Ezra 3:1-6
The altar before the foundation
He and Zerubbabel set the altar on its bases and offer burnt offerings morning and evening, though the foundation of the temple was not yet laid, because fear was upon them of the people around.
People of the Bible
Joshua the high priest
Stood in a courtroom in filthy garments with an accuser at his elbow, and was given a clean turban instead of a verdict.
Also called Jeshua son of Jozadak
Joshua son of Jozadak returns with Zerubbabel and is the first high priest of the second temple. He is the practical partner in every stage of the rebuilding: he sets up the altar with Zerubbabel before a single stone of the house is laid, so that sacrifice resumes on the old foundation while the site is still rubble, and he obeys Haggai’s summons and works on the house. Then Zechariah is shown him standing before the angel of the LORD, in filthy garments, with Satan at his right hand to resist him.
Scroll down to the storyThe movements, in the order the text gives them.
The story of Joshua the high priest
- 01
- 02
Haggai 1:12-14
The high priest obeyed
Named alongside the governor and the remnant as obeying the voice and fearing before the LORD. The spirit of all three is stirred up, and they come and work.
- 03
Zechariah 3:1-5
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire
Standing in filthy garments with an accuser at his right hand. The LORD rebukes the accuser, the clothing is removed, and he is told his iniquity has passed and he will be clothed with change of raiment.
- 04
Zechariah 3:8-10
Men wondered at
He and his fellows are called men of sign. A stone is set with seven eyes and an engraving, and the iniquity of the land is to be removed in one day.
Why it matters
The vision in Zechariah 3 is the clearest picture in the Old Testament of how an unworthy representative is made usable. Nothing is said in his defence and the accusation is not answered on its merits; the accuser is rebuked, the garments are taken away, and iniquity is declared to pass. Joshua then asks for a clean turban and gets it, and is told that he and his fellows are men wondered at, and that a servant called the Branch is coming.
9 songs
The music
Every song in the catalogue whose passage falls inside these chapters.
