Spiritual Warfare: Satan and Our Self-Image (Zechariah 3:1-10)
I want to start by telling you a story. When I was 10 years old, I had a very dark experience during one of my visits with my dad. My parents were divorced when I was a baby. My mom got full custody of me, and my dad was granted visitation rights. The cause of their divorce was my father’s physical abuse of my mother. My mom left my father, yet still wanted me to have a relationship with my dad. She knew that both she and I deserved a safer place to live. She didn’t speak disparagingly of my father or try to turn me against him. She was honest about what happened and believed it was important for me to have some relationship with my dad.
My father was bipolar and manic-depressive. Most of the time during my visitations, he would be emotionally balanced and fun to be around. Things would change significantly when he started drinking. One night, he had too much to drink and started saying really dark stuff while he was sitting at the edge of his bed. It was late at night, and I remember standing in front of him while he was talking. He spewed out shameful statements about himself and suicidal thoughts. He listed the many ways he had failed me as a father and how my life would be better off without him. At first, I felt paralyzed, not knowing how to stop this avalanche of self-sabotage. After a few minutes, I jumped into action to save my dad from himself. I felt like I was watching him drown in depression and that I needed to dive into the emotional mess and rescue him.
I can’t remember everything that I said, but I can recall the goal I was trying to accomplish. I wanted him to see a bigger picture of himself. He was obsessing over the sins of his past and seeing them as the foundation of his identity. Now, honestly, some of the things he said were true. He had made some big mistakes, but that wasn’t the complete picture. I tried, as best as a 10-year-old could do, to point out the places where he was exaggerating his moments of weakness and error. I also attempted to stretch his vision to see all the good he had brought into my life. My memory is fuzzy on what happened immediately after that conversation. I know we moved on and enjoyed the rest of our time together. Unfortunately, my father didn’t win his battle with these destructive thoughts.
Many of you here today can relate to my experience. You may not have experienced the same thing, but you may know the destructive nature of shame. Maybe you have found yourself captive to intrusive thoughts that strike at your sense of identity and worth. Perhaps you have felt the gravity of a depressive spiral that feels inescapable. One of the most challenging parts of these experiences is the partial truths that are said. Some of the things my dad shared were true, and some weren’t. Some of the shame you feel is based on truth, and some is entirely false. It is essential to differentiate between the two; it is equally important to get the whole picture. I tried to get my dad to see more than his failures. Today, I want to expose the attack that Satan makes against our self-image and how some of what he says is based on truth. I also want to show you how we can combat that by expanding our vision and seeing the complete picture of ourselves.
Big Idea: Satan hates “and.” Satan and his demonic forces will use shame to attack your sense of self-worth and identity. His strategy is so effective because it is sometimes based on truth. The key to defending ourselves is completing the accusation with an “and” statement. When Satan rightly accuses us of some failure, we need to finish that statement with, “and I am forgiven and experiencing transformation.” In our passage today, we will see how Satan uses shame to harm us and how the work of God rescues us from his attack.
Zechariah 3:1-4, “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 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”
In this chapter, Zechariah reports one of the visions God has given him. This vision in Chapter Three differs from many of the other visions in this book. It contains historical figures who are acting in ways that correspond to reality. Joshua is the high priest at the time, who, with the help of Zerubbabel, is leading the people of Israel to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem after returning from their time of exile in Babylon. “Satan” is also a historical figure. As New Testament readers, we read this as a name, not just a title. In Hebrew, the word means “adversary” or “accuser.”
Before the time of Christ, the Old Testament readers would have most likely understood this word as a title. An “adversary” or “accuser” was speaking against Joshua. The noun is used in 1 Chronicles to describe the spiritual being who tempted David to take a census of his people (1 Chronicles 21:1). It is also used to speak of the spiritual being in the book of Job, who accused Job of only worshiping God because of the blessing he bestowed on him (Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7). Later in the book of Revelation, this spiritual “accuser” and “adversary” is identified as the “devil.”
Revelation 12:10-12, “10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
When we take into account the entire witness of Scripture, I believe we are correct to conclude that the “accuser” and “adversary” of Joshua is the devil, who is doing something he regularly does. This is one of the primary attacks of the devil and, as Paul says in Ephesians 6, we need to be ready to “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16).
It is essential to see a critical difference between Satan's attack on Joshua and Job. In the book of Job, Satan is shown to be wrong about Job. Job is stripped of all his blessings yet remains devoted to God. In the case of Joshua, Satan is right. We are not given the specifics of his accusations against him, but we are told that Joshua is clothed with a filthy garment representing his many iniquities. Satan is “rebuked” by God, but not for being wrong about Joshua. The rebuke is based on Joshua, who represents all the returning exiles, being “a brand plucked from the fire.” This refers to the act of God in releasing Israel from the punishment of exile. The rebuke of Satan is based on the redemptive act of God, not Joshua's moral character. Joshua is not innocent. God has intervened by forgiving and redeeming Joshua.
Zechariah 3:4-7, “4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. 6 And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.”
Joshua didn’t defend himself against the accusations of Satan. He is helpless in removing his guilt. Only an act of God could help him. God removes the filthy garment, showing that his iniquities have been removed. Joshua then receives new clothes, which are called “pure.” This word often has moral connotations, which I believe is fair to see in this text. Joshua’s identity changes with his wardrobe. This change in dress is not meant to be seen as a coverup or disguise hiding his true self. This change in clothes represents a transformation of his identity; it affects his very nature. This sort of imagery is used all over Scripture.
This divine wardrobe change has altered Joshua’s responsibilities. His “filthy garments” would have disqualified him from priestly responsibilities. Now, he is given access to the very presence of God if he lives in accordance with his new redeemed identity by maintaining his personal holiness (“walk in my ways”) and properly executing his ministry (“keep my charge”). What a marvelous transformation of Joshua. Thankfully, this experience is not unique to him. God wants us all to enjoy this type of transformation, which is what the last few verses of our passage indicate.
Zechariah 3:8-10, “8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the Lord of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”
The Angel of the Lord reveals to Joshua that he and his friends, which most likely refers to the other priest that Joshua oversees, are a sign of something greater. The priesthood in Israel points forward to the Lord’s “servant” and “branch.” These sound like odd titles to us, but it meant a great deal to the people of Israel at the time. The title “servant” and “branch” were words used to describe the coming Messiah. The title “branch” is used by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel to speak of the Messiah. This title emphasized the Davidic heritage of the Messiah and how He would rule as a just King over God’s people. Isaiah frequently used the title “servant” to speak of the Messiah, which he used in the context of how the Messiah would suffer to remove the sins of God’s people by burying their iniquities. Using both titles in our passage paints the seemingly paradoxical picture of a king who rules and suffers for his people.
The meaning of the stone with seven eyes is hard to decipher. I believe the best explanation is that Zechariah is speaking of the stone in the high priest's turban. After mentioning the stone, the Angel of the Lord speaks of God removing the sins of His people in one day. This is both a reference to the Day of Atonement, where the high priest would make an annual atonement for the sins of the people of Israel, and a foreshadowing of Jesus’ death on the cross, where Christ would completely remove the sins of the world.
The experience of Joshua and the people he represented as high priest was not meant to be unique to them. The Angel of the Lord revealed to Zechariah that future generations would have their iniquities removed from them just like Joshua had his filthy garment removed. The New Testament frequently uses the imagery of taking off old clothes and putting on new clothes when speaking about how God has removed our sins from us and given us a righteous standing before Him through the work of Christ on the cross. The Scripture doesn’t deny or downplay our sins, just as the filth of Joshua's garments was not overlooked. The work of God in Christ has given us a new standing before God, just as Joshua’s identity was transformed when he received new, pure garments.
Satan hates “and.” Satan would love for us to be crippled by the shame of our past. He would love to suffocate us in our filthy garments. He is right in pointing out our flaws and failures. “And,” he is missing the bigger picture. We have been transformed by the work of Christ and been given a new standing before God. We have new robes of righteousness. Satan will try to get us to wear the shame of our sins. He wants to assassinate our sense of identity by pinning our sins to our flesh.
Don’t let Satan’s accusations corrupt your understanding of who you are. When you feel assaulted by thoughts of shame, I want you to practice two things. First, find what is false. Second, add the word “and” to the accusations that are true. Satan will say things about you that are outright lies or exaggerations, just like in the case of Job. You may need some friends to help you discern the truthfulness of these accusations. When Satan gets it right, remember to add the word “and.” When Satan says, “Paul, you are a bitter person who is slow to forgive,” I can add, “and I am forgiven in Christ, and he is softening my heart toward others.” When you feel overwhelmed by the shame of your sin, and you can’t seem to remove the filthy garment that says you are an addict, liar, adulterer, thief, or uncaring person, remember who is wearing that sinful garment. Remind yourself that Christ wore that filthy garment on the cross. Those things are true about you, and they are not your identity. I encourage you to say what Satan doesn’t want you to see: your new pure garment. You are clothed in Christ's righteousness. This new garment is embroidered with new titles: son of God, forgiven, reborn, resurrected, new creature, and righteous. When you sin, the Holy Spirit will convict you, and Satan will seek to suffocate you in shame. The Spirit’s goal is to remove this sin through confession and repentance. Satan's goal is to get you to remove yourself from God’s love. Satan wants you to think, “God shouldn’t love me because of this sin.” The Spirit wants you to think, “God loves me and will help me with this sin.”
Maybe you are here and not yet following Christ; I want to invite you to receive a new identity in Christ. This identity is not something you work for but instead works to transform you. Being right before God is not a standard you achieve but an identity you receive by placing your trust in Christ. We all, like Joshua, have filthy garments. We have sins that stick to our identity. The only way to remove the shame of sin is to ask the Lord to remove it from us. We have no defense or means of acquittal apart from the work of Christ on the cross. My prayer is that you will place your faith in Christ today and receive a new and pure identity.
Life-Level Application
Head: Read Hebrews 4:14-16. What does it mean that Jesus is “able to empathize with our weaknesses”? How does this affect your understanding of His nature? What does it mean to “approach God's throne of grace with confidence”? How can this confidence influence your prayer life?
Heart: Read Romans 8:37-39. In verse 37, Paul lists various challenges. What do you think he intends to convey about the nature of these hardships to our faith? What do these verses tell us about the security of being in God's love? How might this assurance impact a believer's daily life?
Hand: Read 1 John 3:1-3. In verse 2, John mentions that we are “God’s children now, but what we will be has not yet been made known.” What does this suggest about the relationship between our identity and the process of spiritual growth?
Habit: How can you cultivate a deeper awareness of your identity as a child of God in your everyday life? What practical steps can you take to live out this identity?