1909 211 This is one of the numerous passages in the word of God about which failure to understand dispensational truth has caused a great deal of difference of judgment. A very general idea, which is allowable as a secondary application, has been to the effect that, Joshua, being spoken of as "a brand plucked from the burning," must necessarily represent a sinner saved by grace from eternal punishment in the lake of fire. This may, no doubt, he so applied by an evangelist; but it is not its real meaning, which I have no doubt is connected with Israel as a nation, or rather with the godly. remnant of Israel. Taking for a moment the evangelist's view, the removal of the filthy rags and replacing them by goodly raiment takes our thoughts forward to Luke 15, to the prodigal son whom the father welcomes with a kiss, and on whom he causes the attendants to put the best robe. The fair mitre too tells of the way in which God looks on the believer, as being "holiness to the Lord," in the sense of being separated to Himself, and also as suggesting the responsibility of each such believer to keep himself or herself apart from the spirit of the age, and also "unspotted from the world."
Another view, which, however, is altogether untenable, is that, because Joshua — or Jesus in the New Testament — is the high priest, and wears the mitre, he must represent "our high Priest," the Lord Jesus Christ, who is passed into the heavens. But the expression, "Is not this a brand plucked from the burning?" is utterly inapplicable to Him, and the filthy garments were never really on Him, although "He who knew no sin was made sin for us," and, in His wondrous grace, took our place so completely when "he bore our sins in his own body on the tree," that He could say, "My iniquities," as our Substitute. No doubt also Satan withstood Him to the utmost, but he had no power to touch Him, for He laid down His life of Himself, none taking it from Him. This view, therefore, may be altogether set aside.
The other, and, indeed, the only correct view, as pointed out above, is that which applies this incident to "the godly remnant of Israel." It has been specially impressed on many of us lately, while studying the book of Genesis, and the Gospel according to Matthew, that not only in the prophetical books, so called, but from Genesis to Malachi in the Old, and in many parts of the New Testament, the ultimate object and complete and final realisation is in one way or other connected with the glorious reign of the Messiah in the millennium. This line of thought, although undoubtedly correct, is not familiar, perhaps, to the general run of readers, even if believers, inasmuch as, from the utterly ignorant and often absurd headings of the chapters in many Bibles, and from erroneous teaching, they have got the habit of applying everything of blessing to individuals, and still more, in some cases, to the church of God, of which this very application of such passages shows how truly vague are their ideas of that which is the mystical body of the Christ, and the future glorious sharer with Him, as His bride, not only of the earthly millennial kingdom, but also of the far higher and more glorious blessings of the eternal state.
If the word of God were more carefully studied under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Christians more generally would understand something of the pleasure God always had in His earthly people, and how the promises He made to Abraham as the father of many nations, and later to Jacob the immediate head of the twelve tribes, will be carried out as clearly and fully as those made to Abraham as the father of the faithful, and to Isaac as the promised seed, type of the true Seed, our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour now, our joy and delight in the eternal state, and crowned with eternal glories.
We will now explain more fully. Joshua here, as the high priest, is the representative of the godly remnant of Israel, and the period in question appears to be in the latter part of the great tribulation under the antichrist, shortly before the Lord makes His appearance on earth, in His manifested power and glory. In Matt. 12:9 we have Satan and his angels cast down to earth, out of the heavenlies; and then in his rage he causes some tremendous wave of trouble to come upon Israel, the woman's seed not here Christ Himself, who, as the Man-child, was caught up to heaven long before, but some of the godly remnant, who are succoured by some of the Gentile nations, and saved from destruction, while others are destroyed and referred to in Rev. 6:9 as souls under the altar. Satan then (Rev. 13:1) taking advantage of the general anarchy, raises the beast out of the tumultuous sea, and makes him emperor and dictator of the west. After apparent order has been thus established, under the beast's iron rule, another beast is raised up out of the earth (Judaea), who is the antichrist, or wilful king, who reigns in Palestine, and issues his command that all shall have the mark of the beast on their forehead, even his name, or the number of his name; and that all who will not worship the image of the beast shall be killed. Satan will thus do his utmost to withstand the restoration of Israel to their own land and blessings, but no doubt many will escape, and, joining those already with the friendly nations, will become the nucleus of the restored people, the righteous nation.
Then the filthy rags of self-righteousness — "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6) — will be removed, and the robe of righteousness — the goodly garment — will be put on, and the righteous shall enter in and take possession of the promised land.
Then, too, the fair mitre will be put on, and so correct will be the motto on the blue ribbon, that as stated in Zech. 14:20-21, "In that day there shall be upon the bells (or, bridles) of the horses, Holiness unto Jehovah"; and further, "Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto Jehovah of hosts"; while Jerusalem itself, as the centre of blessing, shall be called "Jehovah our righteousness."
The nations who have helped the remnant will receive a blessing from the Lord for their kindness to Himself, in the persons of His brethren after the flesh (Matt. 25:41), while those who injured them receive their eternal doom, with the beast and false prophet, in the lake of fire.
This application of our subject is further confirmed by vers. 8-10, where Joshua and his companions are spoken of as "men to be wondered at, and God says He will bring forth His servant the Branch (Isa. 11:1). Then, in the next verse, is the statement, "Upon one stone seven eyes," "the stone which the builders rejected," "the Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God (Rev. 5:6). Also, as to the land itself, "Jehovah of hosts" says, "I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day," and finally we have, "every man under his vine and under his fig tree" — showing the quiet, restful, condition of the same righteous nation in their glorious land.
Thus the types of the wicked and fruitless generation in the Lord's sojourn on earth, will become the fruitful blessings of the restored people. Then also the prophecy of Zeph. 3:14-17 will be fulfilled, especially the last verse, closing with "He shall be silent in his love, he shall rejoice over thee with singing," as though — with deepest reverence we suggest it — His delight for the moment was too deep for utterance; and then, unable to restrain it, He bursts forth in a glorious strain of joyful melodious song.
Some Christians, in the selfish enjoyment of their own assured salvation, may be inclined to say, "This doesn't concern us." But, beloved brethren, if God is going to "rejoice over Israel with singing," because of His great love for His earthly people, is it nothing to you, whom the Lord has redeemed with His own blood, that He should have other glories, and other joys besides those He has in you? If He rejoices with you, cannot you rejoice with Him?
But again, if the true explanation, as here submitted, should be, from various causes, either unintelligible to some, or, unhappily, uninteresting to others, we would then ask such to turn again to the thought first referred to as allowable from an evangelist's point of view, and consider, as a practical reality, that, after the Lord has put the mitre on the head, and the motto, "Holiness to the Lord," He expects as a result that such should be endeavouring to make it practical, by a walk of separateness from the spirit of the age. When the Lord said to His Father (John 17), "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil," or evil one, I believe that while one of His meanings, and perhaps the primary one, was that His disciples should still be left in this scene, into which He was sending them, yet that He also had in mind the fact that a large proportion of His followers would have to provide their earthly food, by means of some occupation in the world, and therefore He prayed that they might be kept from its spirit, and safe from him who causes that spirit to be so developed, and who indeed is himself emphatically "the god of this age." I therefore lay it upon all our hearts and consciences to see how far we are practically answering to His prayer and following in His steps. May He give us so to "walk even as He walked," in perfect obedience to His Father's will, and perfect dependence on His Father's care.
Before I close I may remark that, while what I have given above is the direct and primary interpretation of the chapter we have been considering, yet, as "all scripture is given for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope," we have a right to recognise also the spiritual meaning of it all, not now from the evangelist's point, but from the blessed knowledge that, however great may be the blessing of Israel in the coming day of their restoration, we who believe now in the Son of God, shall have everything in a tenfold degree of blessing; and that, if those words in Zeph. declare God's joy in His earthly people, as the children of Abraham, the friend of God, they tell it far more richly and much more fully of His delight in those whom His beloved Son has now brought into the position of sonship — children of God His Father, the members of His own (the Christ's) body now, and the bride of the Christ of God hereafter, in the millennial day and the glorious eternal state. "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." C.A.B.