Zechariah 4:8 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Once again we are reminded that the LORD was speaking to Zechariah. God obviously wants us to know that the Bible is His Word. He has preserved His Word just as He said He would. We can have confidence in His Word if we stick to His Word. The King James Bible is the Word of God for the English speaking world. The rest are perversions and should be avoided.
In verse 9 the LORD reminded Zechariah that Zerubbabel had laid the foundation of the house/Temple. God assured Zechariah that Zerubbabel would also finish the work. As we noted yesterday, the devil was able to delay the work but he could not stop it.
The finished Temple would be a testimony to the fact that the LORD of hosts sent Zechariah to prophesy here. God wants His servants to know the truth. He does not want them to be deceived. There are many voices out there that try to interfere with the Truth. We have often warned about the perversions. They do not give a distinct sound.
In Genesis 27 we read:
Genesis 27:22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
Isaac heard the voice of the person speaking to him. He admitted the voice sounded like Jacob. However, Rebekah had been able to dress up Jacob in such a way that Isaac thought it was Esau. Rebekah and Jacob deceived Isaac. Isaac could not see and he did not know what to do. He acted in good faith but he was deceived.
God does not want us to be deceived. He gives us enough facts so that we do not need to rely on feelings. He wants us to deal with facts.
In verse 10 of our text the question was asked: “who hath despised the day of small things?” The Temple that Zerubbabel was building was not going to be as magnificent as that which Solomon built. However, it was still the House of God. When the people would see the plummet in Zerubbabel’s hand, and with the seven eyes that we learned of in chapter 3, they will see that they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. It was important for the people to know that the LORD was in charge and that He was in control.
In verse 11 Zechariah was still curious about the two olive trees and the candlestick that he had seen earlier. If we want answers to Biblical questions, we need to consult with God. Those who are saved can pray to Him and ask Him for understanding of His Word. He will give us the answers from His Word. Sometimes, He does not give an answer because we do not need to know. He also has appointed evangelists, pastors and teachers to help us to understand His Word.
In verse 12 Zechariah again asked about the olive branches and the two golden pipes and the oil. In verse 13 the angel answered Zechariah. He again assumed that Zechariah should know what these were. The angel knew, but he had inside information that was not yet given to Zechariah.
In verse 14 the angel stated that they were the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. There is some debate as to who these two anointed ones were. We have read of Zechariah and Joshua in this book thus far. We noted that Joshua was the high priest. We know that Zerubbabel was in charge of the building of the Temple. He was not a spiritual leader in the same sense that Zechariah and Joshua were.
The oil mentioned here was used to anoint these two men. We know the high priest was to be anointed for the work as high priest. The anointing oil was not just for anyone. It was for those few that were called by God to give spiritual leadership to the nation.
It is also important to note that those who are anointed, are accountable to the Lord of the whole earth. We have noted before that the Lord is in charge of all the earth. He limits the evil that the devil wants people to do. We know that Hitler wanted to wipe out the Jews and the Christians. He was stopped by God. God used human forces, but He maneuvered things so that Hitler was stopped.
Right now we have Bill C9 being debated in committee. It seems the Conservatives are too involved in playing politics and they do not know how to stop this Bill from moving along. There are groups that want people to sign petitions to try to stop this bill. I was sent a petition recently but it never mentioned God. It just talked politics. That helps nothing. If we, those who are saved, are going to speak to politicians, we need to remind them that the Lord is still in charge, and they are answerable to Him.
When you read the Bible, you find in both the Old and New Testaments, when God’s people were speaking to political leaders, they first reminded them Who was in charge. That is still important today.
We know that Belshazzar was told his days were numbered. He rewarded Daniel for telling him what the writing on the wall was. We do not read that he repented and was converted. We do read that he was killed. He was given the opportunity but he may well have been too hardened to change. That may be the true of our politicians today as well. However, those who are saved have a mighty sword: the Word of God. We need to use that obediently and leave the results in the Lord’s hands. He never makes a mistake.
We, those who are saved, need to be sure we are not being spiritual cowards who want to try to hide rather than be identified as true servants of the Lord of hosts.
Pastor Bartel