◄ Zechariah 3:4 ►
So the angel said to those standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes!" Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes."
Study Bible
So the angel said to those standing before him,

The angel of the LORD presides over the heavenly court with divine authority. Joshua stands accused before Satan, yet the Lord’s messenger directs the proceedings toward cleansing and restoration. The attendants are heavenly servants who carry out God’s judgment and mercy.

Dan 7:10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence.…
Luk 1:19 “I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence…”…
Rev 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God,…

“Take off his filthy clothes!”

Joshua’s defiled garments portray the guilt and uncleanness of Israel, whom he represents as high priest. No priest could minister acceptably before God while clothed in impurity. God does not excuse sin or leave it covered; He orders its removal.

Isa 64:6 Each of us has become like something unclean,…
Eph 4:22 put off your former way of life, your old self…
Jud 1:23 save others by snatching them from the fire;…

Then he said to Joshua,

Joshua personally receives the Lord’s declaration, though the vision concerns the restored nation as well. His name, Yeshua, means “the LORD saves” and points forward to Jesus, who would accomplish the full salvation that Joshua’s cleansing foreshadows.

Hag 2:4 But now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD.…
Hag 1:1 In the second year of the reign of Darius…
Ezr 3:2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests…

“See, I have removed your iniquity,

Forgiveness comes by God’s initiative and authority, not by Joshua’s defense, merit, or ritual performance. The Lord removes the guilt Satan sought to expose, demonstrating that His grace triumphs over the accuser’s charges. The cleansing anticipates the final and sufficient removal of sin through Christ’s sacrifice.

Isa 6:7 And with it he touched my mouth and said:…
Isa 43:25 I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions…
Mic 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish…

and I will clothe you with splendid robes.”

The clean robes mark Joshua’s restoration to honorable priestly service before God. God replaces shame with righteousness and grants His servant a renewed standing in His presence. The promised garments also anticipate believers being clothed in the righteousness Christ provides.

Isa 61:10 I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult…
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick!…
Rev 19:8 She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.”…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Joshua the High Priest
Represents the people of Israel and stands before God in filthy garments, symbolizing sin and impurity.

2. The Angel of the LORD
Acts as an intermediary, commanding the removal of Joshua's filthy clothes and symbolizing divine intervention and grace.

3. Those Standing Before Him
Likely other angels or heavenly beings who assist in the symbolic act of cleansing.

4. Filthy Clothes
Symbolize the sin and iniquity of Joshua and, by extension, the people of Israel.

5. Splendid Robes
Represent the righteousness and purity granted by God, signifying forgiveness and restoration.
Teaching Points
Divine Grace and Cleansing
God's grace is sufficient to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Just as Joshua's iniquity was removed, believers are cleansed through faith in Christ.

Symbolism of Clothing
Clothing in the Bible often symbolizes one's spiritual state. We are called to "put on" Christ and His righteousness, leaving behind our old, sinful nature.

Role of Intercession
The Angel of the LORD intercedes for Joshua, reminding us of Christ's role as our intercessor before God, advocating on our behalf.

Transformation and Renewal
The transformation from filthy garments to splendid robes illustrates the renewal that comes through repentance and faith, leading to a new identity in Christ.

Call to Holiness
As recipients of God's grace, we are called to live holy lives, reflecting the righteousness we have received through Christ.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the removal of Joshua's filthy clothes and the giving of splendid robes illustrate the concept of justification by faith?

2. In what ways can we relate the transformation of Joshua's garments to our own spiritual journey and growth in Christ?

3. How does the role of the Angel of the LORD in this passage enhance our understanding of Christ's intercessory work?

4. What practical steps can we take to "put on" the righteousness of Christ in our daily lives, as symbolized by the splendid robes?

5. How do the themes of cleansing and renewal in Zechariah 3:4 connect with other biblical teachings on sanctification and holiness?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 64:6
This verse speaks of human righteousness as "filthy rags," connecting to the imagery of Joshua's filthy clothes and the need for divine cleansing.

Isaiah 61:10
Describes being clothed with garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness, paralleling the splendid robes given to Joshua.

Revelation 7:14
Refers to robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, symbolizing purification and redemption through Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:21
Discusses the exchange of sin for righteousness through Christ, similar to the exchange of filthy clothes for splendid robes.

Romans 3:22
Speaks of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ, aligning with the theme of divine grace and cleansing.
Sermons
Satan and ChristW. Forsyth Zechariah 3:1-5
Three Things Which Concern the SoulW. Forsyth Zechariah 3:1-5
The Good Man on Earth in His Intercessory FunctionD. Thomas Zechariah 3:1-6
By Nature and by GraceJ. Jowett, M. A.Zechariah 3:1-7
Christ the Advocate of His Church and PeopleJ. R. Woodford, M. A.Zechariah 3:1-7
God's Method of SalvationJ. S. Fulton.Zechariah 3:1-7
Help and OppositionG. Brooks.Zechariah 3:1-7
JoshuaE. Auriol, M. A.Zechariah 3:1-7
Joshua and SatanJ. R. Woodford, M. A.Zechariah 3:1-7
Joshua the High PriestD. J. Burrell, D. D.Zechariah 3:1-7
Joshua the High PriestMonday Club SermonsZechariah 3:1-7
Joshua the High PriestT. Vincent Tymms.Zechariah 3:1-7
Joshua the High PriestG. R. Hovey, D. D.Zechariah 3:1-7
Joshua the High Priest Before the Angel of JehovahT. V. Moore, D. D.Zechariah 3:1-7
Joshua the PriestF. B. Meyer, B. A.Zechariah 3:1-7
The Good Man an IntercederHomilistZechariah 3:1-7
The Great ContentionBishop Reynolds.Zechariah 3:1-7
The Hinderer RebukedA. W. Snape, M. A.Zechariah 3:1-7
The Lord, the Defender of His PeopleGeorge Hutcheson.Zechariah 3:1-7
The Vision of JoshuaOutlines by a London MinisterZechariah 3:1-7
Removal of GuiltA. Hewlett, M. A.Zechariah 3:4-5
The Mitre of PriesthoodF. B. Meyer, B. A.Zechariah 3:4-5
People
Joshua, Zechariah
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Angel, Answereth, Apparel, Aside, Behold, Cause, Caused, Change, Clean, Clothe, Clothed, Clothes, Clothing, Costly, Festal, Festival-robes, Filthy, Garments, Iniquity, Joshua, Pass, Raiment, Remove, Rich, Robes, Saying, Sin, Spake, Speaketh, Spoke, Standing, Stood, Turn, Unclean
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Zechariah 3:4

     4111   angels, servants
     6028   sin, deliverance from
     6750   sin-bearer

Zechariah 3:1-4

     8486   spiritual warfare, armour

Zechariah 3:1-7

     7342   cleanliness

Zechariah 3:1-8

     7377   high priest, OT

Zechariah 3:3-5

     5145   clothing

Library
June 24. "I Will Clothe Thee with Change of Raiment" (Zech. Iii. 4).
"I will clothe thee with change of raiment" (Zech. iii. 4). For Paul every exercise of the Christian life was simply the grace of Jesus Christ imparted to him and lived out by him, so that holiness was to put on the Lord Jesus and all the robes of His perfect righteousness which he loves to describe so often in his beautiful epistles. "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved," he says to the Colossians, "bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering"; and, …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Right of Entry
'I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.'--ZECHARIAH iii. 7. A WORD or two of explanation will probably be necessary in order to see the full meaning of this great promise. The Prophet has just been describing a vision of judgment which he saw, in which the high priest, as representative of the nation, stood before the Angel of the Lord as an unclean person. He is cleansed and clothed, his foul raiment stripped off him, and a fair priestly garment, with 'Holiness to the Lord' written …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A vision of Judgement and Cleansing
'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, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Change of Raiment
"Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments."--Zech. iii. 4, 5. G. Ter Steegen. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Lord Jesus, all my sin and guilt Love laid of old on Thee, Thy love the cross and sorrow willed, Love undeserved by me. The victory over death and hell Thou, Lord, for me didst win; And Thou hast nailed upon …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Home Occupations and Travels in England and Wales.
1828--1833. On their return home Martha Yeardley was attacked with a severe illness, consequent probably on hard travelling and bad accommodation during the journey. Under date of the 18th of the Fifth Month, J.Y. writes:-- How circumstances change! Last Yearly Meeting we were in London with the prospect of a long journey before us, and now my dear Martha is on a bed of sickness, and I have myself suffered; but through all there is a degree of peaceful resignation in the belief that all is done …
John Yeardley—Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel

Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

How to Make Use of Christ, as Truth, for Comfort, when Truth is Oppressed and Born Down.
There is another difficulty, wherein believing souls will stand in need of Christ, as the truth, to help them; and that is, when his work is overturned, his cause borne down, truth condemned, and enemies, in their opposition to his work, prospering in all their wicked attempts. This is a very trying dispensation, as we see it was to the holy penman of Psalm lxxiii. for it made him to stagger, so that his feet were almost gone, and his steps had well nigh slipt; yea he was almost repenting of his …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Sum and Substance of all Theology
Note: On Tuesday, June 25th, 1861, the beloved C. H. Spurgeon visited Swansea. The day was wet, so the services could not be held in the open-air; and, as no building in the town was large enough to hold the vast concourses of people who had come from all parts to hear the renowned preacher, he consented to deliver two discourses in the morning; first at Bethesda, and then at Trinity Chapel. At each place he preached for an hour and a quarter. The weather cleared up during the day; so, in the evening, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 62: 1916

Annunciation of the Birth of Jesus.
(at Nazareth, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke I. 26-38. ^c 26 Now in the sixth month [this is the passage from which we learn that John was six months older than Jesus] the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth [Luke alone tells us where Mary lived before the birth of Jesus. That Nazareth was an unimportant town is shown by the fact that it is mentioned nowhere in the Old Testament, nor in the Talmud, nor in Josephus, who mentions two hundred four towns and cities of Galilee. The …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Concerning Worship.
Concerning Worship. [780] All true and acceptable worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own Spirit which is neither limited to places times, nor persons. For though we are to worship him always, and continually to fear before him; [781] yet as to the outward signification thereof, in prayers, praises, or preachings, we ought not to do it in our own will, where and when we will; but where and when we are moved thereunto by the stirring and secret inspiration …
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
Having spoken of the general notion of blessedness, I come next to consider the subjects of this blessedness, and these our Saviour has deciphered to be the poor in spirit, the mourners, etc. But before I touch upon these, I shall attempt a little preface or paraphrase upon this sermon of the beatitudes. 1 Observe the divinity in this sermon, which goes beyond all philosophy. The philosophers use to say that one contrary expels another; but here one contrary begets another. Poverty is wont to expel …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Thoughts Upon the Appearance of Christ the Sun of Righteousness, or the Beatifick vision.
SO long as we are in the Body, we are apt to be governed wholly by its senses, seldom or never minding any thing but what comes to us through one or other of them. Though we are all able to abstract our Thoughts when we please from matter, and fix them upon things that are purely spiritual; there are but few that ever do it. But few, even among those also that have such things revealed to them by God himself, and so have infinitely more and firmer ground to believe them, than any one, or all their …
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

Meditations on the Hindrances which Keep Back a Sinner from the Practice of Piety.
Those hindrances are chiefly seven:-- I. An ignorant mistaking of the true meaning of certain places of the holy Scriptures, and some other chief grounds of Christian religion. The Scriptures mistaken are these: 1. Ezek. xxxiii. 14, 16, "At what time soever a sinner repenteth him of his sin, I will blot out all," &c. Hence the carnal Christian gathers, that he may repent when he will. It is true, whensoever a sinner does repent, God will forgive; but the text saith not, that a sinner may repent whensoever …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Its Meaning
Deliverance from the condemning sentence of the Divine Law is the fundamental blessing in Divine salvation: so long as we continue under the curse, we can neither be holy nor happy. But as to the precise nature of that deliverance, as to exactly what it consists of, as to the ground on which it is obtained, and as to the means whereby it is secured, much confusion now obtains. Most of the errors which have been prevalent on this subject arose from the lack of a clear view of the thing itself, and …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification

How Christ is Made Use of for Justification as a Way.
What Christ hath done to purchase, procure, and bring about our justification before God, is mentioned already, viz. That he stood in the room of sinners, engaging for them as their cautioner, undertaking, and at length paying down the ransom; becoming sin, or a sacrifice for sin, and a curse for them, and so laying down his life a ransom to satisfy divine justice; and this he hath made known in the gospel, calling sinners to an accepting of him as their only Mediator, and to a resting upon him for …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Covenant of Works
Q-12: I proceed to the next question, WHAT SPECIAL ACT OF PROVIDENCE DID GOD EXERCISE TOWARDS MAN IN THE ESTATE WHEREIN HE WAS CREATED? A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him upon condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge upon pain of death. For this, consult with Gen 2:16, 17: And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Zechariah
CHAPTERS I-VIII Two months after Haggai had delivered his first address to the people in 520 B.C., and a little over a month after the building of the temple had begun (Hag. i. 15), Zechariah appeared with another message of encouragement. How much it was needed we see from the popular despondency reflected in Hag. ii. 3, Jerusalem is still disconsolate (Zech. i. 17), there has been fasting and mourning, vii. 5, the city is without walls, ii. 5, the population scanty, ii. 4, and most of the people …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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