The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Zechariah 3:3-4,
"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 fine garments on you.'"
The Lord had his very own covenant people, Israel, destroyed by the Babylonians because they had turned their back on him. The Babylonians had turned Jerusalem and the temple into a pile of rubble. Joshua, in the above verse, was the high priest over the remnant that had returned to Jerusalem following their seventy years of captivity by the Babylonians.
The clothing referred to in Zechariah 3:3-4 was a reference to Joshua's standing in the court of the Lord. Just as one is unacceptable when showing up dressed in filthy clothing, so people are unacceptable when showing up in the court of the Lord. The reason they are unacceptable is that all people have sinned and fall well short of being suitable and worthy of any standing with the Lord.
Because we are all sinful ourselves, just as Joshua was (even as the high priest in Israel!), there is nothing we can do about it. However, in the incomprehensible love of our Lord for us, he takes away our sin ("Take off his filthy clothes") and gives us a righteous standing with him, represented as being dressed in fine clean linen, see verse 5. Often this motif is expressed as being dressed in white robes:
As a reference to all who placed their faith in Jesus Christ and enter heaven, we read, "After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." Revelation 7:9.
Also, "Then one of the elders asked me, 'These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered, 'Sir, you know.' And he said, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" Revelation 7:13-14.
Zechariah's prophecy is laden with messianic messages with the scope and view the Lord gave him, looking ahead through the ages till believers find their way into the family of God, with a place at his table. The book of Zechariah is an astonishing book of prophecy that carries the amazing message of God's great redemptive pursuit of mankind.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"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 fine garments on you.'"
The Lord had his very own covenant people, Israel, destroyed by the Babylonians because they had turned their back on him. The Babylonians had turned Jerusalem and the temple into a pile of rubble. Joshua, in the above verse, was the high priest over the remnant that had returned to Jerusalem following their seventy years of captivity by the Babylonians.
The clothing referred to in Zechariah 3:3-4 was a reference to Joshua's standing in the court of the Lord. Just as one is unacceptable when showing up dressed in filthy clothing, so people are unacceptable when showing up in the court of the Lord. The reason they are unacceptable is that all people have sinned and fall well short of being suitable and worthy of any standing with the Lord.
Because we are all sinful ourselves, just as Joshua was (even as the high priest in Israel!), there is nothing we can do about it. However, in the incomprehensible love of our Lord for us, he takes away our sin ("Take off his filthy clothes") and gives us a righteous standing with him, represented as being dressed in fine clean linen, see verse 5. Often this motif is expressed as being dressed in white robes:
As a reference to all who placed their faith in Jesus Christ and enter heaven, we read, "After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands." Revelation 7:9.
Also, "Then one of the elders asked me, 'These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered, 'Sir, you know.' And he said, 'These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" Revelation 7:13-14.
Zechariah's prophecy is laden with messianic messages with the scope and view the Lord gave him, looking ahead through the ages till believers find their way into the family of God, with a place at his table. The book of Zechariah is an astonishing book of prophecy that carries the amazing message of God's great redemptive pursuit of mankind.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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