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The big question of the prophets was this. How does the world survive? How does the world survive when there is so much injustice, evil, and sin the world? This is a big problem because God is a holy and pure God. As Habakkuk puts it, He is of purer eyes than to look on iniquity. He is a God of justice and righteousness. He is the one who will deal with those who do wrong.
We often don’t appreciate that message because our tendency is to see injustice and wrong-doing as something that is out there in somebody else. However, the prophets realized that this was bad news for everybody, including themselves. They wondered, how can I stand in the presence of a holy God? Woe is me, I am undone! Said Isaiah. Until we get this perspective, we really will not appreciate the message of the prophets to us today. However, if we get it, if we see the wrongs that we have done and struggle with guilt, then their message is for you. It enters into your struggle and provides an answer.
The prophet Zechariah received eight visions from the Lord about the same time as Haggai. These were meant to encourage the people in their struggles as they returned from exile. In the chapter you have read, we have the fourth vision of Zechariah. It provides one of the clearest answers to that question of how the world survives the wrath of a holy God in all of the Old Testament. It is a really beautiful passage that describes the way that God deals with sin and brings forgiveness and transforming grace to His people.
To understand what is going on here, notice what God says about Joshua son of Jozadak and the priests: “Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come . . .” These men were symbols or signs. They were symbols of what was to come. They showed the people what God was going to do. In this passage, Joshua is a symbol in two different ways. He represents God’s people, and He represents God’s priest. Let’s consider those two aspects of this vision.
A Sign of God’s People
The vision that Zechariah saw was Joshua standing before the Lord. Joshua was the high priest who served in the presence of the Lord. He was the one man of the people of God who could go into the most holy place in the temple once a year. He was there, standing in the presence of God.
In the vision, there was another person standing before God. It was Satan or “the accuser.” Who is the accuser? And what was he doing? When God created the world, human beings were not the only rational creatures that He created. He also made spiritual beings that we call “angels.” Some of those angels rebelled against the Lord and opposed what He was doing. Their leader, whom we call Satan or the devil, is the one who tempted our first parents to sin against the Lord. He is here bringing up the sin of Joshua before the Lord. In Revelation 12:10, he is called “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night.”
Now, this may seem strange or very foreign, but the Bible is clear on this. There are more “people” in the world than the ones we can see with our eyes. Most cultures have recognized this to be true as well. When we look at the world, we can also see that evil just seems to take on a character of its own. This is explained by the forces of evil that work in this world. So, there is good reason to think that this vision represents the reality of our situation in a very important way. It is a battle of spiritual forces and not just flesh and blood.
The interesting thing about the accuser’s accusations is that they were actually correct. When Zechariah saw the high priest, here is what he saw: “Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel.” The people of Israel took the temple very seriously. They saw the rituals and cleansing that were necessary to enter the temple as extremely important. Seeing the priest dressed this way would have been horrifying. What was more horrifying was that this vision showed them what they looked like standing before God. They were unclean. They were not fit to be in the presence of the Lord. Remember what God had said about them in Haggai, “‘So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled'” (Haggai 2:14).
This should not make us think that the people of Israel are any worse than anyone else. They are a picture of humanity. Joshua is a picture of each one of us. We stand in filthy clothes before the King of the Universe. When we ask, what have we done with what God has given us? How can we answer? When we consider all the things that we have done and wanted to do that were completely contrary to God’s will, then what answer can we give? All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death. If the Accuser accuses us, we have to admit that his perspective has truth. We are all in trouble.
Thanks be to God, however, that this is not the whole truth. Alongside the truth of our sin and God’s judgment comes the truth of God’s mercy! Notice that it says that the Lord himself says about the Lord, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” (Zech. 3:2). How can the Lord speak about the Lord in the 3rd person? Well, here and in many places, we have a clear indication that though God is one God, there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Lord Himself is arguing our case. This can be no other than the 2nd person of the Trinity, the Son of God. The Bible says of Jesus, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25). That is what He is doing here.
Does that mean that He ignores the wrongs that people have committed? No. Not at all. In the following exchange, the Lord who rebukes Satan is called the Angel of the Lord. Throughout the Old Testament, the Angel of the Lord is a manifestation of God Himself. It is clear to me that this one of those instances. The Angel of the Lord is the one who is speaking in v. 2 and thus the Lord Himself. It is He who is interceding for us. Now, listen to what He says:
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.”
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 (Zech. 3:3–5).
God provided the clean clothes that Joshua needed in order to stand before God clean and pure. This is what God was doing. Just as He provided skins to clothe Adam and Eve, so here God provided the clothes that were needed to enter His temple and serve in His presence. Joshua did not have them. All he had was dirty clothes. He also could not obtain them. So, God provided them.
That is the answer to the question of how the world survives and how you and I can survive the wrath of God. Joshua represents the people of Israel here, and, by extension, all humans. This is how they are saved. They receive what they need from God in order to stand in His presence. How can God do this? We will see in the next point, but let’s pause and reflect on this more deeply.
Here is the free grace of God. Though each one of us has sinned against God and merited condemnation and banishment from the presence of God, indeed, eternal punishment, here is God’s grace. He takes away the sin that we have and regards us as pure and clean as a free gift. There is nothing that Joshua did to merit it. It was simply what God gave as a gift. It was a free gift of justification. This is the only way any of us is cleansed and stands before God.
When we get this, it is truly amazing. It would seem like we would need to do something in order to be able to stand before God holy and righteous, especially in light of all the wrong things that we have done. But that’s not how it works! God says, whatever you’ve done, wherever you’ve been, however filthy you are, here is cleansing full and free so you can be with me forever! What an amazing thing! Amazing grace, indeed. All you have to do is accept the gift!
I remember talking to one woman who had never really understood this truth. I asked her, what do you think that you need to do in order to be with God forever and be forgiven? She gave the normal answer that people give. She said, do good things, go to church, etc. Then, I told her that no, it was a free gift. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a free gift! She was amazed. I can see the look on her face now. We should be amazed, too, and never stop wondering at the glorious gift of God through Jesus Christ.
So, how can God give us such an amazing gift? That’s what we’ll consider in the next part of our message.
A Sign of God’s Priest
At this point, God said to Joshua, “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” (Zech. 3:7). Now, this might seem to be the opposite of what God said in the first part. However, let’s remember that when God forgives us, He also wants to change us. He wants to make us new. On our part, we should desire and seek after this. If we do not want to change and become what God wants us to become, then we cannot have God’s gift of forgiveness. It’s a package deal. God is not going to forgive anyone that He does not also restore. However, I do not think that is what is in view here.
Remember that the priest represents the people in their sin, but he also is symbolic of the one who would go before God on behalf of the people. God says, “Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come” (Zech. 3:8). The high priest was pointing to someone greater than himself. That was why it was necessary for them to do exactly what God had told them to do in the temple. It was the message that God wanted to give to the people about how they would be forgiven. It was the way they were physically preaching the good news of what God would do. God would bless them as they proclaimed that message faithfully in their actions in the temple.
These high priests were pointing to someone greater. “I am going to bring my servant, the Branch” (Zech. 3:8). God’s promised Messiah or Redeemer is often called the Branch. He comes from the root of David. He is David’s descendant. The symbol of the Branch also shows His humble origins. However, the Branch will grow and provide shade. Zerubbabel and Joshua represented the promised Messiah.
Now, here is the problem with these visions. You will have the clearest statement of the truths of God’s Word, and then right beside it, you will have something that seems very obscure or difficult to understand. “‘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” (Zech. 3:9). People have different views about what this means. The stone is clearly the strong support of God removing sin. But what are the seven eyes? It could be from the stone, seeing and understanding all, or, it could be seven eyes looking on the stone, indicating the Father’s care for it. And what is the inscription? Perhaps it shows that the stone is costly and significant. But maybe there’s more. Feel free to look into it further. I would encourage you as you read and study these things to receive what is clear, study the less clear things as you feel led, and meditate on the truth God gives you, leaving what you do not understand to Him.
Here is the bottom line. The symbol of the high priest was about the removal of sin: “I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.” The priest was showing how God could give the free gift of forgiveness to His people. The priest showed through thousands of sacrifices how God would forgive. There would be an atonement. The punishment for sin would fall on one who was innocent in place of a world of sinners. That is why John the Baptist said when He saw Jesus, “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
However, there was also the work of the priest as well as the sacrifice. The “one day” where sin is removed clearly refers to the one day of the year that the High Priest would enter the holiest place and offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people. That was the Day of Atonement.
That Day of Atonement pointed to the one day when the Branch would come and make that sacrifice of Himself for the sins of the world. Albert Barnes said “that a Jewish writer confessed the mystery, while he said, (Rashi), ‘One day; I know not what that day is.’ Ask any Christian child, ‘On what day was iniquity removed, not from the land only, but from all lands?’ he would say, ‘On the day when Jesus died.'” On the day Jesus died on the cross, He made a sacrifice of Himself so that we could all be forgiven and receive the free gift of righteousness before God.
That is the amazing thing. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament and the work of all the high priests pointed to that moment. As the writer of Hebrews says,
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God . . . For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy (Heb. 10:11–12, 14).
The sacrifice is complete. The way is open. Access to God is a free gift, and we can approach the throne of God boldly.
There is one more important aspect of this vision that tells us what the result of this work is going to be. It is peace. “Having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). This peace gives us peace in our hearts. We can sit in confidence under our own vine and fig tree because we have a confidence of the future rooted in what God has done. However, this also brings peace with other people. The Lord Almighty declares, “In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree” (Zech. 3:10). One way we can test how well we are experiencing peace with God is how open we are to other people and able to live at peace with them. When God gives us peace with Himself, it removes our anxiety in such a way that we have margin to serve others and invite them to sit under our vine and fig tree. After the iniquity is removed, each person will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree. It is a remarkable truth that is worth reflecting on.
Conclusion
God said to the people in this vision, “I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.” Jesus Christ has been sacrificed for us. We no longer have the symbol, we have the reality. This means for each one of us that we should accept what Jesus has done for us. If you are trying to stand before God in your own clothes, you have no hope. You need the ones that Jesus will give you. He only gives them to those who want them. You have to accept what Jesus has done. If you have not done that, make it today. Don’t let one day go by without accepting God’s gift.
If you have received that gift, then let it encourage you. Let it reduce your anxiety. You have peace with God. Rejoice! The iniquity of the land has been removed. The high priest has come. You stand before God fully accepted. He has chosen you, and though you were a burning stick, you have been plucked from the fire! Rejoice! You are free forever. You are forgiven. You are justified. The great high priest has come and has removed the iniquity of the land in one day, and we who have accepted Him stand before God in clean clothes as a free gift. Amen.
Benediction: as you go out into the world, remember that we are the people who are called to invite our neighbor to sit under our vine and fig tree. We are to be a people who are hospitable and open to others.
How does this happen? We recognize that we have peace with God. We see the vision of Zechariah and realize that God has taken away our sin and that we can stand confident before Him in the clean clothes He has provided. It happens because we know that our sins are forgiven and that our faith in Jesus has saved us.
So, in light of these truths, go in peace out into the world to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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