Zechariah 4
The Prophet’s Fifth Vision: A Lampstand and Olive Trees
This vision was of particular encouragement to Zerubbabel who, in his task of reconstructing the temple, faced mountainous obstacles. His authority was limited by Persia; he had a shortage of labor and materials; his workers were discouraged by certain Jews who despised the new building as being small in comparison with Solomon’s magnificent temple; and he was surrounded by hostile foreigners who tried to hinder the work. God now gives him a message of encouragement and reassurance. - Don Fleming
The point of this vision and its accompanying oracles was the Lord’s ability to bring a seemingly impossible project to completion successfully and gloriously through His anointed servants (Messiah, and Zerubbabel and Joshua) and His supernatural enablement. - Thomas Constable
A Solid Gold Lampstand
Vs. 2 - I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top.
Zechariah’s vision related directly to the work of rebuilding the temple with all its elements of worship. This lampstand represented the entire project and the empowerment needed to complete it.
One of the more tedious duties of the temple service was the constant care of the lamps on the golden lampstand. They had to be continually refilled with oil, cleaned of soot, and their wicks had to be maintained. In this vision, Zechariah sees “self-filling” lamps, fed directly from two olive trees. - David Guzik
Two Olive Trees Beside It
Vs. 3 - There are also two olive trees beside it
Vs. 14 - “These are the two anointed ones,”he said, “who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Given the placement of this vision next to the preceding one, it is likely that the two anointed ones are Joshua and Zerubbabel. - D. Brent Sandy
Most commentators see the olive trees as Joshua and Zerubbabel, the two spiritual and political leaders God used to lead His people during this time, and the oil as the Holy Spirit.
By My Spirit, Says The Lord
Encouragement
Vs. 6 - “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Armies.
The message of this vision was one of encouragement for God’s leaders and the discouraged remnant rebuilding the temple. If they would be faithful to the task, God Himself would empower them to complete it.
’Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts,’ a kind of motto, as it were, to guide all endeavors and enterprises of the nation in these evil days. If success is to be gained in the achievements of the people of God, it will not be secured by what man can do but by the Spirit’s work. - Leupold
Remnant
Vs. 7 - ‘What are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain.
Whatever metaphorical mountain the prophet had in view, the message is clear: one day, this remnant people and their tiny temple would rise above all opposition. - Scott Hubbard
The Day of Small Things
Vs. 10 - For who despises the day of small things?
When the returned exiles of Israel began rebuilding the temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the young rejoiced; the old wept (Ezra 3:10–13). Compared to Solomon’s temple, which the gray-haired among the people still remembered, the new sanctuary seemed a mere stump. Their dreams of the kingdom, restored to its former glory, suddenly died in a day of small things.
While the elders of Israel wept over this day of small things, the God of Israel did not. Despite his big plans for his people, he is not afraid of the small.
Zechariah’s prophecy found its partial fulfillment when Zerubbabel placed the capstone on the rebuilt temple (Zechariah 4:7). But as Zechariah’s fellow prophet Haggai put it, total fulfillment would need to wait “a little while” (Haggai 2:6) — which is typical prophet talk for a few centuries, maybe more. And so, the day of small things remained with Israel for over four hundred years, until finally every mountain was laid low (Isaiah 40:4; Luke 3:5), and the true temple arrived in the person of Jesus Christ (John 2:18–22).
The big God is apparently patient enough to endure centuries of small days. His kingdom, which will one day cover the earth, does not begin big. It grows from one old man and his barren wife (Isaiah 51:2). It grows from “the fewest of all peoples” (Deuteronomy 7:7). It grows from a mustard seed and a bit of leaven (Matthew 13:31–33). It grows from an embryo in the womb of a virgin (Isaiah 9:6–7). It grows from twelve uneducated men (Acts 1:8).
What will it mean for us to worship a God who works like this? It will mean praying for the big, longing for the big, and working for the big — all while faithfully and contentedly devoting ourselves to the small. Pray for revival, and then prepare breakfast for the kids. Dream of the knowledge of God’s glory flooding the earth (Habakkuk 2:14), and then bring a taste of that glory to the neighbor next door. Preach a grand vision to dozens or hundreds on Sunday, and then sit and listen to the wounded one on Monday.
The day of big things is coming. Until then, do not neglect the day of small things. - Scott Hubbard
