Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 3:2
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?
2. The Lord ] Jehovah, who in Zec 3:1; Zec 3:5-6, is called the Angel of Jehovah.
hath chosen Jerusalem ] comp. Zec 1:17; Zec 2:12; and for the argument Rom 8:33. The election or choice of God, as an act of free grace, is insisted on in like manner in the earlier history. Deu 4:37; Deu 7:7-8; Deu 10:15.
a brand pluckt out of the fire ] i.e. saved from imminent and almost completed destruction, comp. 1Co 3:15. A similar expression occurs in Amo 4:11. In Isa 7:4, “from the two tails of these smoking brands,” the same figure is used with a different reference. The two hostile kings are there compared to wooden stakes or pokers, which had been used to stir up the flames, but which were themselves now well-nigh burnt out and consumed, and need therefore cause no further apprehension.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee – Jerome: This they so explain, that the Father and the Son is Lord, as we read in the Psa 110:1-7, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand. The Lord speaketh of another Lord; not that He, the Lord who speaketh, cannot rebuke, but that, from the unity of nature, when the Other rebuketh, He Himself who speaketh rebuketh. For he who seeth the Son, seeth the Father also Joh 14:9. It may be that God, by such sayings , also accustomed people, before Christ came, to believe in the Plurality of Persons in the One Godhead. The rebuke of God must be with power. Thou hast rebuked the nations, Thou hast destroyed the ungodly Psa 9:5. Thou hast rebuked the proud, accursed Psa 119:21. They perish at the rebuke of Thy Countenance Psa 80:16. At Thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a deep sleep Psa 76:6. God shall rebuke him, and he fleeth far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind Isa 17:13. He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up Psa 106:9. The foundations of the world were discovered at Thy rebuke, O Lord (Psa 18:15, add Nah 1:4). He rebuked the seed Mal 2:3, and it perished; the devourer Mal 3:11, and it no longer devoured. The rebuke then of the blasted spirit involved a withering rejection of himself and his accusations, as when Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and he departed out of his victim Mar 1:25-26; Mar 9:25; Luk 4:35; Luk 9:42.
The Lord hath chosen Jerusalem – Joshua then is acquitted, not because the accusation of Satan was false, but out of the free love of God for His people and for Joshua in it and as its representative. Who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? Rom 8:33-34. The high priest, being himself also compassed with infirmity, needed daily to offer up sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for the peoples Heb 5:2-3. As Isaiah said, on the sight of God, I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips Isa 6:5, and, until cleansed by the typical coal, dared not offer himself for the prophetic office, so here Satan, in Joshua, aimed at the whole priestly office, and in it, at Israels relation to God.
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? – Cyril: As if he should say, Israel confessedly has sinned, and is liable to these charges. Yet it has suffered no slight punishment; it has endured sufferings, and has scarce been snatched out of them, as a half-burned brand out of the fire. For not yet had it shaken off the dust of the harms from the captivity; only just now and scarely had it escaped the flame of that most intolerable calamity. Cease then imputing sin to them, on whom God has had mercy.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Zec 3:2
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
A firebrand
The fire meant here is the fire of sin. Sin is a fire which destroys the comfort of mankind here, and all the joy of mankind hereafter. Nothing can be more suitable to burn in a fire than a brand. It is not a branch just taken from the tree, fresh and full of sap; it is a brand–dry, sere timber, fit for the burning. And what does this indicate but mans natural heart, which is so congenial to the fire of sin? As the firebrand fits with fire, so does the sinner fit in with sin. We read of a brand in the fire. Not lying on a heap, but burning and blazing in the fire. Does not this portray our condition? We began very early. Disobedience to parents, angry tempers, petty falsehoods,–these were the first catchings on fire of the brand. We have blazed away merrily since then. What with the lusts of the flesh, or pride, or unbelief, or some other form of departing from the living God, how many are like the firebrand, blazing and flashing in the flame! There is, however, a fair side to the picture. We have here a brand plucked out of the fire. Sinners these, who though they have still within them the propensity to sin, are no longer in the fire of sin. They have been taken away from it. They sin through infirmity, but wilful sin they do not commit. The fire that once burned within them has been quenched. They are rescued from that fire which once threatened their everlasting destruction. They are brands still; but brands no longer in the fire. The force of the passage seems to lie in the words, plucked out of. The Christian does not escape by his own free will. He is plucked out of his peril. To be plucked out there needs a hand quick to rescue. Every believer in the Lord Jesus is a trophy of the strength as well as of the mercy of God. The question of the text will bear three renderings.
I. The sense of wonderment. Is not this, etc. The words are spoken of Joshua, the high priest. There was such astonishment at his preservation that, with hands uplifted, the question was asked, Is not this man just like a firebrand snatched from among the glowing coals? This marvel is not confined to Joshua. Was there ever a man saved by grace who was not a wonder? Out of the state of our natural depravity we have been plucked, so that every man who is delivered from its sway may well say,–Am not I a brand plucked out of the fire? Each Christian knowing his own heart, and having a special acquaintance with his own peculiar setting sin, feels as if the conquest of his own sin by the grace of God were a more illustrious trophy of that grace than the conquest of a thousand others. There are instances so uncommon that they excite surprise in the minds of all who hear. In the cases of extraordinary conversion, one of the first is the salvation of the extremely aged. Exceptional, too, is the conversion of people who have been accustomed to hear the Gospel from their youth up, who, though not perhaps absolutely aged, have nevertheless been receiving Gospel privileges without any result. Over in the Bankside, I am told, when a man is first put inside a boiler, while the rivets are being fastened, he cannot stop long, the noise is so dreadful, but after a time the boiler maker gets so used to the horrible din that he can almost go to sleep inside. And so it really is under any ministry where the people get Gospel hardened. There have been cases of gross sinners in which this marvel has been still more exciting. Can we pass over the case of some who have given themselves up to sin, to work it with greediness? There is a wonder which I do see, but not often. It is when a self-righteous religious man gets saved.
II. Take the text by way of inquiry or hope. When a sinners eye is suffused with tears, and a sigh breaks forth, Alas! woe is me! you may say, Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? for the tear of morrow for sin is a blessed omen of mercys dawning. The sigh of penitence and the prayer of the seeking are evidences of grace. When the poor soul at last, driven by necessity, throws itself flat at the foot of the Cross, and rests its hope wholly and alone on Jesus, then we may say of it, Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? And when, in the midst of many a conflict and soul struggle, the heart still flings away its idols, and hopes to love Christ, and vows, in His strength to be devoted to His service, we may say again with pleasure, Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? I would invite you to think over the signs of grace, and if you see them in yourselves you may be able to answer this question with joy.
III. And what a question of defiance this is. Do you not catch the idea of the text? There stood Joshua, there stood the angel of the Lord and here stood the adversary: If God has plucked him out of the fire, you can never put him in again. It is a defiance full of majesty and grandeur. It reflects a gorgeous lustre on the past. If God has chosen him, dost thou think to undo the Divine decree? God hath snatched him from the fire, determined to save him. God has done that which is the earnest and the token of his perfect safety. Then, beloved in Christ, dread not all the temptations that may attack you. God will not leave His purpose half accomplished. He will not be disappointed. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The rescued brand
This is the Divine description of a justified and converted man. The words present at once to our view the sinners worthless character by nature, his dangerous and dreadful condition while in this natural state, and the fulness of unmerited grace and love of which he has been made the subject. Joshua was here the representative of all the true people of God. Like him, they are all brands plucked out of the fire. Against them all the same power of Satan is employed to resist them. In behalf of them all the same boundless grace is exercised on the part of the Lord God. The rescued brand forms the subject of our discourse.
1. How unprofitable and worthless in himself. A brand! Useless for any purposes of man; having no value annexed to it in his estimation. Is not every unrenewed sinner precisely this in the sight of God? As a fallen creature man cannot be profitable in the eye of God. No creature can ever render anything to the Creator which shall merit a continuance of blessings bestowed by Him.
2. How dangerous the condition in which this brand was found. The fire from which he was plucked refers to those everlasting burnings which are his heritage in a world of recompense. All earthly woes are temporary. These sorrows are unchangeable and eternal. Under this tremendous load the unconverted sinner now lies, condemned and perishing, as a brand burning in the fire. The wrath of God abideth on him. None can appreciate the dangers of an unconverted soul, but they who have been plucked from the fires in which it is still consuming.
3. How glorious and worthy of praise is that Divine power which can pluck this brand from the fire, and transform it into an eternal monument of love, and a vessel of everlasting holiness! In the midst of the ruin of the world, and the guilt of man, God proposes to the ungodly a reconciliation to Himself.
4. How infinite is the extent of that love, of which this brand is the object. The foundation of all our hope is, that Gods love is infinite and free. His love can pardon the greatest and most multiplied transgressions.
5. How precious is the Christians ground of hope, the glorious union of Divine power and Divine love, in the work of his salvation! The same hand which plucked us from the fire will carry us to the temple. The man who has found peace with God has no enemy in the universe to fear.
6. How inestimable is this privilege of being the objects of Gods unchangeable love! (S. H. Tyng, D. D.)
Danger and deliverance
I. The danger. The brand is–
1. Fit for the fire.
2. Scorched by the fire.
3. Destined to the fire.
4. Unable to deliver itself from the fire.
II. The deliverance.
1. Its author.
2. Its completeness.
3. Its permanence.
4. Its benefits.
III. The exclamation.
1. With regard to the speaker, it expresses triumph.
2. With regard to the enemy of souls, it hurls defiance.
3. With regard to the spectators, it challenges admiration.
4. With regard to the person delivered from the danger, it demands gratitude. (G. Brooks.)
A suggestive question
Under the form of an interrogation, the language of the text is capable of being differently understood.
1. It may be considered as conveying a seasonable reproof to an insulting enemy. It is as if God said, Amidst all his imperfections and failings, thou hast nothing to do with him. I claim a property in him, and will assert it.
2. As expressive of exultation and triumph. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? I rejoice in him as such. He is a pattern of My long suffering, a monument of My grace.
3. The expression carries with it the force of an affirmation. It is a brand plucked out of the fire.
I. To whom may this language be applied? To all Who are finally saved. There are some to whom it is more immediately applicable.
1. Such as great and heinous transgressions, when converted from the error of their way and turned effectually to God.
2. Old and accustomed sinners may be viewed in the same light, when they are brought to repentance and to believe in Jesus.
3. There are some whose cases were despaired of by their friends.
4. Pardoning mercy has in some instances followed upon an overwhelming sense of guilt and distressing apprehensions of Divine wrath.
II. Notice the propriety of the description.
1. A brand plucked out of the fire was once a brand fit for the fire.
2. A brand plucked out of the fire was very near being consumed.
3. A brand plucked out of the fire retains some evidence of the dangerous situation.
4. The brand plucked out of the fire is no way instrumental to its own deliverance. There it must lie and burn if some kind hand do not snatch it thence. (B. Beddome, M. A.)
The sinner rescued from perdition
Reverse this question, and ask, Is this a brand plucked out of the fire? The text was a sort of challenge to Satan to deny the riches of Divine grace in the salvation of the Israelitish Church, now rescued from the furnace of Babylon. It was a question put concerning them figuratively, for the whole Church of Jesus Christ, and for every individual member of it. Bring the question home, Am I a brand plucked out of the burning? Consider the importance of being able to come to a clear decision upon this point.
I. Your danger as sinners. A state of sin is a state of imminent danger.
1. Sin is destroying your bodies, and will at last destroy your souls.
2. Every sinner is in danger of the law of God.
3. The terrors of a guilty conscience are a fire.
II. The wondrous deliverance effected.
1. The sinner is delivered by Divine grace from that dreadful sentence, which is literally destruction begun in the heart.
2. The deliverance signifies to be rescued from the raging violence, the destructive power of sin in our heart.
3. This deliverance signifies to be rescued from the burning stings of inward guilt.
III. The act of deliverance. Plucked out.
1. Here is exhibited Gods own sovereign will and purpose.
2. The act of rescue points to the direct personal interposition of the Saviour.
3. The deliverance is to be viewed in its individual application by the Holy Spirit.
IV. The different emotions this divine and miraculous deliverance should excite.
1. Exultation. Admire the grace of God in your salvation.
2. Confidence. Learn to trust both for yourselves and for others. What cannot Divine grace do! (The Evanglist.)
The brand plucked out of the fire
It is a brand,–nothing better; dry, sapless, lifeless, profitless; and such is man. If a brand and lifeless, then powerless. Can a brand quicken itself to life? How can it live? It has lost the principle of life. All our efforts to restore ourselves to the dignity we have lost, and to the state from which we are fallen, are utterly abortive. How little men know their spiritual powerlessness, because they will not make trial of it. But the brand is also worthless; it is only fit to be cast into the fire; it has no utility. And such is man. It may seem a hard thing, but God says it, that the natural man is at best enmity against God. And if enmity against God, is not his moral nature loathsome? It is a brand out of the fire; it is black and scorched. So is every sinful son of man. The soul that sinneth, it shall die, A brand is fitted for the flames. It is combustible it is dried up, so as to be ready to ignite into flame. And so sin assimilates man to hell, makes him more susceptible of the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched. The brand is already scorched in the fire. It has been in the fire; it has been plucked out of the fire. What is hell? Sin unmitigated, unabated by the fear of God, and unassuaged by any kindlier feeling or appliance, sin consummated, sin left to itself. Leave a man to himself, and he needs no other hell. But there is hope for this brand. It is plucked out of the fire. Was it not grace, sovereign grace that rescued it? What is there in a brand that God should expect anything from it in return? Yet it is taken out of the fire that it might be transformed into a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified. What a blessed change passes on the sinner whom God delivers! (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
A rescued brand
Here Satan is presented to our view as the accuser of the brethren. He does his work in the court of conscience; at the bar of public opinion; and before the Divine Judge. Here Satan accused Joshua to one who was his Advocate as well as his Judge. Christ rebukes Satan; alleges Gods election; and points to Joshua as a trophy of power, guided by sovereign mercy.
I. A vivid and impressive description of Joshuas original character as a sinner. A brand. A piece of wood which has been purposely prepared for burning. A sinner, as a brand, is one in every way fitted for destruction. The wicked have a suitableness to the place and the experience assigned to them by God. There is an adaptation of desert, and of character. Their experience results from their character. They have in themselves the causes of misery–a deranged system. They war with everything, and therefore are warred against by everything.
II. An account of the situation, under law, and in actual experience, in which Joshua had been. In the fire.
1. The brand is one plucked out of the fire, then it must have been in it.
2. By fire, understand the destruction and misery which are the fruit of sin.
3. The sinner is already under condemnation; spiritually dead; he feels the elements of misery in his breast. He feels the oppressiveness of the thought of God. He draws pain from without. He already suffers as a sinner.
III. A description of the character which Joshua now sustained. A brand plucked out of the fire. Such a brand has on it the marks of burning. The believer retains marks of his once lost condition. In his conscience, which still accuses. In his heart, where are the remains of spiritual derangement and death. In his body, which is mortally affected. In his moral character, which is disfigured. In his very righteousness, which is imputed. In his life, which is derived. Brands plucked from the burning shall be the eternal character of believers.
IV. The agency through which Joshua was delivered. It was not by himself. The brand retains the burning flame. Salvation is wholly of God–of grace: in its origin; its purchaser; its application. Man takes offence at this, being self-righteous. The believer rejoices in this. God has thus the glory of salvation.
V. The manner in which God rescued Joshua. He plucked him out of the fire. Indicative of haste–we thus rescue a precious manuscript, accidentally thrown into the fire. God is in haste, for mans guilt is increasing; his depravity is deepening; he is descending with times flight; his fate is awful! (James Stewart.)
A brand plucked out of the fire
Satan is represented in the context as an accuser of his brethren. He brings serious charges against Joshua, the high priest. He never committed a greater folly. The Lord never fails to come to the defence of the redeemed. The Lord represents Joshua as a trophy of sovereign grace. Is not this a brand pluckt out of the fire?
I. If this figure means anything, it means that unsaved sinners are in the fire. Is not this a brand pluckt out of the fire? We are accustomed to think of hell as something in the future. There is a sense in which this is true, but it is not all the truth. It is not at death that bad men enter into hell; they are there already.
II. If this imagery means anything, it means that unsaved sinners have a natural affinity for the flame that consumes them. A brand is a piece of wood that readily catches fire. The sinner is meet for destruction. See how eagerly men yield themselves to the sins which consume them.
III. If this imagery means anything, it means that rescue from the devouring element is only possible by Divine interposition–Is not this a brand pluckt out of the fire? A brand in the fire will remain there until it is utterly consumed unless it is taken out. Salvation is a Divine act. By grace are ye saved.
IV. If this imagery means anything, it means that saved sinners retain the marks of the burning. Forgiven, saved, but scarred. Even in heaven there will be evidences of the flame.
V. If this imagery means anything, it means that delay in the matter of rescue is infinitely perilous. Plucked out of the fire. There is no estimating the possibility of sin. There is enough latent fire in any unregenerate heart to effect its ruin. The flame which is smouldering in the concealed places of human life may be even more ominous than that which blazes forth under the open heavens. These facts should have a twofold influence.
1. They should serve to awaken alarm in the unsaved, and arouse the saved to the intensest solicitude and zeal for their rescue. The human brand is not a dead piece of wood. He has reason, judgment, sensibility, will. He needs to be made to realise his peril.
2. There is no time for dallying. The service is urgent. (B. D. Thomas.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?] The Jews were nearly destroyed because of their sins; a remnant of them is yet left, and God is determined to preserve them. He has had mercy upon them, and forgiven them their sins. Wouldst thou have them destroyed? It is God that hath justified them; who art thou that condemnest them? The Lord rebuke thee! God confound thee for what thou hast done, and for what thou desirest farther to do! It is evident that Jude 1:9 relates to this circumstance-the very same phraseology which occurs here. See Clarke on Jude 1:9, where the subject is largely considered. With difficulty has this remnant escaped, and God will not permit fresh evils to fall upon them, by which they might be totally consumed. This was Satan’s design, who accuses the followers of God day and night. See Re 12:10.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Lord said, i.e. Christ, the great Redeemer, Restorer, Lord, and Mediator of the church.
The Lord; the great God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who as Mediator rather chooseth to rebuke him in his Fathers name than in his own, though this he could have done.
Rebuke thee; he who was accused was Gods high priest, and to minister in the temple at Jerusalem, the city which God had chosen, in which respect it was sure that God would take cognizance of the matter and judge aright; he would prohibit Satans attempts.
Is not this, this man, this Joshua,
a brand plucked out of the fire? like a brand half burnt, or all smutty with long lying in the fire of affliction? Reject him not for this.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. the LordJEHOVAH,hereby identified with the “angel of the Lord (Jehovah)”(Zec 3:1).
rebuke theetwicerepeated to express the certainty of Satan’s accusations andmachinations against Jerusalem being frustrated. Instead oflengthened argument, Jehovah silences Satan by the one plea,namely, God’s choice.
chosen Jerusalem(Rom 9:16; Rom 11:5).The conclusive answer. If the issue rested on Jerusalem’s merit ordemerit, condemnation must be the award; but Jehovah’s “choice”(Joh 15:16) rebuts Satan’scharge against Jerusalem (Zec 1:17;Zec 2:12; Rom 8:33;Rom 8:34; Rom 8:37),represented by Joshua (compare in the great atonement, Le16:6-20, c.), not that she may continue in sin, but be freed fromit (Zec 3:7).
brand plucked out of . . .fire (Amo 4:11 1Pe 4:18;Jdg 1:23). Herein God implies thatHis acquittal of Jerusalem is not that He does not recognize her sin(Zec 3:3; Zec 3:4;Zec 3:9), but that havingpunished her people for it with a seventy years’ captivity, He on theground of His electing love has delivered her from the fieryordeal; and when once He has begun a deliverance, as in this case, Hewill perfect it (Psa 89:30-35;Phi 1:6).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord said unto Satan,…. The same with the Angel of the Lord, Zec 3:1 having heard the charge brought by him against Joshua, here called Jehovah, being the Son of God, and properly God:
The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; these words may be considered, either as the intercession of Jehovah the Son with Jehovah the Father, for Joshua and his church, and against Satan; that he would reprove him for his malice and wickedness; stop his mouth, and silence him, that he might not go on to accuse; that he would confound his schemes, and restrain him from doing mischief; tread him down, and bruise him under the feet of his people, and pour out his wrath upon him: or as a declaration of what should be done to him, or what he himself would do; for it may be rendered, “the Lord will rebuke thee” w; as the following clause is by some, who take this to be a wish, and the following a positive declaration, that Jehovah the Father would certainly rebuke Satan; as might be concluded from the reasons and arguments used by the angel, taken from God’s choice of Jerusalem; the building of which Satan endeavoured to hinder, though God had chosen it for his habitation and worship; and from the deliverance of Joshua out of the fire for that purpose: and this reproof of him on the behalf of his people is founded on their election of God:
even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee; which act is eternal; springs from the love and grace of God towards them; antecedes all works, good or bad, done by them; stands firm, sure, and unalterable; such who are interested in it are called, justified, and shall be glorified; nor has Satan anything to do with them; nor will any charge of his be of any avail against them, Ro 8:33:
[is] not this a brand plucked out of the fire? which is to be understood of Joshua; not of his being delivered out of that fire, into which the Jews x say he was cast, along with Ahab and Zedekiah, whom the king of Babylon roasted in it, Jer 29:22 when he marvellously escaped; others say y 8000 young priests fled to the temple, and were burnt in it, and only Joshua was preserved; but of his deliverance out of the Babylonish captivity, and also of the priesthood, which, during the captivity, when the temple was destroyed, and temple service ceased, was like a brand in the fire; and though Joshua the high priest was returned, and the priesthood in some measure restored, yet not to its former glory, the temple not being yet built; and therefore was but like a smoking firebrand; likewise the people of God may be meant; see Am 4:11, who are by nature like a branch cut off, a dry stick cast into the fire, and half burnt; they are in a state of separation from God, Father, Son, and Spirit; and they are unprofitable and unfruitful, and in danger in themselves of being consumed in the fire of divine wrath, of which they are as deserving as others, and are under the sentence of it; and, when convinced, have dreadful apprehensions of being consumed by it; but, through the grace, mercy, love, and power of God, they are plucked out of this state in the effectual calling, and are secured from everlasting destruction; wherefore Satan is rebuked for attempting to bring any who are instances of such grace and goodness into condemnation; it being wicked and malicious, bold and daring, vain and fruitless; since such are secured by the grace and power of God, and are preserved for everlasting glory and happiness.
w “increpabit”, Burkius. x Jarchi & Kimchi in loc. y T. Hieros. Taaniot, fol. 69. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Now follows another reason for the prophecy, — that God interposes and takes the part of his Church against Satan. Hence he says, Rebuke thee Satan let Jehovah, (34) rebuke thee let Jehovah, who has chosen Jerusalem. God speaks here; and yet he seems to be the angel of Jehovah: (35) but this is not inscrutable; for as in the last verse, where Zechariah says that Joshua stood before the Angel of Jehovah, Christ is doubtless meant, who is called an angel and also Jehovah; so also he may be named in this verse. But that no contentious person may say that we refine on the words too much, we may take them simply thus, — that God mentions here his own name in the third person; and this mode of so speaking is not rare in Scripture,
“
Jehovah rained from God.” (Gen 19:24).
Why did Moses speak thus? Even to show that when God fulminated against Sodom, he did not adopt a common mode of proceeding, but openly showed that it was an unusual and a singular judgment. Thus the expression here is emphatic, Rebuke thee let Jehovah, that is, I myself will rebuke thee. However, were any one to consider well the whole context, he could not but allow that the words may properly be applied to Christ, who is the portion of his Church, and that therefore he was the angel before whom Joshua stood; and he himself shows afterwards that the Church would be safe under his patronage. Let Jehovah then rebuke thee, Satan, let him rebuke thee. The repetition more fully confirms what Zechariah meant to show, even that sufficient protection would be found in God alone for the preservation of the Church, how much soever Satan might employ all his powers for its ruin, and that though God would not immediately give help and restrain Satan, yet a firm hope was to be entertained, for this would be done in time the most seasonable. The import of the whole is, — that though God had hitherto let loose Satan to assail the Church as to the priesthood, yet God would be the faithful guardian of his Church, and would check Satan, that he might not execute what he intended; and further, that many contests must be patiently endured, until the period of the warfare be completed. We now then see what the Prophet had in view in these words.
But the rebuke of God is not to be regarded as being only in words, but must be referred to that power by which God subverts and lays prostrate all the attempts of Satan. At the same time he mentions the end for which this rebuke was given; it was, that the Church might continue safe and secure, Let Jehovah, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee. These words are to be read, not apart, but as joined with the former, as though he had said, “Let God raise up his hand for the salvation of his chosen people, so as to put thee, Satan, to flight with all thy furies.” This is the meaning. Let us therefore know, that God is not simply the enemy of Satan, but also one who has taken us under his protection, and who will preserve us safe to the end. Hence God, as our Redeemer and the eternal guardian of our salvation, is armed against Satan in order to restrain him. The warfare then is troublesome and difficult, but the victory is not doubtful, for God ever stands on our side.
But we are at the same time reminded, that we are not to regard what we have deserved in order to gain help from God; for this wholly depends on his gratuitous adoption. Hence, though we are unworthy that God should fight for us, yet his election is sufficient, as he proclaims war against Satan in our behalf. Let us then learn to rely on the gratuitous adoption of God, if we would boldly exult against Satan and all his assaults. It hence follows, that those men who at this day obscure, and seek, as far as they can, to extinguish the doctrine of election, are enemies to the human race; for they strive their utmost to subvert every assurance of salvation.
He at last adds, Is not this a brand snatched from the fire? (36) Here God makes known the favor he had manifested towards the high priest, that the faithful might be convinced that Joshua would overcome his enemies, as God would not forsake his own work; for the end ever corresponds with the beginning as to God’s favor; he is never wearied in the middle course of his beneficence. This is the reason why he now objects to Satan and says, “Why! God has wonderfully snatched this priest as a brand from the burning: as then the miraculous power of God appears in the return of the high priest, what dost thou mean, Satan? Thou risest up against God, and thinkest it possible to abolish the priesthood, which it has pleased him in his great favor hitherto to preserve. See whence has the priest come forth. While he was in Chaldea, he seemed to be in the lower regions; yet God delivered him from thence: and now, when he sits in the temple and is performing his office, is it possible for thee to pull down from heaven him whom thou could not detain in hell?” We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet as to this similitude. He then adds —
(34) We may render the words, —
Rebuke thee, Satan, will Jehovah, Yea, rebuke thee will Jehovah, Who hath chosen Jerusalem.
Thus Dathius and Blayney render the passage. Adam Clarke and Henderson adopt the notion that Jud 1:9, refers to this vision, taking evidently for just reasons, rejects this opinion. — Ed.
(35) Newcome introduces the word angel at the beginning of the second verse unnecessarily, merely on the authority of the Syriac; for in the preceding visions, “Jehovah” and “the angel of Jehovah” are used indiscriminately. It is impossible not to see that here and in the first chapter a person is mentioned as being Jehovah, and the angel or messenger of Jehovah. See on this subject M’Caul’s observations in his translation of Kimchi on Zechariah, from page 9 to 27. — Ed.
(36) “Out of Ur of the Chaldees, out of the Babylonian fiery furnace.” — Ass. Annot.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) The Lord rebuke thee.See Note on Jud. 1:19. Satan is justly rebuked; for who shall lay anything to the charge of Gods chosen?
The fire.Of penal suffering in the captivity in Babylon. (Comp. Amo. 4:11) As with the guilt, so with the pardon and promise in both, Joshua was the representative of the people.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Permission is denied to the adversary to present his charges.
Jehovah Identical with “angel of Jehovah” in Zec 3:1 (see on Zec 1:11).
Satan As in Zec 3:1.
Rebuke thee Reprove, put to silence (Jer 29:27). The sentence is repeated for the sake of emphasis, and to permit the addition of a clause explaining why Jehovah must rebuke the adversary.
Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem The adversary was seeking to persuade Jehovah to cast off Judah and Jerusalem; it cannot be done, for Jehovah has made his choice (compare Zec 1:17; Zec 2:12), which must stand. True, the sins of the people prevent a close union between them and Jehovah, but these sins he can remove.
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Not Joshua, but the people represented by Joshua, their high priest. The fire is the exile (compare Amo 4:11); from it Jehovah has restored his people; surely he will not leave his work incomplete; he cannot permit the adversary to bring to naught his own gracious purpose.
Zec 3:3 ff. show what Jehovah is determined to do with the sins that form the basis of the adversary’s accusation.
Filthy garments There is no allusion here to the custom, described by Livy, of accused persons wearing sordid garments during their trial. The filthy garments are a symbol of sin, of moral uncleanness (Isa 4:4; Isa 64:6); as already said, not of the personal sins of the high priest but of the sins of the people. “A nation so guilty could no longer be the holy and priestly nation; its priests could no longer be priests; nor its high priest be high priest any more.” If the sin could be removed the community need not be cast off; once more it might be called “an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.” This Jehovah proceeds to do. He answered The angel. For answer see on Zec 1:10.
Those that stood before him The servants; they are ordered to remove the filthy garments. Then the angel turns to Joshua and explains to him the significance of the proceeding; it symbolizes the removal of his sin, or, better, the people’s sin. At the same time he issues orders to substitute clean garments for those that have been discarded.
I will clothe Should be translated as an imperative (G.-K., 113z; so LXX.), “clothe,” which is co-ordinate with “take away.” The carrying out of the command is recorded in Zec 3:5, “they clothed him.”
Change of raiment R.V., “rich apparel.” A word found again only in Isa 3:22, where R.V. translates “festival robes”; not necessarily costly and magnificent, but fresh and clean garments; the putting on of these completes the process of purification.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Zec 3:2. Is not this a brand, &c. “Is not this small remnant returned from captivity, miraculously rescued from utter destruction, like a brand plucked out of the fire; and can it be thought that the Almighty will not preserve them?” See Amo 4:11. Instead of, Rebuke thee, in the imperative, Houbigant reads in the future, Will rebuke or restrain thee.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
“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?”
Who is the Speaker here but Christ? Surely he that is called in the first verse the angel of the Lord, before whom Joshua stood, is the same person here called the Lord. And so he was, who is the angel of the covenant. And do observe the graciousness of the expressions. Satan is not only rebuked, but reasoned with. Jerusalem is the chosen of the Lord. And did not the Lord know what Jerusalem is, and would be? Moreover, coming out of the fire, and smoke, and furnace, could she appear otherwise than as a smoking brand, saved by sovereign grace?
Reader! do not fail to observe whose province it is to rebuke Satan, and to counteract all his devices. And do not overlook also, how the Lord Jesus is unceasingly engaged to do so. What, though Satan stand day and night to accuse, Jesus is always on the throne to justify. No accusation of Satan can escape his knowledge, or be unanswered by Christ’s advocacy. Sweet thought!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Zec 3:2 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?
Ver. 2. And the Lord said unto Satan ] The Lord Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hard of God, who also maketh intercessionfor us. Who, then, shall condemn us? who shall lay aught to our charge? who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Rom 8:33-35 . Satan may attempt it, but can never effect it. “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not,” sc. unto death; “but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself” ( sc. “in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life,” Jdg 1:21 ), “and that wicked one,” or that troubler of the saints, “toucheth him not,” viz. with a deadly touch, so as to poison him and undo him, 1Jn 5:18 . Christus nobiscum, state. Christ, stand with us. The Prince of Persia cannot stand before Michael, the King of saints, Dan 10:13 ; Dan 10:21 .
The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord
Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
rebuke thee. Compare Jud 1:9.
hath chosen = bath now and heretofore chosen.
is not this . . . ? i.e. have I not plucked, &c. Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6.
a brand, &c. Compare Amo 4:11.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Lord said: Psa 109:31, Luk 22:32, Rom 16:20, 1Jo 3:8
The Lord rebuke: Dan 12:1, Mar 1:25, Luk 4:35, Luk 9:42, Jud 1:9, Rev 12:9, Rev 12:10
chosen: Zec 1:17, Zec 2:12, 2Ch 6:6, Joh 13:18, Rom 8:33, Rev 17:14
a brand: Amo 4:11, Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5, Jud 1:23
Reciprocal: Jdg 2:1 – And an angel 1Ch 12:17 – rebuke it 2Ch 7:16 – have I chosen Jer 18:20 – Remember Dan 10:13 – the prince Zec 12:8 – as the Mat 4:10 – Satan Mat 16:23 – Satan Mar 9:25 – he rebuked Joh 12:7 – Let 1Co 3:15 – yet 1Th 2:18 – Satan
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Zec 3:2. Even though the situation was as described in the preceding paragraph, it was not appropriate for this adversary to be criticizing it, for it was none of his business. Not with-standing, the Lord (in the person of the angel Michael, Jud 1:9) did not rail out against him. He merely appealed to a “higher court by saying, “The Lord [in heaven] rebuke thee.” A brand plucked out of the fire. The people of God had been salvaged from the captivity as a brand of a body that was burning but was snatched out before it was completely destroyed. This brand is the remnant that is revealed in Ezr 2:64 that came back from the captivity.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Zec 3:2-5. And the Lord said, &c. The Logos, or Son of God, said unto Satan; The Lord Namely, God the Father; rebuke thee And not suffer thy mischievous imagination against Jerusalem and the temple to prosper. Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem Who hath chosen that place for his especial residence. Christ, as a mediator, rather chooses to rebuke the adversary in his Fathers name than in his own. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire Is not this small remnant returned from captivity, represented here by Joshua, miraculously rescued from utter destruction, like a brand plucked out of the fire? and can it be thought that God will not preserve them? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments Denoting the sins and pollutions of the people, of whom he was the representative. And he spake unto those that stood before him Christ spake to the inferior angels, his servants; Take away the filthy garments from him Remove, or cause them to be removed. These filthy garments those angels removed, but another and superior hand takes away the sins and pollutions signified by that emblem. And he Namely, Christ, the Lamb of God; said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee I have, by my merits and Spirit, removed the guilt, power, and pollution of thine iniquity. And I will clothe thee with change of raiment With other garments, namely, such as are not filthy or polluted, but clean and rich, an emblem of holiness. As the filthy garments denoted the sins of the people, whose representative Joshua was, the taking them away denoted Gods pardoning their public and national transgressions, and his restoring them to his favour and protection. The Jews used to change their garments under any public calamity; which calamity being over, they expressed the change of their condition, and the greatness of their joy, by clothing themselves in garments adapted to their circumstances: see Calmet. And I said I, the Lord, further said, or commanded. The LXX. omit these words, prefixing and to the following expression: and the Syriac and Vulgate read, He said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head As the new garments put upon Joshua were such as belonged to the high- priest, and were contrived for glory and beauty, Exo 28:2, so the mitre was the proper ornament for his head. And the angel of the Lord stood by Namely, Christ, through whose mediation, and at whose command, the above was done.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
3:2 And the {c} LORD said to Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: [is] not this a {d} brand plucked out of the fire?
(c) That is, Christ speaks to God as the mediator of his Church, that he would rebuke Satan: and here he shows himself to be the continual preserver of his Church.
(d) Meaning that Joshua was wonderfully preserved in the captivity, and now Satan sought to afflict and trouble him when he was doing his office.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord then spoke to the accuser citing His own authority as Yahweh who had chosen Jerusalem. This is one indication that Joshua represented Israel since God linked Joshua with Jerusalem. Joshua was secure from Satan’s accusations because of the Lord’s sovereign choice of Jerusalem (cf. Zec 12:2; Rom 8:33). The Lord may be distinct from the angel of the Lord, but they seem to be synonymous. Most conservative commentators equate them and believe the angel of the Lord is the second person of the Trinity. In other contexts, adversaries argue their cases before God, not before His representatives (e.g., Job 1-2). The Lord rebuked Satan twice, the repetition adding force to the initial rebuke (cf. Jud 1:9).
The Lord then referred to Joshua as a burning stick plucked from the fire, evidently for His future use (cf. Amo 4:11). If Joshua represents Israel, then the fire must refer to the Babylonian captivity from which Israel had come almost destroyed, and the stick refers to the surviving remnant. Israel had experienced another brush with extinction at the Exodus (Deu 4:20; Deu 7:7-8; Jer 11:4), and she will do so again in the Tribulation (Zec 13:8-9; Jer 30:7; Rev 12:13-17).