God's Faithfulness to Israel and Us

“And He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.” (Zechariah 3:1)

This was a vision Zechariah had. The Joshua he sees in the vision is not the Joshua that brought the children of Israel to the Promised Land. This is Joshua the high priest, son of Johozadak who was in the first group to return to Israel after the captivity.  He presided during the building of the second temple. Zechariah the prophet also being part of that first group to return to Israel after the captivity.

This is not the first time in Scripture we see satan in his role as accuser of the brethren. When we get this picture, we will realize that all those accusing thoughts that are contrary to what God’s Word says about us, are from him. He does this in order to plan fear and doubt in our minds about our salvation. He not only accuses us in our minds, but relentlessly accuses us before the Lord. “And I heard a great voice saying in Heaven, Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.” (Revelation 12:10) When you get a thought that makes you sad or fearful, go directly to the Bible and find that verse that proves it to be a lie. And like Jesus, say, “It is written....”

What did Zechariah’s vision say about Joshua the high priest? It’s symbolic. Joshua the high priest stands for Israel. At the time, the people were forgetting about God and were seeped in idolatry. This is symbolized in the vison of Joshua in filthy clothes. “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy clothes, and stood before the Angel.”.(Zechariah 3:3) And satan is accusing Joshua, who is symbolic of Israel, of all the sins of idolatry. And his accusations are true, symbolized by the dirty rags. But God made promises to Israel. Before the Babylonian captivity, Isaiah prophesied about God’s promise. “But now so says Jehovah who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; nor shall the flame kindle on you. For I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you. Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life. Fear not; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not keep back; bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth; everyone who is called by My name; for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:1-7)

Because the Jews do not read the prophets, they missed the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. Zechariah prophesies, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, your King comes to you. He is righteous and victorious, meek and riding on an ass, even on a colt, the son of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9) They missed this prophecy that Jesus fulfilled. But the Lord promises that they will come to know their Messiah. When Jesus was lamenting Jerusalem, He told the people, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And truly I say to you, You will not see Me until it come when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Luke 13:35) When will they see Jesus and say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord?”

Zechariah prophesies about the end times.  It’s then that they will see Him and know that their Messiah is Jesus. “At that time I will destroy every nation that tries to attack Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12:9) It’s at that time that the whole world will see Jesus as the Lord God. Zechariah continues and prophesies the reaction of the Jews on seeing Jesus. “I will fill the descendants of David and the other people of Jerusalem with the spirit of mercy and the spirit of prayer. They will look at the one whom they stabbed to death, and they will mourn for him like those who mourn for an only child. They will mourn bitterly, like those who have lost their first-born son. At that time the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. (12-14) Each family in the land will mourn by itself: the family descended from David, the family descended from Nathan, the family descended from Levi, the family descended from Shimei, and all the other families. Each family will mourn by itself, and the men of each family will mourn separately from the women.” (Zechariah 12:10-12) The Lord will deal with individuals, with individual families and the men separately from the women as is the custom even today in Israel for worship as it is in mourning to avoid distractions. This verse tells the agony they will feel at knowing they had rejected their Messiah.

Today, people are in need of salvation and need a Savior, but don’t realize that it’s Jesus Who is the Savior. It’s Jesus Who will bring healing to their bodies, their souls (mind, will, emotions) and spirits. They get deceived into trying everything to find healing, peace and joy, but true healing, true peace and true joy is only found in Jesus. They will either mourn that they missed Jesus or turn rabid in anger toward the Lord when they should direct that anger at themselves. “How you will cry and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, while you are thrown out!” (Luke 13:28)

Summing up, the Lord will in one day forgive and restore Israel to Himself. They will mourn that they rejected Him, but God will wipe away every tear. (Revelation 21:4) And all people will seek Israel for their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Godhead, Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit and their Messiah Who is Jesus, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, our Lord and Savior. “The LORD Almighty gave this message to Zechariah: "The fasts held in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become festivals of joy and gladness for the people of Judah. You must love truth and peace." The LORD Almighty says, "The time is coming when people from many cities will come to Jerusalem. Those from one city will say to those from another, 'We are going to worship the LORD Almighty and pray for his blessing. Come with us!' Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the LORD Almighty and to pray for his blessing. In those days ten foreigners will come to one Jew and say, 'We want to share in your destiny, because we have heard that God is with you."

(Zechariah 8:18-23)

Let us pray:

Father God, You are faithful in all Your promises. You have not failed one promise to Israel and to us who are not Jewish, but have believed on the Name of the Lord, Jesus. Some promises are still to come for the Jews and for us. Lord, I wait with expectancy. I praise Your holy and wonderful Name. There is no other God that is so great either in this world or the next. I thank You Lord that although there are myriad of believers from ancient of times and in the time to come, You know me. You know my name and You love me. You have set blessings for me from the beginning of creation. You laid out a plan for my life of goodness, joy and peace. You know my coming and going. I submit my life to You my Lord God. Your plans are better than I can imagine with my finite mind. I love You Lord. And I glorify Your Name. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.