Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the theme from Za 4.1 and following. Indeed, in his questions, Zechariah ranks among the prophets who, according to 1 Pet 1:10-12, diligently probed their own writings. They were looking for the One who has now been revealed to us in His sufferings and glories. How many figures of Christ we have in this chapter. He is the true golden candlestick, the light of the world (John 8:12-14). He is also the divine Zerubbabel, guarantor of the blessing of his people. In Zec 3, He was the foundation stone. We see it here as a building, the keystone of the building. In other words, it is He who begins and ends in grace the work of the House of God (Ezr 3:10-13; Ezr 5:13-17). As for the seven lamps of the holy candlestick, we like to see believers there (Rev. 1:17-20). They too are called “the light of the world” (Mt 5:13-16). And this light is nourished by the Holy Spirit (oil), the only divine source for the activity of the redeemed. “Not by force, not by power, but by my Spirit,” says Jehovah (Ps 44:1-8). When we realize our incapacity, God delights in acting and removing every “mountain” from our path (Mt 17:14-20). So let us not despise the present day “of the little things”; it can be one of great faith and dedication.
Let us note that this chapter takes care of the King, in the person of Zerubbabel, because the glorious characters of Christ, in his millennial glory, will be the priesthood and royalty. From the outset, the prophet as “a man awakened from his sleep,” has a vision that he is able to describe, but does not understand in any way: “And I say: I see, and here is a candlestick all of gold and a cup at its top; and his seven lamps upon him; seven lamps and seven ducts for the lamps at its top; and two olive trees near him, one to the right of the cup, and the other to his left. And I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying: What are these things, my Lord? And the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me: Don’t you know what these things are? And I say, ‘No, my Lord.'”
It was intended to illuminate the holy place and, like every object in the tabernacle or temple, it represented one of the glories of Christ. If the candlestick represented Christ in this chapter, its light was the testimony of Christ. But the symbol of the candlestick and light does not apply only to his person. In Revelation, the seven golden lamps are the seven churches. On the other hand, when it comes to light, the Lord does not limit himself to saying, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), he says to his own: “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5.14): the testimony of Christ before the world. But light needs oil to feed itself; witness needs, in order to be given, the Holy Spirit, whose oil is the constant image in the Word. The golden candlestick in the temple is therefore, in short, Christ who, on the one hand, is the only one capable of giving full light, on the other hand spreads his clarity through witnesses whom He has chosen for this purpose.
For there will be a future time of blessing and glory, when the divine light will shine forth in the person of the One who will carry it forever, and in that of his witnesses, the nucleus of the future people of Israel. This seems to be the scope of this passage of Zechariah. As for us Christians, we must not forget that the Church is called to bear witness before the days when God resumes his relations with his ancient people. When the Lord Jesus, the true light of the world, was rejected, He left us in His place to shine that light and bear witness.
Now, in the second chapter of Revelation, we see that Ephesus, the responsible church as a whole, has lost its first love, and with it the privilege of being a witness of Christ. So he is told, “I will remove your lamp from its place.” The lamp of the Church, as a responsible body, will be removed from its place, and in the future the witness will be entrusted to others. It is from this future testimony that Zechariah tells us. But before it shines brightly in Israel, as we see in our chapter, it is placed in Chapter 11 of Revelation, in the hands of two Jewish witnesses, who are said to be “the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord of the earth.” This will be a sufficient testimony given in Jerusalem, at the time of the great tribulation of Israel. God will recognize this, for “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter will be confirmed.” It will not be complete like that of Zechariah, because instead of seven lamps, it will have only two. These two witnesses will also be the two olive trees (Rev 11. 4); as it is also said at the end of our chapter: “It is the two sons of oil who stand near the Lord of all the earth”. They will be the two olive trees from which the witness of the Holy Spirit will flow. Their light will sustain the faint Remnant which, before the reign of Christ, will still dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Gifted with the prophetic Spirit, they will act in the power of Elijah and Moses, representing the priesthood and kingship in a time of ruin, before they are reunited in the glorious person of Christ. For Elijah, the prophet, is a priest in Carmel (1 Kings 18); Moses is called “king in Jeshurun” (Deut. 33:5).
Zerubbabel, a weak offspring of the royal race, as lowered as possible, could not even claim the title of king. But the Lord addresses him: “Not by force, not by power, but by my Spirit.” What an encouragement for a lowered man to learn that God did not ask him for strength or power, but that the Spirit of God was with him! We can also apply this word to ourselves, in days like ours that have more than one analogy with those of Zechariah. “You have little strength,” said the Lord Jesus in Philadelphia. He encourages his own in their state of external weakness, before the religious world’s claims to strength and power, for he gives them the assurance that He is with them; they know that they can count on this promise and that its virtue unfolds in their infirmity.
“Who are you, great mountain, before Zerubbabel? You will become a plain.” It is probably to this passage that Jesus is referring, when he said to his disciples: “If you had faith like a grain of mustard, you would say to this mountain: Carry yourself by then, and it would be transported; and nothing would be impossible for you” (Mt 17. 20). In the present time, the weakest faith brings down the obstacles that Satan and the world put in our way. In Zechariah’s time, all Gentile power could not oppose the action of the Spirit of God for the restoration of his people. Jehovah’s ways must succeed, for the glory of Christ and for the blessing of his people.
“And he will bring the stone out of the ridge with cheers: Grace, grace upon it! Christ was the foundation stone in the previous chapter; it is here the stone of the summit, the keystone of the whole building. On the foundation stone, God had engraved seven eyes, on the stone of the ridge one reads a single word: Grace. It will be acclaimed by all, as bearing the favor of God. All the future blessing of the earth will depend on this grace of God manifested in the person of the King. When he entered this world, grace appeared in his person; faith received its fullness (John 1.16). But his people did not receive him and the world rejected him. He then performed on the cross the work of grace. Later, he would appear in his kingdom as the bearer of God’s favor and the giver of grace for Israel and for all peoples. “And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel founded this house, and his hands will complete it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.”
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
The candlestick and the olive trees:
- Spiritual Awakenings
Ps 80:19 And we will not stray from you any further. Revive us, and we will invoke your name. Ps 119:25 My soul is tied to dust: Give me back life according to your word! John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so the Son gives life to whomever He wills. John 6:63 for God’s bread is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
- Chandelier
Ex 25:31 Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold; this candlestick shall be made of beaten gold; its foot, stem, calyx, apples, and flowers shall be of one piece. Rev 1:12 I turned around to find out what voice was speaking to me. And, after turning around, I saw seven golden candlesticks, Rev 2:5 Remember, then, where you fell, repent, and practice your first works; otherwise, I will come to you, and I will remove your candlestick from its place, unless you repent.
- Spiritual light reflected by believers
Jg 5:31 Thus perish all your enemies, O Lord! Those who love it are like the sun, when it appears in its strength. The country was at rest for forty years. Isaiah 60:3 Nations walk in your light, and kings in the clarity of your rays. Eph 5:8 Once you were darkness, and now you are light in the Lord. Walk like children of light! Phil 2:15 that you may be blameless and pure, unrepresentable children of God in the midst of a perverse and corrupt generation, among which you shine like torches in the world,
- Spiritual power
Give men the courage to repel sin Mi 3:8 But I am filled with strength, with the spirit of the Lord, I am filled with righteousness and vigor, To make Jacob know his crime, and Israel his sin.
“Stronger than physical strength Za 4:6 Then he resumed and said to me: This is the word that the Lord addresses to Zerubbabel: It is neither by power nor by force, but it is by my spirit,” said the Lord of hosts.
Jesus, the supreme example Lk 4:14 Jesus, clothed in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and his fame spread throughout the surrounding land.
Accompany the baptism of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:8 But you will receive a power, the Holy Spirit coming upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
-Allows men to speak with authority Acts 4:33 The apostles bore witness with great force of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And a great grace rested on all of them.
-Allows great miracles of healing to be performed Acts 19:11-12 And God performed extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,12 to the point that cloths or handkerchiefs were applied to the sick that had touched his body, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out.
From all the above, we note that Zechariah here returns to the circumstances in the midst of which he prophesied. Zerubbabel, he said, would complete the house on which he laid the foundation, which had a historic achievement. “For who despised the day of the little things?” The people wept as they thought of the glory of the temple of old, and yet this little beginning was something to God; He approved of those who were committed to building his home. It is the same today. We are called to bring precious materials to the edifice of God, new souls, living stones built on the foundation that is Christ, and it is enough to do so with a heart entirely devoted to the Lord, for He does not despise the day of small things. “They will rejoice, these seven, and see the lead in the hand of Zerubbabel: these are the eyes of the Lord that run all over the earth.” The seven eyes of the Lord, engraved on the foundation stone of the temple, are presented to us now as running all over the earth (Rev 5. 5). The Spirit of God, in its fullness, will have joy in seeing the work of his temple completed, the lead in the hands of Zerubbabel to ensure, by placing the stone of the summit, the solidity of the whole edifice. No matter at first his faint appearance, the work had been done for the Lord. This Spirit who travels all over the earth will rejoice to see all things completed, put in order, under the government of the true King. Then the temple of jehovah, the gathering place of all peoples, will be the visible center of Christ’s glorious reign. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” the parable of the thorn and the cedar.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.