ZECHARIAH 4:1-14
1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
10 “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”
13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I said.
14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
Zechariah 4:1-14 WHAT DO YOU SEE?
THANKSGIVING SUNDAY
Springford Baptist Church: October 8, 2023.
Think of all the times you have walked or driven by something and never before noticed a particular detail. Now it happens this time of the year in autumn that we have driven by maple trees with leaves of green or sumacs blending in with all the other foliage. Then God paints these same trees and bushes with reds and oranges and golds that compel us to take notice.
I wonder on this Thanksgiving weekend about this whole idea of thanking God for what we have never thanked Him for before. It may be that there are things we have not really noticed or thought about.
When we allow God to ask the question, “What do you see and trust Him to guide us in discovering the answer, there can be a whole number of reasons to thank God. We can expect to see how God is working in our lives and in the lives of those for whom we pray.
Today’s Scripture comes from the Old Testament book of Zechariah. His ministry as a prophet and also a priest took place in the time following the Jewish exile when they returned home from Babylon. When we have been through a time of loss and deep disappointment as the Jewish exiles had been, what do we see? Can we still find reasons to thank God. Can we witness things about God that we had never seen before?
Zechariah’s name means, “The LORD remembers.” Our LORD God remembers His promises! God had promised to restore His people, to deliver them from exile in Babylon. They would have a restored community and the temple, their place of worship would be rebuilt. God remembers His promises and takes action to fulfill them.
The whole book of Zechariah teaches the sovereignty of God all throughout history. God is sovereign over individuals and nations past, present, and future because “The LORD remembers.”
The LORD never forgets us. If this is something that you have never thanked God for before then you can thank Him right now for always remembering you.
In the vision that God gives to Zechariah recorded in Zechariah 4:1-14, there is a key question, “What do you see”? (Zechariah 4:2)When we are looking for evidence of God and reasons to thank Him for what we have never before seen, there is plenty to see!
It is essential on our spiritual journey of wanting to become more of who God calls us to be to take careful notice of what God is showing us. We can then ask for God’s help in understanding what it means. What is the significance of what God invites us to see?
In Zechariah’s conversation with the angel he answers the question, “What do you see”? with these words,
“I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” (Zechariah 4:2b,3)
In this vision that Zechariah receives, the bowl represents an abundant supply of oil for the lamps. This symbolizes the fullness of God’s power through His Spirit. We can expect God’s generous and sufficient power to be displayed in our lives as well. The seven lamps with the seven channels to the lamps represent abundant light shining from the lamps. Seven is the number of fullness or completeness.
Do we expect to see God displaying the fullness of his power? When this is what we do see, are we eager to thank God for things we have not before thanked Him?
The two olive trees on either side of the bowl represent a continuing supply of oil. One olive tree represents Joshua the priest and the other represents Zerubbabel from the royal house of David. These two leaders were commissioned to do God’s work on the temple and in the lives of the people. They will not do this in their own strength, but only through the power of God’s Spirit.
Zechariah sees, but he does not understand. We can relate to this. There are things we see that we do not understand. We wonder where is God in the midst of what is happening.
The angel gives Zechariah an answer to his question, “What are these my lord”? (Zechariah 4:4)
And then the angel continues in Zechariah 4:6,
“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.
The angel is encouraging Zerubbabel to complete the rebuilding of the temple.
If all we see is limitations, then we would wonder for what we have to thank God. If instead we recognize the sufficiency of God’s Spirit, there is certainly reason to thank God.
The angel continues, 7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”
We need to hear today that faith in God’s mighty Spirit can overcome the mountain sized obstacles of our lives. In the rebuilding of the temple, the “mountains”, would have included opposition and the people’s unwillingness to persevere. When any project or undertaking takes a long time, it can be difficult to keep at it. When the mountains of our lives seem overwhelming, will we look to God’s Spirit and trust Him to be enough?
The capstone is the final stone to be put in place to complete the rebuilding of the temple. This completion will be a time of great thanksgiving and shouting, “God bless it! God bless it”!
When we see the ways that God has levelled the mountains in our lives we too can shout praise to God!
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
At this point the temple is not yet completed but the word of the LORD assures Zechariah that this will happen and that will be the evidence that “the LORD remembers” and that God’s Spirit has made it happen.
What encouragement can we draw from verse 10?: 10 “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
There were those who thought that the work on rebuilding the temple was a small thing and not terribly important. Since God was in this rebuilding project, it was important and it would be God by His Spirit Who would see it through to completion.
It may be in the small and seemingly insignificant details of our lives that God is persistently carrying out the work of His Spirit. Rather than despise the day of small things, we can choose to thank God for the ways that the small things result in His will being accomplished in us and through us.
This is what happened when the two people (Joshua and Zerubbabel) whom God was using to rebuild the temple and people’s lives, served God as God intended.
We read in verse 14 in reference to the vison of two olive branches (trees) on either side of the lamp: 14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.” (Joshua and Zerubbabel)
We as followers of Jesus are likewise anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth. Our availability to do this will depend on what we see and how we understand what we see.
We can thank God that our lives can also display the truth we discover in this Scripture, “Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit says the LORD”. As we see what God is doing and witness how we can enter into His Holy will and work God will enable us to serve Him well with thanksgiving in our hearts!