Zechariah 4: 1 – 14
Shine On!
1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” 4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”6 So he answered and said to me: “ This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. 7 ‘ Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’ 8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 9 “ The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it. then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” 11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” 13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
If you have been with us in the study of Zechariah you understand that the significant point is that our Precious Holy Father again Is willing to dwell among His people. In chapter 4 we are going to look at the firfh vision. In the previous chapters we have focused on Joshua the high priest. He was a forerunner of the BRANCH. – The Messiah. The work of cleansing and of atonement was seen as being connected with the priesthood as the prophet Isaiah informs us in chapter 52, ‘15 So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.’
Now for the purpose of governing and completion of the building of the Temple the focus will be on Zerubbabel.
1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. 3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”
The statement wakened me, ‘as a man who is wakened out of his sleep,’ indicates that all the visions were seen in one night. We see examples in the New Testament on how people have difficulty perceiving things as real, a dream, or a vision. We see a similar example of this unique happening in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 17, 1 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.’
When you experience something like this you are in wonder as to whether it really happened. Peter, James, and John kept this unique experience to themselves to be revealed to us later on in the Gospels. Sometimes these messages are just for you. Sometimes they are for the encouragement of others and need to be relayed to them.
The angel asked Zechariah what he had just witnessed. He answered, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.’ Zechariah sees a lampstand that was made of solid gold. It had a bowl on top that was fed a continuous flow of oil to seven lamps from seven pipes. The continuous flow of oil came from two olive trees on each side of the lampstand. So, what is this all about?
First of all I believe that the angel’s address to the prophet was done in order to drive home the importance of the vision. Sometimes when we dream or maybe have a vision we have no one to interpret what it meant. Sometimes we just say to ourselves, ‘No more late pepperoni pizzas.’ In this situation the angel wanted Zechariah to understand the meaning of what the vision represented.
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”6 So he answered and said to me: “ This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
To drive home His point our LORD instructed the angel to describe to Zechariah Who gave the message. The vision was used to demonstrate the it is the Word of the Lord, ‘So he answered and said to me: “ This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel.’
In the Temple the lampstand was the only method of light. It signified the presence of the Living Holy God. He Is also the Light of the whole world. A man’s life is referred to in the bible as his lamp as we read in the following scriptures;
Job 21, ‘17 “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, the sorrows God distributes in His anger? “
Proverbs 20, ‘20 Whoever curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness.’
Proverbs 24, ‘20 For there will be no prospect for the evil man; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.’
2 Samuel 21, ‘17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, “You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”
1 Kings 11, ‘36 And to his son I will give one tribe, that My servant David may always have a lamp before Me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen for Myself, to put My name there.’
When the lampstand is removed or the light put out, it signifies death. In Revelation chapter five our Lord Jesus Christ warned the church of this possibility, 1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”
So the lampstand represents life. It is the Living God Who Is fully present and fully aware of everything. He dispels the darkness of this world now and in the future. Seven is the number of perfection. Our Mighty God is Present with His people and shines His Light for all to see.
The two olive trees stand for the priestly and royal offices. Joshua and Zerubbabel hold these two positions. The two olive trees are themselves fed by ‘golden oil’. We are talking about the Holy Spirit. This vision reminds the Israelites that it is only through the Holy Ghost that they will succeed. I always ask the question, ‘How can you keep a broken vessel full?’ The answer, ‘By the constant flow into the object.. Our Holy Father gives us the Holy Spirit without measure. He Is The One Who we must always depend on.
One of the greatest passages in the bible is ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.’ Zerubbabel was given the responsibility of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem. All jobs in leadership cannot be successfully accomplished if you depend upon a person’s own strength. We will fail every time. Our Lord Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 19, 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” As you can see from our Lord’s advise that with Him doing everything, there will be no difficulties to great to overcome.
There are a lot of self-help books always in circulation. People believe that in order to be successful in this dog eat dog world, you have to be tough, strong, unbending, and harsh. Our God’s says to this perspective – Nope! It Is only through our Precious Holy Spirit that anything of lasting value can be accomplished.
The returned former captives were vulnerable. Their enemies constantly harassed them. Trying to survive they were tired and discouraged. But, I always say, ‘If you have God on your team then you are the winner.’ One of our greatest sin problems is failing to ‘trust’ our Holy God. As you live your lives make it your priority to surrender you will to Him. He wants only the best for you. Stop and think about this, ‘can you actually be successful in anything without God?’
He will remove all obstacles – even mountains. 7 ‘ Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’
The great mountain was a figurative reference to the great obstacles the people faced in building the Temple and trying to live back in the land with the constant fear of attack. Our God IS All Powerful. There is nothing He can’t do. He IS Awesome. We need to turn everything no matter how impossible to Him and watch what He will do. Our Lord Jesus verified this fact when He said in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 17 verse 20, ‘So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’
The outcome for the Jews and for us as well is because of His Grace, “Grace, grace to it!”’ For the people to survive they had to turn over their all to their Loving God Who will sustain them through the difficulties. The apostle Paul went through tremendous difficulties. He had this to say to all of us as our Holy Spirit inspired him to write his second letter to the Corinthians in chapter 12, 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 9 “ The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it. then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
You will never be disappointed in what God can do. Let me say it again, ‘You will never be disappointed in what God can do!’ This truth is based on His promise,’8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 9 “ The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it.’ You can be assured of a great outcome not only because of His promise, but also because He will be present to see it accomplished, ‘then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.’
In the last chapter of the book of Ezekiel, our God is referred to as Jehovah Shammah – The Lord Is There. He is everywhere, ‘They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” His Providence takes care of making sure everything turns out right.
We need to recognize that even the small things are important to our God. Nothing is considered too small – ‘For who has despised the day of small things?’ Little can be much if God Is in it. The beginnings may not seem very great and seem to be a small role, but the success or accomplishment must all come together.
I was watching this orchestra, which had about 50 musicians. I watched this one guy just sit there during the song while everyone else was vigorously playing. About half way through the song he stirred and pick up this little metal triangle. Here he is here sitting with all the other musicians in tuxedos and on cue he hits the metal triangle a few times. That was his part. You know what, without the little metal triangle part, the song would not have been complete. When everyone filed off the stage he blended in with all the other musicians because his small part was vital to the performance. He was a member of the orchestra. Our Lord’s eyes will rejoice over just seeing the plumb line because He knows the beginning from the end and knows the final outcome. The Temple will be built.
11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” 13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
Joshua and Zerubbabel are the two anointed olive trees. In the book of Revelation chapter 11 many people try to say that these two are also the two witnesses brought back by God during the Great Tribulation, 1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.
They will say, ‘see, there is the proof.’ Well, that is a good point of argument. However, I believe that the two witnesses will be Moses and Elijah who both did the miracles listed in verse 5 through 6 above.
