Zechariah 4-5
WE ARE GOING THROUGH A BOOK IN THE MINOR PROPHETS SECTION OF THE BIBLE. THESE ARE THE BOOKS FROM HOSEA TO MALACHI.The name "Minor Prophets" goes back apparently to St. Augustine in the 4th century who distinguished the 12 shorter prophetic books as from the four major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
Last week: Horseman in the myrtle trees, Four horns and four craftsman, Man with a measuring line, and Joshua’s cleansing
This week: Golden Lampstand, Flying scroll, Woman in a basket, Four chariots
4: 1] Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
By this point, Zechariah was probably tired from the visions he had already seen. Yet an angel came to him and woke him from his sleep so the visions would continue.
2 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.
In this vision, Zechariah would understand what this lampstand was all about. But this was different from any lampstand Zechariah had seen before, for on top of this lampstand was a reservoir filled with oil that would flow through pipes to each lamp.
3 Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.”
On each side of this lampstand stood an olive tree which produced the oil for the reservoir that emptied into pipes the oil was carried. Skipping forward to verse 12, we know that these trees were connected to the reservoir in such a way that oil was provided directly.
4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
After being prepared for the vision and presented with it, now Zechariah is perplexed by it.
5] Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?”
And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zechariah freely admitted he needed understanding, that he didn’t have all the answers. So now the angel will tell him the purpose of the vision…
Zechariah 4:6
Throughout Scripture, oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit—a really good picture . Oil lubricates and eliminates friction—the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love in addition to being a source of light
Oil is also the base of costly fragrances (
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.”
Through Zechariah, the Lord said “I know what you’re thinking Zerubbable. Sixteen years have passed and the project you began is now stalled. But I have good news for you. I am going to complete what I began. And your hands will be the hands I use to do it. Just be faithful. How will all of this come about? Not by your might or by your will. The stalled project will be completed by My Spirit.
Just as the oil from the olive trees passes through the lamps apart from human effort, so too, I will work apart from anything man does.”
I know there is a time in all of our lives when the Lord lays something on our hearts. A promise or a dream is placed on our minds. A vision is set before our eyes. It might be a business or marriage and family or a ministry. We begin. We lay the foundation—but then the difficulties come. Months and years pass by, we say, “maybe It’s not going to happen.” And our hearts sink.
But, just as He said to Zerubbabel, the Lord would say to us, “I
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.”
Zechariah is told that the branches by which the oil of the Spirit flows are the two anointed ones. Who are these annointed ones? I’ll give you an A,B, and C
A] Historically, this speaks of Joshua and Zerubbabel.
B] Prophetically, this refers to the verse in the Revelation to the two witnesses who will be raised up in the Tribulation.
Revelation 11:3–5 (NKJV)
C] But most importantly, symbolically, the two olives trees speak of the anointed Ones—Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. “I am the vine,” Jesus declares. “Ye are the branches”
John 15:5-6
. We’re the branches that the oil of the Spirit flows into the reservoir so that the light, the church, might burn brightly.
Conclusion: If we want to be filled with the Spirit, we must position ourselves as did Joshua and Zerubbabel—in the obedient place of service. Then the church burns brighter, and His kingdom grows, and that our own lives have value.
It is only by the power of the Spirit that anything will happen. When we quit trying to muscle our way through our our plans for things, we get humble. We know to get on our knees before the Lord and say, By Your Spirit, Lord, is how this will work. And it is then the
a]mountain will be removed maybe in our lives even;
b] the lamp will burn; the temple will be completed—
c} and the Lord will be glorified.
5
3 Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land.
4] “I will send out the curse,” says the LORD of hosts;
“It shall enter the house of the thief
And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name.
It shall remain in the midst of his house
And consume it, with its timber and stones.”
This mammoth scroll was a record of Israel’s sins both against God and man. We can relate because we often say, “Lord, ignite me. I want to burn brightly. Fill me with the oil of Your Spirit.” But sometimes problem isn’t just the filling: especially if we go to church and read our Bibles . The problem here, is there needs to be a trimming, a cutting a cutting away, a removing of wickedness. Distractions. The wicks of the lamps need to be trimmed so that they can burn brighter
psalm 51:16-17 16] For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
17] The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise
5 Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.”
6 So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth. He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth
In the seventh part of his vision, Zechariah sees an large basked used in harvesting.
7 Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket”; 8 then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth. 9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
Just as the women in the basket are carried away, the whole world is caught up in the materialism and commercialization symbolized by Babylon
10 So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”
11 And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.”
Shinar is a name for Babylon. When Judah was carried into Babylon, the Jews were farmers. But after spending seventy years in Babylon, they became merchants. Israel was rebirthed in 1948. At that time, people moved back to Israel, and many farmed the land once again. This is big part of Israeli society today—they are one of the world’s largest exporters of fruit.
CHAPTER SIX
In chapter 6, we come to the eighth and final section of this vision…
6 Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, 3 with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country.” 7 Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, “Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth.” So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. 8 And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, “See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country.”
1]Zechariah’s vision in its entirety was to show the people that the Lord was with them, moving among them, removing sin from them, destroying the commercial system that had polluted them—and that He would bring future righteous judgment on the earth.
2] Prophetically, Zechariah’s 8 PART vision tells the story of Israel. In 1948, when she was brought back home again,
1]the Lord was in the midst of the myrtle trees (1:7–11).
The myrtle tree is a symbol, a picture of the nation of Israel. Israel has a remarkable tendency to continue on even though men like Pharaoh, Haman, Herod, and Hitler throughout history have tried to destroy her completely. Whenever nations have sought to crush her, the fragrance of God smells strong! There is something special, unique, and supernatural about this nation—and here in this first vision, what an encouragement it must have been to the people to realize that the Lord Himself was standing among the myrtle trees, that He was in their very midst, having angels going to and fro watching over them.
2]The powers that came against Israel ended up being “hammered” themselves (1:18–21).
Zechariah’s second vision refers to the powers and nations that had come against God’s people. They were depiccted as 4 horns.
The Lord likens His Word to a hammer (. Therefore, the weapon you and I need to use when the horns of the enemy, the powers of hell, come against us is the Word of God. It’s our primary weapon, our key source of victory over the powers and forces of Satan. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, each time He said, “It is written.…” And Satan was rendered powerless (
3] Jerusalem was “measured” when the city was brought under the Israeli flag (2:1–5).
In the third part of this vision, Zechariah sees a man with a tape measure in his hand, measuring Jerusalem, taking stock of the situation.
4] Like Joshua, Israel will see that she has need of being cleansed and robed by the blood of Jesus Christ (3:1–5).
Here in the 4th part of the vision, we see Joshua standing before Jesus with Satan ready to resist, or accuse, him. According to
5] When that happens in the time of the Tribulation, her light will shine brightly (4:2–5).
women in the basket are carried away, the whole world is caught up in the materialism and commercialization symbolized by Babylon
These four chariots where we see that the the four spirits walk to and fro among the whole earth carrying out God’s will
12 Then speak to him, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying:
“Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!
From His place He shall branch out,
And He shall build the temple of the LORD;
13 Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD.
He shall bear the glory,
And shall sit and rule on His throne;
So He shall be a priest on His throne,
And the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” ’
14 “Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the LORD for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”
Isaiah 52
