"And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary"
It cannot be decided with certainty whether the subject of the verb " showed " was Jehovah, or the interpreting angel, but most probably it was the Lord Himself, as the office of the interpreter was not to introduce but to explain the visions. " Joshua " was, of course, the high priest who returned with Zerubbabel at the head of the first colony of 49,697 exiles from the Captivity some sixteen years before.
He was standing before the Malakh Yehovah, whose divine character shines out in this vision in a most striking manner, and whose identity with the " Angel of His Face," the Second Person in the blessed Trinity, who in a special sense is the Sent One of the Father, we have already seen.
The words omed liphnei, " standing before," whether in relation to man or God, express attendance upon[1] and when used of the priests, and especially of the high priest, is almost a technical term for their priestly ministry and service. Thus we read that the tribe of Levi was separated " to stand before Jehovah, to minister unto Him, and to bless in His Name."
But it is important at the outset to note that it is not in his individual or personal capacity that Zechariah beholds the high priest "standing" thus before the Angel of Jehovah an erroneous supposition which has led some commentators into absurd and fanciful guesses as to the nature of the guilt of which Joshua stood accused[2] but as the type and representative of the nation.
- ↑ Thus, for instance, it is used of Joseph before Pharaoh (Gen. xli. 46), of Joshua before Moses (Deut. i. 38), of David before Saul (i Sam. xvi. 21), of Abishag the Shunammite before David (i Kings i. 2-4), and many other instances. Of standing to minister before God, the expression is used of the tribe of Levi in Deut. x. 8; of the high priest in Judg. xx. 28; of Elijah, I Kings xvii. I; of Elisha, 2 Kings iii. 14-16; and other instances. It is used also of " standing " to intercede with God, Gen. xviii. 22; Jer. vii. 10. It is used also as an attitude of worship.
- ↑ Thus Ewald has invented a theory (which has for its support nothing but his own fancy, based on a misinterpretation of this sublime Scripture) that Joshua
