“Then 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 of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
- Zechariah 4:6-7
This one’s weird, if you don’t believe me by the two verses above, go and read the rest of Zechariah 4! The imagery of this vision is meant to have a ton of symbolism, but the meaning of it all is highly simple and wrapped up in 10 words.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.”
Before we dive into those words, I’ll try to explain this imagery…
Two Olive Trees and a Lampstand:
Let’s take a look at the lampstand first. There is a bowl in the middle that contains the oil for the lamps. Branching out from the bowl are 7 lamps each with a lip, making there be 7 lips. All of this is made of gold.
Take this with a grain of salt, but the lampstand is believed to represent the Temple. In verse 9 it is written,
“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it.”
The “House” is the Temple of the LORD, which is rebuilt when they return from the Exile in Babylon. The 7 lamps with the 7 lips all made of gold more just point to the perfection of the Temple. However, and this is why I said take this with a grain of salt, verse 10 also explains that the 7 lamps are the 7 eyes of the LORD that are watching over the earth… strange right? And perhaps it's both, but the one that can be comprehended by my human mind is it represents the Temple. Partly because I can begin to understand 7 eyes watching over the earth.
Then we come to the 2 Olive Trees which are supplying oil to the lamp, one tree being to the right and the other to the left. All our passage reveals is that these trees represent “the two anointed ones.” Who or what are those? Your guess is as good as mine, but most conclude that they are Joshua (the high priest from chapter 3) and Zerubbabel (the man in line for the throne as a descendent of David). Zerubbabel would be made governor of Judea by Cyrus. The thought here is that these two men were pivotal in the re-establishment of the Temple and restoring worship of the LORD there. Hence, oil flowed from them, the trees, to the Temple, the lampstand.
Confusing and strange right?
By My Spirit:
If we look at chapter 3 as reinstatement of Joshua as the High Priest, to be a pure and clean representative of Israel to God, then it is also helpful to look at Zerubbabel being reinstated to rule by God. Sure, historically it was Cyrus of Persia delegating responsibilities to local rulers when he sent people out of Babylon to their homelands. However, we know that behind the curtain, is the spiritual historical truth that God was restoring and redeeming Israel and bringing them back to Jerusalem.
This is helpful context as we look at those 10 keywords. First, this reinstatement of Zerubbabel is not because of his might or power. Thus, how he is to rule and rebuild was not due to any might or power of his own.
It’s disheartening how often we today try to do things by our might and power. I’m just as bad about this too. By our might and power, we build up ministries and businesses. We lead and coordinate people for a purpose. We check off our to-do list and a draft of visions of what could be. We form opinions and defend them by our might and try to convince others with our power. In the process, we build our lives around pride, even if we had good intentions.
Zerubbabel and all of Judea’s leaders were meant to lead differently. It wasn’t about them and what they could do, but about how they followed after God. It was not by might nor power, but by God’s own Spirit.
His Spirit is the one I should be doing my work with. His Spirit is who is to build up our ministries and businesses. His Spirit is to be leading and coordinating people for God’s purposes. The Spirit is the one to fill up our to-do list, and provide for our visions of what should be. The Spirit is to be reforming our opinions and helping us to reason with them, all while keeping us humble and gentle. The Spirit helps us build our lives around humility, instilling in us God’s good intentions.
It may seem like I’m beating an old drum, how we need to be guided and led by the Holy Spirit. It’s the same old truth, but it's also a little more. We need to renounce our pride and the areas where we have tightly held onto control. The areas where our might and power take charge rather than humility and grace. It is not up to me to say what that is for you, but what I am trying to do, and what I would encourage you to do as well, is to pray…
Final Blessing:
Pray to God to reveal to you where you are living by your might and power. Where pride has maintained a grip on your soul. Repent of what is revealed, ask for help in working those out with accountability. Then seek help in seeing where the Spirit is leading you, to live open-handed to His guiding and care.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey.
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