1 And he let me see Joshua, the high priest, in his place before the angel of the Lord, and the Satan at his right hand ready to take up a cause against him.
At the end of forty years, an angel came to him in the waste land of Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn-tree. And Moses, seeing it, was full of wonder, and when he came up to have a nearer view of it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses, shaking with fear, kept his eyes from looking at it. And the Lord said, Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. Truly, I have seen the sorrows of my people in Egypt, and their cries have come to my ears, and I have come down to make them free: and now, come, I will send you to Egypt. This Moses, whom they would not have, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? him God sent to be a ruler and a saviour, by the hand of the angel whom he saw in the thorn-tree. This man took them out, having done wonders and signs in Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the waste land, for forty years. This is the same Moses, who said to the children of Israel, God will give you a prophet from among your brothers, like me. This is the man who was in the church in the waste land with the angel who was talking to him in Sinai, and with our fathers; and to him were given the living words of God, so that he might give them to you.
And the great dragon was forced down, the old snake, who is named the Evil One and Satan, by whom all the earth is turned from the right way; he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him. And a great voice in heaven came to my ears, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: because he who says evil against our brothers before our God day and night is forced down.
In the body of his mother he took his brother by the foot, and in his strength he was fighting with God; He had a fight with the angel and overcame him; he made request for grace to him with weeping; he came face to face with him in Beth-el and there his words came to him;
And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them. And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it. And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause. And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Skin for skin, all a man has he will give for his life. But now, if you only put your hand on his bone and his flesh, he will certainly be cursing you to your face. And the Lord said to the Satan, See, he is in your hands, only do not take his life. And the Satan went out from before the Lord, and sent on Job an evil disease covering his skin from his feet to the top of his head. And he took a broken bit of a pot, and, seated in the dust, was rubbing himself with the sharp edge of it.
And there was a day when the sons of the gods came together before the Lord, and the Satan came with them. And the Lord said to the Satan, Where do you come from? And the Satan said in answer, From wandering this way and that on the earth, and walking about on it. And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? And the Satan said in answer to the Lord, Is it for nothing that Job is a god-fearing man? Have you yourself not put a wall round him and his house and all he has on every side, blessing the work of his hands, and increasing his cattle in the land? But now, put out your hand against all he has, and he will be cursing you to your face. And the Lord said to the Satan, See, I give all he has into your hands, only do not put a finger on the man himself. And the Satan went out from before the Lord.
See, I am sending an angel before you, to keep you on your way and to be your guide into the place which I have made ready for you. Give attention to him and give ear to his voice; do not go against him; for your wrongdoing will not be overlooked by him, because my name is in him.
And the angel of the Lord was seen by him in a flame of fire coming out of a thorn-tree: and he saw that the tree was on fire, but it was not burned up. And Moses said, I will go and see this strange thing, why the tree is not burned up, And when the Lord saw him turning to one side to see, God said his name out of the tree, crying, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Do not come near: take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. And he said, I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses kept his face covered for fear of looking on God.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Zechariah 3
Commentary on Zechariah 3 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 3
Zec 3:1-10. Fourth Vision. Joshua the high priest before the angel of Jehovah; accused by Satan, but justified by Jehovah through Messiah the coming Branch.
1. Joshua as high priest (Hag 1:1) represents "Jerusalem" (Zec 3:2), or the elect people, put on its trial, and "plucked" narrowly "out of the fire." His attitude, "standing before the Lord," is that of a high priest ministering before the altar erected previously to the building of the temple (Ezr 3:2, 3, 6; Ps 135:2). Yet, in this position, by reason of his own and his people's sins, he is represented as on his and their trial (Nu 35:12).
he showed me—"He" is the interpreting angel. Jerusalem's (Joshua's) "filthy garments" (Zec 3:3) are its sins which had hitherto brought down God's judgments. The "change of raiment" implies its restoration to God's favor. Satan suggested to the Jews that so consciously polluted a priesthood and people could offer no acceptable sacrifice to God, and therefore they might as well desist from the building of the temple. Zechariah encourages them by showing that their demerit does not disqualify them for the work, as they are accepted in the righteousness of another, their great High Priest, the Branch (Zec 3:8), a scion of their own royal line of David (Isa 11:1). The full accomplishment of Israel's justification and of Satan the accuser's being "rebuked" finally, is yet future (Re 12:10). Compare Re 11:8, wherein "Jerusalem," as here, is shown to be meant primarily, though including the whole Church in general (compare Job 1:9).
Satan—the Hebrew term meaning "adversary" in a law court: as devil is the Greek term, meaning accuser. Messiah, on the other hand, is "advocate" for His people in the court of heaven's justice (1Jo 2:1).
standing at his right hand—the usual position of a prosecutor or accuser in court, as the left hand was the position of the defendant (Ps 109:6). The "angel of the Lord" took the same position just before another high priest was about to beget the forerunner of Messiah (Lu 1:11), who supplants Satan from his place as accuser. Some hence explain Jude 9 as referring to this passage: "the body of Moses" being thus the Jewish Church, for which Satan contended as his by reason of its sins; just as the "body of Christ" is the Christian Church. However, Jude 9 plainly speaks of the literal body of Moses, the resurrection of which at the transfiguration Satan seems to have opposed on the ground of Moses' error at Meribah; the same divine rebuke, "the Lord rebuke thee," checked Satan in contending for judgment against Moses' body, as checked him when demanding judgment against the Jewish Church, to which Moses' body corresponds.
2. the Lord—Jehovah, hereby identified with the "angel of the Lord (Jehovah)" (Zec 3:1).
rebuke thee—twice repeated to express the certainty of Satan's accusations and machinations against Jerusalem being frustrated. Instead of lengthened argument, Jehovah silences Satan by the one plea, namely, God's choice.
chosen Jerusalem—(Ro 9:16; 11:5). The conclusive answer. If the issue rested on Jerusalem's merit or demerit, condemnation must be the award; but Jehovah's "choice" (Joh 15:16) rebuts Satan's charge against Jerusalem (Zec 1:17; 2:12; Ro 8:33, 34, 37), represented by Joshua (compare in the great atonement, Le 16:6-20, &c.), not that she may continue in sin, but be freed from it (Zec 3:7).
brand plucked out of … fire—(Am 4:11; 1Pe 4:18; Jude 23). Herein God implies that His acquittal of Jerusalem is not that He does not recognize her sin (Zec 3:3, 4, 9), but that having punished her people for it with a seventy years' captivity, He on the ground of His electing love has delivered her from the fiery ordeal; and when once He has begun a deliverance, as in this case, He will perfect it (Ps 89:30-35; Php 1:6).
3. filthy garments—symbol of sin (Pr 30:12; Isa 4:4; 64:6); proving that it is not on the ground of His people's righteousness that He accepts them. Here primarily the "filthy garments" represent the abject state temporally of the priesthood and people at the return from Babylon. Yet he "stood before the angel." Abject as he was, he was before Jehovah's eye, who graciously accepts His people's services, though mixed with sin and infirmity.
4. those that stood before him—the ministering angels (compare the phrase in 1Ki 10:8; Da 1:5).
Take away the filthy garments—In Zec 3:9 it is "remove the iniquity of that land"; therefore Joshua represents the land.
from him—literally, "from upon him"; pressing upon him as an overwhelming burden.
change of raiment—festal robes of the high priest, most costly and gorgeous; symbol of Messiah's imputed righteousness (Mt 22:11). The restoration of the glory of the priesthood is implied: first, partially, at the completion of the second temple; fully realized in the great High Priest Jesus, whose name is identical with Joshua (Heb 4:8), the Representative of Israel, the "kingdom of priests" (Ex 19:6); once clad in the filthy garments of our vileness, but being the chosen of the Father (Isa 42:1; 44:1; 49:1-3), He hath by death ceased from sin, and in garments of glory entered the heavenly holy place as our High Priest (Heb 8:1; 9:24). Then, as the consequence (1Pe 2:5), realized in the Church generally (Lu 15:22; Re 19:8), and in Israel in particular (Isa 61:10; compare Isa 3:6; 66:21).
5. And I said—Here the prophet, rejoicing at the change of raiment so far made, interposes to ask for the crowning assurance that the priesthood would be fully restored, namely, the putting the miter or priestly turban on Joshua: its fair color symbolizing the official purity of the order restored. He does not command, but prays; not "Set," but "Let them set." Vulgate and Syriac version read it, "He then said," which is the easier reading; but the very difficulty of the present Hebrew reading makes it less likely to come from a modern corrector of the text.
angel of … Lord stood by—the Divine Angel had been sitting (the posture of a judge, Da 7:9); now He "stands" to see that Zechariah's prayer be executed, and then to give the charge (Zec 3:6, 7).
6. protested—proceeded solemnly to declare. A forensic term for an affirmation on oath (Heb 6:17, 18). God thus solemnly states the end for which the priesthood is restored to the people, His own glory in their obedience and pure worship, and their consequent promotion to heavenly honor.
7. God's choice of Jerusalem (Zec 3:2) was unto its sanctification (Joh 15:16; Ro 8:29); hence the charge here which connects the promised blessing with obedience.
my charge—the ordinances, ritual and moral (Nu 3:28, 31, 32, 38; Jos 1:7-9; 1Ki 2:3; Eze 44:16).
judge my house—Thou shalt long preside over the temple ceremonial as high priest (Le 10:10; Eze 44:23; Mal 2:7) [Grotius]. Or, rule over My house, that is, My people [Maurer] (Nu 12:7; Ho 8:1). We know from De 17:9 that the priest judged cases. He was not only to obey the Mosaic institute himself, but to see that it was obeyed by others. God's people are similarly to exercise judgment hereafter, as the reward of their present faithfulness (Da 7:18, 22; Lu 19:17; 1Co 6:2); by virtue of their royal priesthood (Re 1:6).
keep my courts—guard My house from profanation.
places to walk—free ingress and egress (1Sa 18:16; 1Ki 3:7; 15:17), so that thou mayest go through these ministering angels who stand by Jehovah (Zec 4:14; 6:5; 1Ki 22:19) into His presence, discharging thy priestly function. In Eze 42:4 the same Hebrew word is used of a walk before the priests' chambers in the future temple. Zechariah probably refers here to such a walk or way; Thou shalt not merely walk among priests like thyself, as in the old temple walks, but among the very angels as thine associates. Hengstenberg translates, "I will give thee guides (from) among these," &c. But there is no "from" in the Hebrew; English Version is therefore better. Priests are called angels or "messengers" (Mal 2:7); they are therefore thought worthy to be associated with heavenly angels. So these latter are present at the assemblies of true Christian worshippers (1Co 11:10; compare Ec 5:6; Eph 3:10; Re 22:9).
8. Hear—On account of the magnitude of what He is about to say, He at once demands solemn attention.
thy fellows that sit before thee—thy subordinate colleagues in the priesthood; not that they were actually then sitting before him; but their usual posture in consultations was on chairs or benches before him, while he sat on an elevated seat as their president.
they are—From speaking to Joshua He passes to speaking of him and them, in the third person, to the attendant angels (compare Zec 3:9).
men wondered at—Hebrew, "men of wonder," that is, having a typical character (Isa 8:18; 20:3; Eze 12:11; 24:24). Joshua the high priest typifies Messiah, as Joshua's "fellows" typify believers whom Messiah admits to share His Priesthood (1Pe 2:5; Re 5:10). This, its typical character, then, is a pledge to assure the desponding Jews that the priesthood shall be preserved till the great Antitype comes. There may be also an indirect reproof of the unbelief of the multitude who "wonder" at God's servants and even at God's Son incredulously (Ps 71:7; Isa 8:18; 53:1, &c.).
behold—marking the greatness of what follows.
my servant—the characteristic title of Messiah (Isa 42:1; 49:3; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11; Eze 34:23, 24).
the Branch—Messiah, a tender branch from the almost extinct royal line of David (Zec 6:12; Isa 4:2; 11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15). Lu 1:78, where for "day spring," "branch" may be substituted (Mal 4:2, however, favors English Version). The reference cannot be to Zerubbabel (as Grotius thinks), for he was then in the full discharge of his office, whereas "the Branch" here is regarded as future.
9. For—expressing the ground for encouragement to the Jews in building the temple: I (Jehovah) have laid the (foundation) stone as the chief architect, before (in the presence of) Joshua, by "the hand of Zerubbabel" (Zec 4:10; Ezr 3:8-13), so that your labor in building shall not be vain. Antitypically, the (foundation) stone alluded to is Christ, before called "the Branch." Lest any should think from that term that His kingdom is weak, He now calls it "the stone," because of its solidity and strength whereby it is to be the foundation of the Church, and shall crush all the world kingdoms (Ps 118:22; compare Isa 28:16; Da 2:45; Mt 21:42; 1Co 3:11; 1Pe 2:6, 7). The angel pointing to the chief stone lying before Him, intimates that a deeper mystery than the material temple is symbolized. Moore thinks the "stone" is the Jewish Church, which Jehovah engages watchfully to guard. The temple, rather, is that symbolically. But the antitype of the foundation-stone is Messiah.
upon one stone shall be seven eyes—namely, the watchful "eyes" of Jehovah's care ever fixed "upon" it (Zec 4:10) [Maurer]. The eye is the symbol of Providence: "seven," of perfection (Re 5:6; compare 2Ch 16:9; Ps 32:8). Antitypically, "the seven eyes upon the stone" are the eyes of all angels (1Ti 3:16), and of all saints (Joh 3:14, 15; 12:32), and of the patriarchs and prophets (Joh 8:56; 1Pe 1:10, 11), fixed on Christ; above all, the eyes of the Father ever rest with delight on Him. Calvin (perhaps better) considers the seven eyes to be carved on the stone, that is, not the eyes of the Father and of angels and saints ever fixed on Him, but His own sevenfold (perfect) fullness of grace, and of gifts of the Spirit (Isa 11:2, 3; Joh 1:16; 3:34; Col 1:19; 2:9), and His watchful providence now for the Jews in building the temple, and always for His Church, His spiritual temple. Thus the "stone" is not as other stones senseless, but living and full of eyes of perfect intelligence (1Pe 2:4, "a living stone"), who not only attracts the eyes (Joh 12:32) of His people, but emits illumination so as to direct them to Him.
engrave … graving—implying Messiah's exceeding beauty and preciousness; alluding to the polished stones of the temple: Christ excelled them, as much as God who "prepared His body" (Heb 10:5; compare Joh 2:21) is superior to all human builders.
remove … iniquity of that land in one day—that is, the iniquity and its consequences, namely the punishment to which the Jews heretofore had been subjected (Hag 1:6, 9-11). The remission of sin is the fountain of every other blessing. The "one day" of its removal is primarily the day of national atonement celebrated after the completion of the temple (Le 23:27) on the tenth day of the seventh month. Antitypically, the atonement by Messiah for all men, once for all ("one day") offered, needing no repetition like the Mosaic sacrifices (Heb 10:10, 12, 14).
10. under … vine … fig tree—emblem of tranquil prosperity (1Ki 4:25). Type of spiritual peace with God through Christ (Ro 5:1); and of millennial blessedness (Mic 4:4).