If you are here reading this post: 1. I suspect you are friends of Esther and I 2. I suspect you are curious about our ministry. We could give you a succinct definition of what Biblical Counseling is, and there is a time and a place for this. Sometimes however, it is more helpful to paint a picture to convey our experiences of caring for Christ’s flock. This post by Esther is of this sort, a vivid painting of the trial of Joshua, relatable to all who suffer and have been redeemed by Christ. We hope it will make an impression of the struggle all Christian counselees face, which is the common struggle of all believers.

-Trey

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

In a vision, Prophet Zechariah sees Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. Simultaneously Joshua is being accused by Satan, who stands directly beside him.

Faced with accusations from Satan, Joshua remains silent. Is he afraid? Is he feeling crushed by this Satanic attack? Or is he showing a silent defiance before his accuser? Is his heart crying out to the Lord, whom he has vowed to serve, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” Or is he, in his silent defiance, waiting for the Lord to come for his rescue, remembering what the Lord commanded on the day he was called: “Be strong and courageous”?

What is Satan accusing him of, anyway? After all, Joshua is the successor of the great leader Moses —appointed by God— who fought for Israel, conquered lands, and finally brought the people of Israel into the promised land. And yet, neither Joshua’s works as the great leader of his people, nor his royal position and identity spare him from the accusations of the evil one.

Indeed, the great warrior of Israel, the new Moses, the man chosen by the Lord for his great redemptive plans, the man who stopped the sun and the moon, is not spared from the evil schemes of the enemy. Is fear put into his heart by Satan? Are doubt and distrust aroused in him to question the faithfulness of the God who repeatedly calls him to “be strong and courageous”? Is he being reminded of all the ways Israel has failed, disobeyed, and rebelled against the God whom they vowed to serve and love? Is Joshua starting to believe that he, as the leader and representative of this “kingdom of priests and holy nation,” is worth nothing but filth?

In the midst of Joshua’s silence, or perhaps, the incessant roaring waters of anguish that run rampant in his heart, underneath his silence… God speaks. Out of Joshua’s silence, God defends him with holy indignation. The Lord of Jerusalem, rebukes Satan and calls his servant “a burning stick snatched from the fire.” The accusing voice of Satan is silenced by God’s rebuke and an image of a burning stick.

A burning stick snatched from the fire. That is what God calls his servant Joshua, the holy nation, his treasured possession, and the people he saved again and again from the paradise lost, from Egypt, from the desert, from Babylon, and ultimately from the eternal fire.

Joshua is also covered with filth, and he stands before the angel of the Lord. As Christ was later served by the angels in the wilderness, Joshua is tended by an angel. The clothes of filth are changed into rich and fine garments—sins taken away; beauty, dignity, and glory restored.

This is a picture of things to come. This is a story that’s already unfolding in the lives of those who have been burned by the fire, and then snatched out by the hand of the Lord. This is a story that tells us where we came from, where we are, and where we are going.

We had the enemy by our side, speaking lies, dehumanizing, tormenting, and devouring us. We are left with a loss of words, silenced, without defense. We are covered with filth that is mixed with blood and gunk, saturated with the oder of death. Then the One who promises us life comes, standing right before us, with his voice of gentleness and power, declaring that his salvation is here—Salvation that we can recognize and be sure of because he has a human face. He is the rising sun and the morning star, the light that shines through the darkest place and reaches the shadow of death. He has eyes that embody compassion and well up in the midst of our sobbing and despair. He has hands that heal and a voice that stops the raging seas. He rids us of the filth with the curtains torn.

And now, we are wrapped with his glory and majesty—humanity restored.

The Christian life, the walk, the journey—or however we may call it—is growing into these garments. It is coming to our senses and realizing that we have been out in the field filling our stomachs with the pigs, while the the Father is eagerly waiting and our Elderly Brother has set out in search for us. We are the beloved with whom the Father is well pleased. We are the burning stick that has been snatched out of the fire.