Joshua and the Angel
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with change of raiment.” “So they set a fair miter upon his head, and
clothed him with garments.”
Zechariah 3:4, 5
. His own sins and those
of his people were pardoned. Israel was clothed with “change of
raiment”—the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.
As Satan accused Joshua and his people, so in all ages he accuses
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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.”
Revelation 12:10
. The contro-
versy 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 accusa-
tions 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 Christ
to take them from him. He knows that those who seek God earnestly
for pardon and grace will obtain it; therefore he presents their sins
before them to discourage them. He is constantly seeking occasion
against those who are trying to obey God. Even their best and most
acceptable services he seeks to make appear corrupt. By countless
devices, the most subtle and the most cruel, he endeavors to secure
their condemnation.
Man cannot meet these charges himself. In his sin-stained gar-
ments, confessing his guilt, he stands before God. But Jesus our
Advocate presents an effectual plea in behalf of all who by repentance
and faith have committed the keeping of their souls to Him. He pleads
their cause and vanquishes their accuser by the mighty arguments of
Calvary. His perfect obedience to God’s law, even unto the death of
the cross, has given Him all power in heaven and in earth, and He