used of the Messiah in four principal ways. Each of these four ways corresponds to an aspect of Christ’s character emphasized in one of the four Gospels of the New Testament:

(1) Messiah is called ‘a Branch of David’ (Isa.11:1; Jer.23:5; 33:15). This speaks of His being the rightful promised King of Israel. The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the fulfillment of this prophecy.

(2) Messiah is called by God ‘my servant the BRANCH (3:8) The gospel of Mark presents the Messiah---the Lord Jesus--as the suffering Servant of the Lord, obedient even unto death.

(3) Messiah is called ‘the man whose name is The BRANCH’ (6:12-13) Luke’s gospel pictures Christ as the perfect Man--the only perfect and sinless man who has ever lived.

(4) Messiah is called ‘the branch of Jehovah’ (Isa.4:2) speaking of His Emmanuel character, of the fact that He is “God with us” (Zechariah: A Study of the Prophetic Visions of Zechariah p.43).

The “stone with seven eyes set in front of Joshua” speaks of perfect intelligence and wisdom. Only in Christ could this be fully understood. The Apostle Paul states: in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”(Col.2:3). Christ is both “the rock of stumbling” (Rom.9: 31-33) as well as the “rock of our Salvation”. He is the “Rock” upon which the Church is built (Matt.16:18). He is also the Cornerstone of the spiritual building of which every believer is a part (Eph.2:19-22). It is the “Rock” cut out of the mountain Daniel speaks about in chapter 2:35,45 that crushes all the kingdoms of this world in preparation for His Messianic Kingdom on earth (Revelation 20)

Christ’s second coming coincides with Israel’s spiritual rebirth when He removes “the sin of his people in a single day” (v.9). Isaiah 66:8 echoes this same theme “Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?” Yahweh then concludes:“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced and mourn for him” (Zechariah 12:10). Then peace will finally come to Israel.

     CLEAN GARMENTS FOR THE HIGH PRIEST

                A COURT ROOM SCENE COMES INTO VIEW

                THE HIGH PRIEST STANDS BEFORE THE LORD

                HIS FILTHY CLOTHES OF NATIONAL SHAME

                HAS GIVEN RISE TO SATAN’S BLAME.

                A SUDDEN HUSH FILLS ALL THE ROOM

                THE VIRDICT’S WORD REVEALS THEIR GUILT

                A RIGHTEOUS JUDGE MUST NOW DEMAND

                THE FULL EXTENT THE LAWS COMMAND.

                IN THEIR DEFENSE GOD TAKES HIS PLACE

                AND SHOWS A LAMB TO FILL THEIR SPACE

                THEN HE REBUKES THE SERPENT’S HEAD

                BY LIFTING JUDAH FROM THE DEAD.

                “REMOVE THOSE FILTHY GARMENTS NOW

                FOR JOSHUA STANDS ON HOLY GROUND

                I HAVE FORGIVEN ISRAEL’S SIN

                AND FOR THEIR SAKE I WILL BE KING.”

                THE PICTURE JOSHUA ILLUSTRATES

                WITH EXCREMENT UPON HIS ROBES

                REFLECTS IDOLATRY AND PRIDE

                THAT JUDAH’S NATIONAL GUILT IMPLIED.

                THE CALL WENT FORTH FOR ALL TO HEED

                TO CLEANSE THEIR LIVES FROM EVIL DEED

                SO WHEN THE TEMPLE WAS COMPLETE

                ALL PRAISE WOULD CROWN HIS MERCY SEAT.

                THEN JOSHUA AND HIS FELLOW PRIESTS

                SYMBOLIC OF EMANUEL’S BRANCH

                WILL BE A NATION BORN TO REIGN

                THROUGHOUT MESSIAH’S WORLD DOMAIN.

                                        THOUGHT QUESTIONS

1. THE COURT ROOM SCENE FINDS Joshua representing Israel as their High Priest while standing before the Angel of the Lord. What was represented by Joshua’s filthy garments?

2. What does he mean in verse 2, “Is not this man a brand plucked out of the fire?

3. In what ways do verses 1-4 parallel God’s dealing in grace with the Christian today? What assurance and hope does it give us today?

4. What do clean garments and a clean turban on Joshua’s head represent for the present and the future? Note a similar picture given to the Christian in Me Peter 5:4; 2 Timothy 4:8; Rev.2:10.

5. Who is symbolized by the Branch? What do the seven eyes on a stone represent? And, when is the time Yahweh removes “the guilt of this land in a single day? (vs.8-10)