Part of our Advent Reading has us in Zechariah. He is much nicer than Amos, and I’m sure he was invited to at least a few dinner parties.

Zechariah prophesied in a time when Israel was at their lowest. They were back in Jerusalem trying to rebuild the Temple after the captivity. Those who could remember (or heard the stories of) Solomon’s Temple quickly realized this was just a crazy idea. Nothing was going to come close to that Temple!

As a people, they were beat up. The enemies in the land were harassing them. The great Adversary was harassing them as well. The high priest was being beaten down by accusations. Zechariah gives us the vision:

¹ Then the LORD showed me the High Priest Joshua, standing before the messenger from the LORD, 
      and the Adversary^[a] was standing by his right side to accuse him. (Zech. 3:1, CEB)

This is often how many believers may feel. There is a sense of the Accuser standing there hurling rebukes and accusations. The enemy keeps bringing up the past. (And as fun as it is to say, “Well, remind the enemy of his future,” it just doesn’t quite come out that way when you’re IN the situation.)

What we need to see is not what we can do in that situation, but what our Savior does for us in those situations.

² And the LORD said to the Adversary: 
      “The LORD rebukes you, Adversary. 
   The LORD, the one choosing Jerusalem, rebukes you. 
      Is this one not a log 
      snatched from the fire?” 
³ Joshua was wearing filthy clothes 
and standing before the messenger. 
 ⁴ He responded 
   to those standing before him, 
      “Take off his filthy clothes.” 
And he said to Joshua, 
   “Look, I have removed your guilt 
   from you. 
      Put on priestly robes.” 
 ⁵ He^[b] said, “Put a clean turban 
   upon his head.” 
      So they put the clean turban 
      upon his head, 
         and they dressed him in garments while the LORD’s messenger stood by. (Zech. 3:2-5, CEB)

We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. He does this work.

Years ago there used to be a very trite saying: “I’m the devil’s worst nightmare.” It was trying to get us feeling better about ourselves.

We are not. Christ in us is the worst possible thing for the enemy. Clothed in the righteousness of God and knowing it, the enemy then has something to worry about. If we don’t know about the power of the Spirit and how we are in Christ, then we are of little concern to the enemy. It’s why he rails at us. If he can get us focused on what we are not, we cannot see who we are.

You are clothed in righteousness. You have been plucked from the fire. The Lord takes up your cause to rebuke the Adversary.

We need to hear these strong words again in our lives in this powerful season of Advent:

“This is the LORD’s word to Zerubbabel: 
      Neither by power, nor by strength, 
      but by my spirit, 
      says the LORD of heavenly forces.”  (Zech. 4:6, CEB)

THIS is the word of the Lord!

THANKS be to God!