New Garments

Scripture Readings: Zechariah 3, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8 and 9, 1 Peter 2:5 and 9

There was once a priest of the temple of God who appeared before God and His angels. At the time, Satan was accusing him of all the sins he had committed in his lifetime, the priest was greatly discouraged and filled with guilt. To make things worse, as he stood before God, he was not putting on the most decent of clothes as he wore very filthy garments. Imagine the sight of him in the presence of a God who is robed in majesty and splendor. This priest probably felt like a kid appearing before his father having muddied his clothes because he had been doing the prohibited, all the while having someone accusing him of things he could not deny because the evidence was heaped up against him.

However, God was gracious and merciful to him. Instead of taking time to consider the accusations, He rebuked the accuser, and instead of rebuking the priest for the state of his robes, He just gave him new robes. You see, God likened this priest to a branch plucked out of the fire which in essence meant that God had forgiven him and removed from him the consequences of his sin. But God did not stop there, He went ahead and commanded those who were present to remove the filthy clothes from the priest and clothed him with new, expensive and beautiful garments, those fitting for a king and priest of God.

This is the story of Joshua, the High Priest, as seen in a vision by Zechariah and is found in Zechariah chapter 3. (This Joshua is not the same Joshua who led the Israelites into Canaan, it is another Joshua who lived in the time of Zechariah.) This is a story that reveals God’s mercy, love and holiness as well as the deceit of Satan. This mercy and love of God triumphs over Satan’s accusations and saves us from the punishment we deserve. It also teaches several principles about our salvation, what it means and what is expected of us.

I would like us to take a close look at this story and consider some of the principles that are laid out in it. The first thing we are to take note of is the fact that this guy was the High Priest meaning that he was at the most honored level of priesthood. He was one who was probably considered to be the most pious and most holy, and he probably took himself as such. He is the one who was charged with praying for others, presenting them before God and being a representative of God to the people. He was also a teacher of the precepts of God, instructing the people about God’s ways and the commands He had given His people. He was a very religious man, honored and known by the whole nation of Israel. But consider the manner in which he appeared before God, he was being accused by Satan and he was putting on filthy garments. What happened to the beautiful robes a High Priest was supposed to put on, and wasn’t he supposed to be above reproach even before the devil?

Next, we should note the actions of God when faced with this situation. In all this, God was full of mercy, yes he loathed the appearance of Joshua and He knew that whatever the devil was saying was true, but He was still full of compassion and stood in defense of Joshua. He even went as far as rebuking Satan. All the while Joshua himself did not do a thing, he did not speak a word and took no action, he just stood there before God. He could only trust in the love of God, he was guilty and he knew it and no one could stand in defense of him in front of a most holy God.

Finally, we should note God’s final word and instruction after all that took place. It might not literally apply to us, but we should consider the principle God is giving us and apply it to our own lives. The Bible says every scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Satan is our adversary and is known to be an accuser, and indeed, as shown here, he is the accuser of God’s children and all created by Him. One preacher said that Satan is not happy when he sees you and me because each time he looks at us he sees the image of God. This is the God who threw him out of heaven and with whom he has ever since been at war. As a result he aims to destroy our “image” before God and he does this by always bringing before God the sins we have committed. When you sin, you should know that you are providing Satan with ammunition to accuse you before God. Joshua, though he was a High Priest, had sinned numerous times before God, and the devil had found the ammunition he needed to bring him down. However, God plucked him from out of the fire, yes he was already burning, that is, his own sin bore witness against him but God still plucked him out of the fire. God could see that this guy was guilty and He pronounced Joshua guilty but He forgave him of his sins, removing him from serving his jail sentence in hell.

Next, we are told of his garments. The High Priest was wearing filthy clothes representative of the state of his righteousness. It was filthy, that is, it was disgustingly dirty. This was a righteousness that to men, appeared to be clean and pure, but before God it was filthy. God was unhappy with such righteousness, that is, He could not stand it. However, notice what the Bible says in Zechariah 3:4, “And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him.” He did not command Joshua to get rid of the garments; the command was to those around Him to take away from Joshua his garments. One would think that Joshua should have taken the garments off by himself, but this is not the case here. The question is why? We shall answer this question in due course.

Now, after the filthy garments were removed, Joshua was given new clothes. Again note that Joshua did not put on the garments himself. The Bible says in verse 5 “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.” The command came, and others were charged with the responsibility of dressing up Joshua. Again, the question is why?

The Bible clearly tells us that our own righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). This is a righteousness that is worked out by our own hands, a religious righteousness which is attained by following a set of rigid rules that do not impact the inner man (our spirit) as Paul tells us in Colossians 2:23. It is a righteousness that is stained by sin. The Bible also shows us clearly that we cannot remove our own sin, and we cannot put on the righteousness that is acceptable to God on our own. We cannot be justified before God by our own power. It does not matter how long you have been in the church, whether you were born to Christian parents or not, or what person you consider yourself to be. This is true for every one born of a woman, our righteousness is stained with sin and we cannot attain a righteousness that is acceptable to God by our works in our own strength. If this were the case then the Bible would not have said that there is none who is righteous.

That is why God had to command those around Him to remove Joshua’s dirty garments and to clothe him with new ones. In this process all Joshua did was that he was found in the presence of God, with all his sin and filthy garments. He could not lie before God, he could not pretend that his garments were clean and that he was without sin. The other thing he did was to accept the new garments and in doing so he did not cling to the old garments. He brought nothing to this process except his filthy garments and his sin, the only action he took was to allow the removal of the filthy garments and accepting the new garments.

We learn a number of lessons from this. First of all, you might think yourself righteous, but whose standard are you using and what sort of righteousness are you talking about. You could be very religious, a regular church goer, born and raised in the church, a “good person” by the standards of the world. The question is, does your righteousness measure up before the standard of God? Are you sure that were you to come before God, your righteousness when compared to His, will not appear filthy? It does not matter how respected you are by the world, what people see you as being, the question is: what is the state of your heart before God? You can deceive men, but are you sure that you can deceive God?

Apart from Christ, our righteousness is filthy as rags. No matter the number of our good works, the position we hold in church, how long we have been in the church. All of these do not measure up to the standard set up by God. Only when you acknowledge that your righteousness is as rags and you turn to Christ, only then will God give you His righteousness, and so enable you to appear before God having put on this righteousness. This is the garment that Joshua was given, a new righteousness. This righteousness cannot be attained by our own effort, it takes God himself to give it to us and to clothe us with it. When the old garment is gone, our sins go with it. We cannot put on the new robe whilst we still have sin in us.

The story of Joshua teaches us that it is only by God’s command that our filthy righteousness is removed and we are given a new righteousness acceptable before God. The Bible tells us that God has given only one person the authority to do this, the man Jesus Christ. It is only Jesus’ blood that can cleanse us of our unrighteousness (1 John 1:7). Only after we have been cleansed by His blood can we then put on the new garment. This is very practical, I mean what sort of person would put on new clean clothes on top of filthy clothes. First remove the filthy clothes, wash yourself and then put on the new. This is what God does to us through Christ. In the story of Joshua we see this in verse 4 where God says to Joshua “… Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee…” This was right after the filthy garments were removed. Thus the principle is simple, acknowledge your sin before God and in so doing acknowledge that your righteousness is filthy, allow Him to remove it and once He removes it, He cleanses you of your sins. Only when this is done will He “…clothe thee with change of raiment.”

The Bible is clear, if you do not have Christ dwelling in you, that is, you are not born again, do not expect that a righteousness worked by your own hand will save you. John 3:3 says, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” and Acts 4:12 says “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” There is only one way to salvation and that is through Jesus. Except you use this way, you will not be saved, you will remain in the fire (John 14:6). God is willing to take you in even today, Isaiah 55:7 says “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” It does not matter what sort of sin you have committed, how filthy your garments are, He will take you in. We are not told how filthy the garments of Joshua were, we are just told that they were filthy, and so do not consider yours to be more filthy. As long as your garments are filthy, God wants to give you new ones, fitting for one in the service of God.

What you need to realize is that the whole process of salvation is the work of God alone. God plucked Joshua out of the fire; he did not remove himself from the fire. Secondly, his filthy garments were removed from him by the command of God and he himself did not move a finger. The new garments he was given were also given by the command of God, again he did not move a finger. Ephesians 2:8 and 9 says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” The whole process centers on God, you bring nothing to it except your sin and filthy garments.

You might ask the question, how does one accept this righteousness that comes from God. The answer is simple, Romans 10:9 and 10 says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” If you confess with your mouth that it is only through Christ that your sins are forgiven, and believe in your heart that this is true, then will He come in and cleanse you of your sins (see also Hebrews 10:1-4,10-18 and Colossians 2:13-15). It is very simple and you can do it while you are alone. You do not necessarily need to have someone lead you into a prayer, you can pray on your own, telling God of your belief and of the need that you see in your life, the need to be cleansed from sin.

For those who are already in Christ, you need to realize that the righteousness you have is not your own, it is the righteousness of Christ, given to you as a gift (see Philippians 3:9 and 2 Corinthians 5:21). Furthermore, you cannot add anything to this work; it is perfect as it is. You cannot do anything in addition to the righteousness God has given you that will improve on it. You need to also realize that having put on the righteousness of Christ, you need to let go of the filthy garments, that is, let go entirely of sin. True repentance involves a turning away from sin, leaving it behind. Consider Luke 9:62.

In addition to this all Christians need to realize that for them to keep this righteousness they need to obey God and follow His commands. Zechariah 3:6 and 7 says “And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.” This righteousness that is acceptable before God can only be maintained by obedience. No religious activity can help you maintain this righteousness just as religion cannot earn you a righteousness that is pleasing to God. 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” Obedience is what is going to allow us to remain in the presence of God having put on a righteousness that is pleasing to Him, once we stop obeying, that is, we continually sin, then we are removed from His presence. So, learn to obey because “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” according to Isaiah 1:19 and 20.

The final lesson that we should take note of from the story of Joshua is found in verse 5. In this verse we are told that Joshua was given a mitre or turban which was set upon his head. In the preceding verses where the filthy garments were removed, we are not told anything about this turban, why? I believe Joshua had lost this turban, he did not have it on him when he was found in the presence of God. The turban was the crown of priesthood, the mark that set priests apart from the ordinary people. 1 Peter 2:5 and 9 tells us that we become priests when we are redeemed; therefore, the garments we are given are those of a priest. This means that we are to serve before the presence of God all the days of our lives. This is the ministry given to every Christian, the exact specifics of the ministry differ but we are all to serve Him in this capacity. As with the Levites, there are many different types of service but all of it is service to God (see Numbers 4:1-33). You are thus called to a life set apart for service to the Most High God.

In conclusion, remember that a righteousness worked by your hand is like filthy rags before God, it will not pass. You thus cannot save yourself from sin and condemnation. Only Christ can do this for you for He is the only way through which we attain salvation and a true righteousness pleasing to God. However, this righteousness, once attained, needs to be maintained and it can only be maintained through obedience to the precepts of God. Finally, all who are redeemed become priests serving in the presence of God, they are called to a life of service. It is no longer their own life, they can no longer just do anything they want because they become the servants of God.

Now, I do not know where you stand, whose righteousness do you have? If you are counting on a righteousness worked by your own hand, I pray the above has convinced you to think twice. If you possess the righteousness of Christ, God be praised, I pray that you will walk in obedience all the days of your life.

For those who have just recently joined the family of God, there are four fundamental things that you ought to be doing: the first two go together, you need to pray and read the Bible regularly for in this way you will grow. 1 Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” Prayer will get you to communicate with God and you will be able to cast your anxieties on Him and ask for His help in your walk with Him. Reading the Bible, on the other hand, will enable you to know more of God, more of what is required of you as a new Christian and will provide you with examples you ought to follow. The third thing is to find a group of Christians with whom you can fellowship. In this walk you need company Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Also Hebrews 10: 25 says, we should not forsake “… the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” The final thing is to tell others about Christ. In our service to God this is perhaps the greatest service we can do Him, that is, to proclaim His gospel. This can be by word of mouth but also, and perhaps more importantly, by the way we live. 2 Corinthians 3:2 says, “Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men…” and 1 Timothy 4:16 says, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” The way you live is, therefore, very important.

May God bless and guide you all the days of your life as you walk in His ways. May He grant you the full knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding that you might walk worthy of the Lord, being pleasing to Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of Him.

Grace and Peace.