Is Gods word true?

[Mike Mclees]

 

Zechariah 3:1-5

 

King James Version

 

 

3 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

2 And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by.

Is this scripture true, and what does it say?

Edited September 5, 2022 by Mike Mclees

[TrueFollowerOfChrist]

This seems to be an illustration of a real event. I don't believe it's a parable or symbolic. This is a picture of one of the High Priests ( dead or standing in prayer I don't know ) being accused by Satan for some sin he has committed. The High Priest is saved and is being cleansed by God. I believe this same exact thing happens with us. When we sin, Satan tries to accuse us and make us guilty in God's court, but God is faithful and will always declare us Not Guilty.

[Deborah_]

This is a vision (one of a series of eight, in fact). So it's conveying truth, but in a symbolic way. (At the time, the Temple was in ruins, so the high priest couldn't enter God's presence in the Most Holy Place)

Joshua was the high priest in Zechariah’s day. He was a man of great significance, the man who represented the whole nation of Israel before God, and in this vision Zechariah sees him standing in God’s presence in the heavenly court.

There was only one occasion in the year when the high priest actually entered the presence of God, in the Most Holy Place behind the Temple curtain, and that was on the Day of Atonement. Before doing so, he had to bathe himself, dress in pure white linen, and offer sacrifices to atone for his sin. That was how he made himself fit to enter the presence of a holy God.

But Zechariah sees that despite all these preparations, Joshua is still not worthy to stand in God’s presence. His robes, that had seemed so clean and white outside, are actually dirty and stained when seen in the bright light of God’s holiness. And just in case God hadn’t noticed, Satan pops up to draw attention to this fact! Like a prosecuting attorney, he accuses Joshua of sin and attempts to have him thrown out.

There is, on the face of it, nothing that can be said in Joshua’s defence. His guilt is displayed for all to see. He is in no fit state to stand before a holy God, let alone serve as priest, and he risks being struck dead by God’s wrath.

And yet Joshua is neither rejected nor condemned. Indeed, the Judge Himself comes to his defence! (Zechariah 3:2) He will not even listen to Satan’s accusations - not because there is any virtue in either the priest or the people he represents, but because God intends to show mercy to sinners. Joshua’s dirty clothes are removed and he is given fresh, clean ones - signifying not just the forgiveness of his sins but their complete removal, to be replaced by robes of righteousness.

Now Joshua, in his office as high priest, stands for all of us. There is no way that we can, by our own efforts, make ourselves acceptable to God. In the words of Isaiah, “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) So Joshua’s problem is our problem: how can we possibly be worthy of our God or do anything acceptable to Him? And Satan loves to keep reminding us of our utter unworthiness! We have no excuses; we are guilty as charged. But all is not lost: “If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (I John 2:1) Zechariah’s vision is prophetic; the Angel of the Lord promises a day when the Messiah will come to His people, deal with their sin once and for all (Zechariah 3:8,9), and be a truly perfect and spotless high priest (Hebrews 7:26,27). And for us, that day is already here! When we believe in Jesus, our sins are taken away and we are “dressed” in the righteousness of Christ!

“I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness.” (Isaiah 61:10)

[Jayne]

Mike, I taught the book of Zechariah last spring.  It's a wildly symbolic book, mostly of visions or dreams that God sent to Zechariah.

Here it is in a nutshell.

The exiled Jews who are in Babylon are going to soon be coming back.  Remember they were sent there because of their horrible rebellion against God.

Zechariah, the prophet, is given a series of very weird visions or dreams. Nine visions in total with the first eight in pairs.

• #1 and #8 are similiar.  They contain visions of 4 riders bringing peace.  This is not the 4 horsemen of Revelation.
• #2 and #7 are similar.   Horns, a woman in a basket, blacksmiths, and flying women with stork wings - these are about the evilness if other nations and how that evil will be dealt with.
• #3 and #6 go together.  These two are about the New Jerusalem.  The measaurements, the flying scroll punishing evil doers.
• #4 and #5 match.  This is where you are. These two are about two very important men, Joshua and Zerubbabel.

Vision #4 is about Joshua - not the Joshua, son of Nun, of Moses day, but a different Joshua.  This Joshua is a priest.  In the dream, he is representing the sins of the Jewish people.  He is wearing dirty clothes.  He is given NEW clothes and a new turban.  This symbolizes Gods cleansing of his people, forgiving them, and bringing them back from exile.  God says in the dream to Zechariah that if this Joshua, the priest, will behave in a Godly manner that he will be able to properly lead the people and......

.....he will be able fo be a "type" of the future Messianic King, which we know is Jesus Christ.  He is not called Jesus Christ here, but God calls him "My Servant, the Branch."

As to your titular question......is God's Word true?  Most definitely YES.  Sometimes literally true, and in the book of Zechariah's case, it's absolutely figuratively true.

These events as told in the dreams did not happen.  Joshua did not walk around in dirty clothes and he was not the Messiah.

But he, the clean clothes, and the dirty clothes are all representative of things.  The future Messiah, God's grace, and humanity's sin.

 

[AnOrangeCat]

The Bible often says that in the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter is established. So you'll often find various concepts in the Bible referred to multiple times. Like Deborah_ pointed out the idea that our righteousness is as filthy rags is one instance. Jude uses the phrase "The Lord rebuke you" with Michael saying it to Satan rather than engage him. That's another little thing to ponder and take to heart IMO.

[Mike Mclees]

22 minutes ago, TrueFollowerOfChrist said:

This seems to be an illustration of a real event. I don't believe it's a parable or symbolic. This is a picture of one of the High Priests ( dead or standing in prayer I don't know ) being accused by Satan for some sin he has committed. The High Priest is saved and is being cleansed by God. I believe this same exact thing happens with us. When we sin, Satan tries to accuse us and make us guilty in God's court, but God is faithful and will always declare us Not Guilty.

I would agree except on one point. I want to wait a couple hours to give chance for any other posts. I will then give my view. 

[Mike Mclees]

I want to tell it like I see it. Satan wanted to exploit the high priest for being sinful while holding the position of High Priest. The filthy garments shows that he was guilty. Joshua could no longer hold the office of High Priest because of his sins represented by his unclean garments. After the Lord rebuked satan the Lord said take away his filthy garments and put new garments on him and a new mitre put on his head. The Lord did not just wash his dirty old garment of sin. He put new garments on him. The new garments took away his sins and made him new again as in regeneration. The Lord also told Joshua to walk in repentance. 

Edited September 5, 2022 by Mike Mclees

[Jayne]

31 minutes ago, Mike Mclees said:

I want to tell it like I see it. Satan wanted to exploit the high priest for being sinful while holding the position of High Priest. The filthy garments shows that he was guilty. Joshua could no longer hold the office of High Priest because of his sins represented by his unclean garments. After the Lord rebuked satan the Lord said take away his filthy garments and put new garments on him and a new mitre put on his head. The Lord did not just wash his dirty old garment of sin. He put new garments on him. The new garments took away his sins and made him new again as in regeneration. The Lord also told Joshua to walk in repentance. 

Brother, we have explained that this is a series of nine visions or dreams given to Zechariah.  It is not literal.  It's not that Joshua, himself, was sinful.

Joshua, the high priest, is symbolic of God's people.

• Yes, the nation was guiltly and filthy.
• God cleansed them - that's represented by the new clothes and the new turban.
• Joshua is told if remains faithful that he can represent the future Messiah, God's "Branch" as Christ is called in that vision.

Read Zechariah 1:7 - 6.  Those chapters outline the nine visions of Zechariah and what they represent.

This is not literal.  True, but figuratively true.

[Mike Mclees]

7 minutes ago, Jayne said:

Brother, we have explained that this is a series of nine visions or dreams given to Zechariah.  It is not literal.  It's not that Joshua, himself, was sinful.

Joshua, the high priest, is symbolic of God's people.

• Yes, the nation was guiltly and filthy.
• God cleansed them - that's represented by the new clothes and the new turban.
• Joshua is told if remains faithful that he can represent the future Messiah, God's "Branch" as Christ is called in that vision.

Read Zechariah 1:7 - 6.  Those chapters outline the nine visions of Zechariah and what they represent.

This is not literal.  True, but figuratively true.

Whether literal or not changes nothing. The effect is still the same.  Just as in a parable the effect is the same.

God bless 

[Jayne]

4 minutes ago, Mike Mclees said:

Whether literal or not changes nothing. The effect is still the same.  Just as in a parable the effect is the same.

God bless 

C'est la vie.  I give up.  

Have you read the other 8 visions in those six chapters?  Do you believe them literal, too?