The Conversion And Cleansing Of Israel
IN THIS DEPARTMENT we are studying Zechariah, which is one of the richest of all the prophetic books. In the last issue we learned of "Jerusalem the Golden." We are now to investigate the prophecy appearing in chapter 3:1-7.
And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take the filthy garments from off him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by. And the angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee a place of access among these that stand by.
(Zechariah 3:1-7)
In a most dramatic manner the Lord presents a definite oracle concerning the conversion and cleansing of Israel under the symbolism of a court trial. The judge is "the angel of Jehovah"; the accused is Joshua, the Jewish high priest; the prosecuting attorney is none other than Satan, the inveterate enemy of mankind in general and of Israel in particular; and the attendants are the angels who are standing before the angel of Jehovah.
Who is this judge, the angel of Jehovah? As we have already seen in this series of studies, this is none other than the second person of the Holy Trinity; namely, the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-natal state. Joshua, the high priest, is the one accused and is on trial. Are we to understand that Joshua, who was then high priest, was guilty of some crime personally? Or is he here in his representative capacity as the high priest of Israel? Since he was dressed in his official robes and is spoken of as the high priest, the presumption is that he is in a representative capacity. This presumption is strengthened by the fact that, when Satan brings his accusations against Joshua, the judge, the angel of Jehovah, rebukes the prosecutor with these words: "... Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" (Zech. 3:2). The judge's reply to the prosecutor is that Jehovah has chosen Jerusalem and that it is a brand plucked from the burning. These statements show conclusively that Joshua is not here considered as a private citizen but as a representative of the Jewish people. Satan, the Devil, plays a most active part in this drama. Originally, he was the anointed cherub, occupying a very high position in the economy of God from the very creation (Ezek. 28:11-18). He was the beginning of the ways of the Almighty (Job 40:19), but he rebelled, as Ezekiel states, and was cast from his high station. He is now, the god of this world (II Cor. 4:4), who is blinding the minds of the people so that they cannot see the glory of the Eternal God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Satan, the prosecutor, stands at Joshua's right hand, in the place where the defense attorney should be. He assumes this position in order to camouflage his designs, but the angel of Jehovah knows his sinister purposes and desires and immediately deals with him accordingly.
The Trial
Joshua, as we see in verse 3, was clothed with filthy garments as he was standing in the presence of the presiding judge. We are not told what accusation Satan brings against him, but there is echoed in the judge's answer the intimation that Satan hurls some railing charge at Israel whom Joshua represented. The angel, taking the part of the accused, rebukes the enemy. He does not defend the conduct of His client but goes back to the unchangeable plan of God in His having chosen Jerusalem and the Jewish people for a definite, specific purpose as a channel through which He will yet give His truth to the world (Gen. 12:1-3). God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants is unchangeable, being unconditional. One must keep clearly in mind the distinction between the Abrahamic covenant and the one made at Sinai. The latter was conditioned upon Israel's obedience to the voice of God. She disobeyed and at the present time has been placed on the siding, having left the main line of God's purposes. But because of the unchangeable and unconditional promise to, and covenant with, Abraham, God will not cast off his people whom He foreknew. Such in substance is the angel's reply to Satan and his accusations against Joshua.
The Acquittal
The rebuke administered to Satan by the judge is equivalent to an acquittal of Joshua. This fact becomes evident by the judge's championing the cause of the accused and His not bringing any incrimination against him. This position is further confirmed by the fact that the judge orders the angel attendants standing at attention to remove the filthy garments from Joshua and to array him with clean, rich apparel. In obedience to this command, these heavenly beings dress Joshua in the finest, richest apparel. The significance of this symbolic act is indicated by the language of the angel which he addressed to Joshua: "... Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel" (Zech. 3:4). This forgiving, cleansing, and arraying in clean apparel signify the conversion and regeneration of the nation of Israel.
God is just when He justifies anyone. He does not arbitrarily forgive people irrespective of their attitude. This is seen from many passages of Scripture. But we see here that God does forgive Israel and causes her iniquity to pass away. This fact assumes on her part that she has repented of her sins and has accepted the provision made for her cleansing by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That the nation as a group will repudiate the national sin of rejecting Jesus when He came at first is evident from the verbal penitential confession which it will make in the year 1942-plus, and which is found in Isaiah 53:1-9. The Jewish people have never learned the facts and, of course, cannot under these conditions make this confession. The fact that they do make it is proof that the facts will have been given them and they will have been convinced of the truthfulness of the same. It is our high privilege and honor to give all of these facts to the entire nation of Israel that she may see the truth, may repudiate the national sin and accept Jesus as Lord, Messiah, and Saviour. May every born-again person do what he can to get this message to God's Chosen People.
In verses 6 and 7 Joshua is no longer addressed as the representative of God's people. This position is evident from the fact that the angel speaks to him as Joshua, and not as Joshua, the high priest.
Everyone who is engaged in the Lord's cause must of course watch his life. The Lord must have clean, empty channels through which He may work. Not only must one be deeply spiritual and pious, but he must also be diligent in the Lord's cause in performing the functions of the office which he is filling.
Joshua was told by the angel that, if he led a pure life and performed his duties, he would be granted the privilege of remaining as the high priest of the nation, and would in the future have access among the angels to the throne of God-- "... and I will give thee a place of access among these (angels) that stand by."
