Signed, Sealed and (Will Be) Delivered

Prayer: O Lord our God who has given us your holy word to be lantern to our feet and light to our path. Give us your Holy Spirit this morning that from your word we may learn of your righteous will, and the glories of the Gospel that is ours in Christ Jesus. Pray that we may have ears to hear and hearts to receive your holy word today for the increase of our faith. Amen.

MPT: Joshua the High Priest was charged with keeping the law as a sign of the Branch who would fulfil that task and seal his people, removing their iniquity.

MPS: We live as people redeemed by the Branch, sealed with the name of God, and now live as the New Creation awaiting glory.

How can one hope to stand resilient before the snapping jaws of the Great dragon, Satan? We find here in this text a solemn assurance from Christ himself, that it is not we who now go out on our own having been justified and saved, but it is Christ who goes before us and saves us, seals us, and leads us into New Creation glory.

Context

Seen the accusation of Satan to Joshua before God, claiming that Joshua can’t stand here for he is dressed in dirty garments. How could God allow such a thing? Surely there is imperfection on God’s part?

The Lord’s response was to clothe Joshua in pure garments, garments that were unsoiled by sin and meant that Joshua could stand before God Himself.

Joshua, having been clothed is now commissioned, he is given a job to do. This is the same pattern that follows Exodus 29, having been clothed the priest is now given a job to do before the Lord.

In this text we will be looking at three main points,

Joshua’s Task

Joshua as a Sign

Joshua Sealed

1. Joshua’s Task (vs 6-7)

You’re going for a hike. You’ve been given a pack, great boots, lots of food and dropped off at the starting point. After walking five minutes, you round the corner to see before you a great sheer cliff. Despite the gear, despite the preparation, there is no way that this task can be accomplished on your own.

What was it exactly that Joshua was called to do?

- Walk in my ways and keep my charge = protect and guard the temple

What does this remind us of? The same charge to Adam in the garden. As Adam was called to guard and keep this garden-temple, Joshua is called to keep the temple.

- From what? As one commentator says, from the invasion of evil into the house of God.

Leviticus 21 talks about the holy standards for the priests of God in order that they “may not profane the name of their God.”

What was then held out for successful completion?

- Promised rule of house, charge of courts and right of access = ultimately right of access into heaven.

- Fulfillment of the law means that we can stand before God’s throne and behold his face. We will see God.

Application:

This can seem confusing, hadn’t Joshua already been forgiven and given this perfect righteousness?

As one who had faith in Christ, yes. Yet, he was still a priest in this Old Testament time. So, the picture zooms out from the courtroom in 3:1-5 to how Joshua, the priests and Israel function in redemption history. We are looking at how these times point to the One who is to come.

We have here an image of this works principle. Do this and live. That is the weight of the law.

To Adam, God said, “do this and live.”

To Israel, God said, “do this and live.”

To Joshua here, God said, “do this and live.”

- This section then is pointing to our need for righteousness of Christ not our need to fulfill anything on our part.

To subject yourself to the law in this way puts you back under the curse of the law.

- Do not fall into the trap of thinking that this is the pattern for believers. God hasn’t equipped us with a pack and then left us to do our own work. Instead, this command shows to us the insurmountable task that lay before Joshua and Israel.

- There is none of us who can fulfill it. Do not be tempted to think that you must contribute anything to your salvation.

- Instead, we should be reminded that there is not anyone who can do this. No matter how blameless we think we are, the perfection that the law requires is beyond any of us.

In this time of the Old Covenant, there was still work to be done. There was still this sheer cliff that had to be scaled.

Joshua was clothed with righteousness but in this time in the Old Covenant, they lived in a time of waiting for the redeemer. We know that Israel nor Joshua could fulfil the weight of this command.

To paraphrase one commentator:

Heaven, however, could not be attained through the Old Mosaic Covenant. Israel, like Adam, failed to fulfil its requirements; the priesthood, pictured in Joshua in the time of Zechariah, did not faithfully go about its duties. The proposed grant of long life in the land was lost and the curses were brought about instead. Adam was driven out of Eden’s garden-temple; Israel, with its priesthood, was expelled from the land which symbolised paradise. Heaven must be won by another, a promised one yet to come, a mediator of a new covenant of grace.

2. Joshua as a Sign (vs 8)

In God’s Old Testament ways, Joshua was not the ultimate end. When Adam failed in his priestly work, God promised a redeemer. He promised one who would be a greater priest, one who would be perfect. One who would perfectly walk in God’s ways and keep his charge. So too here, Joshua is assured that his work as priest is as a sign of this One to come.

Read vs 8

In place of Israel, Joshua and Adam’s failure, God pronounces, “behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.”

Who is this Branch other than Christ Himself? Isaiah 11:1, the Spirit of the Lord is upon this One. In Luke 4 Christ reads from Isaiah 61, “the spirit of the Lord is upon me.”

Jeremiah writes in chapter 23:5, “Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: The Lord is our righteousness.”

The One for whom Joshua was the sign would be the One by whom he was to be saved! This One would be a Priest King. One who saves and rules in Righteousness.

For He will succeed where Joshua fails,

He will succeed where Adam fails

He has succeeded where we fail

He perfectly obeys the law and resists temptation.

The One who pronounced that Joshua was clean is now that one who brings about that righteousness.

What does Isaiah say about how this Branch will do these things?

- 53:4, borne our griefs and carried our sorrows

- 53:5, he was pierced for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

- 53:11, “out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities!”

All that Joshua was to do as a high priest was pointing forward to the work of the ultimate high priest, Christ.

Joshua Compared to Christ

Joshua, though able to sympathise with the sins of those he ministered to, was himself beset with weakness and sin and was unable to fulfil this great task before him. He himself had to offer sacrifices for himself before atoning for the sacrifices of the people.

But now (as Hebrews says) we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. He is not unable to sympathise with our weakness but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

This is all that the Old Covenant pointed forward to. The whole system was full of types and shadows pointing to the work that ultimate Priest would do.

According to Hebrews 8:1-2, “we have such a high priest, one who seated at the right hand of the throne of Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.”

Joshua and his friends ministered in a tent that was an image. Christ ministers in the true tent.

The Effectiveness of the ministry of the Great High Priest

He has truly washed away our sins. We are actually sprinkled clean by His blood. There is now no other law to fulfill, he sits at God’s right hand. Where the Priests in the Old Covenant constantly walked about, ministering before God, Christ is seated. His work is complete.

There is now nothing that any of us could offer. There is no sacrifice or righteous works that we can offer to “make up” our salvation. We have been redeemed by the Branch, the Holy One of Israel.

Therefore, “today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of rebellion… exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today.’”

Today is the day of salvation, the Branch has come and offered up for you and me and perfect sacrifice. He now intercedes for us.

The dragon who would snap his great jaws at us, accusing us, has been defeated by Christ on the cross. Now death and sin reign no more. Satan has no more power.

3. Joshua Sealed (9-10)

What does this mean for us? And what does this mean for Joshua?

Read 9-10

Our attention is drawn to a stone placed before Joshua. What exactly is this stone? This stone is a zoomed in, focused version of what we see in vs 5. It is like focusing a set of binoculars. We are twisting and slowly focusing in on a detail within the picture.

Explanation

Why was Zechariah excited that Joshua would be crowned with a turban? Because on that turban was a plaque, also called a blossom, on which was written the phrase “Holy to The Lord.” It was this declarative statement that meant Joshua was able to come before the Lord in the Holy of Holies.

The term stone here refers to this metal plate. This stone has been set before Joshua (on his forehead) and it has seven eyes upon it. These eyes are a symbol for the fullness of God’s Spirit. Now there is a lot of symbolism and imagery here but don’t be discouraged!

This here is the solution to Satan’s accusations. The plate upon Joshua’s forehead is meant to be as a seal. It is literally God putting on Joshua his name and promise that Joshua is holy and can come before God’s Throne. The people themselves are then accepted by God (Ex 28:38).

Remember, Joshua is a sign. He is a sign of the redeemer and here we are being told what will happen as a result of that redeemer.

Application

As Joshua was clothed with righteous clothes and able to then come into the presence of God with clothes not his own, so we have been given clothes that are not our own. Christ has dressed us with righteousness. To crown off Joshua’s garments he was given this crown as a seal to testify that he is the Lord’s. To crown off our righteousness and testify that we are the Lord’s redeemed by Christ, we have been sealed.

Paul says in 2 Tim 2:19 (read)

That seal that he talks about, John writes of in Revelation 7:2 saying, “Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God.” Going on he says, “and I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel… (read Rev 7:9-10).

As a result of the work of God in Christ, we have been sealed with the seal that says of us, “holy to the Lord.” Dear saint, this is your position in Christ.

What does this mean?

We who are sealed with the name of Christ and of the Father are now indwelt by the Spirit of the Lord. Joshua was sealed outwardly so that he could go into the replica of God’s dwelling place and the Spirit would look upon him and count him righteous.

We are sealed inwardly. Our engraving is not that of a skilled worker as Joshua’s seal was, ours is from the hand of God, “I will engrave its inscription.”

The Spirit now looks upon us and sees not our sin and corruption but the pure righteousness of Christ.

And we are now being made into the dwelling place of God. The fullness of the Spirit now dwells within you and me! Who can bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies! In that day, in Christ, God has removed all your iniquity.

Eternal Weight of Glory

Do not be discouraged by the empty accusations of Satan. Though he may point his finger and snap at you, accusing you, if you are Christ’s, you are sealed, and he snaps into the void.

We who are redeemed and have had our iniquity cleansed, look forward to that day when the full realisation of Solomon’s temple will come. As Revelation 21 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”

It is in this place that “every one of you will invite his neighbour to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”

This is where those who have been sealed by Christ will be. We who have been saved by the Branch and sealed by Him will one day behold His face in glory. We will stand before the throne of the God of the Heavens and Earth. We now have a taste of this New Creation through the Spirit and one day God will complete all things.

Rev 22:3-4, “No long will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.”

The Old Covenant desired to see the face of God but in its types and shadows, God only showed his rear. Moses longed to behold the face of God, now, through Christ our saviour who has taken away our sins, we will behold his face for all eternity.

What the Old Covenant promised in types and shadows, we possess in fullness. Sin and death are now more. Christ has gone before us as our Great High Priest who now reigns at the right hand of the Father in glory.

All glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Let’s Pray.