Bible Notes
Zechariah 3
Vision of the High Priest
1Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan[a] standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2And 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?”
3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.
4Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”
5And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”
So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
The Coming Branch
6Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, 7“Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘If you will walk in My ways,
And if you will keep My command,
Then you shall also judge My house,
And likewise have charge of My courts;
I will give you places to walk
Among these who stand here.
8‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest,
You and your companions who sit before you,
For they are a[b] wondrous sign;
For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.
9For behold, the stone
That I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone are seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
10In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts,
‘Everyone will invite his neighbor
Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”
Footnotes:
- Zechariah 3:1 Lit. the Adversary
- Zechariah 3:8 Lit. men of a sign or wonder
Notes
the word for “filthy” in this passage does not just mean “stained” but completely defiled.10 With this term occurring nowhere else in Scripture except twice in this passage, the inspired wording of Zechariah graphically demonstrates a state of total, abhorrent corruption.11
What did this corrupting filth signify? The angel’s subsequent words reveal the answer. After telling “those who were standing before him” to remove the defiled garments from Joshua, the angel told Joshua, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments” (Zechariah 3:4). This association between the removal of garments and the removal of iniquity shows that the filthy clothing symbolized defilement by sin.
v4 - or festal robes