He is Lord / Unknown
He is Lord; He is Lord.
He has risen from the dead,
And He is Lord.
Every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read Zechariah 3 (NIV 1984):
Clean Garments for the High Priest
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 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.”
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.
The angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: “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.”
My Understanding: This passage of scripture is filled with symbolism and is a prophecy concerning the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the Savior of the people. The people in this passage of scripture are symbolic of things to come, i.e. the future coming of Jesus Christ, his earthly ministry, his death and resurrection, his coming again, and his millennial kingdom reign on the earth. The Jewish nation was awaiting a promised Messiah, and this was the promise of his coming and of his deliverance of the people from their sins.
The Man Joshua
Joshua was symbolic of the sinful nation of Israel, yet there is also something else interesting about Joshua. His name means, “The Lord saves,” and other renderings of his name are Yeshua or Jesus. So, I also see him as a prefiguring of Jesus Christ as he took upon himself the sins of the entire world. He is our high priest. As high priest, he sacrificed his life on the cross for our sins so we could go free. A single man, Joshua, represented the sins of the nation, and a single man, Jesus Christ, died for the sins of the entire world, thus removing sin from sinful man and clothing us with the garments of his righteousness.
The angel of the Lord
The man Joshua stood before the angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord is also symbolic of Jesus Christ (God), as the one who stands in the gap for us when Satan accuses us. Satan was accusing Joshua because of his sins. The Lord rebuked Satan for his accusation, because the Lord had chosen Jerusalem. This has multiple levels of meaning, because back then, Jerusalem was symbolic of the people of God, the Jewish people, yet Jerusalem today is the heavenly Jerusalem, the people of God, the church. God has chosen those who are to be his before we were even born, and Satan works hard against us to keep us from coming to Christ, and to accuse us when we are in Christ to try to get us to give up our faith, and/or to get us to return to a life of sin, to feel God can’t use us, and/or to get us to become complacent about our walks of faith with Christ. Jesus stood in the gap for us when he died on the cross for our sins, and when he rose from the dead victorious over death, hell, Satan and sin. And, he continues to stand in the gap for us as our high priest in interceding for us before the Father and in rebuking Satan on our behalf.
The Burning Stick
The man Joshua, representing the sinful nation of Israel, was a “burning stick snatched from the fire.” I believe the “fire” ultimately symbolizes the fire of hell, i.e. eternal damnation. Joshua was representing God’s people, and God’s people are those who are God’s own by faith, not by physical birth. As such, we have been snatched from the fires of hell by God’s grace and through faith, which are both gifts from God. I believe that even the faith to believe in Christ is a gift of God (see Eph. 2:8-9), yet it is a gift that must be appropriated to our lives by our decision to accept that gift, and to cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives. God will not force himself upon us. We still must respond to his offer of grace by allowing the Holy Spirit of God to transform our hearts and to give us new lives in Christ Jesus. We do this by turning from our sins, and by turning to walk in faithful obedience to Christ Jesus, allowing his righteous character to take over our lives (see Eph. 4:17-24).
Filthy Clothes
Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel of the Lord. The filthy garments represent the sins of the people of God, yet they also symbolize the sins of a nation. Joshua was a high priest. We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are priests. This also has multiple levels of meaning.
Israel was God’s chosen people, thus they were in relationship with God. Yet, they did not have a permanent solution to their sin until Jesus Christ died on the cross and forgave the sins of the world, and until they, by faith, accepted his gift of eternal life. So, this taking off of the filthy garments (sin), and the putting on of the rich garments (God’s/Christ’s righteousness) is symbolic both of what Christ Jesus did for us in dying on the cross for our sins, and our subsequent act of faith in allowing the Holy Spirit of God to cleanse us from sin and to credit us with his righteousness, as well as it symbolizes the ongoing process of salvation (or sanctification) in the life of the believer as we daily die to our old lives of sin, and we daily take up our cross and follow Christ. We are saved (Ro. 10:10; 1 Co. 15:2; 2 Thes. 2:10; Heb. 10:39), we are being saved (1 Co. 1:18; 2:15), and we will be saved (Ro. 10:9; 1 Co. 3:15; Phil. 1:28). Salvation is a process that will be completed when Jesus Christ returns for his bride, and we go to be with the Lord forever.
The Clean Turban
They put a clean turban on Joshua’s head, and they clothed him in rich garments. This symbolizes not only what takes place at our salvation (being clothed in Christ’s righteousness – see Eph. 4:17-24), but it also symbolizes the restoration and renewal of the life of a believer who has fallen into sin, because Israel was the people of God, and we are spiritual Israel, the people of God by faith in Christ Jesus. So, there is a dual meaning, again, of the rebirth of a non-believer as well as the revival of the heart of a believer who has given way to sin’s deceitfulness. Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes when he stood before Christ. That is the condition of all of us before we come to faith in Christ, i.e. we are not accepted by Christ because of our own righteousness and good deeds. Yet, I see another picture here of the people of God, his priests, his saints, coming into his presence with the filth of sin in our lives and thinking we can serve the Lord that way. And, Jesus is saying to us that we need to have our filthy garments (our sins) removed and we need to be renewed in our relationship with Jesus Christ so that we can serve him.
A turban is something that is worn on the head, and the head is the center of our thoughts, as well as the head is a symbol of authority. Jesus Christ wants to renew us in our minds (see Ro. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:23), as well as he wants to be the King/Lord (head) of our lives. So, this clean turban represents this spiritual cleansing and renewal of our minds, as well as it means submission and servitude to the authority of Christ over our lives, I believe. The garments with which Joshua was clothed represent being clothed with Christ via faith (repentance and obedience) (see Gal. 3:27), putting on the full armor of God (see Eph. 6:10-20), and putting on our new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24). Becoming a believer in Jesus Christ and growing in faith in Jesus Christ involves daily putting off the old life of sin and sinful life patterns, and following Christ with our lives, as well as it involves putting on the things of God – Christ, his righteousness and holiness, kindness, humility, truth, generosity, edifying words, compassion, forgiveness, etc. (see Eph. 4:17-32).
The Walk
Jesus/God says that if we walk in his ways and we keep his requirements, then we will govern his house and have charge of his courts, and he will give us a place among “these standing here.” It is not entirely clear who those are who are “standing there,” but part of that phrase is used by Jesus when he spoke to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus and he gave him his calling upon his life. He told him:
“‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me’” (Acts 26:16-18).
I wonder if the Lord, perhaps, was speaking of the saints who have gone before us (see Hebrews 12:1). Or, he could be speaking of angels, who are in perfect relationship with God in heaven. Either way, the idea is that those who walk in the ways of the Lord, and who keep his requirements will have a place in heaven with God. Eph. 4:17-24 makes it clear, as does the whole of the New Testament, that we come to faith in Jesus Christ via repentance (turning from our sins) and obedience (turning to follow Christ wherever he leads us). Jesus told his disciples (see Matt. 28:19-20) that they were to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey whatever Christ commands. In 1 John we learn that if we say we know God, i.e. that we have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but we don’t obey him, then we are liars. Now, none of us obeys all the time, so this is not speaking of living in absolute sinless perfection, but what it is speaking of is that we choose, by faith, to leave our lives of sin behind us, and we choose to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ.
We will also govern the house of the Lord and have charge of his courts, i.e. we will have a place of service in his temple (the body of Christ), as well as one day we will rule and reign with him on the earth in his millennial kingdom, as his kingdom priests. And, we have also been given the awesome responsibility of guarding the body of Christ against idolatry, spiritual adultery, and a return to a life of sin and rebellion against God Almighty. We are to help one another to walk in the Lord’s ways and to keep his requirements out of love for our Lord, and love for one another.
Invite Your Neighbors
“In that day each of you will invite his neighbor…” We are to invite all people to come into relationship with Jesus Christ, where true peace and security (spiritual) are found. We are to be Christ’s witnesses and we are to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey Christ’s commands. We are given the awesome responsibility of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of the world, so that they, too, can come to know Jesus. We will experience spiritual peace and security in this life, and in the life to come with Christ in eternity we will also experience physical peace and security from pain, suffering and from the opposition of our enemy, Satan. Oh, how I look forward to that day! In the meanwhile, we are to make him Lord of our lives, to honor him as holy, and to serve him all our days.
He is Lord / Unknown
He is Lord; He is Lord.
He has risen from the dead,
And He is Lord.
Every knee shall bow,
Every tongue confess
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
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