Satan is a personal being of evil. In the Old Testament, Satan is always prefaced with the word “the.” In other words, he is “the Satan,” or as translated in the New Revised Standard Version, “the accuser.”
Satan or “the accuser” is revealed in Zechariah 3.
Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord and the accuser standing at his right hand to accuse him.
And the Lord said to the accuser, “The Lord rebuke you, O accuser! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3.1-2).
Similar to the Book of Job, Zechariah depicts the heavenly council, and among those in the heavenly council is an accuser. God, through the angel, rebukes the accuser and silences his accusations.
It is helpful for us to pause for a moment and think about the accusations that are leveled in society every day. All you have to do is spend a little time with social media, the news, or other avenues of information to see how people continually accuse one another.
Then, pause for a moment and think about how often we accuse ourselves, and how we condemn ourselves. All of this plays into the hand of the accuser, or “the” Satan.
When tempted to accuse, we do well to join the angel of the Lord and nullify the words of accusation.
A Change of Clothes
It was the practice of the early church to have people change their clothes at baptism. The old life was put away, symbolized by the discarding of old clothes, and the new life was begun, symbolized by the new clothing.
Joshua, the high priest, is an example of getting new clothes to picture God’s new life.
Now Joshua was wearing filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”
And to him he said, “See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you with festal apparel.”
And he said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with apparel, and the angel of the Lord was standing by (Zechariah 3.3-5).
Joshua was given a new identity, accompanied by new clothes. Similarly, when we accept God’s forgiveness, we are also granted a new identity. While we might not receive physical new clothes, we are transformed into new individuals through God’s grace.
This transformation should silence the accusations from our adversary.
A Warning and a Privilege
God granted His servants access to the heavenly court, where the things of God were discussed concerning what was happening on earth. To have access to this place of special privilege, Joshua was warned to continue walking in alignment with God’s will.
Then the angel of the Lord warned Joshua, saying “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements,
“Then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here” (Zechariah 3.6-7).
No one wrote a rule book for God, detailing the fact that He needed to involve humans in His activity on Earth. However, God, in His love, wants to relate to us, give us His plans, share His ideas, and involve us in His work.
This is a great privilege, but to live there, we have to live according to His ways.
I’ve only explored a few themes from this chapter. I encourage you to use God’s word to counter accusations from others, yourself, or the enemy. Be sure to recognize your worth to God.
Embrace your role in God’s kingdom, follow His path, and witness the wonders He will work through you.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. Rudy brings a vast wealth of knowledge and experience to this passage, and you will appreciate his comments.
It is on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Real Voices 