“And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.” (Zechariah 3:2-5)
Satan is a corrupt angel; and even as he left his first estate and went from good to bad, he delights in corrupting every good thing. In the beginning, he set his sights on man. When God looked upon the man He created and called him good, the corrupted one sought to corrupt him. When Israel was set apart as a holy nation, the defiled one sought to defile it. Whatever is good, the devil would make evil. Whatever is holy, he would profane. Whatever is beautiful, he would turn ugly.
The word “corrupt” in Hebrew is also translated “destroy.” Above all else, Satan hates relationship. He brings men into contact with other men to harm and destroy. He has no interest in peace or reconciliation. When he sees a marriage, a friendship, a bond of any kind, he wants to tear it apart. And there is no relationship he wants to put a dagger in more than the relationship of a man with God.
God does not give up so easily on broken relationships.
But God does not give up so easily on broken relationships. Even when Satan believed man’s relationship to God had been irreparably destroyed, God sent His own Son into the world on a mission of reconciliation. Christ died, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. (1 Pet. 3:18) He came to seek and save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10) No matter how far apart anyone is from God, the Good Shepherd will leave the fold to find and restore that one to God’s bosom. And once relationship with God is restored, He will begin a restoration of all that the enemy had corrupted, defiled, and destroyed. He gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for morning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isa. 61:3) He makes all things new. (2 Cor. 5:17)
We have an adversary, whose chief aim is to make us like himself – a being who was once light, but is now darkness. He does not want us or anything in our life to be good, holy, clean, or beautiful. He would utterly corrupt and mar the image of God in us. He would make a mockery of our lives and take us to his destiny of everlasting alienation from God and everything pure and good. But God loves each one of us, and is unwilling that any of us would perish.
Return to the Father has been made possible through the blood of the Lamb, who died to take away our sin, removing our filthy garments and clothing us with the white raiment of His righteousness. The Father is waiting and watching for the return of every prodigal, no matter how stained and putrid they have become in the far country. A glorious change of clothing and a joyous celebration awaits!
God wants to make something incredibly good and beautiful out of your life.
Are you willing to be a brand, plucked out of the fire? No matter how marred you have been; God wants to make something incredibly good and beautiful out of your life. It is not too late. Today is the day of salvation! Jesus has paved the way back to the Father. Forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration is available. Come!