And he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.
A feeble group of Jews had come back from exile in Babylon to rebuild the temple. Their governor, Zerubbabel, faced obstacles far bigger than his strength. Here an angel explains a vision of a golden lampstand fed with oil. He names the one power that will finish the house.
The message goes to one named man with a job to do. Zerubbabel led the building work with Joshua the high priest, and he was afraid.
So Zerubbabel was taught that the time had not yet come for Jehovah to display His might or power for His people. It was a time of feebleness instead. But God's Spirit was working to secure all that His name and interests required, both in the hearts of the people and in their service. So the moment called for dependence upon God and confidence in Him. Zerubbabel needed this lesson in his trying position — a position made harder by his own fears. It is easy enough, even for the natural man, to take up the outward service of God when He steps in with power to sustain His servants and secure the result. But only the man of faith can labour on in the face of every kind of discouragement.
The prophet had seen a gold lampstand with seven lamps, fed through pipes from two olive trees beside it. The verse explains that picture.
The meaning of the vision pointed to the Holy Spirit as the only power for witness and work for God. A feeble remnant had returned from captivity in Babylon to build the temple. They cared about the worship of Jehovah, so the first thing they did was set the altar on its bases (Ezra 3:3). They put first things first.
The verse rules out might and power. So how does God work instead?
God is now working in the church by His Spirit. The Spirit of God works in a way that men cannot understand. That is to say, the Spirit of God works secretly, quietly, without noise.
The next verses show the building finished. The shout at the end is not "power" but "grace."
More than this: "He shall bring forth the capstone, with shouts of Grace, grace, to it." The capstone, or topstone, of the building (the temple) means it is finished. Just as Christ is the foundation of the building, so also is He the full completion of it. Grace will also stand out, in contrast to "might" and "power." Grace will draw forth shouts of rejoicing on the part of the people.
A work carried by the Spirit will often look unimpressive. That appearance is a test of the worker, not a verdict on the work.
It was only a day of small things now. But the man who despised it would not be in agreement with Jehovah of hosts when the fulfilment came… The day when God is morally testing souls is always a day of small things. It is open to the scorn of the man whose heart is not content to serve God. Those whose delight is in God's will and work in the day of small things are in communion with Himself.
This lesson takes a long time to learn.
It takes us a long time to learn that there is no power except in the Lord. In the Lord's work, human energy, will, or perseverance not only count for nothing — they are real barriers in the way of divine strength… So when we are weak we are strong. In the sense of our complete weakness we come to depend on the Lord, and He can then display His own power in and through us without hindrance.
The verse does not forbid activity. It fixes what must come first.
If faith goes first, then energy that comes from faith can follow after. God is in the scene, and resurrection from the dead is recognised as a principle. But if energy gets ahead of faith, it is drawn from within us, and it brings with it nature and the world and the flesh. Flesh cannot rebuke and put down flesh, as some think; and if it is tried, flesh is drawn out against flesh. Better to have hard cases in God's hand than easy ones in our own.
- Oil. The lampstand burns only because oil keeps flowing in. The Spirit is the one power for witness and work for God.
- Quiet. God works in the church by His Spirit — secretly, quietly, without noise.
- Weakness. Our own energy and perseverance do not just fall short — they block divine strength. Felt weakness turns us to depend on the Lord.
- Small. A work carried by the Spirit looks small. Those who despise it are out of step with Jehovah of hosts; those who delight in it are in communion with Him.
- Grace. The top stone goes up to shouts of "Grace, grace" — the finished building answers might and power with grace.
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel [thou dost become] a plain; and he shall bring forth the head-stone with shoutings Grace, grace unto it!
The mountain is not a real hill. It stands for everything blocking the builders, and God's question to it carries a note of defiance.
The mountain, we understand, stands for all the obstacles that lay in the way of finishing the work. It is a figure that gathers up the whole of the difficulties, as well as the opposition they met, which the book of Ezra describes in detail. But all of these are nothing to God, whatever the enemies do and however strong or influential they are. They are just as nothing to the man of faith who rests only on the power of the Spirit and walks in the path of God's will. So the question is put in triumph, even in defiance: "Who are you, O great mountain?"
Commentators differ on what the mountain stands for. Some read it as the empires that held Israel down. Others read it as Israel's own unbelief.
The question, "Who are you, O great mountain?" (v. 7), draws our attention to the Gentile powers, beginning with Babylon, that have been so great an obstacle to Israel's blessing. But before Zerubbabel, this mountain would become a plain — no obstacle at all.
The mountain gives way in front of a man who works in God's strength. Jesus later spoke in the same way about faith.
Surely, the Lord Jesus was pointing to this verse when He said to His disciples, "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move" (Matt. 17:20). … In the days we live in, the weakest faith makes every obstacle that Satan and the world put in our path disappear.
The stone brought out here is the last one, not the first. It is the piece that says the work is done.
"And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" (v. 7). In the previous chapter Christ was the cornerstone of the foundation. Here He appears as the top, the keystone of the entire building. God had engraved seven eyes on the cornerstone; on the top stone one reads only one word: Grace! … All future blessings will depend on this grace of God displayed in the person of the King. When He came into this world, grace appeared in His person… But His people did not receive Him and the world rejected Him. Then He finished the work of grace on the cross.
Other writers reach the same identification by tracing the phrase into the New Testament, where the rejected stone ends up on top.
As a symbol, the headstone, equally with the foundation-stone, points to Christ. This will be seen from the words, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." (Psalm 118:22.) And it is possible that the passage in Ephesians may connect itself with this: "Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20), teaching that He is both the foundation and the crown, the beginning and the end, of the house of God.
The shout comes at the end, when people see what the finished building has become.
The foundation was already laid. If they only trusted God and went on with the work, the top stone would go up, and everyone would cry, Grace, grace to it — that is, they would exclaim what a fair and beautiful building it had become.
The doubled word also settles the question of credit. Grace, not might or power, gets the applause.
Grace, too, will stand out most, in contrast to "might" and "power." Grace will draw shouts of rejoicing from the people. This will be true above all in the day of Israel's restoration, but today believers have the privilege of knowing the reality of the grace of God in advance.
Another house is going up now, out of unlikely material, and it waits for the same shout.
In the very world where men crucified His Beloved and cried out, "Away with Him," a dwelling place is being formed from such material as that! These are men who recognise their lost condition and accept the infinite grace and love of God. Out of this quarry of nature come the great and costly stones dug for this temple of God. So, without great show, without the sound of a hammer (1 Kings 6:7), this eternal dwelling place of God is growing, until "he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"
- Mountain — one image holds every obstacle and every opponent. God challenges it with a question that expects no answer.
- Plain — the obstacle drops flat in front of a man who leans on God. Jesus told His disciples that even the smallest faith moves mountains.
- Headstone — the last stone, set when the work is done. Commentators read it as Christ, both the foundation and the top of God's building.
- Grace — the cry over the finished work admires its beauty and hands the credit to God, not to might or power.
- Now — believers know that same grace in advance, and they are the stones of a house still rising toward that shout.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
The temple in Jerusalem stood half-built, and the people working on it had lost heart. Here a fresh message from God arrives about that unfinished work, the man leading it, and the messenger who brought the word.
This new word is plain speech: a named man, and an unfinished building. It renews a promise the builders had already been given:
Here, then, we have a solemn renewal of the assurance. Nothing would stop Zerubbabel from carrying out his work. The hands that laid the foundation of the house should finish it. From this we learn a lesson. No opposition or hostility can hinder the work of God. Not all the cunning of the enemy can even slow it down. This holds true when His people labour in dependence on Him and count on His support and protection alone.
Nothing they could see backed up the promise. The same writer shows what faith would let them say:
Appearances might be — and indeed they were — all against them. But by faith they would be able to say: we know that our work will prosper, because the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
The promise rests on who God is, not on Zerubbabel's strength:
The foundation stone of the temple was laid in Jerusalem. It was the witness that the work was begun. It was begun in the name of Jehovah, and what is begun in His name will surely be completed in His name. God never yet left a work unfinished. Man has time and time again left his work, as he did the tower of Babel, because he was unable to complete it.
Another writer brings the promise back to Zechariah's own situation:
With this Zechariah returns to the circumstances under which he prophesied. He announced that Zerubbabel would complete the house of which he had laid the foundation. History tells us that this has also come about.
This unimpressive building was to carry two things at once:
Zerubbabel had laid the foundation, and he also should finish it; and this should be a sign to the people that the Lord had sent His servant. To the outward eye it might be a day of small things. But that day held within itself the promise that the kingdom would be restored in glory, under the rule of the promised Messiah.
Commentators differ on who the speaker is. Some read it of Zechariah, and hear more in it as well:
Zechariah is no doubt referring to himself when he says, "Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you." But does this not also speak of what the nation will come to know in a coming day? They refused the word of Zechariah, and so they refused the word of the Lord. But in that day they will know beyond any shadow of doubt that He was the sent One of the Father.
Others hear a greater speaker behind the words:
When the finishing took place, it would be the clearest demonstration that it was "Jehovah of hosts" who had "sent Me to you." Who is this who was sent? The language is meant to stress that this prophecy is a picture. It looks forward to the future temple in Jerusalem, which Israel knows the Messiah will build in His own time. So the One whom Jehovah of hosts has sent is the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus. Today this is a picture of the spiritual house, the Church, of which the Lord Jesus Himself is the foundation, the cornerstone and the topstone.
Zerubbabel worked in weakness and discouragement. That is exactly what makes him a picture of someone greater:
It was indeed a day of small things in Zerubbabel's day. Despite weakness and low spirits, he would not only lay the foundation of the house, but finish it. In the same way, Christ laid the moral foundation of it in His death, and He will finish it in the day of His power.
- Word. A fresh message comes to the prophet. It leaves vision and symbol for the real half-built temple and the man in charge of it.
- Hands. The same hands that laid the foundation will finish it. No hostility and no cunning of the enemy can stop God's work while His people lean on Him.
- Finished. What God starts in His name, He finishes in His name. He has never yet left a work unfinished, and history shows the temple was built.
- Sign. The finished house was the proof. Seeing it stand, they would know God had sent His messenger.
- Sent. Commentators differ: is the sent one Zechariah, or the Messiah? Either way the promise reaches forward to Christ. He laid the moral foundation in His death, and He will finish the house in the day of His power.
The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; and his hands shall finish it and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you.
A word comes to Zechariah for a building project that had stopped. The builders had laid the foundation, and the promise here is that the same hands will finish it — and that the finished house will show who sent the messenger.
The first meaning is plain. Zechariah names a man alive in his own day and tells him what he will do.
With this word (vv. 8-9) Zechariah returns to the circumstances under which he prophesied. He announced that Zerubbabel would complete the house of which he had laid the foundation. History tells us that this has also come about.
The promise names the same hands twice, and one writer draws from it a rule about every work of God.
So here is a solemn renewal of the assurance that nothing should stop Zerubbabel from carrying out his work. The hands that laid the foundation of the house should finish it. This teaches us that no opposition or hostility, and not all the cunning of the adversary, can hinder or even slow down the work of God. That holds when His people labour in dependence on Him and count only on His support and protection. Appearances might be, and indeed were, all against them. But under the influence of faith they could say: we know our work will prosper, because the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
What the builders saw was small. The promise tied to it was not, and faith could join the two.
Zerubbabel had laid the foundation, and he also should finish it; and this should be a sign to the people that the Lord had sent His servant. To the outward eye it might be a day of small things. Yet that day held within itself the promise of the kingdom restored in glory, under the rule of the promised Messiah (see Zech. 6:12-13). And faith had the privilege of linking itself, in this day of small things, with the full accomplishment of God's purposes towards His people.
Commentators differ on who speaks the closing line. Some read it as the prophet's own commission, as above. Others hear a voice greater than Zechariah's, since the finished building proves who sent Him.
When the work was finished, it would be the clearest proof that it was "the LORD of hosts" who had "sent Me to you." Who is this who was sent? The language stresses that this prophecy is a picture. It looks ahead to the future temple in Jerusalem, which Israel knows the Messiah will build in His own time. So the One whom the LORD of hosts has sent is the Messiah of Israel, the Lord Jesus. In our own day this is a picture of the spiritual house, the Church. The Lord Jesus is Himself its foundation, its corner-stone and its topstone. He is the Builder, and He takes a personal part in raising the whole building.
Read that way, the two acts in the verse — laying and finishing — belong to two moments far apart in time.
It was indeed a day of small things in Zerubbabel's day. Despite weakness and low spirits, he would not only lay the foundation of the house, but finish it. In the same way, Christ laid the moral foundation of it in His death, and He will finish it in the day of His power.
The verse still answers discouragement. It measures a work by its Builder, not by its size.
God also decreed that "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it." No amount of opposition by the great of this world can frustrate what God has set Himself to do. It may be a "day of small things," which God's people are inclined to despise. But the faithful will see that the outward appearance does not show the true value of the work of God. The faithful remnant of that day would rejoice to see the building tools again in the hands of Zerubbabel. In the same way, God's people today see by faith the Lord Jesus building what no power of man or Satan can prevail against.
- Same hands. The hands that laid the foundation are the hands that finish it — God does not hand His unfinished work to someone else.
- Same hands, so no fear. God has already named the finisher. So no hostility and no cunning of the adversary can stop the work, where His people depend on Him.
- Same hands, so no contempt. Outward smallness is not a measure of value; faith links a modest beginning to the full accomplishment of God's purposes.
- Same hands in Christ. Christ laid the moral foundation in His death, He finishes it in the day of His power, and today He builds His Church.
- Same hands as proof. The completed house is the credential — the finishing itself is what makes the sender known.
For who hath despised the day of small things? Yea, they shall rejoice [even] those seven -- and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro in the whole earth.
The exiles have come home to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel and the small group with him are rebuilding the temple, and it looks poor next to Solomon's. The verse turns the question around. What matters is not how the work looks to people, but how it looks to the eyes of the Lord.
The work was modest, and God knew it.
Rebuilding the temple in those days was a fairly modest task. The people wept when they remembered the past glory of the temple. Yet in God's eyes this small beginning still mattered. He was well pleased with those who took the building of His house to heart.
This was not the first small beginning in Israel's history.
Smallness marked what we may call Israel's day. That nation started out as "the fewest of all peoples" (Deut. 7:7)... In the days of the exile, God graciously stirred the spirits of some (Ezra 1:5), but the revival was very limited. Ezra called it "a little reviving" (Ezra 9:8).
The temptation came from looking backwards and measuring by appearance.
Some, if not all, had been tempted to do this (Ezra 3:12). They had compared the poor look of the present building with the glory of Solomon's. Comparing the present with the past discouraged them, and in that discouragement they thought little of the work they were doing. The message now shows them that in this state of mind they were not in fellowship with the mind and heart of God. The question was not the outward glory of their work, but what God thought about it.
To despise such a day is to be out of step with God when the work is finished.
It was only a day of small things now. But the man who despised it would not be in step with the LORD of hosts when the work was completed. The same spirit that owns God's delight in what is little will have honour from God in the great day, and no one else will. But a day when God is testing hearts is always a day of small things, open to the scorn of the man whose heart is not content to serve God.
There is an opposite danger too.
Those days of small things were just God's opportunity for doing great things. But let us, beloved, beware of attempting to do great things in a day of small things.
The plumb line appears in Zerubbabel's hand when the work is done.
Another message comes to the prophet about Zerubbabel, with the promise that the eyes of the Lord would rejoice when they saw the plumb line in his hand and the work finished. The hands that laid the foundation of the house would finish it. This teaches us that no opposition or enmity, and none of the enemy's cunning, can hinder or even slow the progress of the work of God, when His people work in dependence on Him and count only on His support and protection.
Who does the rejoicing? One reading gives it to the eyes of the Lord themselves.
The seven eyes of the Lord, seen in the previous chapter 'on one stone', will rejoice, because they run through the whole earth and see everything.
The same seven eyes appear at four points in Scripture.
In 2 Chronicles 16:9, they "run to and fro throughout the whole earth." This is providence in general. In Zechariah 3:9, they are on the stone laid in Jerusalem. In Zechariah 4:10 these same eyes are settled in Jerusalem, yet they "range through the whole earth". This care comes from God's purpose to set His throne in Zion. Finally, in Revelation 5, before the throne is in Zion, the eyes are in the horns of the Lamb on high.
The same excuse gets used today.
We sometimes grumble, either with disappointment or with resignation: "After all, it is a day of small things". We may use this as an excuse to give up some form of service for the Lord, or even to discourage others from trying anything at all. Perhaps we forget that the text asks: "For who has despised the day of small things?"
Note: this writer quotes an older translation, which phrases the line as a question.
- Small day. The second temple looked poor next to Solomon's. Comparing the present with the past bred the contempt God challenges.
- Small measure. The question is never how glorious the work looks, but what God thinks of it.
- Small hands. The hands that laid the foundation finish it — no opposition can stop God's work while His people lean on Him.
- Small but watched. The seven eyes move from God's care over all the earth, to the stone in Jerusalem, and at last to the Lamb in Revelation 5.
- Small day, great God. A day of small things is God's opportunity for great things — so neither despise it nor try to inflate it.