Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. “What do you see now?” he asked.
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks. And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.”
Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”
“Don’t you know?” the angel asked.
“No, my lord,” I replied.
Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”
Then another message came to me from the Lord: “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
(The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)
Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?”
“Don’t you know?” he asked.
“No, my lord,” I replied.
Then he said to me, “They represent the two anointed ones who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.”
Zechariah 4:1-14 (NLT)
The angel rouses our prophet, Zechariah, again to show him another vision.
This time he sees two olive trees supplying oil to a lampstand. The trees represent the two offices of God’s ideal nation Israel: priestly and royal. Israel was to be a sovereign state with a Law that pointed to God, as well as provide a Temple and sacrificial system that sought that same God’s forgiveness when the law was transgressed.
The lampstand represents the Temple and community who would worship within it.
We know God’s people did not worship Him alone or adequately show a watching world what He is like. The reason they are rebuilding is due to the sin that led them into exile.
God makes sure to point out to Zechariah that, just as the oil for the lampstand comes from God-made olive trees and not men, His Spirit alone would be what enables leadership to complete the task.
It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Has He walked you through some in-the-trenches lessons, teaching you to let go of force or doing things in your own strength?
I know He has with me. Still is.
The work He does in and through us is a gift. That’s why verse 7 in the ESV says, “Grace! Grace to it!”
When the final Stone is placed – the True Cornerstone in the ultimate City with the Final Temple – we will have worked, yes, but in His power. The result in our own life and others’ will be pure grace from beginning to end.
That’s why we don’t need to despise these small beginnings.
The Lord rejoices to see the work begin.
No mountain stands in His way as He works in and through His people.