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A Brand Plucked from the Fire
Zechariah 3:1-10
Have you ever come into a situation in which you were completely and utterly unprepared? It is enough to induce a moment of panic. What will you do? What will you say? All you can envision is a complete unravelling. I remember how that would express itself to me as a child. In our elementary school each classroom had a coat closet. It wasn’t really a closet, but the side of the room with a partitition that seperated it from the desks. In my dreams I found myself standing in that cloat closet in only my underwear, with this feeling of utter panic and shame that the rest of the class would find me there and I had no way of doing anything about it.
Maybe you’ve faced such dreams. When I was older the dream changed. In the dream I was in college and arriving to a class only to find that it was the day of the our final exam, and I had done nothing to prepare, or we’re near the end of the semester and I discovered I am enrolled in another class that I knew nothing about. Those are hiddeous moments and reveal that great anxiety that we feel about being in a situation in which we are completely and utterly unprepared and no amount of last minute scrambling can fix.
What do you do in those moments? What can you do in those moments? That is the situation Joshua, the high priest found himself in with this vision. He lived among the returned exiles who were tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem. It was a task that was completely beyond them. Even though they had gone back with great fanfare under the decree of Cyrus with supplies, the task was daunting, if not impossible. In the first couple of chapters God reassures them that they need not fear or despair, God is behind the task. He will see that Jerusalem is rebuilt and it will be greater than it was before: too big for walls, and overflowing with prosperity. It will be a place of great wonder and glory. And God will deal with the nations that celebrated the downfall of his people in his fury. These were comforting words. And yet, as we get to chapter 3 we find God speaking now to Joshua, the high priest, who was to serve in this temple. If it is indeed so great, what must that mean for the high priest who is to serve there? It is an intimadating thought. If God is going to make a place of such grandeur and wonder and glory, who can possibly dwell there?
It is a question for us this morning. If we are looking forward to this heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, that is so filled with wonder, so glorious, how will we ever fit?
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By Zechariah 3:1-10
Have you ever come into a situation in which you were completely and utterly unprepared? It is enough to induce a moment of panic. What will you do? What will you say? All you can envision is a complete unravelling. I remember how that would express itself to me as a child. In our elementary school each classroom had a coat closet. It wasn’t really a closet, but the side of the room with a partitition that seperated it from the desks. In my dreams I found myself standing in that cloat closet in only my underwear, with this feeling of utter panic and shame that the rest of the class would find me there and I had no way of doing anything about it.
Maybe you’ve faced such dreams. When I was older the dream changed. In the dream I was in college and arriving to a class only to find that it was the day of the our final exam, and I had done nothing to prepare, or we’re near the end of the semester and I discovered I am enrolled in another class that I knew nothing about. Those are hiddeous moments and reveal that great anxiety that we feel about being in a situation in which we are completely and utterly unprepared and no amount of last minute scrambling can fix.
What do you do in those moments? What can you do in those moments? That is the situation Joshua, the high priest found himself in with this vision. He lived among the returned exiles who were tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem. It was a task that was completely beyond them. Even though they had gone back with great fanfare under the decree of Cyrus with supplies, the task was daunting, if not impossible. In the first couple of chapters God reassures them that they need not fear or despair, God is behind the task. He will see that Jerusalem is rebuilt and it will be greater than it was before: too big for walls, and overflowing with prosperity. It will be a place of great wonder and glory. And God will deal with the nations that celebrated the downfall of his people in his fury. These were comforting words. And yet, as we get to chapter 3 we find God speaking now to Joshua, the high priest, who was to serve in this temple. If it is indeed so great, what must that mean for the high priest who is to serve there? It is an intimadating thought. If God is going to make a place of such grandeur and wonder and glory, who can possibly dwell there?
It is a question for us this morning. If we are looking forward to this heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, that is so filled with wonder, so glorious, how will we ever fit?