I love the imagery in this passage. Our salvation is the same as being snatched from the fire. Each of us, we were dead in our sins and trespasses…and now, now we are alive together with Christ in the heavenlies, we were lost in darkness and HE called us into HIS marvelous light. In the same way that God moved on behalf of the high priest, HE works on our behalf…this is totally HIS grace.
Not only did HE save us from hell, removing the filthy garment, but HE clothed us in HIS own righteousness. These garments of righteousness required the virgin birth, perfect life, death, burial and resurrection. Now Jesus is the one seated at the right hand of the Father and every time Satan accuses you before God, Jesus is there as your advocate saying to the Father, he is wrong, look Father this one is clothed in MY righteousness, actually Father I am presenting this one to you as a gift…he/she is clean, spotless, perfect washed in MY OWN BLOOD.
Father, thank you for Your precious Word, thank you for revealing Your perfect character, Your attributes and Your will for our lives within Your Word…Holy Spirit enable us to see the wonderful truths in Your Word, to treasure Your Word above ALL THINGS…be glorified in and through Your children.
We love you!
3:1 Zechariah saw a heavenly courtroom where Joshua, representing the people of Judah, was standing before the Angel of the Lord and was being accused by Satan. This is not the Joshua who succeeded Moses, but the high priest who returned to Jerusalem with the exiles (Ezra 3:2). Satan: The Hebrew is literally “the Satan,” meaning “the Accuser.” The picture is not unlike that of Job 1, where Satan stands before the Lord making accusations against people who follow God.
3:2 The Lord rebuke you, Satan: These words presuppose an earlier conversation in which Satan made accusations against the people and their priest. We are reminded that Satan is not sovereign; he is subject to the Sovereign Lord who will handle him. The brand plucked from the fire refers to Judah, delivered from the fire of Babylonian captivity. Joshua, their priest, represented the nation, a people of God’s favor.
3:3 The high priest represented the people before God (Ex. 28:29) and under no circumstances was to become defiled or unclean (Ex. 28:2; Lev. 21:10–15). Joshua’s filthy garments were literally “befouled with excrement.”
3:4, 5 The cleansing of Joshua was not complete with the removal of his sin-soiled garments. God replaced the dirty clothes, dressing Joshua in clean garments that represented the gift of God’s righteousness. As sin is removed by the work of Christ, so His righteousness is placed in the believer’s account (Rom. 5:18, 19; 2 Cor. 5:21). We are clothed in the garments of Christ’s righteousness. The fact that Joshua had no part in his cleansing indicates that this work was totally by God’s grace.
Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Zec 3:1-5). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.