Sabbath Thought – Righteous Judge

The scene is in a courtroom. 

Standing in front of the judge is the accused on his left, and the prosecutor on his right. The prosecutor is dressed in the most expensive suit most of the courtroom observers have ever seen. The accused stands in clothes that had clearly seen better days – dirty and torn. The prosecutor is going through a fairly lengthy list of charges against the accused. The courtroom observers begin to feel uncomfortable because the accusations seem to detail behavior that just about anyone would be guilty of. Finally, the prosecutor finishes. He looks at the judge, knowing that the case against the accused is airtight, and he is confident that the judge will have no choice but to give the accused the maximum sentence. The judge pauses for a short moment and then makes his ruling. He simply says to the accused, “I have dismissed the charges against you.” He then turns to the bailiff and tells him to make sure the accused has opportunity to shower and put on some clean clothing.

What if the accused person in this scenario was you? It is – it was. This scene is from Zechariah 3. Zechariah was a prophet of God sent to Judah as they returned from the Babylonian captivity. God had led them into this captivity because of their rebellion (Ezekiel 39:23) but had also promised them that He would bring them back from captivity (Jeremiah 29:10). Zechariah was coming back with the rest of the people of Judah during this time, and God used him to record a message of repentance, a call to return to observing God’s instruction, and a message of hope for all of Israel.

In Zechariah 3, Judah is pictured as the accused standing before the preincarnate Jesus Christ in filthy clothes – representing their sinful past and their present brokenness. Satan is the prosecutor – the Accuser (Revelation 12:10). In ancient legal proceedings, the accuser stood to the right of the judge (Zechariah 3:1). In Zedekiah’s account Joshua, as the High Priest, represented the people of the nation. They were guilty. Satan didn’t need to make up anything – he simply recounted their sin. 

What is so encouraging in this short chapter is that God knows of our sin, and doesn’t argue with Satan about any accusations he brings before God. But God, as the Righteous Judge, doesn’t just remove the charges against us, He has removed the sin (Zechariah 3:9)! But Jesus Christ has paid the price of sin in our place (the death penalty, Romans 6:23) – He became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) so it could be removed from us. God has taken away any foundation Satan thinks he has and has made us “clean” before Him!

What a great God we have! What great hope we have been given in having such a Savior that has paid the price of our sin in our place! We stand before the God of universe, fully guilty, and yet because of His love for us has provided the means for each of us to stand before Him with our iniquity removed.

I wish you a very thoughtful and meaningful Sabbath,

Dan Dowd

1 August, 2026