Zechariah 3:1-4 (NASB) 1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.
2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.
4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him." Again he said to him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes."
I am going to share with you today a moment in time from yesterday as I sat out on the back deck. I say a moment because it felt like that. It happened suddenly, thus the title of the message. Maybe you can relate because it has happened to you. If it hasn't, don't worry, it will. I often go out on the deck here at Memaw's, and lately it has developed into somewhat of a routine. The deck affords me some solitude and alone time. I often take that time to pray and be alone with God; also to soak up some rays for my pitifully pale body! smile. So yesterday, shortly after I woke up, caffeine in hand, I shuffled outside, sat down, and began to pray. I will try to not be too personal here.I was praying for healing for some loved ones. Not a physical but a spiritual healing.I believed they had been wounded by past hurts and were still bleeding. No great revelation here, just something I felt in my heart for them. Here's where, for me, it gets interesting. All of a sudden I had all sorts of conflicting thoughts enter my head. It didn't seem like a distraction, but periods of my past were literally being rolled before my eyes. Now that isn't too odd except some of it was stuff that I hadn't thought or even considered in years. It had to do with the people I was praying for....and it was all BAD,.... and it was all TRUE. A movie newsreel if you will( remember those at the movies when you were a kid?) of all the mistakes and missteps I had made with these folks. Sitting there watching, I was forced to admit in my heart that indeed this was all true. It upset me to the point that I began to cry.You see I was praying for God to heal a wound that I HAD INFLICTED. I was the cause. I bore the lion's share if not ALL the guilt for their demise. It wasn't what I had done, it was what I had caused. You feelin' me here? I mean this stuff went way, way back. Small detailed type stuff that I had forgotten about decades ago. I am serious, literally decades had passed since some of this stuff had taken place. I was being accused. I was being STRONGLY accused. If not before God, certainly in my own heart and mind. The wounds that these people were enduring were, in large part, of my doing.
It was precisely at this moment that the above verse came into my heart. I pictured Joshua standing before the Lord in filthy rags. I rose up and went in the house to find the passage of Scripture. When I found it I pulled out a commentary to see what it had to say. Nothing really jumped out at me except that word "suddenly." It seems that in the original after the word 'and' the word suddenly is implied. Joshua was standing before God and suddenly Satan began to accuse him before the Lord. It felt like that was exactly what had happened to me. I read on and found out that filthy is not an accurate description of Joshua's garments. In the Hebrew he was clothed with human waste."Filthy" doesn't do it justice. In spite of all that, when God rebuked Satan for the accusation(God did the rebuking, not Joshua. that's for another time however) He called him "a brand plucked from the fire," meaning "one
who is still useful and not to be consumed or destroyed." He said all that before He cleaned Joshua up.
As I thought on these things the content of my message took form. Hear me out and I will try and put into words what was in my heart. People(that includes this writer I suppose) are the frailest of all the creation don't you think? We try and add to God's grace and mercy by requiring others to "do" acts of righteousness to appease God. We take away from God's grace and mercy by failing to truly receive His forgiveness into our hearts. But, from what I can glean from Joshua is the fact that he did NOTHING. He didn't "do" something and he didn't "not do" something. All he did was stand before the Lord; and God Almighty did all the cleaning up. He didn't try and defend himself before Satan's accusations. Why? Because though the text doesn't say, they were probably true! He just stood there in his filth and let God do all the rebuking. Not only did God clean Joshua up, but He promised him that if he followed Him and walked in His ways, He would make him a priest in the future house of Israel. Brothers and sisters we have all made mistakes. We have all inflicted wounds on others that we regret and wish that we could undo. And it is the enemy's job to remind us of all our failings and sins; and to use those memories to accuse us to ourselves. That's what he does. If you, like me sometimes struggle with the fact that you have hurt and wounded someone in the past, remember this. God has forgiven and forgotten. He will heal those we have hurt and He will heal us.That's what He does.God is sovereign. His plan for our lives and our loved one's lives will not be frustrated...in spite of all we do and say!smile God's still got plans for you and yours. He has a future for us. And whether the enemy's accusations are spot on or not, the Lord Jesus dealt with them at the cross. He didn't die in vain. He rose again and He's got us in the palm of His hand. Us AND those we love. Amen? AMEN!!
Psalm 130:1-4 (NASB) 1
2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.
3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
God Bless
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