So I was reading Zechariah, and I was pretty amazed by what I read. There is a lot of language and themes that I recognize being in the book of Revelation, but there is also a very interesting passage in chapter 3 that I think is referenced in the book of Jude – what I just wrote about last time!
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. – Zechariah 3:1-5
First of all, the imagery here is powerful. Joshua the high priest is standing (presumably to be judged) before God. And next to him is Satan, accusing him of his sin. If you look at verse 3, you can see that Satan had a case! Joshua is clothed with “filthy garments.” In other words, his disgusting and vile sins are on display as he stands to be judged. And Satan is right there, reminding Joshua of his guilt. But what does God say?
“The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” – Zechariah 3:2
Doesn’t that sound a lot like Jude
But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” – Jude 9
and
save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. – Jude 23
?
I think it does, and apparently so does my study Bible. I haven’t studied it to know how much Jude was referencing Zechariah, but there are certainly lots of similarities. And I think there’s enough there to understand just how merciful we are commanded to be, since God gave us the example.
Instead of proclaiming judgment on Joshua (who stood in the place of all God’s people), He rebuked Satan with a simple argument. Essentially, God says ‘I have chosen him. Yes, his sin is there, but I have chosen him. Instead of pronouncing judgment on Joshua, I’m going to purify him and give him clean clothes.’ (I’m not trying to speak for God, by the way. Just summarizing)
How amazing is that? By every standard Joshua deserved punishment, but God negates all that by declaring him chosen by God. He says
“Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”
Meaning, ‘didn’t I just save this stick from being completely consumed by fire?’ If God pulled it out of the fire, then it’s a done deal! Why would God pull someone out of the fire only to destroy him?
Now obviously we are not God. We can’t justify sinners. Only God can do that. But we are told in Jude to “save others…” That sounds like God wants us participating in His work of saving souls. All the while, we need to hate those filthy clothes.
I know this wasn’t super well written, but my mind is blown.
Springs AF Navs 