Zechariah 4:1-7

Zechariah 4:1

And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,

 

Now once again the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to Zechariah because for a while the attention was being paid to Joshua the high priest.  Now Zechariah is receiving a vision that has the effect of a man being awakened out of sleep as if one is in a deep sleep and then the alarm goes off.  The fifth vision will be one that has startling effect on Zechariah.

 

Zechariah 4:2

And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

 

Then the Lord poses a question to Zechariah and asks him what he sees.  He then proceeds to proclaim what he sees.  First, he sees a golden candlestick.  This would be the golden lampstand found in the temple.  And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.  (Exodus 25:31)  Then he sees the bowls on top of the candlestick.  The bowls were placed there to feed the lamp so it would continue to burn.  There would be a total of seven lamps.  And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.  (Exodus 25:37)  Then Zechariah sees seven pipes to the seven lamps which would feed the lamps so they would burn continually.  They were never to go out.

 

Zechariah 4:3

And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

 

And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.  (Exodus 27:20)  The two olive trees are set beside it and they are the trees that supply the fuel, which was olive oil, for the continual burning of the lamps.  The definition of the two olive trees and who they represent are given in the commentary on Zechariah 4:14.

 

Zechariah 4:4

So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

 

So the Lord asks Zechariah what he saw and Zechariah responds by asking him a question because visions do not have stand-alone meanings, that is, they are representative of something else and are normally a visual parable depicting some truth.   Zechariah desired to know the meaning of the vision he was given.

 

Zechariah 4:5

Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

 

Then the Lord answers Zechariah with a question asking him if he knew what these things mean.  Then Zechariah responds that he did not understand what these things mean.  The Lord was probably asking him to see if Zechariah would realize that these things being given him in the vision had to do with the temple.

 

Zechariah 4:6

Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

Now the answer comes to Zerubbabel who was the civil governor and who would be in charge of rebuilding the temple.  In the previous verses we saw that the two olive trees were the ones which continually fed the lamps so they would never go out.  Here the vision is also a prophecy to Zerubbabel concerning the building of the temple.  God tells him that the work of the LORD is not done by means of might which would be the strength of man nor power which would be the ability of man but the work of God is established on this earth though the working of the Holy Spirit.  This is why sometimes the most timid Christians are the most effective and the most over-bearing ones rarely are ever successful in the Lord’s work.

 

Zechariah 4:7

Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.

 

The great mountain had represented the troubles and obstructions he would meet in rebuilding the temple of the LORD.  The LORD promised that through the power of His spirit, the work of the rebuilding of the temple would be completed despite the opposition of the enemies of Christ.  The opposition would be met and destroyed thus making them the plain.  Zerubbabel will bring forth the headstone which marks the completion of the building of the edifice.  Coupled with the completion of the temple will be great shouts of joy and thanksgiving.  The crying of grace means they hoped for a long continuance of the temple and that they would once again be a great nation in the sight of God.  The completion of the temple was done in 516 B.C.  I had this verse pasted above my desk as I went through Bible college and seminary.

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