Zechariah 3:1

In this and the following visions the prophet is shown the future glorification of the church of the Lord. Zac 3:1. "And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him. Zac 3:2. And Jehovah said to Satan, Jehovah rebuke thee, O Satan; and Jehovah who chooseth Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand saved out of the fire? Zac 3:3. And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. Zac 3:4. And he answered and spake to those who stood before him thus: Take away the filthy garments from him. And he said to him, Behold, I have taken away thy guilt from thee, and clothe thee in festal raiment. Zac 3:5. And I said, Let them put a clean mitre upon his head. Then they put the clean mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of Jehovah stood by." The subject to ויּראני is Jehovah, and not the mediating angel, for his work was to explain the visions to the prophet, and not to introduce them; nor the angel of Jehovah, because he appears in the course of the vision, although in these visions he is sometimes identified with Jehovah, and sometimes distinguished from Him. The scene is the following: Joshua stands as high priest before the angel of the Lord, and Satan stands at his (Joshua's) right hand as accuser. Satan (hassâtân) is the evil spirit so well known from the book of Job, and the constant accuser of men before God (Rev 12:10), and not Sanballat and his comrades (Kimchi, Drus., Ewald). He comes forward here as the enemy and accuser of Joshua, to accuse him in his capacity of high priest. The scene is therefore a judicial one, and the high priest is not in the sanctuary, the building of which had commenced, or engaged in supplicating the mercy of the…

There was a Joshua that was a principal agent in the first settling of Israel in Canaan; here is another of the same name very active in their second settlement there after the captivity; Jesus is the same name, and it signifies Saviour; and they were both figures of him that was to come, our chief captain and our chief priest. The angel that talked with Zechariah showed him Joshua the high priest; it is probable that the prophet saw him frequently, that he spoke to him, and that there was a great intimacy between them; but, in his common views, he only saw how he appeared before men; if he must know how he stands before the Lord, it must be shown him in vision; and so it is shown him. And men are really as they are with God, not as they appear in the eye of the world. He stood before the angel of the Lord, that is, before Christ, the Lord of the angels, to whom even the high priests themselves, of Aaron's order, were accountable. He stood before the angel of the Lord to execute his office, to minister to God under the inspection of the angels. He stood to consult the oracle on the behalf of Israel, for whom, as high priest, he was agent. Guilt and corruption are our two great discouragements when we stand before God. By the guilt of the sins committed by us we have become obnoxious to the justice of God; by the power of the sin that dwells in us we have become odious to the holiness of God. All God's Israel are in danger upon these two accounts. Joshua was so here, for the law made men priests that had infirmity, Heb 7:28. And, as to both, we have relief from Jesus Christ, who is made of God to us both righteousness and sanctification. I. Joshua is accused as a criminal, but is justified. 1. A violent opposition is made to him. Satan stands at his right hand to resist…

3:1-10 The prophet’s vision depicts a heavenly courtroom with the prosecuting attorney (Satan) accusing the defendant (Jeshua the high priest) of being unfit for his priestly duties. 3:1 Jeshua was the high priest, the religious leader among those who returned to Judah from exile in Babylon (Ezra 2:2). Jeshua partnered with Zerubbabel, the governor of the restored community, in rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple (Ezra 5:2; Hag 2:1-5). • The Accuser, Satan (literally The satan) designates a member of the heavenly court whose role is to accuse human beings of wrongdoing, to act as prosecuting attorney (see Job 1:6). The adversarial role may be performed by either human or divine beings (see Num 22:22; 1 Sam 29:4; 1 Chr 21:1). By New Testament times, Satan was a personal name for the prince of demons (Mark 3:22; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 6:11; Rev 20:2). • The Accuser’s position of authority in the heavenly court is shown by his standing at the angel’s right hand.