In Zechariah 3, God makes a glorious promise about the forgiveness of His people’s sin. There is much to encourage us in this passage in our fight against sin and the condemnation of the devil. This article will walk through Zechariah 3 and examine how we can apply it today.
The Context of Zechariah 3
Zechariah 3 falls among the night visions of the first six chapters of Zechariah. The context of Zechariah itself is important to review before addressing the night visions leading to chapter 3.
Zechariah 1:1 places the beginning of Zechariah’s prophetic ministry in between the events of Haggai 2:9 and 2:10. The situation of Israel at the time is one of resettling the promised land after their return from exile. There are numerous passages in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets, that speak of Israel returning from exile. One particular passage promising the return from exile that we want to examine to understand the context of Zechariah is Jeremiah 16:14-15. These verses are quoted below:
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.
Jeremiah 16:14-15, ESV
In this passage, God is promising to bring his people back from Babylon after their exile and he is expressing this promise in language reminiscent of the exodus from Egypt. It is important to realize, from the book of Exodus, that the exodus event was defining for the definition of Israel as God’s people, God’s revelation of Himself, and for the establishment of the relationship between Israel and the LORD.
God’s redemption in the exodus from Egypt revealed who He was, both to Egypt (Exod. 7:5, 9:16, 14:4) and to Israel (Exod. 6:7). Likewise, in Jeremiah 16:21, God declares that His name shall be known through the new exodus that He is promising.
The promise of a new exodus in the prophets is not restricted to a physical return to the land of Israel. It also entails a spiritual return to God and the establishment of a new covenant. We see this, for example, in Jeremiah 24:7 where God says that His people will “return to me with their whole heart”.
Zechariah is prophesying in a period of “already-not yet” fulfillment of these promises. As the books of Ezra and Nehemiah reveal, the people of Israel do indeed return to the land of Israel. But the spiritual exile has not ended.¹ Israel has not been fully restored in the way that the prophets have promised. Therefore, while the physical return from exile occurred, the spiritual return from exile had not. (Additionally, one could argue that even the physical new exodus had an already-not yet nature. See G.K. Beale’s discussion in Union with the Resurrected Christ, pp. 172-173.)
This is the context where we find Zechariah’s prophecy. The new exodus has begun in the physical return from Babylon but spiritually, the people of Israel are still in exile, still disobedient, and still alienated from YHWH. The night visions of Zechariah reveal God’s heart to bring His people back from spiritual exile.
The first few visions, in Zechariah 1 and 2, have a strong emphasis on the temple and God’s dwelling with His people. God promises to be the “glory in Israel’s midst” in Zechariah 2:5. God promises that His “house shall be built in Jerusalem” (Zech. 1:16) and that He will dwell in the midst of His people (Zech. 2:10-11).
This leads us to chapter 3 where a new problem is introduced.
Unclean People and a Holy God
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. 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?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.
Zechariah 3:1-3
The problem of spiritual exile is dramatically portrayed in this night vision, occurring around the mid-point of the night visions.
First, Zechariah sees Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD. Joshua was the high priest of Israel at that time but he also represents all of Israel in this vision. We know from Leviticus 4:3 that the priesthood represented Israel as a whole in such a way that if the priest sinned, it brought guilt upon the people. Therefore, when Zechariah sees Joshua standing before the angel in filthy garments, this is indicative of the entire people’s status before YHWH. Despite their physical return from exile, they are still spiritually unclean.
Second, Zechariah sees Satan standing ready to accuse Joshua, and by extension, Israel as a whole. Richard D. Phillips, in his commentary on Zechariah, writes, “Joshua may have had nothing to say, but there was another who had words for the occasion, namely the angel of the Lord…It may be true that we sinners have nothing to say to Satan’s accusations, but this angel of the Lord, whom we know as Jesus Christ can reply on our behalf.”² It is the Lord who rebukes Satan. And He does so on the basis of His sovereign choice of His people. It is YHWH who has chosen Jerusalem who rebukes the adversary of God’s people who stands day and night to accuse them before the throne (Rev. 12:10). He has plucked Israel from the fire of wrath. Who is Satan to demand that they be thrown back?
Clothed With Pure Garments
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.” 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 3:4-5, ESV
Here we see the great exchange of purity for impurity displayed. Joshua’s filthy garments are taken and he is clothed with “pure vestments”. This is exactly what happens in the justification we receive from Christ’s work on the cross. He has borne our iniquity (Isa. 53:6) and we have received His perfect righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).
Israel’s iniquity is removed and exchanged. This is an important point in our understanding of the doctrine of justification. God not only removes our guilt through Christ Jesus’ substitutionary death. He actively imputes the righteousness of Christ to our account. Just as Joshua, representing Israel, is clothed in the pure garments, we are clothed in Christ (Gal. 3:27).
This great exchange renders Satan powerless and impotent in his accusations against us. We read in Revelation 12:10-11 about the defeat of Satan’s accusatory assault on God’s people:
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Revelation 12:10-11, ESV
The Coming Restoration
And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”
Zechariah 3:6-10, ESV
In this final section of chapter 3, Zechariah’s vision concludes with a promise from YHWH. He will bring His “servant the Branch” and He will remove the iniquity of Israel in a single day. That day will usher in a time of prosperity and security, symbolized by neighborly joy in the shade of the vine and fig tree.
The reference to “servant” in verse 8 recalls the prophecies regarding the servant of the YHWH in Isaiah (throughout chapters 40-66). This servant is a prophetic figure in that he brings light to the nations (Isa. 49:5-6). The Branch is also a reference back to Isaiah. This time, it is Isaiah 11 being alluded to. This passage refers to the coming Messiah and His kingdom. So, in Zechariah 3 we see the three-fold office of Christ: prophet, priest, and king, through the images of Joshua, the servant of YHWH, and the Branch.
Ultimately, in verse 9, God promises that He will remove the land’s iniquity in a single day. This day can be none other than Good Friday, when God removed all our sins through the death of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
As we look at Zechariah 3, let us be encouraged that our sin has been removed. Our guilt and iniquity are no longer ours to bear because they have been borne by Christ. Satan can no longer condemn us before God’s throne.
This is the spiritual restoration of Israel and the great new exodus. Zechariah ministered in a day when the restoration from exile had arrived in an “already-not yet” manner. While the remnant of Israel had returned to the land, they were still in spiritual exile because of their covenant unfaithfulness. The new covenant had not come. But Zechariah prophesies of the day when the new covenant would be established and Israel’s return from exile would be accomplished in the work of Jesus Christ.
Footnotes
¹ See G.K. Beale, Union with the Resurrected Christ, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023), 172-173.
² Richard D. Phillips, Zechariah, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2007), 65-66.