Zechariah 4

chosen people as a husband is jealous over his wife and as parents over their children (Ex. 20:5; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:15). This explains why the Lord accused the Jews of adultery and unfaithfulness whenever they were guilty of worshipping heathen gods (Jer. 2:1–3; 3:14; 31:32; Hos. 1). Worldliness on the part of Christians is also pictured as “spiritual adultery” (James 4:4–10).

The Lord was angry with the Gentile nations because they had been unnecessarily brutal toward the Jews. True, God had called Assyria to punish the northern kingdom of Israel, and Babylon to chasten Judah; but these nations went beyond what God called them to do and tried to destroy the Jews. Other nations, like Moab, had also joined in the assault (see Ps. 83; 137).

But the Lord’s most heartening words had to do with Judah’s future, not her enemies, for God promised to return to His people and prosper their nation. He would comfort Zion and prove to the enemy nations that Jerusalem was indeed His chosen city. This promise is repeated and expanded in the rest of Zechariah’s prophecy.

When our situation appears to be hopeless, we must remind ourselves that God identifies with our sufferings and is in charge of the future. Our responsibility is to repent, confess our sins, and believe His “comforting words.” His responsibility is to respond to our faith and work out His perfect will for us.

According to management experts James M.

Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, one of the popular myths about leadership is that “leaders are prescient visionaries with Merlin-like powers.” In other words, leaders know everything and can do anything. But if that were true, leadership wouldn’t be the difficult and demanding task that it is. Certainly successful leaders enjoy the “peaks” and “perks” that go with their positions, but they also have to deal with the valleys and sacrifices that are also a big part of the job. Real leadership isn’t easy.

Zechariah 3 and 4 focus on Joshua and Zerubbabel, the two leaders of the Jewish remnant who knew how tough it is to lead. Joshua was high priest and had the concern for the spiritual life of the people, while Zerubbabel was governor and had the responsibility of managing the civil affairs of the nation. But their work wasn’t easy. Zerubbabel was trying to motivate people who were discouraged and selfish, and Joshua was trying to educate people who were disobedient and sinful. Is there any hope for a defiled and discouraged nation, or a defiled and discouraged church or individual?

Yes, there is! God gave the prophet Zechariah two visions that speak to us today and encourage us to keep serving the Lord no matter how difficult the people or circumstances may be.

The young prophet had seen four wonderful visions, and the experience had exhausted him. He fell asleep and had to be awakened by the “interpreting angel” before God could reveal the fifth vision to him. Seeing divine visions and understanding their meanings made Daniel very weary and like a man who was dumb and without strength (Dan. 10:8, 15–19). The flippant, jovial manner in which some of God’s people speak of prophetic matters today makes us wonder if they have really seen what the Word of God communicates about the future.

The vision (vv. 1–3, 11–14). In the holy place of the tabernacle, in front of the veil and to the left of the altar of incense, stood a golden candlestick with seven branches (Ex. 25:31–40). At the end of each branch was a golden lamp, and it was the high priest’s duty each morning and evening to trim the wicks and provide the oil needed to keep the lamp burning (Lev. 24:3). This candlestick provided light in the holy place so the priests could see to burn the incense on the golden altar each morning and evening (Ex. 30:7–8).

But the candlestick that Zechariah saw was totally unlike the one Moses had put into the tabernacle. Along with the seven branches and lamps, this candlestick had a bowl at the top into which olive oil dripped from two olive trees (Zech. 4:3), which symbolized Joshua and Zerubbabel (v. 14). The candlestick also had seven pipes going from the bowl to each lamp, making a total of forty-nine pipes. No priest had to provide the oil because it was always coming from the trees. Seven pipes to each lamp assured an ample supply of fuel to keep the lights burning.

The lampstand in the tabernacle was symbolic of Messiah, the Light of the World (John 8:12), who one day would come and give the “light of life” to all who would trust Him. The light from the golden lampstand would shine on the table in the holy place (Ex. 26:35) and reveal the loaves of bread, Christ the Bread of Life (Ex. 25:30; John 6:33, 35, 48, 50–51).

The tabernacle candlestick also spoke of the nation of Israel, the nation God had chosen to be a light in a spiritually dark world (Isa. 60:1–3; 62:1). (The sevenbranched candlestick, the menorah, is the official symbol of the modern State of Israel.) The light was burning very low when the remnant returned to the land to rebuild the temple, and Zerubbabel wasn’t sure there was enough power to keep the work going.

Believers today must keep in mind that the church is a light in a dark world, and we must depend on the Holy Spirit to enable us to bear witness (Matt. 5:14–16; Phil. 2:14–16). In Revelation 1—3, local churches are symbolized by individual lampstands, and the purpose of a lampstand is to give light. If we don’t do what Christ commands us to do, He may take away the lampstand (2:5).

God provides the power (vv. 4–7a). When Solomon built the temple that the Babylonians destroyed, he had almost unlimited resources at his disposal. His father, David, had fought many battles and collected spoil to be used in building the temple (1 Chron. 26:20, 27–28), but the remnant didn’t have an army. Solomon was monarch of a powerful kingdom that ruled over many Gentile nations and took tribute from them, but the Jews in Zechariah’s day had no such authority.

That’s why God said to them through His prophet, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zech. 4:6). The word might refers to military might, what people can do together, but the remnant had no army. “Power” refers to the strength of the individual, but Zerubbabel’s strength was no doubt waning. “Don’t be discouraged!” was the prophet’s message. “The Spirit of God will enable us to do what an army could never do!” Had they forgotten what Haggai said to them? “My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear” (Hag. 2: niv).

There are three ways we can attempt to do the work of God: we can trust our own strength and wisdom; we can borrow the resources of the world; or we can depend on the power of God. The first two approaches may appear to succeed, but they’ll fail in the end. Only work done through the power of the Spirit will glorify God and endure the fires of His judgment (1 Cor. 3:12–15).

With their limited resources, completing the temple must have looked to those Jews as impossible as moving a mountain, but God told Zerubbabel that he would, by God’s power, level the mountain and make it a plain! Jesus told His disciples that exercising faith like a mustard seed (small but alive) could move mountains (Matt. 17:20; 21:21).

What “mountains” was Zerubbabel facing? Discouragement among the people, opposition from the enemies around them, poor crops, an unstable economy, people not obeying God’s law—problems not too different from those the people of God have faced throughout the centuries. The answer to these problems is prayer that releases the Holy Spirit’s power. When the early Christians faced problems, they turned to God in prayer, and He answered by giving them a fresh filling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:23–31).

“We say we depend on the Holy Spirit,” wrote Vance Havner, “but actually we are so wired up with our own devices that if the fire does not fall from heaven, we can turn on a switch and produce false fire of our own. If there is no sound of a rushing mighty wind, we have the furnace all set to blow hot air instead. God save us from a synthetic Pentecost!”

God finishes His work (vv. 7b–10). God assured Zerubbabel that he would complete the rebuilding of the temple and the people would rejoice at what God had done through them. Zerubbabel would “bring out the capstone [the last stone to be placed in the building] with shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” (v. 7b niv). Another possible translation is “Beauty! Perfection!” That wasn’t what some of the people were saying when the foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 3:10–13) and while the temple was under construction (Hag. 2:3).

God gave a clear promise that Zerubbabel would complete the temple (Zech.4:9), which reminds us of God’s promise in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (nkjv). It also echoes David’s words to his son Solomon: “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord” (1 Chron. 28: nkjv). That was the promise that sustained me during my first building program in my first pastorate, and I can assure you that it works!

To some of the Jews, the project was but a “small thing” (Zech. 4:10) in comparison to Solomon’s grand temple, but we must look at God’s work through His eyes and not the eyes of the people of the world. Great oaks grow out of small acorns and great harvests from small seeds. When Messiah came to earth, He was but “a shoot … from the stump of Jesse” (Isa. 11: niv) and was “despised and rejected of men” (Isa. 53:3). The church began with 120 people and today ministers around the world.

Bible history is the record of God using small things. When God wanted to set the plan of salvation in motion, He started with a little baby named Isaac (Gen. 21). When He wanted to overthrow Egypt and set His people free, He used a baby’s tears (Ex. 2:1–10). He used a shepherd boy and a sling to defeat a giant (1 Sam. 17) and a little lad’s lunch to feed a multitude (John 6). He delivered the apostle Paul from death by using a basket and a rope (Acts 9:23–25). Never despise the day of small things, for God is glorified in small things and uses them to accomplish great things.

God and His servants must work together to accomplish His purposes. “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2: nkjv). God supplies His servants with the Spirit, and the people are encouraged as they see Zerubbabel on the job with the plumb line in his hand, making sure the walls are straight. While Zerubbabel is working, the eyes of the Lord are watching over His people and monitoring the nations of the earth. (The phrase “those seven” in Zech. 4: refers back to 3:9, the eyes of the Lord, meaning His omniscience.)

The vision climaxes (4:14) with God calling Zerubbabel and Joshua “the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” What a noble title for His servants! As the two olive trees, Joshua and Zerubbabel received the empowering Spirit of God and kept the light of Israel’s work and witness burning. Oil is a general symbol for the Holy Spirit in Scripture. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil, and the words Messiah and Christ mean “anointed one.” The holy anointing oil was not to be prepared by anybody but the priests or be used for any other purpose than for anointing God’s servants (Ex. 30:22–33). “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me” (Isa. 61: nkjv; Luke 4:18–19).

If our God is “Lord of all the earth,” what have we to fear? If He promises us the power of His Spirit, why should we falter and fail? Let’s remember Joshua and Zerubbabel, men who are encouragements to all who seek to serve the Lord in any way.

There are no “small places” or “small ministries,” and there are no “big preachers.” But we do have a great God who can empower and bless servants who are dedicated to Him. He can cleanse us and He can empower us, so let’s trust Him and do His work!