Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Accuser and the High Priest - Zechariah 3

It has been said that the clothes make the person. People are told to dress for success. Clothes often are used to help us identify different people. We recognize the police or fire fighters by the clothes that they wear. Even in occupations that do not have a uniform there is usually an unofficial way that they dress. Teachers dress like teachers; insurance sales people dress like insurance people and so on. Even on days when people dress more casually there is usually a pattern in the way that they dress.

Joshua was the high priest of Israel during the time of Zerubbabel but he did not look like a high priest. The high priest was always dressed in spotless white linen with a spotless white turban on his head. However, Joshua was dressed in a dirty robe and there was no turban on his head. It was the role of the high priest to plead for mercy for the people before God however; he could not fulfill his calling because he was in need of mercy and grace, he was not dressed properly.

This day as he stood before the angel of the Lord there was one who was standing at his right side. It was Satan, the accuser of the brethren, and he stood there to accuse Joshua before God. You can almost hear the accuser saying to God in Joshua’s hearing. “How can this man serve as a high priest? Look at him, he has filthy clothes, he does not have a turban on his head. He is unworthy to be a high priest.” Satan knows that if he can make us feel guilty he has rendered us ineffective.

(Continued tomorrow - LW)

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