I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. Zechariah 3:4
Joshua was the high priest working with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Before Joshua could do the Lord’s work, God had to remove his filthy garments and give him clean, festive robes. In Zechariah’s vision the angel removes the filthy garments of Joshua representing sin of the people, and clothes Joshua with a special robe only worn at festive occasions.
This vision of Joshua’s change of clothes is representative of becoming a Christian. Before Christ, we wore foul dirty rags representing sin. God put our filthy rags of sin on Jesus and gave us His garment of salvation and righteousness. In Isaiah 64:6, God says we all are “unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment”. Unless we wear the saving righteousness of Jesus Christ, our work is in vain. When we are dressed in the righteousness of Christ, we have confidence in Him to complete the tasks He calls us to do.