Zechariah 4

I want to give us some background and context before we look at this very encouraging passage

and how it is applicable for us

now lets first look at the title of this book there is something in the title of a book that tells about the book

gives us insight into the book and what its about

the title given to this book is the Hebrew prophet zechariah

zechariah means trso this prophecy in some way is about the treasure of YHWH

Zechariah deals with things going on during his time period or time frame like the rebuilding of the temple

he prophecies about the first coming of christ

he tells things about the anti christ

he prophecies about the second coming of Christ

he also points to the ultimate final end goal the millennial kingdom and the new jerusalem

this book is so rich

lets say in order to understand a new testament book like Revelation

We need to have a grasp of a book like Zechariah

this is a very fascinating book with lots of prophetic promises

and is really a very encouraging

now we are going to look at 2 chapters tonight

chapters 3 and 4

but it's important to understand that chapter 3 and chapter 4 really go together and should be taught together

but because of the chapter divisions we often times break things up unnaturally

and we loose then the train of thought the author original had

see two characters are being covered in chapter 3 and 4

and this section is as a whole about leadership

and the restoration of leadership in israel

the two characters are

we have Joshua the high priest in chapter 3

and Zerubbabel the governor in chapter 4

Now let's understanding the setting these two leaders are in

who is Zechariah speaking to

that is who is his original audience

It's what german theologians call the sitz im laben - which means “setting in life

what is happening in the social ethnic and cultural setting of his era

So just briefly This is a group of People who had just came out exile

They're are those who have just came out from being under the judgment of God

They are those who had been removed from a land that was given to them by God in which they obtained through many miraculous events

Now this removal from the land didn't happen arbitrarily

this happened because of their unfaithfulness and idolatry

And they had been warned

and really pleaded with to repent and turn back to YHWH

God had sent his prophets over multiple years to call his people to repent

and because they never repented

They eventually came under Gods Judgment

First was

the 10 tribes in the northern kingdom who were taking captive by Assyria in about 720 bc

then you have Judah the southern kingdom taken in to captivity around 585 BC by the Babylonians

But God was not finished with his people

And God promised that he would return them back to the land that He promised them

but it wouldn't happen until they had spent 70 years in captivity

we read about this captivity to come in Daniel and Jeremiah

and then we get to the book of Ezra were we read

Ezra 1:1

Ezra 1:1–3 NET 2nd ed.

1 In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfillment of the Lord’s message spoken through Jeremiah, the Lord motivated King Cyrus of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his kingdom and also to put it in writing. It read: 2 “This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “ ‘The Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Anyone of his people among you (may his God be with him!) may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may build the temple of the Lord God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

And so they were told and a decree was sent out

to return back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple that was destroyed by Babylon in 585bc

now in the book of Haggai we are told that the people started the work but because of opposition and threats

They became fearful and discouraged

and ultimately it came down to them being more concerned for their own needs and their own comforts and leisure

they became selfish with no real motivation to build the Lords house

Or no real motivation to complete

now their is some application for us here

We may not have a calling to build an actual temple

but what is the temple today

today who is the temple of God

well what does it say in

1 Corinthians 3:16–17 NKJV

16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

see we need to be building the church of God

Now at this time it was the Jews who were building there temple so they could worship God their

But today the temple is made up of both Jew and gentile

as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:19-22

Ephesians 2:19–22 NKJV

19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

how is this accomplished

by fulfilling the great commission by going forth and making disciples

we should be active in building each other up and also expanding Gods family by reaching out to all nations

lets hope and pray we dont become like those in the time of Zechariah who were more concerned with their own leisure and less concerned with building the house of God

and those of us who are Pastors or leaders

may we never become hirelings and loose love and concern for the sheep

what does John tells us about hirelings

John 10:12–13 NKJV

12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

many Christians today heck many Pastors today are more concerned with building their own kingdom and less concerned with building the kingdom God

so what happens

God sends Haggai and Zechariah to tell the People

because they have stopped moving forward on building the temple

God sends his prophets Haggai and Zechariah to tell them they have forsaken the Lord

And they need to wake up and get back to work

so God has two leaders to help lead the People

one is Joshua the high priest

And the other is Zerubabbel the Governor

there were no more kings in israel at this time

Zedekiah was the last king in the line of David

But Zerubabbel was still in the Davidic line

Now when we read a book like Nehemiah it's a post exilic book but he deals with the walls around Jerusalem

But right now we are only dealing with building Gods temple

now i mentioned that this section is really dealing with leadership and in chapter 3

Zechariah 3:1–3 NKJV

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

we see Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of YHWH

and it says that Satan is standing on his right side accusing him

if we pay attention we see

they're is a play on words here

we have Satan which means accuser

and he is doing what his name means

literally it says Satan is their Satanizing him

or the accuser is their accusing him

remember

1 pet 5:8

1 Peter 5:8 NKJV

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

what is he saying

I can imagine he is accusing him because of his sin

And the sins of the people

come on Joshua your not good leader look at you

You can't lead the people you don't have a temple how can you be a priest with no temple

Revelation 12:10 NKJV

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

i love it because it doesn't say Joshua defended himself

why?

because he probably thought he was right

i know when i feel like Im under fire by the enemy

i feel like he is right

Lord i dont deserve to do this please get someone else to do this

But who speaks up for Joshua

Who comes to his defense

the Lord does

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NKJV

3 But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 3

But Yahweh said to Satan, “Yahweh rebukes you, O Satan! Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a stick snatched from the fire?”

He says Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you

See God choose his people the jewish people to be his people

Joshua being the high priest represents the people before God

And he also represents God before the people

he goes on to say that the people who he has chosen are like a stick snatched from the fire

Meaning they were just about to be wiped out and destroyed

and God in his amazing grace pulled them out of the fire

now when we really think about it

this is applicable to all of us who have been redeemed by the blood of the lamb

let us never forget that it is only the grace of God that we also are not destroyed

dont ever think that your salvation has anything to do with how great or humble you are

its only by the compassion and love that God had for us

Zechariah 3:3–4 NKJV

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

verse 3 says that Joshua had on filthy garments

the Hebrew word for filthy

literally means he had excrement or fesses smeared on his clothes

Joshua is said to be standing before the angel of the Lord

with smeared nasty fesses smeared all over him

he feels totally disqualified for his priestly duties

Joshua stands their representing not only his own sin before the Angel of the Lord

but also the peoples sin because he is the high priest

And then another amazing word from the Lord

Zechariah 3:4–5 NET 2nd ed.

4 The angel spoke up to those standing all around, “Remove his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “I have freely forgiven your iniquity and will dress you in fine clothing.” 5 Then I spoke up, “Let a clean turban be put on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood nearby.

Think about it just as Joshua

we also have had to stand their before the Lord in our sin

embarrassed ashamed

but

Isaiah 61:10 LEB

10 I will rejoice greatly in Yahweh; my being shall shout in exultation in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns himself with a head wrap like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewelry.

Oh the goodness of God

this beautiful picture of salvation taking off the old filthy garments and putting on the garments of salvation

but remember Paul tells us this is something we are to continue in

we are to continue you in putting off the old man and putting on the new

we just dont pick up our cross one time

we are to pick up our cross daily

we are to make no provisions for the flesh

this is a continual process

how do we stay clean

by killing the old man daily

and making no provisions for the flesh

now at the at the end of chapter 3 of Zechariah we

see that Joshua is a symbol of what is to come

it says

Zechariah 3:8 (NKJV)

; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

Zechariah 3:9–10 (NKJV)

9 For behold, the stone That I have laid before Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. 10 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor Under his vine and under his fig tree.’ ”

now i dont have time to unpack everything in these verses

but to really quickly summarize

the picture we have here is that of the Davidic line

the Davidic line has been cut down to a stump

and now you have this stump with nothing growing out of it

and then one day you walk by the stump and you see this little sprout coming out of the stump

Isaiah 11:1 NKJV

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

thats the word to Joshua you are symbol a type

one day my servant speaking of the messiah

He is going to remove the iniquity by dying on the cross

but he is also going to return to Jerusalem

and later in this book we read

Zechariah 12:10 NKJV

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

we see multiple prophecies here in the book of Zechariah

like i said earlier dealing with multiple aspects about the messiah

covering his first coming and

this passage is talking about the lords second advent as he ushers in the millennium kingdom

like i mentioned earlier these passages go together

so i wanted to briefly cover chapter 3

because it deals with one of the two characters that Zechariah is covering

First one being Joshua the high priest

Now we get to chapter 4

Zechariah 4:1–4 NKJV

Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.” So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”

Now what we have here is Zechariah being woking up to see the 5th vision in this prophetic book

that contains a total of 8 visions all together

what is Zechariah awakened to but a

lampstand a very unique lampstand because this is made up of solid Gold

now what this lampstand is called in the Hebrew

was a menorah

now those of us who are familiar with the old testament

know that this menorah was placed in the tabernacle to give light

It was located in the Holy place opposite of the showbread

later on when Solomon built the temple

it says in 1kings 7:49 that there were 5 menorah at the south end and 5 at the north end located in the inner sanctuary

so there was a total 10 menorah each with seven bowls on each menorah or lampstand

so you have a total of seventy bowls of burning oil giving light

now what does this represent

it represents YHWH light to the world his knowledge his rightousness

but also it speaks of what Israel was to be they're were also to be conduit of Gods light

they're were to be a light to the gentiles

Israel were Gods chosen people to share his love his rightousness to the gentile world

God chose israel as his ambassadors to proclaim his love and rightousness to all the nations

Now they failed in this call

but the call has never stopped now we gentiles those of us who are not jewish who have been grafted into this olive tree

the church comprised of both jew and gentile are to continue on in this same calling we are to be a light

Matthew 5:14–16 (NKJV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

now lets continue on in zechariah

we read about this Gold menorah but this vision talks about other aspects of this menorah

and what is around and what is attached to it

we have the seven branches of the menorah

then it has a bowl on top of it

this is very different then the tabernacle menorah or lampstand other then it had seven branches and was made of Gold

.and scholars are divided on what this thing actually looked like

one perspective is we have

is we have the two olive trees one on each side

the two olive trees are supplying oil to the bowl and then from the bowl there is a pipe going to each of the tops of each branch of the menorah supplying it with oil

Now one of the debates in how this thing looked

from what i will call the main bowl that has seven pipes coming out of it

are those seven pipes going to each branch

which would have seven bowls on each branch

total of 49 bowls of light on each of the 7 branches

do the math you would have 343 bowls of burning light

some scholars believe this is a magnificence light coming out of this lampstand

now if we are to compare this menorah with the menorah in the tabernacle

whats are some differences between the two

well the one in the tabernacle had to be filled by the Priest on a daily basis

he had to fill the oil every 24 hours and he also had to trim the wick

now how is the oil getting from the tree to the lamps in the vision

we haven't been told yet

now we dont see any priest in this vision

so who is supplying the oil to the lamps

well God is doing it

remember the people have just come out of exile

there is no temple yet

now they do have a priest but he needs a temple to perform his duties and to perform sacrifices

remember Haggai has rebuked them for being lazy and not moving forward to accomplish the task at hand

because they were more concerned with their own needs and not the work of the Lord

they're was a sense of fearfulness because of they're enemies

So what we have here is this amazing picture

we have zechariah prophet he has just introduced us to Joshua the priest chapter 3

now he is going to bring in this new character

Zerubabbel who is a descendent of David like i mentioned earlier

there was no kings yet they were just governors

but in Luke 3:23 we see that in the middle of the Davidic line that leads to messiah is

Zerubabbel

now in chapter 3 we see the high priest restored

he is giving the new garments of salvation he has been justified by YHWH

now that they have a high priest

the new leader Zerubabbel needs to be prepared to move forward in the work

and this were we have this amazing verse truly a verse of encouragement

Zechariah 4:4–6 (NKJV)

Zerubabbel is told he is going to have to to the work but he is going to be alone

the word to Zerubabbel is not by might

that in the Hebrew means it is not going to be by military strength

this is not going to be accomplished by and army you build

the next word used is not by power

this is speaking of a mans strength

so two things are being covered here in this word to Zerubabbel

not by military strength nor by the strength of men is the task before you going to be accomplished

how is this going to be accomplished it will be accomplished by the spirit of God

the ruach

literally Gods breath

we see this through out the old testament

in the beginning it was the ruach of YHWH

the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters

it was Gods ruach that parted the red sea

it was the spirit of God

the breath of God that blew on the red sea and covered up the Egyptians

it was the ruach of God who gave life to the dry dead bones in Ezekiel 37:5

Ezekiel 37:5 (NKJV)

5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.

so what do we have here and Im just going to read the rest of the chapter

Zechariah 4:7–14 (NKJV)

7 ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” 8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” 11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” 12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” 13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

so hopefully we can start to understand the whole vision

we have the two olive trees they produce oil that produces the fuel for the lampstand

for it to give off its light

just now we read and hopefully we can connect the two

the oil represents the spirit of God

Zerubabbel is going to be empowered by the spirit of God to rebuild the temple of God

we have this encouraging word to Zerubabbel and promise that he is going to not only start this work but he will see it completed

nothing is going to stand in his way

the lord has anointed Zerubabbel with the spirit of God and he will accomplish the work that God has set before him

now here is the quistion how do this two concepts work together

on the one hand its not by zurababels strength or ability or by a military he can put together

but he still has to move forward in doing the work

the idea is who is he trusting in to accomplish the work

to complete the work

we put are hand to the plow

and it is God who is going to bring in the harvest and the increase

we plant the seed

God is the one who causes it to grow

we work hand in hand with God trusting in him to bring the increase

we know that we are striving in the flesh when we begin to stress over the ministry

the ministry can be such an amazing time such a joyous time

building his church and watching people’s lives be radicAl change as ours were

but we must keep our hand to the plow

and put our trust in the lord to accomplish the things that our out of our ability and out of our control

we have a picture that has been placed before us by the prophet Zechariah

First we see the high priest Joshua being opposed by Satan

look at you Joshua what an example you are not !

look at your robes you got fesces and vomit smeared all over you

you cant represent God to the people and look at the people you represent their as filthy and nasty as you are

as Satan accuses Joshua of all his sin and failures

and then you have Zerubabbel come on look at all these people who don’t like you actually they hate you

they don’t want you here

they want you to

go back to Babylon and Assyria we’re you belong

didnt God place you there in the first place because your were so hard of heart

And then these people you are supposed to lead that’s a joke ha ha

they are more interested in building they’re own houses

they don’t want to follow you in doing any work

they only care about doing something that will line they’re own pockets

Ezra 4 gives us some insight of the opposition Zurababbel was facing by what be the Samaritan’s

Ezra 4:1–5 NKJV

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

We must understand that Zecheriah is apocalyptic literature like revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, Job it gives a perspective behind the veil

Ezra tells what is happening in temporal plain

Zechariah from the heavenly perspective

That was zerubabbels mountain

has anybody here ever felt like this when doing ministry

what am I doing here why did I come here

as I’m reading about Joshua and Zerubabbel I’m thinking about my own life

and the ministries that have been involved in over the years

Remember Ephes 6:12

Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We need to put everything into it's proper perspective

Look at Joshua the attacks of Satan we're there but then he was lifted up and encouraged

Because the lord cleansed him and gave him a new turban

It comes down to this who you going to believe the enemy or God

Every one of us who has been called to leadership

Must as Joshua in chapter 3 realized

that we are no better then the people we minister to

We must be humbled by realizing

We are just as filthy and unworthy

Only difference is we have been given new garments

Isaiah 61:10 NKJV

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

Remember

we are a branch plucked out of the fire

But what about this Mt Everest before me

Matthew 17:20 (NKJV)

, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

how ?

Not by might not by power but by my spirit says the Lord