And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
And the Lord said unto Satan - Yahweh is hereby identified with "the angel of the Lord" (Yahweh) (Zechariah 3:1).
The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord ... rebuke thee. Twice repeated, to express the certainty of Satan's accusations and machinations against Jerusalem being frustrated. Instead of lengthened argument, Yahweh silences Satan by the one plea-namely, God's sovereign and gracious choice.
The Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem - (Romans 9:16; Romans 11:5). The conclusive answer. If the issue rested on Jerusalem's merit or demerit, condemnation must be the award; but Yahweh's "choice" (John 15:16) rebuts Satan's charge against Jerusalem (Zechariah 1:17; Zechariah 2:12; Romans 8:33-34; Romans 8:37), represented by Joshua, not that she may continue in sin, but be freed from it (Zechariah 3:7); (cf. in the great atonement, the choice by lot of one goat as an atoning sin offering "for the Lord," and "the other lot for the scape goat" Leviticus 16:6-20, etc).
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? (Amos 4:11; 1 Peter 4:18; Jude 1:23). Herein God implies that His acquittal of Jerusalem is not that He does not recognize her sin (Zechariah 3:3-4; Zechariah 3:9), but that, having punished her people for it with a 70 years' captivity, He, on the ground of His electing love, has delivered her from the fiery ordeal; and when once He hath begun a deliverance, as in this case, He will perfect it; and though He chastise temporarily the elect for their transgressions, "nevertheless His loving-kindness he will not utterly take away," because of His everlasting covenant with their Head, the Divine Son of David (Psalms 89:30-35; Philippians 1:6).