(2) The Lord rebuke thee.—See Note on Jude 1:19. Satan is justly rebuked; “for who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s chosen?”The fire.—Of penal suffering in the captivity in Babylon. (Comp. Amos 4:11) As with the guilt, so with the pardon and promise in both, Joshua was the representative of the people. read more
Purification (An Old Testament Vision) Zechariah 3:1-7 I. Cleansed. Joshua was clothed with filthy garments (v. 3). What an anomaly is here; a priest clothed with filthy garments; a believer indulging in known sin, is this possible? But mark well Joshua's conduct; sin-stained as he was, he stood there still, 'he stood before the angel'. Happy for him that he did so; Satan might attack, conscience might condemn, yet would he stand still before Jehovah Jesus. Not one inch would he remove. Was... read more
THE FOURTH VISION: THE HIGH PRIEST AND THE SATANZechariah 3:1-10The next Visions deal with the moral condition of Israel and their standing before God. The Fourth is a judgment scene. The Angel of Jehovah, who is not to be distinguished from Jehovah Himself, stands for judgment, and there appear before him Joshua the High Priest and the Satan or Adversary who has come to accuse him. Now those who are accused by the Satan-see next chapter of this volume upon the Angels of the Visions-are,... read more
CHAPTER 3 1. The fourth night vision (Zechariah 3:1-5 ) 2. The message of the vision (Zechariah 3:6-10 ) Zechariah 3:1-5 . The fourth vision is like the first and second, closely connected with the foregoing one. It gives the crowning event of Israel’s restoration. The prophet recognizes in the figure, which is seen by him, Joshua the high priest, who is standing before the angel of the Lord, while at his right hand stands Satan to oppose him. Joshua was not clothed with his clean,... read more
3:2 And the {c} LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a {d} brand plucked out of the fire?(c) That is, Christ speaks to God as the mediator of his Church, that he would rebuke Satan: and here he shows himself to be the continual preserver of his Church.(d) Meaning that Joshua was wonderfully preserved in the captivity, and now Satan sought to afflict and trouble him when he was doing his office. read more
The Fourth Vision - Grace to the Representative High Priest Overcoming Satan's Opposition (vv. 1-5) In verse 1 the angel who talked with Zechariah showed him Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. We have seen that the Angel of the Lord is Christ. Joshua, being high priest, is a type of Christ, but seen here as representing Israel. Therefore he is clothed with filthy garments as taking the responsibility for Israel's... read more
THE PROPHET ’S OWN TIME Zechariah, like Haggai, had a twofold mission, to strengthen the hands of Israel for the rebuilding of the temple, and to quicken their hope as the earlier prophets had done, by painting in glowing colors the coming time of triumph over every foe. This mission is set before us in a two-fold division of the book. Chapters 1-8 give us a series of prophetic visions bearing primarily, upon the prophet’s own time, while chapters 9-14 deal chiefly with the events... read more
The "Branch" Promised Zechariah 3:0 The next vision that came before the prophet Zechariah is that of "Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him" ( Zec 3:1 ). We are to understand by the pronoun in this verse God, and to read thus: And God showed me Joshua the high priest. The prophet was attended by an angel; it is important to notice the function of that angel, and to remember that it was limited to the explanation, and... read more
"And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Who is the Speaker here but Christ? Surely he that is called in the first verse the angel of the Lord, before whom Joshua stood, is the same person here called the Lord. And so he was, who is the angel of the covenant. And do observe the graciousness of the expressions. Satan is not only rebuked, but reasoned with. Jerusalem is the... read more
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Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Zechariah 3:1-10
A SERIES OF SEVEN VISIONS.Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15. Between the commencement of Zechariah’s prophetic labours and the incidents recorded in Zechariah 1:7 to Zechariah 6:15, the Prophet Haggai received the revelation contained in Haggai 2:10-23. On the four-and-twentieth day of the eleventh month, just five months after the re-building of the Temple was resumed, Zechariah sees a succession of seven visions in one night, followed by a symbolic action (Zechariah 6:9-15). read more