A Chosen People

 Part 1

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9).

I love finding glimpses of Jesus in the Old Testament. And there are so many! As Sally Lloyd-Jones says, "Every story whispers His name."

A really special example is the prophet Zechariah, who has the task of encouraging his people to finish the rebuilding of the temple when they return from exile. God sends him visions of future things that will come, because they are His chosen people! Forever!

Years ago -- many years ago -- when we went to the local movie theater, in addition to the main movie, they presented a feature called "Previews of Coming Attractions." They were enticing us to watch for the great things coming soon! In a way, the Old Testament is like that: presenting previews, prototypes, of what is coming next! And Zechariah is like that -- a hint, a preview, of something even more wonderful coming! And it's all about Jesus -- the best is yet to come!

Read chapter 3 in the Zechariah record. Verses 1-3 set the stage for us. We have a powerful picture of that unseen battle happening in the spiritual realm. There  is Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, while Satan stands beside him to accuse him. That's what Satan does! He accuses, he shames, he recounts past sins. Here he is ready at accuse Joshua -- probably pointing out everything he has ever done wrong, his failures, his unworthiness.

And he is doing this right now -- to us!

He is the prosecuting attorney! But what does God say? And what happens next?

Part 2

Read again Zechariah, chapter 3.

Verse 2. It appears that Satan, the prosecutor of Joshua, has not started his tirade. But God silences him even before he begins. And how does God describe Joshua? "A burning stick snatched from the fire."

You  probably have sat near a bonfire. And you have seen a charred log, burned down, blackened and smoldering. It's been through the flames. It still has its shape, but is not what it once was. It looks ruined, maybe useless. This is the picture Zechariah gives us: a person pulled out of destruction, rescued from what could have utterly consumed him entirely, and says to Satan, "This one? I have pulled this one out of the fire and will use him in my work!"

 We call this "grace".
 And we call it "redemption"! 

Because this is what God has done for us!

Another preview of what Jesus did when He came - 500 years years later. That vision God gave Zechariah was another "Preview of Coming Attractions"! Jesus Himself came to earth, our greater High Priest, to that temple, and to the cross,   and saved us from eternal destruction.

(Con't in Part 3 - tomorrow)