seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Zechariah 4:1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
6 So he 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 Almighty.
7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
10 “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone[a] in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”
13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I said.
14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to[b] serve the Lord of all the earth.”
a. Zechariah 4:10 Or the plumb line
b. Zechariah 4:14 Or two who bring oil and
This is from the easy English site.
Verses 6-10 separate the vision in verses 1-5 from its explanation in verses 11-14. Many Bible students say that these verses are a separate section. That may be true. But other Bible students think that chapter 3 is about Joshua, the leader of Jewish religion. And they think that chapter 4 is about Zerubbabel, the political leader. The phrase ‘things will happen’ means, first, the new temple will be built. It will not be human strength that does it. It will not be political power that does it. It will be the Spirit of God himself! This is God’s message to Zerubbabel, the political leader of the Jews that returned from exile.
There are problems for Zerubbabel. To him, these problems seem like a great mountain. But God’s promise is that they will become like a plain! The first stone or brick of a building is called the foundation stone. Zerubbabel had already put that in place, verse 9. He did it 15 years earlier, Ezra 3:8-11. Now God promises that Zerubbabel will finish the building. He will put the top stone into its place. Its place is at the top of the temple. The words ‘Grace to it, grace’ may mean ‘it is beautiful’. But they also point to the future. Grace is a special Christian word. It means that God is very kind to people when he does not have to be kind. He forgives them when he does not have to forgive them.
Verse 10 In this verse and verse 9, ‘the hands of Zerubbabel’ mean the people that Zerubbabel ruled. He may have put the base stone in place himself, but his workmen built the temple. Builders use a plumb-line when they build walls. It shows them if the wall is standing up straight. It is a piece of lead (plumbum in the Latin language!) on a piece of string. The Hebrew words, however, mean ‘stone of tin’! Maybe Jesus is the stone. Then, this may look forward to a time when Jesus will be the judge of everybody!
‘The day of small things’ means the day when Zerubbabel began to build. Then his efforts to build seemed very poor. And people thought that he would never complete the building. But Zerubbabel would not complete it by his own strength or power. Zerubbabel would complete the temple by the power of God’s Spirit.
‘The day of small things’ is a phrase common among Christians. It means ‘when not much happens’. We may laugh because nothing is happening. But Zechariah tells us that God will have the last laugh! God is always doing something!
The two men were people that God had anointed to do his work. ‘Anointed’ means ‘poured vegetable oil over’. This ceremony gave them authority to do God’s work. The two anointed people were Joshua and Zerubbabel. Joshua was the chief priest, a member of the family of Aaron. Zerubbabel was a member of the family of David. The Hebrew Bible calls them ‘sons of oil’. A priest probably poured the oil, not God himself. The priest was the servant of God.
Apparently, the people who wrote on the bibletrack.org site had a problem with this chapter as well.It's hard to say with certainty exactly what this fifth vision means, but the basic meaning seems to be the supernatural empowering (the candlesticks) of the Holy Spirit for the people to rebuild the temple under the direction of Joshua (the high priest and spiritual leader) and the civil leader, Zerubbabel. These two men seem to be the two olive trees. Zechariah is looking for more clarification regarding the identities here, and is given his answer in verse 14, "Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." The word "earth" there is the Hebrew word, "erets," which is frequently translated "land." This seems to validate that the two leaders of the returned exiles, Zerubbabel and Joshua, are in view in this chapter.
This chapter actually makes me feel better now that I know what it means.... thanks to the commentary. There was a time when I felt like the world was just too big for me. I had become a single mother of three little babies.... all under the age of 5. I did a pretty good job of attempting to get through the day but I was exhausted..... physically and emotionally. I described it like having to move a huge pile of boulders with a teaspoon. When Joshua and Zerubbabel went to work on rebuilding the Temple that was destroyed by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians..... they had a huge problem. The workers had nowhere to stay.... the housing had been obliterated with the Temple. The workers weren't really excited about Jerusalem.... most of them had grown up in another country after their parents had been enslaved. Seventy years of neglect and weather had further destroyed everything.
I am reminded of that scene in the Planet of the Apes movie... where Heston is on a wild beach and there is the Statue of Liberty... and Heston cries out "why Lord?" [Hey that's even odd.... first Heston was Moses questioning and then he was in the Apes movie questioning]
Now.... what does the olive trees and the lamp stand have to do with rebuilding the Temple? As I see it.... after reading the commentaries..... the lampstand is the Temple.... a shining light..... and the two olive trees.... well they are Joshua and Zerubbabel..... two guys who will keep the light shining in the Temple...
The church and society worked together...... to rebuild a Temple. It was exhausting..... physically and emotionally..... and it took a long time. It must have felt like trying to move a mountain of boulders with a teaspoon.... but the angel told Zechariah that God was keeping the leaders fueled up and working.
