Rev. Wayne A. Lawson
Pastor, First Baptist Church
Ardmore, OK 73402
Pastor@firstbaptist.org
(Preached Sunday, July 21, 2002)
SCRIPTURE: ZECHARIAH 3:1-4
1 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.
TITLE: YOU CAN’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER
One of the many lessons I have learned while on this Christian
journey is that although you are only allowed one opportunity to
make a First Impression -- the first impression is not always a
lasting impression. I have learned not to simply look at those that
make up the household of faith and make quick judgments. I have
learned that those who portray themselves as Spiritual Giants later
on down the road end up being Spiritual Midgets. Those that I
tagged as Babes in Christ, turned out to be Faith Walkers, yes, I
have learned You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover. I have learned
that people have the tendency to put on a mask. Ordinarily we are
not able to see the real person, until they let their guard down.
Ever look at your child when they come through the door and you can
tell something is wrong, something is bothering them because of that
certain look on their face. You ask them "What’s the Matter?" --
they respond "Nothing." Ever watch your spouse come in from work
and you can tell something went wrong during the course of the day
because of that tension in their face. You know something is
bothering them but they respond "Nothing." Their body language and
their verbal communication are at war one with the other.
We find this struggle unfolding in our text read in our hearing.
Zechariah is somewhat a quite book as it pertains to preaching
material. He was a contemporary of the Prophet Haggai. He began
his prophetic ministry in 520 B.C. The name Zechariah was a common
one in the Old Testament, 29 persons having borne it. It means "The
Lord Remembers." He was the 11th of the 12-Minor Prophets. The
book of Zechariah contain 8-visions that came to the prophet,
interestingly enough all appeared during the night. This vision
that he had witnessed in this 3rd Chapter is very exciting as it
virtually leaps from the pages, we can almost feel the struggle in
this text. Let’s consider Vs. 1 again -- "AND HE SHEWED ME JOSHUA
THE HIGH PRIEST STANDING BEFORE THE ANGEL OF THE LORD…" Before
further development of this text it is important that we all
understand who Joshua was in this text. I have heard many
misidentify who this High Priest was.
- Not Joshua the son of Nun
- Not the victorious commander of the Israelites in their battle
against the Amelekites
- Not the Assistant and Successor of Moses
- We know that Joshua that served for Moses was not a High Priest-
he was a warrior
This Joshua that Zechariah had seen in the vision was - Joshua the
son of Jehozadam- he was a High Priest that served in the time of
the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. Go forward one book to HAGGAI
1:1 "IN THE SECOND YEAR OF DARIUS THE KING, IN THE SIXTH MONTH, IN
THE FIRST DAY OF THE MONTH, CAME THE WORD OF THE LORD BY HAGGAI THE
PROPHET UNTO ZERUBBABEL THE SON OF SHEALTIEL, GOVERNOR OF JUDAH, AND
TO JOSHUA THE SON OF JOSEDECH, THE HIGH PRIEST…"
This Joshua tucked away in history of Old Testament was a High
Priest and he is seen in this vision rightfully standing before the
angel of the Lord. After all he was God’s man while walking on the
earth, he dedicated his life to serving God’s people and training
them in the word and ways of God. Where else should he be found
after drawing his last breath on this side -- Where else should he
be found but standing before the Angel of the Lord -- Where else
should he be found but standing on Threshold of Heaven. It too is
our expectation since we are walking on that straight and narrow
path to one day be found Walking the Streets Paved with Gold. But
wait a minute, the text goes on - it did not stop there, it goes on
to reveal something very strange. "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." This high priest was preparing to
enter into Glory - ready to transition from labor to reward - then
Satan showed up and began to level some accusations against this man
of God. Zechariah saw Joshua the high priest, in his official and
representative capacity, standing before the Angel of the Lord in
the performance of his priestly ministry. Suddenly he found himself
the object of the accusations of Satan. Let’s be clear on a few
points:
- Let’s understand the accusations leveled were not false
- Satan for once did not Lie - although he is the father of all lies
- He did not have to lie because God already had the record
- He resisted him in an attempt to hinder Joshua from entering into
heaven
- Satan began to call to remembrance all that Joshua did wrong in
this life
How do we know that the accusations leveled against Joshua were
true - consider again with me Vs. 3 "NOW JOSHUA WAS CLOTHED WITH
FILTHY GARMETS, AND STOOD BEFORE THE ANGEL." On a scholarly note, I
realize that this vision represented the current condition of the
priesthood. But it is also representative of the condition of
humanity. This priest was covered with the filth of sin. What
Satan was saying was How dare this priest stand before the angel of
the Lord. This was God’s man - God’s Servant - God’s Pastor -
God’s Leader -- standing in Filthy Garments. What happened to his
religious garments that he so proudly wore on earth? Remember with
me that the High Priest formed the culminating point in the
Israelite hierarchy. The first to fill this high position was
Aaron. The high priest was required to satisfy all the necessary
conditions of admission to the sacred office. What happened to the
dress of this high priest. Remember with me the wardrobe of the
high priest consisted of 4-parts -- breastpiece - ephod - sash -
and turban.
- Breastpiece - square piece of cloth - 12 Precious Stones set in
Gold and arranged in four rows. Stones engraved with the names of
the 12 tribes of Israel - each of four corners had a ring of Gold
- Ephod - Woven with Blue, Purple, Scarlet, and fine linen yarn and
embroidered with figures of Gold
- Sash - It was a band of the same material as the Ephod, tied
around the waist
- Turban - Ordinary priest cap with a Turban and dark blue color
over it. On the front was band of Pure Gold and engraved the
words "Holy to the Lord" fastened with a dark blue cord.
What happened to the fine apparel that Joshua wore while on earth.
He would walk around in this High Priestly Garb and he was highly
admired by all those that watched him. He would carry out his
duties in fine fashion as Israelites would watch him in this
splendid apparel. Little boys would pray that one day they too
would be allowed to wear this Sacred Outfit and carry out the duties
of a High Priest. Relatives would proudly watch this their Kinsman
carry out his religious responsibilities. But….wait now - here he
stands before the Angel of the Lord in Filthy Garments and Satan is
accurately accusing him! You will have to forgive me here, but I
must abandon my Ecclesiastical Look because I can fully relate to
what Joshua went through, and if we would be honest with ourselves
we would understand -No matter how Good we Look down here our
RIGHOUTOUSNESS IS JUST AS FILTHY RAGS. When I think God is richly
blessing this ministry, when the ministry God has entrusted to me
seems to be on the rise and I hold my spiritual chest out I can hear
the words that Peter left for us in I PETER 4:18 "AND IF THE
RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY BE SAVED, WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER
APPEAR?" I am quickly reminded that we are not all that!
- Somebody help me this morning - how many times has our neighbor
looked at us all dressed up Sunday morning and said they wished they
had it all together like we do -- If they only knew
- Somebody help me this morning - how many times have you walked
into Church looking Holy after fighting all morning long with your
Spouse - If they only knew
- Somebody help me this morning - how many times have you sung in
the choir, just going through the motions - If they only knew
- Somebody help me this morning - how many times were you greeted by
an usher - how are you and you responded Blessed - knew you were
spiritually in the valley - If they only knew
- Somebody help me this morning - You think I feel like being in
Church every Sunday, You think I feel like Preaching every Sunday -
If they only knew
- Somebody help me this morning - We look at one another and see our
religious garb - look good in our suits - look good in our Sunday
dress - but, if they only knew
- Somebody help me this morning - "MAN LOOKS ON THE OUTWARD
APPEARANCE, BUT GOD LOOKS UPON THE HEART"
But thanks be to God for his mercy - his loving kindness. Here we
find Joshua the High Priest in Filthy Garments, but thanks be to
God - You Can’t Judge a Book by its Cover! Yes, the high priest was
guilty as charged. But look at Vs. 2 again. Joshua stood before
the Angel of the Lord, when the accusations were presented - Vs. 2
says that God intervened. Told the angel - Excuse me I have this
one covered - "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?" Vs. 4 "…..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."
- God said no one else can clean you up but Me
- God acknowledged yes, you have done some things wrong - you were
not right about everything, but Mercy stepped in
- Because of Mercy - I have caused thine iniquity to pass
- Because I have dipped you in the blood of the Lamb
- I hear the accusations from Satan but God said "WELL DONE THOU
GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, THOU HAST BEEN FAITHFUL OVER A FEW
THINGS, I WILL MAKE YOU RULER OVER MANY, COME ON UP JUST A LITTLE
BIT HIGHER, ENTER INTO THE JOY OF THE LORD"
(close)
