A Brand Plucked From the Fire

A Brand Plucked From the Fire


Zechariah 3:1-3
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”
3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

   The Book of Zechariah tells us of a series of visions given to the prophet.  This vision is of the High Priest of Zechariah’s day, a man named Joshua, standing in the courts of heaven.  Facing him is Satan.  Satan’s name means Accuser, Adversary or Opposer, depending on what authority you read, and Satan is doing as his name implies, he is accusing someone.  In the vision Zechariah saw both the accusation and the answer by the Lord.  The Lord Himself drove off the attack of Satan with a strong rebuke.
   Yes, God allows Satan to accuse us.  He allows Satan to oppose us.  He allows Satan to harass us.  But He also restricts what Satan is allowed to do to us.  We see this in the first few chapters of the Book of Job.  Satan begins by accusing Job and then wants to test him but God only allows him to take one action at a time against Job.  Jesus tells us in Luke 22 that Satan wanted to sift Simon Peter like wheat but He would not allow Satan to destroy Peter.  Peter was divinely protected from destruction, but still he was tested and tried by the enemy.  We can trust that when the Lord stands beside us, we can find refuge under His protection.
   In this scene where God defends the high priest, He makes what seems to be a strange statement in his defense.  The Lord said of the high priest, "Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"  Joshua the high priest was standing next to the Angel of the Lord in this vision, yet even so he was not there based on his own righteousness or merit, he was there as one rescued from the fire.  God even went so far as to point out that Joshua was clothed in filthy garments, like Isaiah wrote, “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;” (Isaiah 64:6a,) yet the Lord still claimed him for His own.
   A brand, as used in this verse, is a burnt or smoldering piece of wood.  If you’ve ever sat around a campfire you’ve seen a blackened, smoking stick that’s been partially burned.  It isn't worth much and will be consumed completely if it isn't plucked from the fire.  The brand may not be worth anything in earthly terms, but God rescued this brand from the fire and accepted it as His.
   Let’s look at this statement, "is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"  First, it is a statement of ownership.  It’s as if God is saying, “I plucked this brand from the fire and now he’s Mine.”  Second, it’s a statement of accomplishment.  “This brand was in the fire, but now I’ve rescued him.”  Third, this statement is a taunt directed at the Accuser.  “This brand is one you wanted to burn, but now he is safe with Me.”
   I came upon an unusual story about John Wesley, (1703 – 1791,) a Church of England cleric.  When Wesley was only six years old he was trapped in a burning house and was only rescued when one neighbor climbed on another's shoulders and pulled him out of window.  A picture of the scene was drawn for Wesley and he kept the drawing until he died, and wrote under it Zechariah 3:2: “Is this not a brand plucked from the burning?”  This story graphically illustrates this verse.   This describes what we are – brands that have been plucked from the fires of Hell and we can now stand with the Lord.  He has given to us His righteousness and even though we still show the damage of the fires, we are still children of God that have been wonderfully saved from the destroying fires.

Stephen Cram                       May 6, 2012                                      Colossians 2:8

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.  Colossians 2:8