Somehow continuing the story of the high priest being clothed in new, pure white robes, the next vision Zechariah has starts with his own being woken up by the same angel he had previously been talking to, as though he were asleep (Zechariah 4:1). He proceeds to have a set of visions about things that would normally be unusual if not nearly impossible. The first is a sight of a golden lampstand, a bowl of oil surrounded by seven lamps that each have seven spouts and wicks, and two olive trees on each side of the bowl. (Zechariah 4:2-3). This collection of things didn’t mean all that much to me when I first read this, and it must not have really triggered anything for Zechariah either, because he turns to the angel and says, “What are these?”
And the angel replies, “Don’t you know?”
I’m partially led to believe this is how most of life actually happens. The messages of God are spelled out to us throughout our various means of perception, but we don’t necessarily understand what is actually being said, leaving the angels to wonder, “Don’t you know what this means already?”
The angels proceeds to talk about how the vision means that Zerubbabel (governor of Judah) will become an unstoppable force in the world. (I’m not sure I see how these things equate, but I have many more years to study.) News like this is definitely a plus for any government leader, especially the leader of a weak and struggling Jewish nation; to most of today’s world leaders, finding out they are unstoppable would be more of a reverie than giving a kid a candy store. The catch to the power is what makes the story what it is, though: “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord of Heaven’s armies to Zerubbabel (v. 6). Keep this is mind about all positions of power you encounter: it is not by force or strength, but by the Spirit of God.
As the story goes on, the angel talks about Zerubbabel’s involvement in getting the temple rebuilt. In the smack middle of this section of the story came a verse that caught me by surprise, the first half of Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” In context, God is mentioning how Zerubbabel started and will finish work on the Temple. I can’t help but see a parallel, though, between this and other work the Lord calls his followers to do. We cannot be upset with small beginnings to our works for God, be it work on ourselves (our personal temples to the Lord), or work in the world around us. God rejoices that the work is beginning, and does not despair that it is small at the present time. What he wills to see through to the finish will be seen through to the finish, with work completed in big and glorious ways. One of the biggest, more fixed world religions was started with 13 men that walked on foot declaring the Good News. Don’t be upset with small beginning, but work unto the big finish.
Zechariah 5:1-4 relays a story where Zechariah sees a giant flying scroll that has curses for the entire land of Judah written on it, for those who steal and for those who swear falsely by the name of God. The punishment carried by the flying scroll was so severe, that it invaded every house and banished from the land anyone who was guilty of these crimes, and then destroyed their houses completely. Although sin is treated a little differently in New Testament times and I know I’ve never seen flying scrolls come gliding past my house, the severity of the consequences must reflect to some degree how severe these sins are to God. They are both in the ten commandments, yes, but has a large flying scroll ever destroyed your house because you failed to keep the Sabbath? Ever been banished from your country for adultery? There is something about these specific sins that made them the two mentioned in the story. Despite the covering of the blood of the Lamb, keep your thoughts on the severity of your sins as a way to inspire you to righteousness.
Psalm 142 has a interesting title to it. Most psalms are something generic: Psalm of someone, to be played with such and such instrument. This psalm, however, is a Psalm of David, regarding his experience in the cave. A prayer. That’s just a little bit more color to that pathos behind the Psalm. David is hiding for his life in a cave, and he’s crying out to God, and pleading for mercy. There are two verses in this chapter I want to highlight specifically, beyond the rest of the well written desperation: verses 3 and 5. Psalm 142:3 says, “When I am overwhelmed, you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me.” Look at the first sentence. David, a man after God’s own heart, the man who was somewhat of a model King for Israel, does not know where to turn in his current overwhelmed state. And he knows that no one else knows but God knows which way he should go. This is easily more than just a physical direction: David knows he should not turn and go out of the cave if he wants to live. There is something more to the direction God alone knows for David, a spiritual direction. If you ever have a time of feeling overwhelmed and you don’t know where to turn, don’t worry, you won’t. God alone knows the way you should turn, if you should only ask him.
“Then I pray to you, O Lord,” says Psalm 142:5. “I say ‘You are my place of refuge. You are all I really want in life.’ ” David understands here that although the cave is his physical place of refuge, God is his true place of refuge in the problems he is facing. The second sentence on its own is very striking: You are all I really want in life. David, the man who could have anything he wanted, and did (see the story of Bathsheba), has somewhere come to a point of only wanting God in his life. There are other things he wanted, like surviving his current crisis, but all he really wanted in life was God. As you fill your wants and needs, take a moment to think about if God is all you really want in life.
I wish you the best in these last hours before the grand celebration of the Messiah’s birth!
-Zachariah