Zechariah 4
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And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
7 Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you.
10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
12 And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Zechariah 4:1-14
A Vision of a Golden Lampstand
1And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. 3And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 6Then 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. 7Who 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!’”
8Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
“These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.” 11Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?” 13He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” 14Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Zech. 4:1-14
The Gold Lampstand and the Two Olive Trees
1Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2He asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5He answered, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I replied.
6So 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 Almighty.
7“What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”
8Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
10“Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?”
11Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
12Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”
13He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”
“No, my lord,” I said.
14So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
The prophet is awakened. Indeed, Israel was in a deep sleep. Instead of fulfilling their calling to introduce the neighboring nations to the Lord, Israel slept on the assurance that they were chosen by God. They thought they were safe and strong because the Lord was on their side. They thought themselves powerful enough to rebuild the temple as a sign of their pride and glory. To the questions of the prophet regarding the lampstand and the two olive trees, the Lord replied: “Do you not know what these are?” This is the light you were supposed to let shine around you. A light for the nations. The light that comes from the Holy Spirit. To you it may seem a small thing that the nations return to Me, compared to your dreams of national glory reflected in the rebuilding of the temple. You want power? There is power in the two anointed sources that feed the lampstand. If you remain connected to them, you will shine. My glory will be your glory. Your honor will become my honor. You will see the fruit of your efforts, as a sign that I am with you. Connect to the Source! Today!
Cristian Dumitrescu
Professor and pastor who shares God's love among homeless people on the streets of Bucharest, Romania (as of this writing)
