Satan’s Tactics: Unhooking the Weapon of Guilt – Zechariah 3

Warren Wiersbe wrote in his little book, The Strategy of Satan : “Four persons in the Old Testament had a direct confrontation with Satan. From their experiences we will learn the targets Satan aims at in your life; the weapons he uses to attack you; the purposes he wants to achieve; and the defenses God has provided for you.” I paraphrased below the four persons who faced Satan later in this article, but you should get this little book if you can – it is worth the read!

Key Principle: The enemy is the great accuser who uses a weapon of guilt to hook the hearts of many believers and hold them back from doing his work. The ploy is exposed by God, that we may use His resources to remove the guilt hook from our heart.

A couple of background thoughts for this warfare lesson.

•    First, the truth that we are at war is meant for those who desire to walk with and work for God. It is not for the AWOL soldier or sunshine patriot. This is a serious subject that cannot be engaged in a fluffy way.

•    Second, the enemy is powerful, and that must be admitted. Yet, he is not equal to our Master. “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4).

•    Third, we do not belong to the battle ranks of the enemy and must not serve his purposes in the practices of our daily life. “13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14).

•    Fourth, the enemy is working against certain defeat. Jesus said: “31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” (John 12:31-32). Revelation forecasts: “7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 “For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” (Revelation 12:7-12).

The four people that encountered Satan in the Hebrew Scriptures are listed below. Look at each person and what the enemy did to work against them. Don’t skip through – take a close look:

•    Eve: (Genesis 3:1-7) Satan the DECEIVER targeted her MIND with the weapon of LIES to make her IGNORANT of God’s will. Her DEFENSE was her COVERING and God’s WORD.

•    Job: (Job 1) Satan the DESTROYER targeted his BODY with the weapon of SUFFERING to make him IMPATIENT with God’s will. His DEFENSE was the imparted GRACE of God.

•    David: (1 Chron. 21:1) Satan the RULER targeted his WILL with the weapon of PRIDE to make him INDEPENDENT of God’s will. His weapon was the dominance of the Spirit of God.

•    Joshua the High Priest: (Zechariah 3) Satan the ACCUSER targeted his heart and conscience with the weapon of ACCUSATION to bring an INDICTMENT of actions against God’s will. His defense was the INTERCESSION and CLEANSING WORK of God.

Satan wants a believer to dwell in IGNORANCE of God’s will. When I get lazy and don’t want to accurately, carefully and wholly study the Word – I set myself up for believing lies and contorted words about my Father, even when those words are taken from the Bible itself. My ignorance of the context of God’s Word, caused by my misshapen priorities of things in this world leads me toward the siren song of the father of lies. In a day when many voices claim to know God’s truth, can I afford to listen without careful study?

Satan wants a believer to walk in IMPATIENCE with God’s will. When I get angry, frustrated and impatient with God’s handling of things, I give a foothold to the devil because I enthrone my own heart, believing I know when things should happen, and projecting that God is not doing the job that should be done. In arrogance I think I know, and shake my fist like Habakkuk against the Sovereign One of the universe. In a time when we stay up too late, sleep too little and put too much into our day, can I trust my sense of timing so much?

Satan wants a believer to walk in INDEPENDENCE from God’s will. When my pride wells up inside me and I begin to believe that God is fortunate to have me on His team, the enemy fans the flames of my fallen soul. It is worth noting that Satan’s own fall from the throne room of God was a matter of INDEPENDENCE. Five times Satan says “I will” in Isaiah 14:13-14: 13 “But you sai
d in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” Selfish arrogance and stubborn pride are at the heart of rebellion. Rebellion is, at its heart, an independence from God’s will. In a world that feed “Have it YOUR way” can I afford to be an “independent Christian”?

I believe as a body of believers in the darkening days that we live in, we should become intimately familiar with each of these lives I have just mentioned – Eve, Job, David and Joshua – and especially their encounters with the enemy. The stratagem of the enemy is unfolded for us in their lives and exchanges. God had provided both a clear record of the enemy’s work, and His enabling power to live victoriously in the face of a strong enemy. Yet, the limit of this study is Joshua and the indictment to conscience used by the enemy against a guilty but repentant believer.

If I KNOW what God wants, and I am willing to surrender daily to the TIMING of what God wants, and I walk in daily and whole DEPENDENCE to what God wants – I become a mighty warrior in the battle against God’s foe. Yet, there is another strategy that I need to be aware of if I want to be victorious in my walk – it is found in the uncovering of the work of the great ACCUSER.

Let’s look more closely at Zechariah 3 and the encounter of the guilty believer, facing the accusations that could easily keep him confined to the prison of defeat.

Again to Wiersbe (p. 74-75): “The setting is that of a courtroom. God is the Judge, Joshua the high priest is the defendant, and Satan is the prosecutor trying to prove Joshua guilty. Satan appears to have a case, because Joshua is wearing filthy garments and the high priest was always to wear clean clothes. The prophet Zechariah has this vision at a time when the nation of Israel had sinned against the Lord. The people returned…and there was hope that the nation would obey God and serve Him…When you read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and Malachi, you discover that the Jewish men were divorcing their wives and marrying heathen women; that Jewish merchants were charging their brethren exorbitant interest rates; and that even priests were robbing God and keeping the best sacrifices for themselves…”

Joshua presided over a guilty people and managed a guilty priesthood. He stood accused of poor leadership at least, and overt sinfulness at most. He was standing in filth with no hope of escape from the charges.

Look at the role the Accuser has. He promises BEFORE we sin that we WILL GET AWAY with the sin, and then stands as our accuser to say YOU WILL NEVER get away with this!

Truth One: CONFRONTATION – The enemy is nearby to remind the believer of his guilt. Though he accuses in the immaterial world, the guilt seeps into the heart of the conscience (3:1).

Zechariah 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Because the two world have portals between, and because the world of the immaterial is the first and final world, the accusations don’t begin where we think they do. Satan isn’t the guy next door, he is a spiritual being with spiritual minions that work in a spiritual dimension. Yet, he has a great impact on every aspect of what goes on in this world. Indeed, he is named, “The prince of the power of the air..” (Ephesians 2:1-3). Listen to the words: “2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

His characteristic position is in Heaven, and his work is accusation: “Rev. 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”

Satan wants you to feel GUILTY but not to REPENT of your sin. Repentance includes surrender of the heart to the Lord, and change of the actions that lead to the sin. Repentance makes me OWN my choices. Guilt makes me wallow further in self pity and immaturity, eventually finding a way to accommodate my guilt and move on. Satan’s accusations show up in feeling of despair in the life of a believer. Hopelessness is his finger print.

Truth Two: COVER – The believer has nothing in himself to raise a defense with, but the Lord will be the defense of those who are broken over their sin (3:2a).

Zechariah 3:2 The LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!

The Scripture provides the only appropriate remedy for sins of the believer. Jesus is our sacrifice, our lawyer, our priest and our punishment bearer! Note these words from John the Apostle:

1 John 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation (hil-as-mos’: complete judicial satisfaction) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”

Note that I offer you NOTHING to answer the accuser based on your goodness. Your past performance is NOT AT ISSUE. Your many GOOD CHOICES do not answer the guilt stain – as you cannot argue with the officer that pulls you over in the car “that you have been driving for many years inside the speed limit and today is an exception.” Your many right choices won’t assuage your guilt for the wrong one.

In Joshua’s case, he was also dependent wholly upon God for his defense. Though his salvation was not through the message of Jesus’ work (because he lived before that work) he still began his walk with God “by grace, through faith” and trusted the promises of God. He had an advocate as well – just as a believer today.

le=”color: #ff0000; font-size: 14px;”>Truth Three: CLOCK – When the Lord is about to use you for His purposes, this may become the impetus for the enemy’s attack (3:2b).

Zechariah 3:2b…” Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

When Joshua was plucked from the fire, he was a branding iron prepared to leave a mark. He must be used soon, or the heat of the fire would fade from him. He was ready to do something significant, and that is what raised the resistance of the enemy.

Truth Four: CLEMENCY – The issue is not your GUILT, but the Lord’s undeserved forgiveness (3:3).

Zechariah 3:3 “Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel.”

Not only have we all sinned  (Romans 3:23), but we all KNOW that we have sinned. We have the platform erected on which Satan can build the scaffolding of guilt should he choose to do so. Only God’s grace can answer such an accuser and dismantle such a contraption erected in our hearts.

Truth Five: CONFIDENCE – Only God can forgive sin and make you judicially clean before Him. He delights to do so, but we must TRUST His word! (3:4-5).

Zechariah 3:4 “He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by. “

God said that HE would remove sin. If we choose to believe He is speaking the truth, we will walk in forgiveness. John reminds us:

1 John 1:8 “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

Obviously the Scripture teaches that we cannot confess to innocence on our own. We can only admit to cleansing by God. Guilt in this context is a form of UNBELIEF in the ability and performance of God, who cannot lie. I must confess, but I must have confidence, not in the quality of my confession, but in the absolute authority and integrity of my Heavenly Father. To doubt my forgiveness is to doubt His Word, His character and His power. The enemy whispers into our ear that OUR sin is too great to be forgiven… or that God is not willing. Both are lies from the father of lies.

Truth Six: CONDITION – God’s delight in cleansing comes with an admonition to STOP the sinful behaviors the enemy is using in the accusations so that He may move us to further positions of effectiveness (3:6-7).

Zechariah 3:6 “And the angel of the LORD admonished Joshua, saying, 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here.”

I need to be careful here. I do not want to license sin. At the same time I must protest the idea that forgiveness here has to do with your performance. God doesn’t say that “If you never do this again then I will forgive you!” He says, “If you walk with me, now that I HAVE forgiven you, you will go on to experience greater ministry for Me. We don’t EARN God’s love – we don’t need to. We have it. Yet obedience is the path of bringing a smile to my Father, and what greater purpose is there?

Truth Seven: CAUTION – God is working a bigger plan with your life than it may appear in the physical world – that should both comfort us and concern us! (3:8-10).

Zechariah 3:8 ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. 9 ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’”

Obviously the redemption of mankind may not hang in the balance for every decision we make to be faithful, but how do you know the redemption of ONE LIFE isn’t connected to your decision to walk with God today? Are you sure that no one will be affected if you defect to the enemy camp for a few hours today? What could go wrong if you decided to drink too much and drive a short distance? What could happen if you privately looked at some indecent material, spread a little piece of gossip, told a small lie, took a few dollars from someone or just refused to open your mouth when prompted by God? How much could it hurt? Frankly, we have no idea. Zerubbabel and Joshua didn’t see a huge picture in what they were doing. They were just a couple of exiles trying to rebuild a stone building that was destroyed before they were born… or was there more to it? You bet there was – and with God that isn’t unusual!

Remember, the enemy is the great accuser who uses a weapon of guilt to hook the hearts of many believers and hold them back from doing his work. The ploy is exposed by God, that we may use His resources to remove the guilt hook from our heart.

We must:

• Recognize the source of the CONFRONTATION,
• Claim no COVER but God’s mercy and grace,
• Grasp the truth that the CLOCK used to schedule the attack may indicate God is about to break open to us a new level of ministry,
• Humbly seek the CLEMENCY based on the work of Jesus alone,
  
• Assert absolute CONFIDENCE in God’s promise to wholly forgive confessed sin of the believer,
• Understand the CONDITION that holds me from greater accomplishments for the kingdom is my stubborn rebellious behavior,
• And make decisions with CAUTION – for much more can depend on them than I recognize!

The enemy is the great accuser who uses a weapon of guilt to hook the hearts of many believers and hold them back from doing his work. The ploy is exposed by God, that we may use His resources to remove the guilt hook from our heart.