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,
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:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
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.
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.
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.
Some people have an aversion to Bible prophecy. They don’t understand it and thus they dismiss it. They take offence to anyone who would teach on Bible prophecy. Others look at Bible prophecy and see it as a means of making money and gaining prestige. If they can make it mean something spectacular they can increase their following. Others seek to honour God and simply study to meet God’s approval and seek to help others to know the truth.
Ultimately, the Holy Spirit is the One Who reveals truth to man. He will guide the true saint into the truth. He is the third person of the Godhead and would never lead any true child of God astray. We have noted before that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable…
Those who want to reject Bible prophecy are rejecting God. He gave the Word. He directed Zechariah to write this book. God gave Zechariah several visions in this book. This book was written after the exile. The Jews had been out of their land for seventy years. Now they were given the opportunity to return to their land. Actually it was God’s land that He gave to Israel for a specific purpose. That purpose was to glorify Him. He promised Moses that He would take the nation of Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey. That land had different occupants prior to Israel’s possession of that land. God gave the Amorites time to know Him and they chose to stubbornly remain with their false gods. At just the right time, God began to drive them out of that land and give it to Israel. Sadly, the children of Israel did not appreciate what God was giving them and after a short time, they chose to make alliances with the enemies of God and they chose to adopt the false gods of the nations God told them to drive out of the land.
God owned not just that land but all the earth. He allows different people to settle in certain parts for a time. He owns the land that is called Canada. He has allowed different people to occupy this land and milk it of its natural resources and use and abuse the soil, etc. It is still God’s land and He will continue to limit the evil that man wants to commit.
In our text, God continued to speak to Zechariah. We read that the angel that talked with him came and woke him up. The angel asked Zechariah what he saw. This time Zechariah saw a candlestick all of gold. This candlestick had a bowl on top of it and seven lamps and seven pipes leading to the seven lamps. The pipes were there to carry the oil to the seven lamps to keep them burning.
Zechariah also saw two olive trees, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on the left side thereof. Zechariah saw all this, but in verse 4 we read that he did not understand what this was all about. He addressed the angel as “my lord”. He understood that the angel had greater authority than he did.
In verse 5 the angel answered him with a question. He asked him if he did not know what this scene was. Zechariah admitted he did not know what this was all about. We have mentioned before that there are things in God’s Word that we will not understand. Sometimes with further careful study we can understand certain parts. There are parts of the Bible that we just do not understand. It is wise to admit our limitations and let God show us His truth in His time.
In verse 6 the angel began to give Zechariah the answer to his question. Notice that the angel began by reminding Zechariah this was the word of the LORD. It was a message from Jehovah God to Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the political leader God appointed for the reconstruction of the temple. The book of Ezra makes this clear.
Zerubbabel needed to be reminded how things were going to be done. It was not going to be by might nor by power. God can go to war. He did that in the days of king David. David was very successful in war because he obeyed God. There were other times when God used war to accomplish His purposes. However, in the restoration of Jerusalem, it would not happen by war. It would happen by His spirit. God had already moved in the heart of pagan leaders to help fund the rebuilding of Jerusalem. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns the natural resources. He can use whatever He wants to in order to accomplish His plan.
In verse 7 we read that a great mountain is no problem for the LORD. He can make that a plain. Ezra 4 records fierce opposition mounted against the rebuilding of the Temple. This opposition came from the Samaritans. They did not want a Jewish presence there unless it would be strictly secular. God wanted the Jews there and He wanted them focused on Him. Thus He wanted a Temple built there again. The Samaritans had complained to the Persian king Artaxerxes and succeeded in having him write a letter stopping the work on the Temple. The Persian king would learn that no one defies God and wins. The rebuilding was stopped for sixteen years, but it would be started again and the work would be completed.
Zechariah needed to be encouraged with the facts. Zerubbabel also needed to know the facts and press ahead with the work God had called him to. God can remove any opposition, no matter how big a mountain that opposition looks like. He can turn that mountain of opposition into a plain that makes His work get done according to His plan. What was important then is equally important now. God’s Work does not get done by compromise. It gets done when it is done God’s way.
I read a report about Rick Warren. He was one of many false teachers who wanted to gain a following. He chose to go into his neighbourhood and ask the people what they wanted to see in a church. He heard from the people and then he began his work with that in mind. He tailored his “preaching” to what the people wanted. He was able to build a large following in a relatively short period of time. During that time, he wrote several books. The one that took New Evangelicalism by storm was called ‘The Purpose Driven Life. People swallowed the lie of that book by the hundreds. Mr. Warren continued to enjoy great success for a number of years. His work must have been of God because he was so successful!!! That is the mistaken philosophy most professing Christians run by.
Rick Warren eventually stepped back from his leadership role and gave that over to a husband and wife team. Since then it has lost its momentum.
Earthly ventures might work for a time, but they fade away. Something else comes in to take its place. That is why we see so much change taking place in New Evangelical churches. People get tired of the same old same old. They want something fresh and new. God does not offer anything fresh and new in that sense. God’s mercies are new every morning. That is because they are such a blessing to those who are saved. God does not change. He does not need to change. The need of man has not changed. The desires of man are always changing, but not his need.
We need to live within the bounds of God’s Truth and let Him bless His name. Back in our text, God continued to remind Zerubbabel that he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings. Zerubbabel would be blessed with being the one to see the completion of the Temple and the sound of praise would emanate from that place. No one could stop God’s will from being accomplished. This is still true today. God’s will shall be accomplished.
Jesus declared:
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
That is still in the Bible. Until the Lord returns in the clouds to call His New Testament saints out of this world, He will see to it that true churches remain. He has been cleaning house and He is purifying His church. Don’t be fooled by the mountains the devil is putting up. Trust in the Lord and follow His lead. The Truth still needs to be proclaimed today. The Lord knows that. Do we?
Pastor Bartel