Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? (Zechariah 3:2)

 Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? (Zechariah 3:2)

We are presented here with a heavenly scene. Poor Joshua stands accused by Satan in the presence the Lord, and Satan can be convincing! It would be similar to a conversation that Satan had with God about Job (who was not present), saying that Job was only faithful because he was blessed. Remove the blessing and Job would turn away from God. Amazingly, God gave Satan permission to afflict him, only to prove Satan wrong.

But in this instance, God stood up for poor Joshua. I call him “poor” because of how he is described: “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments.” He looked like he had been dragged through the mud, with Satan doing the dragging. Priests were to be dressed in white. They were to be clean. Their appearance was to shout out the idea, “righteousness!” Joshua’s condition communicated nothing of the sort.

The Lord asks what I have listed as one of the critical questions of the Bible: “Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” The idea here is that Joshua, in and of himself, is about to burn. But God has reached in to save him. It reminds me of Lot, living in Sodom which was about to be destroyed by fire, being dragged to safety by the angels (Gen 19, our text for this Sunday). It reminds me of Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) who emerged without even the smell of smoke on them. It reminds me of the Old Testament text about the future ministry of Jesus, “A bruised reed He will not break, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;” (Isaiah 42:3). It reminds me of you and me and everyone who finds salvation in Jesus. “Are we nothing but brands plucked from the fire?”

In Zechariah’s next verse, the Lord commands, “Remove the filthy garments from him,” and goes on to say, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” It reminds me of the old hymn “When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found; Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne.” Dressed in His righteousness, that is, in Jesus’ righteousness. I don’t dress myself up for Jesus. Jesus dresses me up for God, because my best preparations would be inadequate. A newer song says, “When Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within; Upward I look and see Him there Who made an end to all my sin.” The next stanza goes on to say, “Behold Him there, the risen Lamb; My perfect, spotless Righteousness.” That’s what Joshua needed. That’s what we all need. And that is all we need, Christ’s righteousness as our own.