“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of
the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the LORD said to Satan, ‘The LORD rebuke
you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen
Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a
brand plucked from the fire?’”
Zechariah was given a vision of God’s view of Joshua the
high priest. Joshua is standing before
the Angel of the LORD, which reveals that Joshua was in service to God. Satan is never happy when someone is serving
the Lord. The very name, ‘Satan,’ means
adversary, one who withstands (Strong’s 07853).
So true is he to his name that he stands at Joshua’s right hand, like a
prosecutor, ready to oppose Joshua. “When we stand before God to minister to him,
or stand up for God to serve his interests, we must expect to meet with all the
resistance that Satan’s subtlety and malice can give us.” (Matthew Henry)
But before we see Satan bring an accusation against Joshua,
we see the LORD rebuke Satan. According
to Webster’s, to rebuke is ‘to criticize sharply, reprimand.’ “Take note that this rebuke comes at the
right season. When Satan accuses, Christ pleads. He does not wait till the case
has gone against us and then express his regret, but he is always a very
present help in time of trouble. He knows the heart of Satan, being omniscient
God, and long before Satan can accuse he puts in the demurrer, the blessed plea
on our behalf, and stays the action till he gives an answer which silences for
ever every accusation.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Praise be to God that with Jesus as our advocate, the adversary’s case
is immediately dismissed.
It is something to note, too, the manner in which Satan is
rebuked. The LORD says, ‘The LORD rebuke
you.’ This is the same phrase used by
Michael, one of the chief angels in heaven, when he disputes with Satan over
the body of Moses. “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he
disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling
accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” (Jude 9) This pattern shows us that we should always
put the Lord between us and Satan. We
have no business dealing directly with Satan.
It is not for us to say ‘I rebuke you Satan,’ but rather leave that to
our Advocate, to our Master, to our King.
We should speak as the examples given us: The Lord rebuke you. Jesus has already defeated Satan. He makes quick work of the adversary in the
courtroom.
The LORD refers to Joshua as a ‘brand plucked from the
fire.’ When wood is in the fire it is on
fire. When it is removed from the fire
it becomes black as charcoal. Did you
ever consider yourself in either state?
I have wondered, as a brand plucked from the fire, what good might I
possibly be to God? “So it is with the
child of God. What is he at the best? Till he is taken up to heaven, he is
nothing but a brand plucked out of the fire. It is his daily moan that he is a
sinner; but Christ accepts him as he is: and he shuts the devil’s mouth by
telling him, ‘Thou sayest this man is black - of course he is: what did I think
he was but that? He is a brand plucked out of the fire. I plucked him out of
it. He was burning when he was in it: he is black now he is out of it. He was
what I knew he would be; he is not what I mean to make him, but he is what I
knew he would be. I have chosen him as a brand plucked out of the fire. What
hast thou to say to that?’ Do observe that this plea did not require a single
word to be added to it from Joshua.” (Charles Spurgeon)
This passage reminds us of all that Jesus has done and is
doing for us. He has plucked us from the
fire and saved us to eternal life.
Although every word of accusation about us from the adversary is true, yes
we are all sinners and easy prey when it comes to that, yet Christ stood in our
place and died for our sins so that He could be an advocate of our
innocence. Though we are a piece of burnt
wood, weakened and useless for anything, He has chosen to save us and to use us
in service to Him for His glory.
Without Jesus, we can do nothing. “I am
the vine, you are the branches. He who
abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do
nothing.” (John 15:5)
And with Jesus, we can do all things. “I can
do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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