“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?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.” (vv.1-3)
In this vision Zechariah saw Joshua the High Priest standing in the presence of the LORD and he was clothed with filthy garments. And Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him. This is just like Satan, for his name literally means adversary or opponent. He stands against us in spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10-18) and makes us feel unworthy to come before the LORD. But our LORD tells us, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they can become white as snow."
We then see the phrase, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan.” Even though God does allow Satan to attack and harass His people, He always strictly regulates what Satan is allowed to do. You may remember that Satan wanted to destroy Simon Peter, sifting him like wheat (Luke 22:31-32), but Jesus prayed for Peter and stood beside him and did not allow Satan to carry out every evil intention of his heart.
Jude 1:9 tells us that Michael the archangel used this same phrase, “The LORD rebuke you,” in battling against Satan. The example here of the Angel of the LORD and of Michael shows us a model for spiritual warfare – that we always should battle with the LORD’s authority. In His authority we fight from a place of victory, more than fighting for victory.
Again in our text we see this phrase used, but this time the LORD includes His Holy place, Jerusalem; “The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you.” With this phrase, God reinforced the important standing of Jerusalem in His eyes. As mentioned in Zechariah 2:12, it is His Holy Land.
Finally the LORD says to Satan, “Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” A brand is a burnt, burning, or smoldering piece of wood. Think of a campfire with a blackened, charred chunk of wood smoking in the ashes. It isn’t worth much at all and will be consumed completely if it isn’t plucked from the fire.
So it is with the child of God. He plucks us from the burning fire before we are totally consumed so that we may have life eternal in Him.
The Truth: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of Your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered (plucked), every one that shall be found written in the book.” (Daniel 12:1)
