Zechariah 3:1-2 says, “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!’”
Here we see a righteous man – Joshua the high priest -- being accused by the devil before God.
The Complete Biblical Library Commentary adds here, Satan has no ground for bringing charges. Neither can he resurrect the believer's past. Satan, the ‘accuser of the brethren,’ may try to harass, but that which God has forgiven He will never remember against us anymore.”
This is a true story.
A young man and his father were deer hunting in the wilds of Oregon. It was early evening, and they were thinking about returning to camp when a noise exploded in the brush nearby. Before he even had a chance to lift his rifle, a small blur of brown and white came shooting up the road straight for the dad. It all happened so fast; the older man hardly had time to think. He looked down and there was a little brown cottontail -- utterly spent -- crowded up against his legs between his boots. The little thing was trembling all over, but it just sat there and didn't budge.
Now this was really strange. Wild rabbits are frightened of people. It is almost
impossible to believe that one would come running right up to your feet and sit
down, but that is exactly what happened here.
As the father was puzzling over this, another player entered the scene. Down the road --maybe twenty yards away -- a weasel burst out of the brush. When it saw the man with the rifle -- and its intended prey sitting at the man’s feet -- the predator froze in its tracks, its mouth panting.
It was then that the older man understood that he had stepped into a little life-and-
death drama in the middle of the forest. The cottontail, exhausted by the chase, was only moments from a painful death. This tall strange man was its last hope of refuge. Forgetting its natural fear and caution, the little animal instinctively crowded up against
him for protection from the sharp teeth of its relentless enemy.
The hunter did not disappoint his newfound friend. He raised his powerful rifle and deliberately shot into the ground just underneath the weasel. The animal seemed to leap almost straight into the air a couple of feet and then rocketed back into the forest as fast as its legs could move.
For a while the little rabbit didn't stir. It just sat there, huddled at the man's feet in the gathering twilight while the gentleman spoke softly to it:
Where do you run in your time of need?
I want to encourage you -- run to Jesus. You are safe in Him. The accuser can find no place there.
The Redeemed Team
Here we see a righteous man – Joshua the high priest -- being accused by the devil before God.
- What had Joshua done to warrant the devil’s accusations? The Bible doesn’t say. The charges didn’t matter. God didn’t dignify them by giving them place in the Word of God.
- What was the high priest doing while Satan was leveling his accusations? Again, the Bible doesn’t say. Evidently though, the brother didn’t have to defend himself.
The Complete Biblical Library Commentary adds here, Satan has no ground for bringing charges. Neither can he resurrect the believer's past. Satan, the ‘accuser of the brethren,’ may try to harass, but that which God has forgiven He will never remember against us anymore.”
This is a true story.
A young man and his father were deer hunting in the wilds of Oregon. It was early evening, and they were thinking about returning to camp when a noise exploded in the brush nearby. Before he even had a chance to lift his rifle, a small blur of brown and white came shooting up the road straight for the dad. It all happened so fast; the older man hardly had time to think. He looked down and there was a little brown cottontail -- utterly spent -- crowded up against his legs between his boots. The little thing was trembling all over, but it just sat there and didn't budge.
Now this was really strange. Wild rabbits are frightened of people. It is almost
impossible to believe that one would come running right up to your feet and sit
down, but that is exactly what happened here.
As the father was puzzling over this, another player entered the scene. Down the road --maybe twenty yards away -- a weasel burst out of the brush. When it saw the man with the rifle -- and its intended prey sitting at the man’s feet -- the predator froze in its tracks, its mouth panting.
It was then that the older man understood that he had stepped into a little life-and-
death drama in the middle of the forest. The cottontail, exhausted by the chase, was only moments from a painful death. This tall strange man was its last hope of refuge. Forgetting its natural fear and caution, the little animal instinctively crowded up against
him for protection from the sharp teeth of its relentless enemy.
The hunter did not disappoint his newfound friend. He raised his powerful rifle and deliberately shot into the ground just underneath the weasel. The animal seemed to leap almost straight into the air a couple of feet and then rocketed back into the forest as fast as its legs could move.
For a while the little rabbit didn't stir. It just sat there, huddled at the man's feet in the gathering twilight while the gentleman spoke softly to it:
- "Where did it go, little one?
- I don't think he'll be bothering you for a while.
- Looks like you're off the hook tonight."
Where do you run in your time of need?
- Where do you hide when the accuser pursues you like a relentless weasel, seeking your destruction?
- Where do you turn when your past sins haunt you?
- Where do you go when your energy is spent... when weakness saps you and you feel you cannot run away any longer?
I want to encourage you -- run to Jesus. You are safe in Him. The accuser can find no place there.
The Redeemed Team