Joshua and the Angel
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After thus solemnly investing him with the dignity of the priesthood
the Angel declared: “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.” He would be honored as the judge
or ruler over the temple and all its services; he should walk among
attending angels, even in this life, and should at last join the glorified
throng around the throne of God.
“Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit
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before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring
forth My servant the Branch.” Here is revealed the hope of Israel. It
was by faith in the coming Saviour that Joshua and his people received
pardon. Through faith in Christ they were restored to God’s favor. By
virtue of His merits, if they walked in His ways and kept His statutes,
they would be “men wondered at,” honored as the chosen of heaven
among the nations of the earth. Christ was their hope, their defense,
their justification and redemption, as He is the hope of His church
today.
As Satan accused Joshua and his people, so in all ages he accuses
those who are seeking the mercy and favor of God. In the Revelation
he is declared to be the “accuser of our brethren,” “which accused
them before our God day and night.” The controversy is repeated over
every soul that is rescued from the power of evil and whose name is
registered in the Lamb’s book of life. Never is one received from the
family of Satan into the family of God without exciting the determined
resistance of the wicked one. Satan’s accusations against those who
seek the Lord are not prompted by displeasure at their sins. He exults
in their defective characters. Only through their transgression of God’s
law can he obtain power over them. His accusations arise solely from
his enmity to Christ. Through the plan of salvation, Jesus is breaking
Satan’s hold upon the human family and rescuing souls from his power.
All the hatred and malignity of the archrebel is stirred as he beholds the
evidence of Christ’s supremacy, and with fiendish power and cunning
he works to wrest from Him the remnant of the children of men who
have accepted His salvation.
He leads men into skepticism, causing them to lose confidence
in God and to separate from His love; he tempts them to break His
law, and then he claims them as his captives and contests the right of