A Brand Plucked from the Fire

by Scott Rossy

“Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

This beautiful, although relatively unknown portion of scripture has always been one of my favorites. Surprisingly, I’ve never heard a sermon on these verses and until recently, I never even heard it mentioned in a sermon. The book of Zechariah itself does not get a lot of attention but it is a great prophetic book about restoration and the glorious future of the nation Israel, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and His future Kingdom here on earth.

Zechariah 3:1-5

“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. The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him " Again he said to him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes." Then 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, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.”

The immediate context of these verses depicts the restoration and cleansing of Jerusalem, the priesthood and Joshua the high priest during the exiles return to Jerusalem. These five verses from the prophet Zechariah are also a beautiful picture of the cleansing and forgiveness that takes place for all the redeemed. It pictures salvation as totally the work of God, proceeding from Him. It shows His grace and mercy, portraying Him as both Judge and Advocate of the redeemed. Jerusalem is spoken of as a brand, a stick or piece of timber that keeps a fire burning. It is portrayed as plucked from or rescued from the fire of destruction and judgment.

To understand what exactly is taking place, knowledge of the preceding 100 years of history will help to better understand the setting. Approximately 100 or so years earlier the prophet Jeremiah was ministering in the land of Judah. This was from 626-586 B.C. God decided He had had it with Judah and Jerusalem. The kings, priests and false prophets were persistent in leading the people into continued idolatry and rebellion. They forsook God to worship the false gods of the surrounding nations. Most of the abominations were done during the 55 year reign of wicked King Manasseh. They refused to listen to His prophets and repent so finally God decided it was time for His judgment to come. This judgment was certain and unalterable. Jeremiah was sent by God to confront the people (kings, priests, scribes, prophets and people) of this idolatry and rebellion. God spoke through Jeremiah saying, “Has a nation changed gods?...“For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” – “For My people are foolish, they know Me not; they are stupid children and have no understanding.” …“An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule on their own authority; and My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it?” …“Why then has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in continual apostasy? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return.” …“Everyone is greedy for gain; from the prophet even to the priest everyone practices deceit.” Jeremiah 2:11, 13, 4:22, 5:30-31, 8:5, 10, 8:10.

God was determined to cure Jerusalem of her continued idolatry. This judgment was irreversible. God’s judgment and the carrying out of His decree would be by the hands of the Babylonians, the notorious world empire, lead by King Nebuchadnezzar. This powerful pagan nation that did not know the Lord would be His servant in carrying out His will and purposes in punishing Judah. The Lord would stir up and put it in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar to conquer Jerusalem. The decree of the Lord was that the fierce Babylonian army would come into Jerusalem and conquer the city. They would destroy the Temple of the Lord and knock down the wall surrounding Jerusalem. They would burn the city and leave nothing but rubble. The people of Jerusalem would be taken captive to Babylon and would be used in the service of King Nebuchadnezzar. Among them were Daniel, Ezekiel, etc. Only the poorest of the poor people would remain in Jerusalem.

God’s decree against Jerusalem

“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. “It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open grave, all of them are mighty men. They will devour your harvest and your food; they will devour your sons and your daughters; they will devour your flocks and your herds; they will devour your vines and your fig trees; they will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.” Jeremiah 5:15-17

“Thus says the LORD, “Behold, a people is coming from the north land, and a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth. “They seize bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voice roars like the sea, and they ride on horses, arrayed as a man for the battle against you, O daughter of Zion!”  Jeremiah 6:22

“A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.” Jeremiah 4:7

“ I Myself will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation… For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the LORD. “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.” Jeremiah 21:5, 10

“Therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.” Jeremiah 11:11

Judgment carried out

The Babylonians did just as the Lord decreed. They conquered and overthrew the kingdom. “Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month,  Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall  all around it.” – II Kings 25:1. “Therefore He (God) brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans (Babylonians) who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He (God) gave them all into his hand. All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah.” – II Chronicles 36:17-21

Promise of eventual Restoration

The people of Jerusalem were deported to Babylon in three waves. The first in 605 BC, the second in 597 BC and then the final wave in 586 BC when the Temple was destroyed. God’s word was fulfilled. His judgment came to pass. God spoke to the people through Jeremiah telling them not to resist the Babylonians but to submit to them. It was His will. They should not fight but go to Babylon and pray for the welfare of Babylon, to carry on with their lives. But God was not finished with His people. He promised through Jeremiah that their time in Babylon would last for 70 years and then He would bring them back to the land and restore them. “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” – Jeremiah 29:10-11

God’s word was again fulfilled 70 years later. The Babylonians were conquered (as God also decreed) by the Persian’s who became the world empire. God gave the Jews favor with the Persian king allowing them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild. The first group of exiles returned under the leadership of Ezra and Zerubbabel who lead in the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem. Year’s later Nehemiah lead more exiles back who built the wall of Jerusalem.

This was the time and setting of the book of Zechariah. Zechariah is back in Jerusalem and God sends him to the returning exiles to encourage them and to give them hope. God gave Zechariah 8 night visions recorded in the first 6 chapters of his prophecy, one of which is the vision in 3:1-5 picturing the cleansing and restoration of Jerusalem, Joshua the high priest and the entire priesthood. The scene is that of a courtroom. Joshua is the defendant. God the Father is the judge. Satan is the prosecutor and Christ is Joshua’s advocate. With the building of the Temple, Joshua is to be installed as the high priest. He is pictured as being presented before the Lord. “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD “( v.1). Satan is also present to accuse Joshua before the Lord- “and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.” (v.1). this is characteristic of how Satan is described in scripture. Revelation 12:10 speaks of him as “the accuser of our brethren”. It is his nature to hate the children of God. To bring charges and accusations against God’s elect in the hope that the Lord would destroy His people. Satan is correct in his accusation against Joshua, Jerusalem and the priesthood. They are guilty. They have committed idolatry and rebellion. Joshua is described in verse 4 as being clothed in “filthy garments”, representing his polluted and defiled spiritual condition. But the redeemed of the Lord have an advocate on their side. Joshua’s advocate speaks in verse 2: The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” The Lord Jesus Christ, the true High Priest is the believers advocate -“if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” – I John 2:1-2. Jerusalem, which includes Joshua and the priesthood are to be cleansed and restored because they are spoken of as chosen by “the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem”  They are the elect of God. Satan’s accusation is of no effect. “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies” (Romans 8:33). The covenant He made with their father Abraham is the basis of their being chosen. The cleansing is pictured in the remaining 2 verses: "Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him" Again he said to him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes." Then 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, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.” Joshua and his fellow priests (mentioned in verse 8 as also being present) are standing before the Lord in “filthy garments.” They have no hope in themselves. They are defiled and unworthy. Their salvation comes from their Advocate who removes the filthy garments and clothes them in clean festal robes and clean turbans. That is the immediate context of Zechariah 3:1-5 but  verses 8-10 also speak of the future, final restoration of national Israel when the Branch (Messiah) returns.

This is also a beautiful picture of what happens to us who are abiding in Christ and have experienced His salvation. In ourselves we are polluted and defiled. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” – Isaiah 64:6. We are unfit and unworthy to enter into the Lord’s presence. We need cleansing and forgiveness. We need an Advocate to intercede for us and to remove our filthy garments and to clothe us with clean garments. Jesus Christ is our Advocate and High Priest who “is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” – Hebrews 7:25. Once we come to Him in faith and repentance, believing in Him and His High Priestly work on the cross, the exchange is made. Like Joshua, we have our filthy garments of sin removed and we are clothed in festal “white robes”-Revelation 7:9, representing the perfect Holiness of Jesus Christ. We will possess a righteousness, but not of our own doing but “that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” -Philippians 3:9.

I love the way (plucking from the fire) the Lord chose to describe the salvation depicted in Zechariah 3:1-5. This is truly the case for every believer, plucked and rescued from the fires of judgment, hell and destruction. I certainly view myself as nothing more than a brand plucked from the fire. Unworthy of nothing more. Unable to save myself. Without the Lords’ rescue and salvation, I’d be forever in the fire of judgment.

“I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness”- Isaiah 61:10

Not Automatic

The High Priestly ministry of Jesus Christ is not automatic for every person. He does not advocate for every person automatically, only those who are His. Those who have never called on the name of the Lord in faith and repentance and who are trusting in their own goodness to gain approval from the Lord are still clothed in filthy garments. He is not their advocate. They have never seen their need to receive cleansing and forgiveness from the Lord. Is Christ your Advocate? Have your filthy garments been removed and have you been reclothed in garments of white?

“WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED”

Romans 10:13