Zechariah 4:1

Here is, I. The prophet prepared to receive the discovery that was to be made to him: The angel that talked with him came and waked him, Zac 4:1. It seems, though he was in conference with an angel, and about matters of great and public concern, yet he grew dull and fell asleep, as it should seem, while the angel was yet talking with him. Thus the disciples, when they saw Christ transfigured, were heavy with sleep, Luk 9:32. The prophet's spirit, no doubt, was willing to attend to that which was to be seen and heard, but the flesh was weak; his body could not keep pace with his soul in divine contemplations; the strangeness of the visions perhaps stupefied him, and so he was overcome with sleep, or perhaps the sweetness of the visions composed him and even sung him asleep. Daniel was in a deep sleep when he heard the voice of the angel's words, Dan 10:9. We shall never be fit for converse with spirits till we have got clear of these bodies of flesh. It should seem, the angel let him lose himself a little, that he might be fresh to receive new discoveries, but then waked him, to his surprise, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep. Note, We need the Spirit of God, not only to make known to us divine things, but to make us take notice of them. He wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear, Isa 50:4. We should beg of God that, whenever he speaks to us, he would awaken us, and we should then stir up ourselves.

II. The discovery that was made to him when he was thus prepared. The angel asked him, What seest thou? Zac 4:2. When he was awake perhaps he would not have taken notice of what was presented to his view if he had not thus been excited to look about him. When he observed he saw a golden candlestick, such a one as was in the temple formerly, and with the like this temple should in due time be furnished. The church is a candlestick, set up for the enlightening of this dark world and the holding forth of the light of divine revelation to it. The candle is God's; the church is but the candlestick, but all of gold, denoting the great worth and excellence of the church of God. This golden candlestick had seven lamps branching out from it, so many sockets, in each of which was a burning and shining light. The Jewish church was but one, and though the Jews that were dispersed, it is probable, had synagogues in other countries, yet they were but as so many lamps belonging to one candlestick; but now, under the gospel, Christ is the centre of unity, and not Jerusalem, or any one place; and therefore seven particular churches are represented, not as seven lamps, but as seven several golden candlesticks, Rev 1:20. This candlestick had one bowl, or common receiver, on the top, into which oil was continually dropping, and from it, by seven secret pipes, or passages, it was diffused to the seven lamps, so that, without any further care, they received oil as fast as they wasted it (as in those which we call fountain-ink-horns, or fountain-pens); they never wanted, nor were ever glutted, and so kept always burning clear. And the bowl too was continually supplied, without any care or attendance of man; for (Zac 4:3) he saw two olive-trees, one on each side the candlestick, that were so fat and fruitful that of their own accord they poured plenty of oil continually into the bowl, which by two larger pipes (Zac 4:12) dispersed the oil to smaller ones and so to the lamps; so that nobody needed to attend this candlestick, to furnish it with oil (it tarried not for man, nor waited for the sons of men), the scope of which is to show that God easily can, and often does, accomplish his gracious purposes concerning his church by his own wisdom and power, without any art or labour of man, and that though sometimes he makes use of instruments, yet he neither needs them nor is tied to them, but can do his work without them, and will rather than it shall be undone.

III. The enquiry which the prophet made concerning the meaning of this, and the gentle reproof given him for his dulness (Zac 4:4): I answered and spoke to the angel, saying, What are these, my lord? Observe how respectfully he speaks to the angel; he calls him my lord. Those that would be taught must give honour to their teachers. He saw what these were, but asked what these signified. Note, It is very desirable to know the meaning of God's manifestations of himself and his mind both in his word and by his ordinances and providences. What mean you by these services, by these signs? And those that would understand the mind of God must be inquisitive. Then shall we know if we follow on to know, if we not only hear, but, as Christ, ask questions upon what we hear, Luk 2:46. The angel answered him with a question, Knowest thou not what these be? intimating that if he had considered, and compared spiritual things with spiritual, he might have guessed at the meaning of these things; for he knew that there was a golden candlestick in the tabernacle, which it was the priests' constant business to supply with oil and to keep burning, for the use of the tabernacle; when therefore he saw, in vision, such a candlestick, with lamps always kept burning, and yet no priests to attend it, nor any occasion for them, he might discern the meaning of this to be that though God had set up the priesthood again, yet he could carry on his own work for and in his people without them. Note, We have reason to be ashamed of ourselves that we do not more readily apprehend the meaning of divine discoveries. The angel asked the prophet this question, to draw from him an acknowledgment of his own dulness, and darkness, and slowness to understand, and he had it immediately: "I said, No, my lord; I know not what these are." Visions had their significance, but often dark and hard to be understood, and the prophets themselves were not always aware of it at first. But those that would be taught of God must see and acknowledge their own ignorance, and their need to be taught, and must apply to God for instruction. To him that gave us the cabinet we must apply for the key wherewith to unlock it. God will teach the meek and humble, not those that are conceited of themselves and lean on the broken reed of their own understanding.

IV. The general intention of this vision. Without a critical descant upon every circumstance of the vision, the design of it is to assure the prophet, and by him the people, that this good work of building the temple should, by the special care of divine Providence, and the immediate influence of divine grace, be brought to a happy issue, though the enemies of it were many and mighty and the friends and furtherers of it few and feeble. Note, In the explication of visions and parables, we must look at the principal scope of them, and be satisfied with that, if that be clear, though we may not be able to account for every circumstance, or accommodate it to our purpose. The angel lets the prophet know, in general, that this vision was designed to illustrate a word which the Lord had to say to Zerubbabel, to encourage him to go on with the building of the temple. Let him know that he is a worker together with God in it, and that it is a work which God will own and crown.

1. God will carry on and complete this work, as he had begun their deliverance from Babylon, not by external force, but by secret operations and internal influences upon the minds of men. He says this who is the Lord of hosts, and could do it vi et armis - by force, has legions at command; but he will do it, not by human might or power, but by his own Spirit. What is done by his Spirit is done by might and power, but it stands in opposition to visible force. Israel was brought out of Egypt, and into Canaan, by might and power; in both these works of wonder great slaughter was made. But they were brought out of Babylon, and into Canaan the second time, by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts working upon the spirit of Cyrus, and inclining him to proclaim liberty to them, and working upon the spirits of the captives, and inclining them to accept the liberty offered them. It was by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts that the people were excited and animated to build the temple; and therefore they are said to be helped by the prophets of God, because they, as the Spirit's mouth, spoke to their hearts, Ezr 5:2. It was by the same Spirit that the heart of Darius was inclined to favour and further that good work and that the sworn enemies of it were infatuated in their councils, so that they could not hinder it as they designed. Note, The work of God is often carried on very successfully when yet it is carried on very silently, and without the assistance of human force; the gospel-temple is built, not by might or power (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal), but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, whose work on men's consciences is mighty to the pulling down of strong-holds; thus the excellency of the power is of God, and not of man. When instruments fail, let us therefore leave it to God to do his work himself by his own Spirit.

2. All the difficulties and oppositions that lie in the way shall be got over and removed, even those that seem insuperable (Zac 4:7): Who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain. See here, (1.) How the difficulty is represented; it is a great mountain, impassable and immovable, a heap of rubbish, like a great mountain, which must be got away, or the work cannot go on. The enemies of the Jews are proud and hard as great mountains; but, when God has work to do, the mountains that stand in the way of it shall dwindle into mole-hills; for see here, (2.) How these difficulties are despised: "Who art thou, O great mountain! that thou shouldst stand in God's way and think to stop the progress of his work? Who art thou that lookest so big, that thus threatenest, and art thus feared? Before Zerubbabel, when he is God's agent, thou shalt become a plain. All the difficulties shall vanish, and all the objections be got over. Every mountain and hill shall be brought low when the way of the Lord is to be prepared," Isa 40:4. Faith will remove mountains and make them plains. Christ is our Zerubbabel; mountains of difficulty were in the way of his undertaking, but before him they were all levelled; nothing is too hard for his grace to do.

3. The same hand that has begun this good work will perform it: He shall bring forth the head-stone (Zac 4:7); and again (Zac 4:9), The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, be it spoken to his honour (perhaps with his own hands he laid the first stone), and though it has been long retarded, and is still much opposed, yet it shall be finished at last; he shall live to see it finished, nay, and his hands shall also finish it; herein he is a type of Christ, who is both the author and the finisher of our faith; and his being the author of it is an assurance to us that he will be the finisher, for, as for God, his work is perfect; has he begun and shall he not make an end? Zerubbabel shall himself bring forth the head-stone with shoutings, and loud acclamations of joy, among the spectators. The acclamations are not huzzas, but Grace, grace; that is the burden of the triumphant songs which the church sings. It may be taken, (1.) As magnifying free grace, and giving to that all the glory of what is done. When the work is finished it must be thankfully acknowledged that it was not by any policy or power of our own that it was brought to perfection, but that it was grace that did it - God's good-will towards us and his good work in us and for us. Grace, grace, must be cried, not only to the head-stone, but to the foundation-stone, the corner-stone, and indeed to every stone in God's building; from first to last it is nothing of works, but all of grace, and all our crowns must be cast at the feet of free grace. Not unto us, O Lord! not unto us. (2.) As depending upon free grace, and desiring the continuance of it, for what is yet to be done. Grace, grace, is the language of prayer as well as of praise; now that this building is finished, all happiness attend it! Peace be within its walls, and, in order to that, grace. Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon it! Note, What comes from the grace of God may, in faith, and upon good grounds, be committed to the grace of God, for God will not forsake the work of his own hands.

4. This shall be a full ratification of the prophecies which went before concerning the Jews' return, and their settlement again. When the temple is finished then thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. Note, The exact accomplishment of scripture prophecies is a convincing proof of their divine original. Thus God confirms the word of his servant, by saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, Isa 44:26. No word of God shall fall to the ground, nor shall there fail one iota or tittle of it. Zechariah's prophecies of the approaching day of deliverance to the church would soon appear, by the accomplishment of them, to be of God.

5. This shall effectually silence those that looked with contempt upon the beginning of this work, Zac 4:10. Who, where, is he now that despised the day of small things, and thought this work would never come to any thing? The Jews themselves despised the foundation of the second temple, because it was likely to be so far inferior to the first, Ezr 3:12. Their enemies despised the wall when it was in the building, Neh 2:19; Neh 4:2, Neh 4:3. But let them not do it. Note, In God's work the day of small things is not to be despised. Though the instruments be weak and unlikely, God often chooses such, by them to bring about great things. As a great mountain becomes a plain before him when he pleases, so a little stone, cut out of a mountain without hands, comes to fill the earth, Dan 2:35. Though the beginnings be small, God can make the latter end greatly to increase; a grain of mustard-seed may become a great tree. Let not the dawning light be despised, for it will shine more and more to the perfect day. The day of small things is the day of precious things, and will be the day of great things.

6. This shall abundantly satisfy all the hearty well-wishers to God's interest, who will be glad to see themselves mistaken in despising the day of small things. Those that despaired of the finishing of the work shall rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, when they see him busy among the builders, giving orders and directions what to do, and taking care that the work be done with great exactness, that it may be both fine and firm. Note, It is matter of great rejoicing to all good people to see magistrates careful and active for the edifying of the house of God, to see the plummet in the hand of those who have power to do much, if they have but a heart according to it; we see not Zerubbabel with the trowel in his hand (that is left to the workmen, the ministers), but we see him with the plummet in his hand, and it is no disparagement, but an honour to him. Magistrates are to inspect ministers' work, and to speak comfortably to the Levites that do their duty.

7. This shall highly magnify the wisdom and care of God's providence, which is always employed for the good of his church. Zerubbabel does his part, does as much as man can do to forward the work, but it is with those seven, those seven eyes of the Lord which we read of Zac 3:9. He could do nothing if the watchful, powerful, gracious providence of God did not go before him and go along with him in it. Except the Lord had built this house, Zerubbabel and the rest would have laboured in vain, Psa 127:1. These eyes of the Lord are those that run to and fro through the whole earth, that take cognizance of all the creatures and all their actions (Ch2 16:9), and inspire and direct all, according to the divine counsels. Note, We must not think that God is so taken up with the affairs of his church as to neglect the world; but it is a comfort to us that the same all-wise almighty Providence that governs the nations of the earth is in a particular manner conversant about the church. Those seven eyes that run through the earth are all upon the stone that Zerubbabel is laying straight with his plummet, to see that it be well laid. And those that have the plummet in their hand must look up to those eyes of the Lord, must have a constant regard to divine Providence, and act in dependence upon its guidance and submission to its disposals.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ch. Zec_4:1. came again and waked me] Or, returned and waked me, i.e. waked me again. Comp. Zec_5:1. “The prophet intimates that he lay as one weighed down with ecstatic sleep, through wonder and astonishment at the preceding vision.” Rosenm. Comp. Dan_8:18; Dan_8:27; Luk_9:32

The Fifth Vision. The Golden Candlestick, Zec_4:1-14. Roused by the Interpreting Angel from a sleep or stupor, into which he appears to have fallen, Zec_3:1, the prophet sees a golden candlestick or lamp-stand. Like that originally placed in the Tabernacle, it has seven lamps, but they are fed by a bowl placed above them, from which the oil is conveyed into them by pipes, Zec_4:2. The bowl itself is supplied with oil by two olive-trees, standing one on either side of the lamp, which empty their oil into the bowl, each through a golden tube, Zec_4:3; Zec_4:12. At the request of Zechariah, Zec_4:4, the Interpreting Angel, with some show of surprise that explanation should be needed, Zec_4:5, explains to him the meaning of the vision. It is intended to encourage Zerubbabel in the work of re-building the Temple, by impressing upon him the truth, that as that candlestick gave forth its light, in silent, ceaseless splendour, unfed and untended by human agencies, so the work in which he was engaged, of restoring the material Temple and setting the golden candlestick in its place again, and so preparing the way, first for the Jewish Church, and then for the Christian Church, which that candlestick symbolised (Rev_1:20), to shine in the world, should be accomplished, not by human resources, but by the Spirit of God, Zec_4:6. The great principle involved in the symbol and thus enunciated is now applied to the case in hand. The mountain of difficulty, which stands in the way of Zerubbabel, shall sink down into a plain. With shouts of festive joy he shall set in its place the crowning stone of the edifice, Zec_4:7 Yet again, by a repeated assurance conveyed to the prophet through the Angel, Zec_4:8, Jehovah confirms the promise to Zerubbabel, that his hands which have begun shall complete the work, and prove in doing so the divine mission of the angel, Zec_4:9. Despicable as it might appear in its feeble beginnings in the sight of man, the eyes of Jehovah, which were not only fixed upon it with unceasing watchfulness (Zec_4:9), but ran to and fro through the whole earth to take cognisance of and deal with every hindering and every helping influence, rejoiced to see the progress of that house, Zec_4:10. Not satisfied with this exposition of its main scope, the prophet asks for information as to some of the details of the vision. What, he would fain know, is the significance of the two olive-trees, Zec_4:11, or yet more precisely, of the two branches of them, which through the two golden tubes empty their oil into the bowl of the lamp, Zec_4:12. The answer, again given with some show of surprise at the question, Zec_4:13, by the Interpreting Angel, is calculated by its obscurity rather to fix attention on the chief lesson of the vision, than to interpret the details to which reference is made. Suffice it to know that the olive trees represent agencies, by which the Lord of the whole earth is pleased to supply the requirements of His Church, Zec_4:14.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zec 4:1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,

Ver. 1. And the angel that talked with me] {See Trapp on "Zec 1:9"}

Came again] After some absence, as it may seem; and a new vision or revelation received from God to be imparted to the prophet.

And waked me, as a man that is wakened, &c.] It fared with the prophet (notwithstanding the former visions) as with a drowsy person; who though awakened and set to work, is ready to fall asleep at it. So Peter, James, and John (those pillars, as they are called, Gal 2:9), fell asleep at their very prayers, Mat 26:40, such dull metal are the best men made of; and so weak is the flesh, be the spirit never so willing; so ill disposed is our most noble and immortal part, the soul, to supernal and supernatural employments. Meditation and prayer are the creatures of the Holy Ghost, Jdg 1:20; and that we may not run out into extravagancies, or put up yawning petitions, we must watch and pray, Mat 26:41, yea, watch while we are praying, meditating, &c., against corruption within (the sin that doth so easily beset us, Heb 12:1) and temptations without, whether from the world, the things whereof are so near us and so natural to us, or from the devil, who is ever busiest with the best, as flies are with sweetmeats, and with the best part of their best performances, as in the end of their prayers, when the heart should close up itself with most comfort.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zec_4:1-14

Behold a candlestick all of gold

The candelabrum and olive trees

That by the candelabrum was symbolised the Israelitish community, the people of the theocracy, may be regarded as generally conceded.

But Israel was itself a symbol and type; it was the visible manifestation of that invisible spiritual community, the Church of the living God, which embraces the faithful of all ages and places. But the light which the Church possesses is not from herself; it is light communicated and sustained by influences from above. Hence in the vision the lamps were supplied with oil, not by human ministration, but through channels and pipes from the olive trees which stood beside and were over the candelabrum. Oil is the proper symbol of the Holy Spirits influence. This is the oil by which the Church is sustained, is made to shine, and is enabled to accomplish the work she has to do in the world. Apart from the Divine Spirit the Church is dark and cold and feeble; but through the visitation of the Spirit she is animated and invigorated, becomes luminous and glorious, and is crowned with success as she labours to erect Gods temple on earth. They were taught by this vision not to be discouraged, for it was not by human might or power that the work was to be done, but by the Spirit of the Lord. Through His grace the light should be sustained in them; their hands should be strengthened for their work; and ere long they should see the consummation of that which had been so auspiciously begun. God sustains His Church by His grace. But this grace comes to men through certain appointed media. This was symbolised in the vision by the fruit-bearing branches of the olive trees, and by the conduits and pipes through which the oil was conveyed to the lamps. The branches represented the sacerdotal and civil authorities in Israel. (W. L. Alexander, D. D.)

Man as a student of the Divine revelation and a doer of Divine work

I. As a student of the Divine revelations. I have looked, and behold a candle stick all of gold, etc. The ideal Church is all this. The candlestick may, I think, fairly represent the Bible, or Gods special revelation to man: that is golden, that is luminous, that is supernaturally supplied with the oil of inspiration. In fact, in the passage the interpreting angel designates this, candlestick, not as the Church, but as the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel. I make two remarks concerning this revelation--

1. It has in it sufficient to excite the inquiry of man as a student. What are these, my lord? What wonderful things are in this Bible!

2. It has an Interpreter that can satisfy man as a student. The angel to whom the prophet directed his inquiry promptly answered. The prophet here displays two of the leading attributes of a genuine student of the Divine--

(1) Inquisitiveness. He inquires; and because he inquires he receives an answer. The Bible is an unmeaning book to the great mass of mankind, because they do not inquire into its significance. Truth is only got by genuine inquiry.

(2) Ingenuousness. The first reply of the interpreting angel to the prophet was, Knowest thou not what these things mean? and he said, No, my lord. At once he confesses his ignorance. The man who develops these two attributes in relation to Gods Word has a Divine Interpreter at his side, namely, the Spirit of God, who will lead us into all knowledge. This passage sets man before us--

II. As a doer of the Divine will Man has not only to study, but to work; not only to get Divine ideas, but to work them out. The work of the prophet was to convey a message from God to Zerubbabel, and the message he conveyed was a message to world. Man is to be a Worker together with God. I offer two remarks concerning man as a worker out of the Divine will

1. That though his difficulties may appear great, his resources are infinite. Zerubbabel, in rebuilding the temple, had enormous difficulties. Those difficulties hovered before him as mountains. But great as they were, he was assured that he had resources more than equal to the task. Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

2. That though his efforts may seem feeble, his success will be inevitable.

(1) The feebleness of human efforts is here implied.

(a) It is common to despise small things.

(b) It is foolish to despise small things. All great things were small in their beginnings.

(c) It is contemptible to despise small things. Truly great souls never do so.

(2) The success of feeble efforts is here guaranteed. The temple should certainly be completed. So it will be with every true work to which a true man puts his hand in the name of God. It will he finished; there will be no failures, success is inevitable. (Homilist.)

The golden candlestick

1. The Church of God is composed of the most precious human material in the world. The man who walks day by day with the King Eternal, Immortal and Invisible, is of far more value to the world, and is regarded by God as of more worth, than the man of the greatest intellectual attainments.

2. The Church is a light giver, because its power to give light is sustained from a source outside itself. The life of the Church of God is not self-sustaining. Gad is the sustaining power by which the Church is kept alive, and only as she is supplied from Him with the holy off of the Divine Spirit can she give out that light which is the life of men. The most perfect machinery without this life-sustaining force is useless to accomplish the Divine purpose of making the Church a blessing to the world. This mysterious living principle is due to a life at the back of all that is apprehended by the senses, a life which some call the efficient cause, but which we think it more reasonable to call the living God.

3. Because of this all-sufficient source of life we are assured that small beginnings in the kingdom of God will issue in great results. There is no such thing in nature as instantaneous result. The blade comes before the ear. The law of the spiritual kingdom is to begin with the small and end with the great. Connection with the source of life ensures growth unto perfection. (Outlines by a London Minister.)

The vision of the candlestick

1. The temple here represents the Church to be enlightened by Christ, she being in herself but dark, and void of light and comfort, till He come and appear in her, and for her, and make her light.

2. The ministry appointed of Christ for the direction, edification, and comfort of the Church are here represented by the candlestick, who should be pure, that they may be precious in His sight as gold, and who ought to shine by purity and holiness of life, and be instrumental in making the Church a shining light in a dark world.

3. The bowl upon the top of the candlestick which immediately receives the oil doth fitly represent Christ as Mediator, the head and storehouse of the Church, to whom is intrusted all fulness of gifts and graces for the Churchs behoof.

4. The variety and sufficiency of gifts communicate by Christ, for the good and salvation of the Church is represented by seven lamps, all tending one common end of burning and shining.

5. The way of deriving grace from Christ to His servants, by ordained and sanctified means, especially by His covenant; our dependence, and the bands of communion betwixt Him and His people, is represented by seven pipes going betwixt the bowl and the lamps. (George Hutcheson.)

The candlestick

In order to make Gods meaning clearer the prophet was granted the vision of the candlestick (lampstand), the gist of which was that the wick, though necessary to the light, played a very inconsiderable part in its production. It had no illuminating power; it could only smoke, and char, and smoulder. At the best it could only be a medium between the oil in the cistern and the fire that burnt on its serried edge. Thus Zerubbabel might be weak and flexible as a wick, but none of his deficiencies could hinder him finishing the work to which he had been called, if only his spirit was kindled with the Divine fire, and fed continually by the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit. The candlestick was evidently fashioned on the model of that in the temple, the shape of which is still preserved to us on the Arch of Titus. According to the R.V., there were seven pipes to each lamp. Nor was this all. On either side of this massive candlestick stood an olive tree, from the heart of which, by a golden pipe, the oil was continually being poured into the reservoir; so that, even though it might be limited in its containing power, there could be no failure in its ability to meet the incessant demands of the lamps. So far as the Jews were concerned, the meaning of the vision was obvious. They were represented in the candlestick, of which the many lamps and the precious metal of its composition set forth their perfection and preciousness in the thought of God. Their function was to shed the light of His knowledge on the world, as it lay under the power of darkness; whilst, to aid them in fulfilling this mission, Divine supplies would be forthcoming from a celestial and living source, and brought to them through the golden pipes, of which one represented Joshua the priest, and the other Zerubbabel the prince. These men, therefore, were but mediums for Divine communications. Their sufficiency was not of themselves, but of God. The mission of Israel would be realised, not by them, but by the Spirit of God through them. They might seem altogether helpless and inadequate; but a living fountain of oil was prepared to furnish them with inexhaustible supplies (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zec 4:1-3. And the angel came again, and waked me — This seems to indicate, that the prophet’s attention was very deeply engaged by the foregoing vision; that all the powers of his mind were wholly engrossed by it; so that he had even fallen into a kind of trance, or ecstasy, when he was roused again by the angel, to attend to what follows. And said unto me, What seest thou? — Thus the angel still further excites his attention. And I said, Behold a candlestick of gold — This represented the church of God, Jewish and Christian, set up for the enlightening of this dark world, by diffusing the light of divine truth. The candle, or lamp, is God’s, the church is but the candlestick; but it is all of gold, signifying the great worth of the church, composed of the excellent of the earth. This golden candlestick had seven lamps, branching out from it by so many sockets, in each of which was a burning and shining light. The Jewish Church was but one; and though the Jews that were dispersed had probably synagogues in other countries, yet they were but as so many lamps belonging to one candlestick; but now, under the gospel, Christ is the centre of unity, and not Jerusalem, or any one place; and, therefore, seven particular churches are represented, not as seven lamps, but as seven several golden candlesticks, Rev 1:20. This candlestick had one bowl, or common receiver, on the top, into which oil was continually dropping; and from it, by seven pipes or conduits, it was conveyed to the seven lamps; so that without any further care, they received oil as fast as they wasted it, and so were kept always burning. And the bowl too was continually supplied, without any care or attendance of man, from two olive-trees, (Zec 4:3,) one on each side of the candlestick, which were so fat and fruitful, that, of their own accord, they poured plenty of oil continually into the bowl. So that nobody needed to attend to this candlestick, to furnish it with oil; it tarried not for man, nor waited for the sons of men: the scope of which is to show, that God easily can, and often doth, accomplish his gracious purposes concerning his church by his own wisdom and power, without any art or labour of man. And though sometimes he makes use of instruments, yet he neither needs them, nor is confined to them, but can do his work without them, and will, rather than it shall remain undone.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.] The golden candlestick a symbol of the pure and prosperous state of the Jewish Church. Waked] Overpowered by what he had seen and heard, the prophet needed quickening into spiritual consciousness.

Zec_4:2. Candlestick] or chandelier. Like the seven-branched golden candlestick in the tabernacle (Exo_25:37; Eze_21:31); but this visionary candlestick is a designed enlargement. Bowl] i.e. can or round vessel for the oil. Seven lamps] united in one stem (Exo_25:32). Seven pipes] Lit. seven and seven. Some say, seven and seven, i.e. fourteen; others, seven each for each lamp, i.e. forty-nine for the seven; this not impossible. The greater the number of oil pipes, the more brilliant the light.

Zec_4:3. Trees] Supplying oil to the bowl. Explanation (Zec_4:12-14).

Zec_4:5. Knowest not] No reproof of ignorance, though the vision might easily be mistaken, but a stimulus to inquiry. No] How candid the confession!

Zec_4:6. Might] Lit. army, power. The work undertaken will be finished, not by human strength of any kind, but by the Spirit of God (cf. Hag_2:5). 7] The resources of the Jewish leader were few, and the hindrances formidable, but the great mountain] will be depressed into a level plain, every obstacle removed, and the work completed. Headstone] Refers to the finishing of the structure. Shoutings] of acclamation. “The repetition of favour or grace is for the sake of intensity; and the ascriptions of this favour to the stone, implies that it was possessed of this quality, and was to be the medium of its conveyance to others. The prediction was clearly fulfilled in our Redeemer. ‘Grace or favour was poured through his lips’ ” [Henderson].

HOMILETICS

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH THE GOLDEN LIGHT-BEARER.—Zec_4:1-6

In the former vision there was a display of the means and grounds of the forgiveness of sin. In this we have communications of grace, to conquer obstacles and establish the work of God. The Church is symbolized by the candlestick. Streams of golden liquid flow into it from one centre, to feed and preserve the light. Without the aid of man, the oil is supplied freely and copiously to bless a sinful world. Notice—

I. The design of the Christian Church. To give light. It is created and constituted to be the light of the world. The world is spiritually dark: for “darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people.” But truth, light, and life are found in the Church of God.

1. Its light is diffusive. All light is diffusive. The light in the Church must not be quenched nor “hid under a bushel.” Individually and collectively, we must diffuse knowledge, holiness, and joy—shine forth for the benefit of men and the glory of God.

2. Its light is borrowed. It is only a light-bearer, not a creator of light. Like the moon, the Church shines with a borrowed light. She has no resources of her own, but depends upon Christ the Sun of Righteousness for every kind and degree of influence. If she forgets her end, neglects her mission, and disowns her dependence, her light may be extinguished. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

II. The unity of the Christian Church. The seven lamps may indicate its unity—one candlestick, but many branches; one body, but many members. All sections of Christians are united together in Christ the Head. All have their light and place, and in proportion as they are supplied with oil and diffuse the sanctifying influence of truth to others, do they answer the end of their own illumination (cf. Job_25:3; Php_2:15).

III. The vitality of the Christian Church. It was fed and sustained by virtues not its own.

1. It was Divinely fed. The lamps were not furnished with oil, nor kept by human agency. The two living olive-trees poured their oil into the central reservoir without the skill and labour of man. The Church thrives, and the cause of God triumphs, “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.”

2. It was freely fed. The oil spontaneously flowed from the olive-trees. Christ has received gifts for men, and from his priestly and regal offices they are freely bestowed upon the Church. “And of his fulness have all we received.”

IV. The value of the Christian Church. The candlestick was gold. Though few in number, obscure and imperfect in character, God’s people are precious in his sight. They are his jewels, pure and indestructible. If they lose purity of life and doctrine they will tarnish their character and dim their lustre. “How is the gold become dim! how is the fine gold changed!” The preciousness depends upon the purity, and the responsibility upon the honour, of the Christian Church. “The king’s daughter is all-glorious within; her clothing is of wrought gold.”

“The purest treasure mortal times afford,

Is—spotless reputation: That away,

Men are but gilded loam, or painted clay” [Shakspeare]

NOT BY MIGHT NOR BY POWER—Zec_4:6

“The vision was an embodied prophecy, intended in the first instance for the guidance and comfort of Zerubbabel.” The prophet, and through him the people, are informed in their despondency of God’s purpose and method concerning his work. They must not faint, but rely upon him, who is all-sufficient, and would preserve and furnish them with needful means to finish the work. “Not by might,” &c. Take the words generally—

I. Not by might nor power in Christian life. Spiritual life is the direct act of God; “born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” From beginning to end it is promoted by the Spirit of God. Carlyle speaks of “the almost omnipotent power of education,” and others commend the refinements of life; but these do not satisfy conscience nor touch the heart. Men are “saved by the renewing of the Holy Ghost.” This is the doctrine of Scripture, and the characteristic of spiritual life.

II. Not by might nor by power in Christian work. The temple was rebuilt not by the might of this world. God procured the edict of Cyrus, and touched the hearts of Darius and Artaxerxes. In the day of Pentecost, and at the Reformation, in the revivals and movements of the Church, we recognize the same truth. In the work of the Spirit, the redeeming energy of Christ and the agency of God are preserved through all generations. By the Holy Spirit the power of God is brought into the world. God has all hearts in his hand, and all agencies under his control. He inflames the zeal, inspires the prayers, and bestows the qualifications for the spread of his kingdom. We rely too much upon numbers, eloquence, and human agencies. The great want of the day is the Holy Spirit. If we depend upon him, then however few and feeble in effort, the progress of the work will never be impeded. Systems founded by power and spread by force will come to nought. “All they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword.” God’s presence must be sought, and his power trusted. Then, when human means are hidden, and the might of the Spirit enjoyed, all the glory will be given to him.

HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES

Zec_4:1-2. The weary and sleepy prophet.

1. Indicative of Christian weakness. Believers are mortal, cannot long bear up in spiritual duties, and often astonished by wonderful revelations in hard times (cf. Daniel’s sleep, ch. Zec_10:9; and Peter’s at the Transfiguration, Luk_9:32).

2. A type of all who stand unconsciously, and live carelessly, in the presence of God and great events. There is a lethargy of soul in the whole sphere of Divine realities; and men try to live indifferent to, or entirely without, the light and friendly visitations of God.

3. A proof of God’s goodness in rousing men to duty. We require stirring up in natural indolence and spiritual weakness, to reap the benefit of Divine instruction; and when the revelations are given, we do not understand them. “The angel that talked with me came again.” “He wakeneth morning by morning; he wakeneth mine ear to hear, as the learned.”

Zec_4:2-3. Observe the candlestick is golden, and the oil is called golden. The Church must be pure and holy; what she teaches must be pure and holy also; not adulterated with the admixture of any novel doctrines, such as those which have been added by some to the faith once delivered to the saints, and imposed as necessary to salvation [Wordsworth].

Zec_4:4-5. An apt pupil and a wonderful teacher. I. The pupil. The prophet—

1. Not ashamed to confess his ignorance. Ignorance may be wilful, but criminal when it can be removed. “Knowest thou not,” &c., as much as to say that he ought to know (cf. Joh_3:10). Its removal difficult. We may search and attend, yet not properly understand. The prophet was warned, and took heed to the angel, but required further teaching.

2. Sought to be instructed by asking questions. “The prophet pretends to no knowledge which he does not possess. Let us imitate the twofold example; both that of inquisitiveness and that of ingenuousness. Let us be on the alert in our inquiries after knowledge; and in order to our acquiring it, never foolishly, and to save our pride or vanity, affect to have what we have not” [Wardlaw]. II. The Teacher, the angel. Notice—

1. His method, by asking counter-questions; to excite, quicken, and suggest. This is Socratic and Christ-like. The wisdom of ancient philosophers, and the teaching of Jesus, have come to us in dialogue forms.

2. His willingness. The pupil was eager and earnest, the teacher was able and willing. “There are many,” says one, “whose ignorance clings to them because they are unwilling to confess it, and so to forsake it; whilst, on the other hand, there are others who are as reluctant to drop a word of wisdom from their lips, as a miser is to surrender a guinea from his purse.” If not taught by angels, be thankful for the Bible and the Holy Spirit.

3. But the degree of information was not great. Explanations were reserved, and the pupil had to ask again (cf. Zec_4:12-13). Enough was given to him for present duty, and this must be communicated to the people. One revelation only prepares for another, and by giving what we know, we increase our own stock of learning. “He that watereth others shall himself be watered.”

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 4

Zec_4:1-4. Candlestick. All human souls, never so bedarkened, love light; light once kindled spreads till all is luminous [Carlyle]. We are all naturally ambitious to shine in the world. It is the foible of our race; but the fault lies not in the passion itself, but in mistaking the sphere and choosing improper objects. Many are proud to shine in the lustre of pomp, the elegance of dress, or the splendour of equipage; others again are ambitious of the voice of fame, or the acquisition of power. To such as act by the opinion of the world alone, fashion is above all other laws. They study nothing but appearance. This object absorbs other appetites, passions, principles, and duties. But religion alone will teach from what principle, in what manner, and by what means to shine [Baseley].

Zec_4:4-5. What? Conviction of ignorance is the door-step to the temple of wisdom [Spurgeon]. Compare thyself with those that are more learned or wise than thyself, and then thou wilt see matter to keep thee humble [Sir Mt. Hale]. Ask the reason “Why?” [Arkwright].

“Ignorance is the curse of God;

Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to heaven” [Shakespeare].

Zec_4:6-7. Power. Dependence gives God his proper glory. It is the peculiar honour and prerogative of Deity to have a world of creatures hanging upon it—staying themselves upon it; to be the fulcrum, the centre of a lapsing creation [Howe].

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zac 4:1. "And the angel that talked with me returned and waked me, like a man who is waked out of his sleep." After the prophet has seen four visions one after another, probably with very short intervals, and has heard the marvellous interpretation of them, he is so overpowered by the impression produced by what he has seen and heard, that he falls into a state of spiritual exhaustion resembling sleep, just as Peter and his companions were unable to keep awake at the transfiguration of Christ (Luk 9:32). He has not only fallen back into the state of ordinary human consciousness, but his ordinary spiritual consciousness was so depressed that he resembled a man asleep, and had to be waked out of this sleep-like state by the mediating angel, in order to be qualified for further seeing. It is evident from the expression ויּשׁב (and he returned) that the angelus interpres had left the prophet after the termination of the previous visions, and now came back to him again. The fresh vision which presents itself to his spiritual intuition, is described according to its principal features in Zac 4:2 and Zac 4:3. Zac 4:2. "And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I see, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and its oil-vessel up above it, and its seven lamps upon it, seven pipes each for the lamps upon the top of it. Zac 4:3. And two olive trees (oil trees) by it, one to the right of the oil-vessel, and one to the left of it." The second ויאמר (chethib) in Zac 4:2 might, if necessary, be explained in the way proposed by L. de Dieu, Gusset., and Hofmann, viz., by supposing that the mediating angel had no sooner asked the prophet what he saw, than he proceeded, without waiting for his answer, to give a description himself of what was seen. But this is at variance with the analogy of all the rest of the visions, where the visions seen by the prophet are always introduced with ראיתי or ואראה followed by והנּה (cf. Zac 1:8; Zac 2:1, Zac 2:5; Zac 5:1; Zac 6:1), and it remains quite inflexible; so that we must accept the keri ואמר, which is adopted by the early translators, and found in many codd., as being the true reading, and pronounce ויאמר a copyist's error. On the combination מנורת זהב כּלּהּ, in which the last two words are construed as a relative clause in subordination to menōrath, see Ewald, 332, c.

The visionary candlestick, all of gold, with its seven lamps, is unquestionably a figurative representation of the seven-branched golden candlestick in the tabernacle, and differs from this only in the three following additions which are peculiar to itself: (1) That is has its gullâh (גּלּהּ for גּלּתה, with the feminine termination resolved; cf. Hos 13:2, and Ewald, 257, d), i.e., a can or round vessel for the oil, which was omitted altogether from the candlestick of the holy place, when the lamps were filled with oil by the priests, "at the top of it" (על־ראשׁהּ); (2) That it had seven mūtsâqōth (pipes) each for the lamps, that is to say, tubes through which the oil poured from the gullâh into the lamps, or was conducted to them, whereas the candlestick of the tabernacle had no pipes, but only seven arms (qânı̄m), for the purpose of holding the lamps, which of course could not be wanting in the case of the visionary candlestick, and are merely omitted from the description as being self-evident. The number of the pipes is also a disputed point, viz., whether שׁבעה ושׁבעה means seven and seven, i.e., fourteen, or whether it is to be taken distributively, seven each for the lamps, i.e., seven for each lamp, and therefore forty-nine for the seven. The distributive view is disputed by Hitzig and Koehler as at variance with the usage of the language: the former proposing to alter the text, so as to obtain seven pipes, i.e., one for each lamp; and the latter, on the other hand, assuming that there were fourteen pipes, and inferring from the statement "seven and seven," instead of fourteen, that the second seven are to be sought in a different place from the first, that is to say, that the first seven led from the oil-vessel to the seven different lamps, whilst the second seven connected the seven lamps with one another, which would have been a very strange and perfectly useless provision. But there is no foundation whatever for the assertion that it is at variance with the usage of the language. For although a distributive relation is certainly expressed as a rule by the simple repetition of the number without any connecting Vav, such passages as Sa2 21:20 and Ch1 20:6 show quite indisputably that the repetition of the same number with the Vav cop. between is also to be taken distributively. When, for example, it is stated in Sa2 21:20, with regard to the hero of Gath, that the fingers of his hands and the fingers (toes) of his feet were "shēsh vâshēsh, four-and-twenty in number," it is evident that shēsh vâshēsh cannot mean "six and six," because six and six do not make twenty-four; and a division of the shēsh between the hands and feet is also untenable, because his two hands had not six fingers on them, but twelve, and so his two feet had not six toes on them, but twelve. Consequently shēsh vâshēsh must be taken distributively: the fingers of his (two) hands and the toes of his (two) feet were six each; for it is only 2 + 2 (= 4) x 6 that can give 24. This is shown still more clearly in Ch1 20:6 : "and his fingers were shēsh vâshēsh, four-and-twenty." It is in this distributive sense, which is thus thoroughly established, so far as the usage of the language is concerned, that שׁבעה ושׁבעה מוּץ is to be taken: seven pipes each for the lamps, i.e., forty-nine for the seven lamps; inasmuch as if fourteen pipes were meant, it would be impossible to imagine any reason why "seven and seven" should be written instead of fourteen. And we cannot be shaken in this conviction, either by the objection "that if there was any proportion between the pipes and the size of the oil-vessel, such a number of pipes could not possibly (?) spring from one oil-can" (Koehler), or by the statement that "forty-nine would be quite as much at variance with the original as fourteen, since that had only one pipe for every lamp" (Hitzig). For the supposed original for the pipes had no existence, inasmuch as the Mosaic candlestick had no pipes at all; and we can form no opinion as to the possibility of forty-nine pipes issuing from one oil-vessel, because we have no information as to the size either of the oil-vessel or of the pipes. (3) The third peculiarity in the visionary candlestick consists in the olive trees on the right and left of the oil-vessel, which supplied it with oil, and whose connection with the candlestick is first described in Zac 4:12. These three additions which were made to the golden candlestick seen by Zechariah, as contrasted with the golden candlestick of the tabernacle, formed the apparatus through which it was supplied with the oil required to light it continually without the intervention of man.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

VISION V. THE CANDLESTICK WITH THE TWO OLIVE TREES

Zechariah 4

A. A Golden Candelabrum and its Two Oil Feeders (Zec_4:1-5). B. Divine Grace the Source of Strength and Success (Zec_4:6-10). C. The Means by which that Grace is obtained (Zec_4:11-14).

1And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man who Isaiah 2 waked out of his sleep; And said to me, What seest thou? And I said,1 I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, and its oil-vessel2 upon the top of it and its seven lamps upon it, seven pipes each3 for the lamps which are upon the top of it; 3and two olive trees by it, one on the right of the oil vessel and the other on the left of it; 4And I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5And the angel that talked with me answered and said to me, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 6And he answered and spake to me, saying: This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might and not by power,4 but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of Hosts. 7Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel?5 Be a plain!6 And he shall bring forth the top stone7 with shoutings, Grace, grace unto it! 8And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, 9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands shall finish it, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of Hosts 10hath sent me to you. For who despiseth8 the day of small things? And they rejoice and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, [even] those seven;9 the eyes of Jehovah, they go to and fro through the whole earth. 11And I answered and said unto him, What are these two olive trees on the right of the candlestick and on the left? 12And I answered the second time and said to him, What are the two branches10 of the olive trees, which by means of the two golden spouts11 empty 13the gold12 out of themselves? And he spake to me, saying, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 14And he said, These are the two sons of oil which stand before13 the Lord of the whole earth.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

In the former vision there was a lively display of the means and ground of the forgiveness of sin. This one advances farther, and shows a positive communication of grace by which all obstacles are overcome and the establishment of God’s kingdom effectually secured.

a. The Vision (Zec_4:1-5). Zec_4:1. And the angel.… out of his sleep. These words imply a pause between this vision and the preceding one, during which the interpreting angel had withdrawn, and the prophet had relapsed into the condition of ordinary consciousness. This condition, compared with the ecstatic state in which supersensual objects are seen, was like sleep compared with waking. Hence Zechariah needed to be aroused from his ordinary and normal state. This was done by the return of the interpreting angel. The new vision presented to him is striking. A candlestick of gold with an oil-vessel on top, from which the oil flows into each one of the seven lamps through seven tubes; and two olive trees by the side of the candlestick.

Zec_4:2. And I said … the top of it. Upon the var. read. see Gram. and Text. The candlestick was formed after the pattern of the one in the tabernacle (Exo_25:31-37), but with some remarkable variations. The candelabrum the prophet saw had a round vessel on its top, and seven feeding-tubes for each lamp, and two trees at its sides, none of which were seen in the original pattern in the sanctuary. The precise meaning of the phrase rendered, seven pipes each, lit., “seven and seven,” has been much contested. Hitzig and Henderson propose an alteration of the text, omitting one of the sevens, in accordance with the LXX. and Vulgate. Pressel gains the same end by connecting the first seven with what precedes,— which is harsh, and forbidden by the interpunction. Köhler adds the two together, thus making the number of pipes fourteen, but if the prophet had meant that, he would have said so. It is better to take the text as it stands. Forty-nine tubes are very many to proceed from one oil-bowl, but as we know not the size of either the vessel or the pipes, no judgment can be expressed against the possibility of such a thing. That it was probable, seems to be clearly shown by the fact that the visionary candlestick is a designed enlargement of the real one made by Moses.

Zec_4:3. Two olive trees. The meaning of these trees is further explained in Zec_4:12-14. The candlestick represents the Church as the appointed light-bearer in a dark world. This is confirmed by such passages in the New Testament as Mat_5:14; Mat_5:16, Luk_12:35, Php_2:15, and by the express statement in Rev_1:20, “the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” The seven lamps indicated the fullness of the light that was shed, and the seven times seven tubes the number and variety of the channels by which grace was imparted to the luminary.

Zec_4:4-5. And I answered … no, my Lord. “I answered,” i. e., to the statement suggested in the visionary scene. The counter-question of the angel implies that the prophet might have learned the object of the vision from the analogy of the golden candlestick in the holy place. Then the angel gives him the answer.

b. Divine Grace the Source of all Strength (Zec_4:6-10). Zec_4:6. This is the word, etc. The vision was an embodied prophecy intended in the first instance for the guidance and comfort of Zerubbabel; and its sum was given in the abrupt utterance: “Not by might,” etc. That is, the work which the Hebrew governor has undertaken will be carried out not by human strength in any form, but by the Spirit of God. The candlestick gave light, but it could not do this unless furnished with a plentiful supply of oil. So all that was needful for the maintenance of the Church of God on earth, including the restoration of its material centre at the time, the Temple, could be attained only by the same blessed agency. That the oil of the lamps should symbolize the Holy Spirit, is the less strange, as the anointing oil of consecration was understood always to mean this. The attempt of Kliefoth to establish a distinction between the two words שֶׁמֶנ and יִצֶהָר, as if the former always meant anointing oil, and the latter, illuminating oil, is altogether vain. Both are used promiscuously for either purpose, and both may have the same symbolic signification.

Zec_4:7. Who art thou, etc. As the resources of the Jewish leader were few, and the obstacles in the way numerous and formidable, the thought contained in Zec_4:6 is expanded in a striking form. The exclamation, Who art, etc., gives great vividness to the sentiment, and this is still further increased by the concise force of the appended command, Into a plain! Some understand by the mountain the Persian Empire, which is to be leveled to a plain (Chald., Jerome, Kimchi, Hitzig, Hengstenberg, Keil, etc.). But it is better to take it as a figure of the colossal difficulties which rose mountain high at the continuation and completion of the building of the temple. So Kliefoth, Neumann, and most interpreters. This view includes the other, and at the same time allows of an application of the assurance to the Church in all ages. That a mountain in prophecy usually symbolizes a kingdom, as Hengstenberg insists, surely does not compel us always to understand it in that sense. As one well says, the imagery of the Bible is not stereotype. And he shall bring, etc. The second half of the verse foretells the joyful completion of the Temple. The stone mentioned is not, as Hengstenberg and Henderson say (with whom agrees Dr. J. A. Alexander, in his comment upon Psa_118:22), the foundation-stone, for which a different phrase is used (Job_38:6, Jer_51:20), but the finishing or gable stone. Nor can the verb be rendered as a simple preterite (Hengstenberg), but in accordance with Vav cons., must be given as in E. V., “And he shall bring,” etc. The nominative to the verb is not Jehovah (Henderson), but Zerubbabel, as the next verse plainly shows. The Jewish leader shall at last bring forth the cope-stone amidst loud acclamations of the people, crying, Grace, grace unto it! i. e., May God grant his grace to the stone and the building it represents, so that it may stand forever.

Ver 8. An additional communication is now made to the Prophet. Its source is not mentioned, but the analogy of Zec_4:9 b with Zec_2:9-11 indicates the angel of Jehovah as the author.

Zec_4:9. The hands of.… sent me. As Zerubbabel had laid the foundation of the house of God (Ezr_3:8-10; Hag_2:18), so should he finish it. A confirmation of this promise is given in the next verse.

Zec_4:10. For who despiseth.… whole earth. The construction here is much disputed. Many (LXX., Targum, Peshito, Vulgate, Calvin, Ewald, etc.) make the second clause the apodosis of the first, thus, “for whoever despises the day of small things, they shall see with joy,” etc. But מִי, cannot be rendered whoever, when followed by a preterite with Vav cons. Keil and Wordsworth retain the interrogation, but consider it=a denial; in the sense that no one who hopes to achieve, or does achieve, anything great, despises the day of small things. But this gets a meaning out of the text by first putting it in. It is better to take the clause as a general challenge, “Who despises,” etc., i. e., with reason. Then follows the ground of the question in the rest of the verse, the staccato Style of which is well explained by Pressel as a climax, of which the steps are three, namely, (1.) Those seven, already mentioned in the previous vision. (2.) They are the eye of Jehovah. (3.) They sweep through all the earth. These seven eyes, the seven-fold radiations of the Spirit of Jehovah (comp. on Zec_3:9), gladly see the plummet, etc. However discouraging the small beginnings may be in themselves, the willing coöperation of the divine Spirit ensures success to the enterprise of Zerubbabel. The plummet in the hand indicates the work he is engaged in.

c. The means by which this aid is secured (Zec_4:11-14).

Zec_4:11. And I answered.… left. The main portion of the symbol has now been explained, but there remains one feature untouched,—the olive trees on either side of the candlestick. Accordingly the Prophet asks the interpreting angel. But without waiting for an answer, he renews the question with a slight modification. The repetition seems to indicate a conviction in his mind of the great significance of this new and peculiar feature of the candelabrum.

Zec_4:12. I answered the second time, etc. Here it is the branches of the oil trees he inquires about. These are emphasized, apparently, because they are the link of connection between the candelabrum and the trees, and because the peculiarity of this part of the symbol lay in the fact, that the supply of oil came without any intervening agency directly from the source in nature. These branches through spouts discharge at once their oil, which is called gold, because of its color or preciousness. A similar use of this word is found in Job_37:22, where it is said, “Gold cometh out of the north,” gold being put for the golden brightness of the sky (E. V., fair weather). The later critics incline to take the word literally.

Zec_4:13. To awaken his attention still more to the importance of this portion of the symbol, the angel asks the Prophet if he understood its meaning, and being answered in the negative, proceeds to give the necessary information.

Zec_4:14. These are the two sons of oil, etc. “Sons of oil”=supplied with oil, i. e., anointed ones. “Stand before”=are servants of. These sons of oil are not the believing members of Israel and the Gentiles (Kliefoth), for this would confound the olive trees with the candlestick; nor Haggai and Zechariah (Hoffman, Baumg., etc.), nor Joshua and Zerubbabel considered as individuals (Henderson, Pressel), for the supply of oil to the candlestick, i. e., the communication of grace to the Church, could not be made to depend upon the lives of two mortal men. The phrase rather denotes the regal and priestly offices which were the chief media in the Old Testament for conveying God’s gracious gifts to the Church, and which at the time of the vision were represented by Joshua and Zerubbabel. The appropriateness of the designation lies in the fact that unction was the ceremony by which persons were inducted into these offices.

The peculiar encouragement of this vision appears in the circumstance that the Church was still represented by a stately candelabrum, made as formerly of solid gold, but furnished with far more numerous pipes of communication, and supplied with oil, not by the daily service of the priests, but from living olive trees at its side which continually poured in a fresh and abundant stream of the golden liquid.

THEOLOGICAL AND MORAL

1. The Church is a golden light-bearer, and therefore at once precious and luminous. Precious in the sight of God as chosen and called and honored by Him. Zion is his peculiar inheritance, its members are his jewels, acquired by an immeasurable ransom. Notwithstanding, therefore, their fewness or obscurity or imperfections, they are properly symbolized by an article made of solid gold. But this article is as significant in its use as it is in its material. It is a candlestick or lamp-stand. Its object is to give light. Hence our Lord said to his followers, Ye are the light of the world. This has been one of the chief functions of the Church in all ages. For the greater part of the race has always been in the condition described by Isaiah (Isa_60:2), “Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the peoples.” This was the natural and necessary result of depravity, “their foolish heart was darkened.” They often made great advances in civilization, but there was no corresponding growth in religious opinion or practice; on the contrary, “professing themselves to be wise they became fools.” All the true and pure light the ancient world enjoyed streamed out from the candlestick which God set up in his chosen people. With all their imperfections the Jews preserved the knowledge of the true God and of the mode of acceptable worship; and their sacred books were a torch from which many a minor light among surrounding nations was kindled. Still more largely was this the case when the new economy was established. It was intended to be diffusive and propagandist, but only by the force of light,—the manifestation of the truth. It courted the day. It disowned the unfruitful works of darkness. It demanded intelligent faith and adherence. Never was there a more unscriptural maxim than that which claims ignorance as the mother of devotion. The Church is now, as she always was, a light-bearer, and seeks to accomplish her objects by mental and moral illumination. Nor is there the least ground for the not infrequent charge of unfriendliness to the progress of discovery in physical science. Zion holds firmly that the author of nature and of revelation is one and the same, and that it is quite impossible that there can be any real discordance between the two forms of God’s self-disclosure. She objects to hasty inferences and unsound deductions, but knowledge, true knowledge of all kinds, she welcomes as akin to her own nature, and subservient to those great ends for which the Most High has set up his golden candlestick in this dark world.

2. But the Church like the moon shines only with a borrowed light. She has no resources of her own. All depends upon the central Sun of Righteousness, not only for illumination, but for every other kind or degree of influence. This is a fundamental truth of Scripture and experience. In religious development, outward or inward, the efficient cause always lies back of what is seen. God uses human instruments, and rarely, if ever, operates independently of them, but when they effect their aim, the power comes from above. A sailing vessel perfectly appointed and manned, cannot move in a calm. The most ingenious machine accomplishes nothing, if motive power be withheld. In like manner the Church is helpless if forsaken of the Spirit of God. A new birth, a new creation, a resurrection from death in trespasses and sins,—these are objects which mock all the array of mere human agencies. Only He who made the soul and breathed into it of his own inspiration can recast the broken mould and bring back the fair image so sadly marred by sin. Hence the unspeakable importance in all Christian work of giving due honor to the Spirit. Neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase. The Apostles were held fast in Jerusalem until the Spirit was poured out from on high. Then and not before, the Word had free course and was glorified. And so it has been ever since. Whether in individual conversions or in mighty movements among races and nations, the effect is due to a divine and supernatural cause. In the great Reformation of the sixteenth century, so long as this truth was recognized, the work went on; but when an arm of flesh was introduced and reliance placed upon government or policy, a retrograde movement began. God is jealous for his honor; his glory He will not give to another. If his people will not receive the doctrine that all real advances are made by his Holy Spirit, then He teaches them by sore experience that nothing can be done by might or by power, by the very best human appliances. Leviathan is not so tamed. “He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood, and laugheth at the shaking of a spear.” Only “He that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.”

3. The contempt of small beginnings especially in religious matters has been quite a common feeling. Yet such a feeling is rebuked by the whole experience of the Church of God. The prospect of a godly seed on the earth once lay wrapped up in a childless man, “and him as good as dead;” and yet there sprang from Abraham as many as the sand which is by the sea-shore innumerable. The stripling David was reproved by his brothers and derided by Goliath, yet a stone from his sling laid the giant low. The Psalmist sings of a handful of corn on a bleak mountain top, which yet yields a harvest that rustles like the lordly woods of Lebanon; and the Prophet tells of a worm Jacob which threshes the mountains. Samaritan scoffers laughed at the first feeble walls of restored Jerusalem, yet there came a time when to suppress the sedition of that city strained the last resources of imperial Rome. Twelve men went forth to give the Gospel to the world, and before the end of the first century, believers were found all the way from the shores of Britain to far Cathay. In the sixteenth century one man entered the lists against the anti-christian corruptions of the time, and Leo X. spoke contemptuously of , “Brother Martin,” but in the issue one half of Europe was emancipated from the papal yoke, and the Man of Sin received a fatal blow. The finest wit of Great Britain set the polite world on a broad laugh at the “consecrated cobblers” who commenced the work of East Indian missions; yet today the whole Church of Christ honors that heroic vanguard of Hindoo missionaries, and the friends of the wit would gladly sponge out his misplaced jests. The law of Providence is to begin with a day of small things. A little leaven hid in the measures of meal at last affects the entire mass. The smallest of seeds when planted grows into a tree upon whose branches the fowls of the air may lodge. No mature grain ever springs instantaneously from the earth. It is “first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.” The oak which has withstood the storms of a thousand years was once an acorn. The mighty river which fertilizes a continent began with a tiny streamlet which even an infant’s hand could divert. It becomes no one, least of all a believer, to deride a feeble beginning. No matter how small it may be, yet if carried forward in faith and prayer, neither man nor angel can tell whereunto it may grow.

4. The effusion of the Holy Ghost is not an arbitrary thing. Whitsunday stands in direct relation with Good Friday and Easter. The lamps of the candlestick give light because the manifold tubes convey oil in a constant flow from the central reservoir. But how is this reservoir kept full ? By living trees whose supply is perpetually renewed. These living trees are the priesthood and kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. By his sacrifice the blessed Lord procured the measureless grace of the Holy Ghost, and by his enthronement at the Father’s right hand He has power to shed down the life giving influence in streams as mighty as those which made Pentecost forever memorable. These trees are living, ever-living. The blood of the one great ransom is ever new (καινός, recens); it does not clot so as to be inefficacious; it belongs to an unchangeable priesthood; it endures to the uttermost in point of time. So the session on high is uninterrupted. Our Lord sat down forever on the right hand of God (Heb_10:12), and therefore always holds his ascension gifts to be dispensed at will for the preservation, the extension, and the exaltation of his Church. The oil of grace cannot fail, just because the Lord Jesus is an eternal priest and an eternal king. Here is a valid ground for faith, hope, and prayer. There is no machinery by which the most fervid evangelist can yoke the blessed Spirit to his methods and measures. But the varied and repeated and emphatic promises of the One Mediator (Joh_14:16-17; Joh_14:26; Joh_15:26; Joh_16:7-11; Joh_16:13-15) encourage every toiler in the vineyard, however feeble or obscure, to look up to the priest upon his throne, with an absolute conviction that his arm is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. If the Saviour in the days of his flesh, had the Spirit without measure, how much more must He now, in his glorious exaltation far above all heavens! The wonders of Pentecost were explained by the Apostle Peter (Act_2:33) as an immediate gift of the ascended Saviour, who “having received of the Father the promise of the Spirit, hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear.” The supply of spiritual gifts depends upon the perpetual intercession within the veil; and in vain do we look for oil in the lamps if by conceit or neglect we neglect the olive-branches from which alone the supply is maintained.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

Calvin: The material of the candlestick was intended to set forth a mystery. It is indeed true that gold is corruptible; but as we cannot otherwise understand what exceeds the things of the world, the Lord, under the figure of gold and silver and precious stones, sets forth those things which are celestial, and which surpass in value the earth and the world. It was for this purpose that God commanded the candlestick to be made of gold, not that He needed earthly wealth or riches, or was pleased with them as men are.

Wordsworth: Observe the candlestick is golden and the oil is called gold; it is like liquid gold. The Church must be pure and holy; and what she teaches and ministers to the people must be pure and holy also; not adulterated with the admixture of any novel doctrines, such as those which have been added by some to the faith once delivered to the saints, and imposed as necessary to salvation.

C. Bradley: Observe, these Scriptures do not say that there are no enemies, no mountains, no difficulties. They do not make the salvation of the Church that light thing which some of us make it. On the contrary, they suppose it to be in itself a work of the utmost difficulty. But then, Christ, they tell us, is more than equal to. it; He is mighty to save; He can prepare his people for heaven and carry them there, in spite of everything.

John Foster: When good men despise the day of small things, it is because the grand essential of religion, Faith, is wanting. They lack faith in the unerring wisdom of the Divine scheme and determinations; faith in the goodness of God, the absolute certainty that infinite wisdom and power cannot be otherwise than good; faith in the promise of God, that his servants shall in the succession of their generations see his cause advance from the small to the great, though this be not granted to any one separately.

Payson: We ought not to despise the day of small things, because, (1) such conduct tends to prevent its becoming a day of great things. (2) Angels do not despise, etc., but rejoice over even one repenting sinner. (3) Our Saviour does not break the bruised reed, nor quench, etc. (4) God does not despise, etc., but noticed even some good thing found in—the son of Jeroboam. (5) The day of small things is the commencement of great things.

Gill: The lamp of a profession without the oil of grace is a dark and useless thing.

Footnotes:

[1]Zec_4:1—The Kethibh וַיּאֹמֶר must be considered a copyist’s error; the Keri, besides agreeing better with the connection and with usage, is found in numerous MSS., and also in the LXX., Itala, Vulg., Targum, and Peshito.

[2]Ver 2.—גֻלָּהּ, which is pointed correctly, may stand for גֻלָּתָהּ, as תְבוּנָם, Hos_12:2, which escapes the necessity of assuming a masculine גֹל, of which there is no other example.

[3]Zec_4:2—שִׁבְעָה וְשׁבְעָה, seven and seven, must be taken distributively, for which there is an exact parallel In 2Sa_21:20.Cf. 1Ch_20:6.

[4]Zec_4:6.—It seems impossible to establish any distinction between היִל and כֹהַ. Both are used indiscriminately of physical or mental or moral power.

[5]Zec_4:7.—The Masoretic interpunction requires “before Zerubbabel” to be connected with what goes before, and not, as E. V., with what follows.

[6]Zec_4:7.—Be a plain ! is quite as correct a rendering of למישׁוֹר as to supply a future (E. V.), and surely far more spirited.

[7]Zec_4:7.— The Raphe over the last letter of הָרֹ‍ֽאשָׁהֿ shows that this word is a feminine form of רֹאשׁ, and in apposition with הָאֶכֶן.

[8]Zec_4:10.—בַז is one of the two instances in which verbs of this class take Pattach instead of Kamets. The other verb is טַח.

[9]Zec_4:10.—“Those seven.” The translation makes this phrase the subject of the verb rejoice. Professor Cowles objects to the “violent inversion,” but this is not worse than to disregard the accents and both the tense and number of the verb, by rendering “who hath despised, etc., Let them rejoice.”

[10]Ver.12.—שִּׁבֲּלֵי, ἅπ. λεγ., lit., ears, here twigs or branches, so called because of their resemblance to ripe ears of grain, or (Fürst) of their undulating motion.

[11]Zec_4:12.—צנְתְּרוֹת. This also is an ἅπ. λεγ. It does not mean presses (Hengstenberg), which is sustained neither by etymology nor taste; nor receptacles (Pressel), which is too vague; but, as E. V., pipes, i. e., tubes or spouts through which the oil was discharged.

[12]Zec_4:12.—There is a play upon words here. The shining oil is like liquid gold; hence it is said the golden spouts pour gold out of themselves.

[13]Zec_4:14 —עַל (as Henderson suggests) is elliptical for עַל־פְנֵי=before; or it may be (as 1Ki_22:19, Isa_5:2) lit., above him, which would naturally be the appearance if the Lord was sitting and they were standing.

Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zechariah

THE SOURCE OF POWER

Zec 4:1 - Zec 4:10.

THE preceding vision had reference to Joshua the priest, and showed him restored to his prerogative of entrance into the sanctuary. This one concerns his colleague Zerubbabel, the representative of civil power, as he of ecclesiastical, and promises that he shall succeed in rebuilding the Temple. The supposition is natural that the actual work of reconstruction was mainly in the hands of the secular ruler.

Flesh is weak, and the Prophet had fallen into deep sleep, after the tension of the previous vision. That had been shown him by Jehovah, but in this vision we have the same angel interpreter who had spoken with Zechariah before. He does not bring the vision, but simply wakes the Prophet that he may see it, and directs his attention to it by the question, ‘What seest thou?’ The best way to teach is to make the learner put his conceptions into definite words. We see things more clearly, and they make a deeper impression, when we tell what we see. How many lazy looks we give at things temporal as well as at things eternal, after which we should be unable to answer the Angel’s question! It is not every one who sees what he looks at.

The passage has two parts-the vision and its interpretation, with related promises.

The vision may be briefly disposed of. Its original is the great lamp which stood in the tabernacle, and was replaced in the Solomonic Temple by ten smaller ones. These had been carried away at the Captivity, and we do not read of their restoration. But the main thing to note is the differences between this lamp and the one in the tabernacle. The description here confines itself to these: They are three-the ‘bowl’ or reservoir above the lamp, the pipes from it to the seven lights, and the two olive-trees which stood on either side of the lamp and replenished from their branches the supply in the reservoir. The tabernacle lamp had no reservoir, and consequently no pipes, but was fed with oil by the priests. The meaning of the variations, then, is plain. They were intended to express the fuller and more immediately divine supply of oil. If the Revised Version’s rendering of the somewhat doubtful numerals in Zec 4:2 be accepted, each several light had seven pipes, thus expressing the perfection of its supplies.

Now, there can be no doubt about the symbolism of the tabernacle lamp. It represented the true office of Israel, as it rayed out its beams into the darkness of the desert. It meant the same thing as Christ’s words, ‘Ye are the light of the world,’ and as the vision of the seven golden candlesticks, in Rev 1:12 - Rev 1:13, Rev 1:20. The substitution of separate lamps for one with seven lights may teach the difference between the mere formal unity of the people of God in the Old Testament and the true oneness, conjoined with diversity, in the New Testament Church, which is one because Christ walks in the midst. Zechariah’s lamp, then, called to the minds of the little band of restored exiles their high vocation, and the changed arrangements for the supply of that oil, which is the standing emblem for divine communications fitting for service, or, to keep to the metaphor, fitting to shine, signified the abundance of these.

The explanation of the vision is introduced, as at Zec 1:9, Zec 1:19, by the Prophet’s question of its meaning. His angelic teacher is astonished at his dullness, as indeed heavenly eyes must often be at ours, and asks if he does not know so familiar an object. The Prophet’s ‘No, my Lord,’ brings full explanation. Ingenuously acknowledged ignorance never asks Heaven for enlightenment in vain.

First, the true source of strength and success, as shown by the vision, is declared in plain terms. What fed the lamp? Oil, which symbolises the gift of a divine Spirit, if not in the full personal sense as in the New Testament, yet certainly as a God-breathed influence, preparing prophets, priests, kings, and even artificers, for their several forms of service. Whence came the oil? From the two olive-trees, which though, as Zec 4:14 shows, they represented the two leaders, yet set forth the truth that their power for their work was from God; for the Bible knows nothing of ‘nature’ as a substitute for or antithesis to God, and the growth of the olive and its yield of oil is His doing.

This, then, was the message for Zerubbabel and his people, that God would give such gifts as they needed, in order that the light which He Himself had kindled should not be quenched. If the lamp was fed with oil, it would burn, and there would be a Temple for it to stand in. If we try to imagine the feebleness of the handful of discouraged men, and the ring of enemies round them, we may feel the sweetness of the promise which bade them not despond because they had little of what the world calls might.

We all need the lesson; for the blustering world is apt to make us forget the true source of all real strength for holy service or for noble living. The world’s power at its mightiest is weak, and the Church’s true power, at her feeblest, is omnipotent, if only she grasps the strength which is hers, and takes the Spirit which is given. The eternal antithesis of man’s weakness at his haughtiest, and God’s strength even in its feeblest possessors, is taught by that lamp flaming, whatever envious hands or howling storms might seek to quench it, because fed by oil from on high. Let us keep to God’s strength, and not corrupt His oil with mixtures of foul-smelling stuff of our own compounding.

Next, in the strength of that revelation of the source of might a defiant challenge is blown to the foe. The ‘great mountain’ is primarily the frowning difficulties which lifted themselves against Zerubbabel’s enterprise, and more widely the whole mass of worldly opposition encountered by God’s servants in every age. It seems to bar all advance; but an unseen Hand crushes it down, and flattens it out into a level, on which progress is easy. The Hebrew gives the suddenness and completeness of the transformation with great force; for the whole clause, ‘Thou shalt become a plain,’ is one word in the original.

Such triumphant rising above difficulties is not presumption when it has been preceded by believing gaze on the source of strength. If we have taken to heart the former words of the Prophet, we shall not be in danger of rash overconfidence when we calmly front obstacles in the path of duty, assured that every mountain shall be made low. A brave scorn of the world, both in its sweetnesses and its terrors, befits God’s men, and is apt to fulfil its own confidences; for most of these terrors are like ghosts, who will not wait to be spoken to, but melt away if fairly faced. Nor should we forget the other side of this thought; namely, that it is the constant drift of Providence to abase the lofty in mind, and to raise the lowly. What is high is sure to get many knocks which pass over lower heads. To men of faith every mountain shall either become a plain or be cast into the sea.

Then follows, on the double revelation of the source of strength and the futility of opposition, the assurance of the successful completion of the work. The stone which is to crown the structure shall be brought forth and set in its place amid jubilant prayers not offered in vain, that ‘grace’-that is, the protecting favour of God-may rest on it.

The same thought is reiterated and enlarged in the next ‘word,’ which is somewhat separated from the former, as if the flow of prophetic communication had paused for a moment, and then been resumed. In Zec 4:9 we have the assurance, so seldom granted to God’s workers, that Zerubbabel shall be permitted to complete the task which he had begun. It is the fate of most of us to inherit unfinished work from our predecessors, and to bequeath the like to our successors. And in one aspect, all human work is unfinished, as being but a fragment of the fulfilment of the mighty purpose which runs through all the ages. Yet some are more happy than others, in that they see an approximate completion of their work. But whether it be so or not, our task is to ‘do the little we can do, and leave the rest with God,’ sure that He will work all the fragments into a perfect whole, and content to do the smallest bit of service for Him. Few of us are strong enough to do separate building. We are like coral insects, whose reef is one, though its makers are millions.

Zerubbabel finished his task, but its end was but a new beginning of an order of things of which he did not see the end. There are no beginnings or endings, properly speaking, in human affairs, but all is one unbroken flow. One man only has made a real new beginning, and that is Jesus Christ; and He only will really carry His work to its very last issues. He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. He is the Foundation of the true Temple, and He is also the Headstone of the corner, the foundation on which all rests, the apex to which all runs up. ‘When He begins, He will also make an end.’

The completion of the work is to be the token that the ‘angel who spake with me’ was God’s messenger. We can know that before the fulfilment, but we cannot but know it after. Better to be sure that the message is from God while yet the certainty is the result of faith, than to be sure of it afterwards, when the issue has shattered and shamed our doubts.

If we realise that God’s Spirit is the guarantee for the success of work done for God, we shall escape the vulgar error of measuring the importance of things by their size, as, no doubt, many of these builders were doing. No one will help on the day of great things who despises that of small ones. They say that the seeds of the ‘big trees’ in California are the smallest of all the conifers. I do not vouch for the truth of the statement, but God’s work always begins with little seeds, as the history of the Church and of every good cause shows. ‘What do these feeble Jews?’ sneered the spectators of their poor little walls, painfully piled up, over which a fox could jump. They did very little, but they were building the city of God, which has outlasted all the mockers.

Men might look with contempt on the humble beginning, but other eyes than theirs looked at it with other emotions. The eyes which in the last vision were spoken of as directed on the foundation stone, gaze on the work with joy. These are the seven eyes of ‘the Lord,’ which are ‘the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth’ {Rev 5:6}. The Spirit is here contemplated in the manifoldness of His operations rather than in the unity of His person. Thus the closing assurance, which involves the success of the work, since God’s eyes rest on it with delight, comes round to the first declaration, ‘Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit.’ Note the strong contrast between ‘despise’ and ‘rejoice.’ What matter the scoffs of mockers, if God approves? What are they but fools who look at that which moves His joy, and find in it only food for scorn? What will become of their laughter at last? If we try to get so near God as to see things with His eyes, we shall be saved from many a false estimate of what is great and what is small, and may have our own poor little doings invested with strange dignity, because He deigns to behold and bless them.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CHAPTER 4

1. The fifth night vision (Zec 4:1-10)

2. The questions of the prophet answered (Zec 4:11-14)

Zec 4:1-10. There was a rest for the prophet between the fourth and fifth night vision. He had fallen into a deep sleep. He may have been overcome by the grand and important visions, and is now awakened by the angel with the question, “What seest thou?” The new vision is a very striking one. A golden candlestick appears before the seer. An oil receiver is seen on top, from which the oil flows to the seven lamps of the candlestick through seven pipes. Two olive trees stand alongside of the candlestick and hang their fruit-laden branches over the golden bowl, filling it with oil, which flows through the seven pipes into the seven lamps. The question of the prophet, “What are these, my lord?” is answered by the angel with this statement, “This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might and not by power but by My Spirit, saith the LORD of Hosts. Who art thou, Oh great mountain, before Zerubbabel? Be a plain! He shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of grace, grace unto it.... The hands of Zerubbabel who have laid the foundation shall also finish it, and they shall rejoice and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel--even the seven. The eyes of the LORD shall run to and fro through the entire earth.”

The Church in the New Testament is typified by a candlestick. The oil is the emblem of the Holy Spirit. But this is not in view in this vision.

We call attention to the fact that the vision is one which speaks of perfection, completion, fullness. The perfect and divine number seven is found three times in the vision, seven lamps, seven pipes and seven eyes. The seven lamps are united to one stem, this is union, and above it, is a golden bowl. The Spirit conquers, and not power or might does it, but His power. The great mountain becomes a plain. The top stone is brought forth and crowns the building which is finished by Zerubbabel. Shoutings, “Grace, grace, unto it,” are heard, and the seven eyes run to and fro through the whole earth. It is a vision of fullness and accomplishment. The candlestick shines and sheds its glorious light, its pure gold glitters and reflects the light of the seven lamps. The bowl is filled with oil, and the two olive trees give a continual supply. The high mountain removed, the temple finished, joy and victory abound. The candlestick in the vision is exactly like the one in the tabernacle, only the two olive trees are something new. The candlestick in the tabernacle represents Christ, the light of the world, and is likewise a type of the Jewish theocracy. Theocracy, the government of this earth by the immediate direction of God, is once to be established, and when it is, it will be like a bright and glorious candlestick shedding light and dispersing the darkness. We think the Yalkut on Zechariah (a Hebrew commentary), is not so very far out of the way when it says, “the golden candlestick is Israel.” It seems to us very clear that the vision represents the Jewish theocracy restored, Israel in their glorious inheritance as the light of the world.

Zec 4:11-14. The prophet asks two questions concerning the two olive trees and the branches which gave the oil through the golden pipe. The two olive trees, filled with the supply of the Spirit, are in all probability the two witnesses of Rev 11:1-19. Their testimony is given during the second half of the last seven years of the times of the Gentiles, Daniel’s seventieth week Dan 9:1-27. It is the time of the great tribulation and these two witnesses stand in close relation with the establishment of the kingdom. See annotations on Revelation.

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Zec 4:1-14

The candelabrum and olive trees.

I. By the candelabrum was symbolised the Israelitish community, the nation of the old covenant, the people of theocracy. But Israel was itself a symbol and type; it was the visible manifestation of that invisible spiritual community, the Church of the living God, which embraces the faithful of all ages and places. It is represented as made of the most precious of metals, pure gold, to indicate the worth and excellence of that which God hath chosen for Himself as His special treasure; and it is represented as having seven lamps, to indicate that the Church is a luminous body, having light in itself, and appearing as the luminary from which proceeds light to the world.

II. The light which the Church possesses is not from herself; it is light communicated and sustained by influences from above. Hence in the vision which Zechariah saw the lamps were supplied by oil, not by human ministration, but through channels and pipes from the olive trees, which stood beside and were over the candelabrum. Oil is the proper symbol of the Holy Spirit’s influences. Apart from the Divine Spirit the Church is dark and cold and feeble; but through the visitation of the Spirit she is animated and invigorated, becomes luminous and glorious, and is crowned with success as she labours to erect God’s temple on earth.

III. God sustains His Church by His grace. But this grace comes to men through certain appointed media. This was symbolised in the vision by the fruit-bearing branches of the olive trees, and by the conduits and the pipes through which the oil was conveyed to the lamps. The branches represented the sacerdotal and civil authorities in Israel. These were in the old time the channels through which God conveyed His grace to His Church on earth; and, as they operated through means of subordinate functionaries, the branches were represented in the vision as emptying themselves into the conduits and pipes, by means of which the oil was conveyed to the lamps. When the symbol was again exhibited (Rev 1:12), the great Head of the Church Himself in proper Person was seen in the midst of the seven golden candelabra. Through Him, as the great Priest and King, uniting in Himself the two offices and discharging the functions of both to His Church, "the oil of Divine grace is poured into the candlestick of the Church in infinitely greater abundance than through any of the previous servants of God."—(Hengstenberg.)

W. Lindsay Alexander, Zechariah’s Visions and Warnings, p. 59; see also Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 96.

References: Zec 4:6.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 149; G. H. Wilkinson, Old Testament Outlines, p. 280; see also Church Sermons by Eminent Clergymen, vol. i., p. 401.

Zec 4:6-7

I. When Zerubbabel prophesied, the foundation of the temple had been laid, and he predicted that the same prince who laid the foundation should also lay the top-stone. The foundation of the Church has been laid; it grows up slowly but surely, a holy temple in the Lord. Our joyful hope is that He who laid the foundation will also finish it.

II. The propagation of the Gospel is not only for but by Christ. The Sower of the seed all through this dispensation is the Son of man; it is He who preaches peace, through the minds and voices of many preachers, in many languages; He publishes the testimony through all the earth, and saves sinners. The construction of the Church is also by Christ from first to last, and the builders from Paul and Apollos downwards are nothing without Him. Christ is always building His people together, healing, reconciling, moulding, blending, compacting them together as living stones that form the one temple of the one Holy Ghost.

III. Mark well what the energy is which surmounts or removes obstacles. Not might, nor power of mortal man. The upbuilding of the Church in the face of all difficulties has been possible, and is possible now, only under the might and power of the Holy Spirit.

D. Fraser, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 161.

Zec 4:7

I. Prophecy in the long reach of its onward flight stoops again and again to many fulfilments. There is the historical fulfilment, and there is the evangelical fulfilment, the spiritual fulfilment, the practical fulfilment, and the final and glorious fulfilment. There was a "headstone brought out with shoutings" when Zerubbabel’s temple was finished, and the old men wept and the young men cried aloud for joy. There was a headstone brought forth with shoutings "when the Lord Jesus Christ," the firstborn of every creature, the top-stone of God’s creation, was unveiled to human view at Bethelehem. There will be a "headstone brought out with shoutings" when the whole Church stands in its completeness, and its song of victory goes up, while God inhabits the praises of Israel.

II. There are two stones to which Christ is compared in the Bible—the "foundation-stone," and the "head" or corner-stone. Christ is both. (1) First, He is the beginning of every good thing on which it rests as its basis. "Other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Christ Jesus." (2) And then afterwards, in due time, He is the "head" or "corner-stone," into which everything gathers itself up as all its aim and all its object, its glory and its last attainment, and in the sameness of those two stones lies the comfort—the Alpha is the Omega,—in Christ we begin, in Christ we end,—we lay all upon His death, and we bring out all unto His glory. And therefore, because He is the beginning and the ending, the "foundation stone" and "top-stone," therefore we cry, "Grace, grace unto it."

III. And what is it we mean when we use that word "grace" in its double emphasis? We mean that it is all free favour, God’s own pure mercy. Whatever good thing we have, it was purchased for us by Christ’s blood. Whatever good thing we do, it was wrought in us by Christ’s Spirit.

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 8th series, p. 253.

Zec 4:10

Consider the tendency in men to indulge contempt for good things, in the littleness and weakness of their beginnings and early operations.

I. There is much of a disposition to undervalue, "despise," the small beginnings and slow, early stages of a good work. (1) It comes from not duly apprehending the preciousness of what is good, in any, even the smallest portion of it. (2) In the indulgence of this disposition it is left out of sight how much in many cases was requisite to be previously done to bring the small beginning into existence at all; it did not start into existence of itself. (3) Another thing is, that we are apt to set far too high a price on our own efforts and services. Our self-importance cannot endure that so much of our agency, ours, should be consumed for so small a result. (4) We over-measure our brief span of mortal existence. We want to contract the Almighty’s plan to our own limits of time, and to precipitate the movement, that we may see clearly to the end of it.

II. In the religious and moral department things that as yet are small are to be estimated, not according to their present dimensions, but according to their principle, and according to what they are to become. We are to recognise in them a Divine principle; that God has put in them His will, His power, His Spirit. This includes (1) the progress of education; (2) the progress of Christianity.

III. Pride, sluggishness, and covetousness have all something to do with the temper which leads men to despise small things. But the good cause of God, of Christ, of human improvement, is certain, is destined to advance and triumph. The awful mystery why this triumphant ascendency is so slowly achieved, so long delayed in this world, will, it is reasonable to believe, be one of the subjects for illumination in a higher state of existence, where enlarging faculties will have endless duration for their exercise. It may then be seen that the whole course of the world, from the beginning to the end, was "a day of small things," as compared with the sequel,—only as a brief introduction to an immense and endless economy.

J. Foster, Lectures; 2nd series, p. 365.

References: Zec 4:10.—Spurgeon, Old Testament Outlines, p. 281; E. White, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxi., p. 187; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 333; Ibid., My Sermon Notes: Ecclesiastes to Malachi, p. 365. Zec 5:1-11.—W. Lindsay Alexander, Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 175. Zech 5—Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 119. Zec 6:1-8.—Ibid., vol. v., p. 107.

The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:1-14 This vision affirms that through his Spirit, God would enable Zerubbabel and Jeshua to rebuild the Temple.

4:1 woke me: The series of visions (1:7–6:8) came to Zechariah in a single night. The prophet slept briefly before this fifth vision.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

CHAPTER IV

The prophet, overpowered by his last vision, is roused by the

angel to behold another, 1;

intended also to assure the Jews of the success of Joshua and

Zerubbabel in building the temple, and surmounting every

obstacle in the way; till at length, by the good providence of

God, it should be finished, amidst the joyful acclamations of

the spectators, 2-10.

The angel's explanation of the golden candlestick, and of the

two olive trees, 11-14.

NOTES ON CHAP. IV

Verse 1. The angel - came again, and waked me] Abp. Newcome considers this vision as represented on the same night, Zec 1:8, with the preceding ones. See the latter part of Zec 4:10, compared with Zec 3:9. After some interval the prophet, overpowered with the vision which had been presented to him, was awakened from his prophetic trance as from a sleep.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Another vision is narrated here, — that a candlestick was shown to the Prophet, on which there were seven lights. He says that the candlestick was formed all of gold: and he says that to the seven lamps there were as many cruses, (infusoria — pourers,) or, as some think, there were seven cruses to each lamp: but the former view is what I mostly approve, that is, that every lamp had its own cruse. He further says, that there were two olive-trees, one on the right, the other on the left hand, so that there was no deficiency of oil, as the olive-trees were full of fruit. Since then there was a great abundance of berries, the oil would not fail; and the lamps were continually burning. This is the vision, and the explanation is immediately added, for God declares that his Spirit was sufficient to preserve the Church without any earthly helps, that is, that his grace would always shine bright, and could never be extinguished.

There is, moreover, no doubt but that God set forth to Zechariah a figure and an image suitable to the capacities of the people. The candlestick in the temple, we know, was made of gold; we know also, that seven lamps were placed in the candlestick, for it had six branches; and then there was the trunk of the candlestick. As then the seven lamps shone always in the temple on the golden candlestick, it was the Lord’s design here to show that this ceremonial symbol was not superfluous or insignificant; for his purpose was really to fulfill what he exhibited by the candlestick: and such analogy is to be seen in many other instances. For it was not the Lord’s purpose simply to promise what was necessary to be known; but he also designed to add at the same time a confirmation by ceremonial types, that the Jews might know that their labor was not in vain when they lighted the lamps in the temple; for it was not a vain or a deceptive spectacle, but a real symbol of his favor, which was at length to be exhibited towards them. But we may more fully learn the design of the whole, by considering the words, and each part in order.

He says that the Angel returned; by which we understand that God, without any request or entreaty on the part of the Prophet, confirmed by a new prophecy what we have already observed; for the Prophet confesses that he was as it were overcome with astonishment, so that it was necessary to awake him as it were from sleep. The Prophet was not therefore able to ask any thing of God when under the influence of amazement; but God of his own free will came to his aid, and anticipated his request. We hence see that the faithful were not in one way only taught to entertain confidence as to the restoration of the Church; but as there was need of no common confirmation, many visions were given; and it must at the same time be added, that though no one interposed, yet God was of his own self solicitous about his Church, and omitted nothing that was necessary or useful to support the faith of his people. And farther, as the Prophet says that he was awakened by the Angel, let us learn, that except God awakens us by his Spirit, torpor will so prevail over us, that we cannot raise our minds above. Since God then sees that we are so much tied down to the earth, he rouses us as it were from our lethargy. For if the Prophet had need of such help, how much more have we, who are far below him in faith? Nay, if he was earthly, are we not altogether earth and ashes? It must yet be observed, that the Prophet was not so overwhelmed with drowsiness as with astonishment; so that he was hardly himself, as it is the case with men in an ecstasy.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

IV.

FOURTH VISION.—THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK.

(1) Came again, and waked.—Better, possibly, again waked me, the construction being similar to that of Zec_5:1. But it is not impossible that the angel had gone forth, as before (Zec_2:3), to receive some fresh instruction from a higher angel, or from God, and that now he came back again. From this verse it would appear that between some of the visions the prophet fell into a state of lethargy, and that the angel roused him; or it may be that all the visions are seen in a dream, and that he only seemed in his dream to be woke up. (See Note on Zec_1:8.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the angel that talked with me,.... See Zac 1:9,

came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep; into which he fell, after he had had the former vision; see Dan 8:18.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The angel came again - The angel (as before Zec 2:3) had gone forth to receive some fresh instruction from a higher angel or from God.

And awakened me - As a man is awakened out of sleep. Zechariah, overwhelmed by the greatness of the visions, must have sunk down in a sort of stupor, as after the vision of the ram and he-goat, as Gabriel was speaking with him, Daniel says, “I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground, and he touched me and set me upright” Dan 8:18; and again at the voice of the angel, who, after his three weeks’ fast Dan 10:9, came to declare to him Dan 10:21 the scripture of truth; and at the Transfiguration, “Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake, they saw His glory.” Luk 9:32. Osorius: “Wondrous and stupendous mysteries were they which were shown to the divine man. He saw the Branch of the Lord; he saw His invincible might; he saw His brightness of Divine Intelligence and Providence; he saw the amplitude of beauty and dignity. Nailed then and struck still with amazement, while he revolved these things in his mind, sunk in a sort of sleep, he is borne out of himself and, mantled around with darkness, understands that the secret things of Divine Wisdom cannot be perfectly comprehended by the mind of any. This then he attained that, his senses being overpowered, he should see nothing, save that wherein is the sum of wisdom, that this immensity of the divine excellence cannot be searched out. By this sleep he was seized, when he was roused by the angel to see further mysteries.”

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Again. He had been with Jesus, chap. iii. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The angel that talked with me; Christ, who for some time had left Zechariah, and bestowed some time on new dressing, and cleansing, and adorning Joshua, the high priest.

Came again: this is the fourth time of Christ’s revealing his mind to this prophet by vision.

Waked me; either roused him out of a drowsy fit and bodily sleep, or out of an ecstasy, or wonder, that surprising him, he was as if asleep; or shaked him out of a sluggish negligence, or an observance of these things.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Fifth Vision

The prophet's thoughts now turn to the civil ruler Zerubbabel. The purpose of the fifth vision is to encourage him in the difficult task of rebuilding the Temple,

1-5, 11-14. The golden candlestick (i.e. the returned exiles) receives its supply of oil (i.e. the divine grace) through two channels ('pipes,' Zec_4:12), viz. the spiritual and the temporal leaders, Joshua and Zerubbabel, through whose united efforts the prosperity of the nation would be accomplished. These are the two olive trees.

6-10 is an encouraging address to Zerubbabel; weak though he is, yet by the help of God's Holy Spirit he will finish the great work.

1. And waked me] The visions evidently occurred in the night, but so vivid were they that Zechariah seemed to awake.

2. A candlestick all of gold] In the first Temple ten candles gave light (1Ki_7:49, but see Exo_25:31).

Bowl] holding the main supply of oil. From it a pipe flowed to each lamp. RV reads, 'seven pipes to each of the lamps,' but LXX and Vulgate reading, followed in AV, is probably correct.

3. The lamps are supplied from a perennial and inexhaustible source, viz. two olive trees.

6. Zerubbabel] son of Shealtiel, but called in 1Ch_3:19 son of Pedaiah, was governor ('pehah,' as Haggai calls him) of Judah in the time of Haggai and Zechariah. Shealtiel was a son of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, so that Zerubbabel was of royal blood. He returned from exile, probably in 538 b.c., along with his uncle Sheshbazzar, who was the first governor of Judah after the return. He probably succeeded his uncle as governor some time in 522-520 b.c. He is recognised by Zechariah as the civil head of Jerusalem, and as such is encouraged to proceed with the work of rebuilding the Temple. Of his ultimate fate nothing is known.

6. It is clear that Zec_4:6 does not give the answer to the question asked in Zec_4:4 consequently most modern scholars place the section 10b-14 after 6a, thus: 'Then he answered and spoke unto me saying, Those seven, they are the eyes,' etc. This makes a most excellent connexion. The seven lamps are symbols of the eyes of the Lord watching continually. And the question concerning the two olive trees follows naturally.

12. The v. seems to be simply an unnecessary repetition of Zec_4:11, and modern scholars omit it.

14. The two anointed ones] lit. 'two sons of oil.' These are Joshua and Zerubbabel, priest and king, both anointed, both receiving all their grace and power from God.

6b-10a. These vv. come naturally at the end of the completed vision: so scholars place the section after Zec_4:14, and read: '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,' etc. God's Spirit is sufficient; obstacles apparently insurmountable will disappear. Zerubbabel will bring forth the copestone, and complete the Temple amid joyful acclamations.

7. Grace unto it] i.e. May God bless it.

10. Scornful doubters shall, by this success, be put to shame. They shall see Zerubbabel moving the plumb-line to test the completed walls.

J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The fifth vision — the golden candlestick and the two olive trees, 1-14.

The fourth and fifth visions are closely connected; the former centers around the person of the ecclesiastical head, Joshua, the high priest, the latter around that of the civil head, Zerubbabel, the governor. In the vision Zechariah beholds a golden candlestick with seven lamps; on top was a reservoir of oil connected with the lamps by pipes. Beside it stood two olive trees; from the overhanging branches of these oil flowed continually into the reservoir and from it into the lamps.

It may not be possible to determine the meaning of every feature of the vision, but its general purpose is clear. (See p. 592.)

1. In this vision the interpreting angel appears first.

Came again — The angel seems to have withdrawn temporarily; in the fourth vision he appears — if at all — only in Zec_3:1. Perhaps “he came again and waked me” is equivalent to “he waked me again,” to see a new vision. Evidently Zechariah recognizes that his condition during the visions is not the same as during the intervals that elapse between the separate visions.

Waked me — What the prophet has seen and heard has overpowered him; he has become spiritually exhausted, and has fallen into a state resembling sleep (Luk_9:32); out of this condition the angel rouses him to show him the new vision.

What seest thou? — The angel addresses this question to the prophet as soon as he opens his eyes (see on Amo_7:8; Amo_8:2; compare Jer_1:11; Jer_1:13).

The principal features of the new vision are described in Zec_4:2-3.

I have looked — R.V., “seen”; perhaps better, I see.

A candlestick all of gold — This candlestick may have been suggested by the candlestick in the tabernacle (Exo_25:31; 1Ch_4:20), which was of gold, but in some respects the candlestick in the vision differs from its prototype.

With a bowl upon the top of it — This means a reservoir for the oil used in the lamps. The oil holder was absent from the candlestick in the tabernacle; there the oil was supplied daily by the priests. However, the bowl may have been suggested by the cups (Exo_25:31; Exo_25:33-34), though the Hebrew word used here is entirely different, and the cups served only as ornaments.

Seven lamps — How they were attached is not stated.

Seven pipes — To supply oil from the reservoir. This is another feature absent from the candlestick in the tabernacle. The Hebrew is literally “seven and seven pipes to the lamps,” which admits of a twofold interpretation; either, fourteen pipes to the seven lamps, that is, two to each, or, in a distributive sense, seven pipes to each one of the seven lamps (so R.V.), a total of forty-nine. The Hebrew permits either interpretation, and either is thinkable; the latter is more in accord with Hebrew usage. No indication is given how or where the pipes were connected with the lamps. LXX. and Vulgate omit one “seven” and read “seven pipes to the lamps,” that is, one to each, which simplifies the picture and may be original.

Which are upon the top thereof — The meaning seems to be that the lamps are on the top of the candlestick; the same statement is made concerning the oil holder, which makes it very difficult to determine the exact relative position of the different parts of the candlestick. Some commentators favor the omission of the words as an erroneous repetition from the first part of the verse.

Two olive trees — Another feature absent from the tabernacle (compare Rev_11:4). One was upon the left, the other upon the right side of the oil holder; in Zec_4:11 it is said that they were beside the candlestick, which is equally true. Two branches from these trees, one from each, supplied the oil for the lamps.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 1-14. 7. The fifth vision: the golden candlestick.

The angel that talked with me. The interpreting angel is meant. Came again, and waked me. It is thought that the angel, who is said (Zec_2:3) to have gone forth, now rejoined the prophet and renewed his colloquy with him. But the expression in the text is probably only equivalent to "aroused me again". (comp. Gen_26:18 2Ki_1:11, 2Ki_1:13, etc.) Absorbed in awe and wonder at the contemplation of the preceding vision, the prophet had fallen into a state of exhaustion and torpor, as Daniel slept after his great visions, (Dan_8:18 Dan_10:8, Dan_10:9) and the apostles were heavy with sleep on the Mount of Transfiguration. (Luk_9:32) From this mental prostration the angel arouses him to renewed attention. Or what is meant may be that the change wrought on the faculties by the Divine influence was as great as that between natural sleeping and waking.

Vers. 1-7. The Church revived.

"And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me," etc. The imagery of these verses is twofold; but their subject seems one. By the "candlestick" expressly mentioned in ver. 2, (comp. Rev_1:13 Rev_2:1; also Mat_5:14, 15 Php_2:15) and by the temple tacitly referred to in ver. 7, we understand, spiritually, the same thing, viz. in the first instance certainly the Jewish Church of that time. And what this twofold imagery seems intended here to set before us respecting this Church is

(1) the secret, and

(2) the completeness of its restoration to life.

I THE SECRET OF ITS RESTORATION TO LIFE. Under this head we have set before us the question:

1. Of Church work. What is the great duty of a Church in this world? Is it not, like a lamp or candlestick, to give light, to be a continued witness to men respecting things unseen and eternal a standing testimony in favour of truth and righteousness, and against error and sin? in ether words (Art. XX), "a witness and keeper of Holy Writ"? See again references supra; and note, in connection with this duty of spiritual light giving on the part of a Church, the various grounds of the praise or blame administered in Revelation 2 and 3.

2. Of Church needs. The returned remnant of the Captivity, with their altar again set up, (Ezr_3:3) their feasts again begun, (Ezr 3 Ezr 4) their temple in course of re-erection, (Ezr_3:10 Ezr_6:14) and their ancient priesthood again restored, (Zec_3:1-5) had now become such a witness. They were a "candlestick" or lamp again "lighted." How unequal in themselves to so important an office! How weak, how inexperienced, also how greatly endangered! Above all, how greatly needing that sacred unction, or "oil," of God"s grace, of which we are told here! (comp. also Act_10:38)

3. Of Church supplies. How ample, according to the vision described in vers. 2, 3, the provision made for supplying this revived lamp with this oil! What besides is meant by the different features of this vision the prophet knows not (ver. 4), and the angel tells not, at present. But, at any rate, they seem to signify that abundant provision is made.

(1) For supplying such oil. There are "two" olive trees, e.g., to yield a double supply. Two "trees," also, things always growing and always producing, and able to yield, therefore, a continual supply.

(2) For storing it up, viz. in the "bowl" placed at the "top," whence it could naturally flow out and down as required..

(3) For distributing it in every needed direction, viz. by means of the twice-seven pipes (or even, as some take it, the seven-times-seven pipes), to the seven lamps of which we are told. So mysterious, yet so sufficient, was the secret source of life in this case. Let Zerubbabel, as the successor of David, and earthly guardian of his Church, know this for his comfort (see ver. 6).

II THE COMPLETENESS OF THIS RESTORATION. In the seventh verse, as noted before, the figure is changed. The Church of the restored Captivity is before us now under the metaphor of a building inhabited by God himself, as often in God"s Word. (see Heb_3:6 2Co_6:16 Eph_2:21, 22 1Ti_3:15 1Pe_2:5) And the purport of this change seems that of representing, not only as before the adequacy, but also now the actual effectiveness, of the provision here made. It should eventually be with that spiritual house as with the material house which they were then building as its image and type. This true:

1. As to external obstacles. The greatest of these, even if like a "great mountain" itself in bulk, should become," before Zerubbabel baying the Spirit of God on his side like a plain.

2. As to final victory. To use a well known modern expression, there should be "the crowning of the edifice" of the Church. All that the pre-Captivity Jewish Church had really been in the world this restored Church should now be, up to the very "headstone the last stone to be put in its place with every mark of triumph ("shoutings") and favour ("grace") as well (ver. 7).

Observe, in conclusion:

1. How strikingly these promises were fulfilled. Besides all that we read concerning the days of the Maccabees, (as referred to probably in Heb_11:35-38) how much more spiritual life remained in the Jewish Church even to the times of the gospel! See indications of this in Luk_2:25, 38 Mat_27:53 Mar_15:43 Act_2:5, etc. See indications, also, as to the extent to which the witness or "light" of this Church had told on the Gentile world in Luk_7:5 Joh_12:20 Act_10:1 Act_13:43, 50 (tanav ); Act_17:4, Act_17:17.

2. How great a lesson this teaches. There was nothing in this Case but the secret working of God"s Spirit thus to keep this Church in existence; no "might," no "power." On the contrary, many obstacles persecutions, enemies, corruptions, and so on. So plain is it how much can be done (and done only) in the way of Christian organization, labour, and progress by the sacred oil of God"s Spirit. "Utilis lectio, utilis eruditio, sed magis utilis unctio, quippe quae docet de omnibus.

HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH Vers. 1-7. The Church in three aspects.

I SYMBOLICALLY REPRESENTED. (Vers. 2, 3) Candelabrum.

II DEVOUTLY CONTEMPLATED. (Ver. 5) Humble, earnest, reverent inquiry.

III DIVINELY INTERPRETED.

1. The unity of the Church.

2. The spiritual use of the Church.

3. The Divine care of the Church.

4. The future glory of the Church. The Church should be:

(1) Receptive of the Divine.

(2) Communicative of the Divine. "They empty themselves," etc. Freely, constantly, rejoicingly.

(3) Reflective of the Divine. Life and work. Not only true of the Church as a whole, but of every individual member. "Let your light shine before men. F.

HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS Vers. 1-10. Man as a student of the Divine revelation and a doer of Divine work.

"And the angel that talked with me," etc. "It is needful to keep in mind that all these successive scenes were presented to the mind of the prophet in vision; and that each vision was distinct, forming a whole of itself, independently of the scenery of those which preceded it, although not so as to preclude connection in the lessons taught, and occasional reference (such as we shall find in the one now before us) to the earlier in the latter. The fourth in the series of visions, then, was now closed; and at the close of it, the prophet represents himself as having fallen into a kind of reverie arising from its disclosures, or from some particular Dart of them, by which his mind was absorbed and unconscious of aught that might be passing mound him. From this state he was roused, as the first verse indicates, by the touch and the voice of the ministering angel, and his attention arrested to a new scenic representation, and the explanation of its meaning" (Wardlaw). I have to confess that the more I look into this vision, as well as into the previous visions, the more I feel my utter inability to attach a satisfactory meaning to all the strange and grotesque symbols that are presented. And my sense of inability has been deepened as! have examined the explanations that have been put forth by biblical critics some most fanciful and absurd, and many most conflicting. Indeed, it requires a Daniel to interpret dreams; the objects in a dream are generally so unnatural, grotesque, shadowy, and shifting, that men seldom try to attach any definite idea to them. I may regard this passage as setting before us man in two aspects, viz. as a student of the Divine revelation, and as a doer of the Divine purposes.

I AS A STUDENT OF THE DIVINE REVELATION. "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: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?" This candelabrum made of gold, with a bowl on the top, its seven lamps and seven pipes, etc., is taken by most expositors to represent the Church of God, and popular preachers go on to draw analogies between the candlestick and the Church. Of course, this is easy work. But the Church of God, as the phrase is, has not, alas! been very golden or very luminous.

The ideal Church is all this. The candlestick may, I think, fairly represent the Bible, or God"s special revelation to man: that is golden, that is luminous, that is supernaturally supplied with the oil of inspiration. In fact, in the passage, the interpreting angel designates this candlestick, not as the Church, but as the "word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel." I make two remarks concerning this revelation.

1. It has in it sufficient to excite the inquiry of man as a student. The prophet, on seeing these wonderful objects, exclaimed, "What are these, my lord?" He seemed to feel as Moses felt in relation to the burning bush, when he said, "I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed." What wonderful things are in this Bible! It is a museum of wonders; and the greatest of all wonders is God manifest in the flesh.

2. It has an interpreter that can satisfy man as a student. The angel to whom the prophet directed his inquiry promptly answered. "Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 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." The prophet here displays two of the leading attributes of a genuine student of the Divine.

(1) Inquisitiveness. He inquires; and because he inquires, he receives an answer. Had he not inquired, the object would have remained an unmeaning symbol. The Bible is an unmeaning book to the great masses of mankind, because they do not inquire into its significance. Truth is only got by genuine inquiry.

(2) Ingenuousness. The first reply of the interpreting angel to the prophet was, "Knowest thou not what these things mean? and he said, "No, my lord." At once he confesses his ignorance. "Let us," says Dr. Wardlaw, "imitate the twofold example both that of inquisitiveness and that of ingenuousness. Let us be on the alert in our inquiries after knowledge; and in order to our acquiring it, never foolishly, and to save our pride and vanity, affect to have what we have not." The man who develops; these two attributes in relation to God"s Word, has a Divine Interpreter at his side, namely, the Spirit of God, who will lead him into all knowledge.

II AS A DOER OF THE DIVINE WILL. Man has not only to study, but to work; not only to get Divine ideas, but to work them out. "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. 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! Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 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." The work of the prophet was to convey a message from God to Zerubbabel, and the message he conveyed was a men, age to work. Man is to be a "worker together" with God. I offer two remarks concerning man as a worker out of the Divine will.

1. That though his difficulties may appear great, his resources are infinite. Zerubbabel, in rebuilding the temple, had enormous difficulties. Those difficulties hovered before him as mountains. But great as they were, he was assured that he had resources more than equal to the task. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." By this is meant, not that human might and power are not required, or are utterly useless, but Divine might would give aid to all honest, effort and endeavour. The difficulties in a good man"s path of duty rise oftentimes like mountains before him; but let him not be disheartened; those mountains are nothing compared with the might that is guaranteed. "If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove," etc.

2. That though his efforts may seem feeble, his success will be inevitable.

(1) The feebleness of human efforts is here implied. "Who hath despised the day of small things?

(a) It is common to despise small things. Proud man will only honour what seem to him great things conventionally great. A small house, a small business, a small book, these are despised.

(b) It is foolish to despise small things. All great things were small in their, beginnings... London was once a little hamlet; the oaken forest once an acorn. We do not know what really are small things; what we consider small may be the greatest things in the universe.

(c) It is contemptible to despise small things. Truly great souls never do so.

(2) The success of feeble efforts is here guaranteed. "He shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it." Literally, the promise is that Zerubbabel, notwithstanding all the difficulties he had to contend with in rebuilding the temple, should see it completed, should see the crowning stone laid on the building, amid the hosannahs of the people: "Grace, grace unto it!" So it will be with every genuine work to which a true man puts his hand in the name of God. It will be finished; there will be no failure, success is inevitable. "As I live, saith the Lord, the whole earth shall be filled with my glory". D.T. (Num_14:21)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The vision of the candlestick and two olive-trees, ver. 1-3. Encouragement to the builders of the temple, ver. 4-10. The explanation of the vision, ver. 11-14.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

angel

that talked

angel (See Scofield "Heb 1:4").

that talked (See Scofield "Zec 1:8").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Vision of the Candlestick and of the Two Olive-Trees.

After the prophet had been a witness of the first four visions, he was so overwhelmed by the revelations vouchsafed him that he fell into a trancelike condition, somewhat like Peter and his companions on the Mount of Transfiguration. Cf Luk 9:32; Mat 17:5-6.

v. 1. And the angel that talked with me, he who acted as the interpreter of the Lord in making known the message concerning the future, came again and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, out of his state of exhaustion. The angel had evidently left the prophet for a short while and now returned for the purpose of interpreting further visions.

v. 2. And said unto me, What seest thou? thus calling the prophet’s attention to a new vision, whereas in the other instances Zechariah had asked for information. And I said, I have looked, he was even then observing very closely, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, a round vessel, or reservoir, for oil, and his seven lamps thereon and seven pipes to the seven lamps, or seven feed-pipes to each of the seven lamps, to insure a plentiful supply of fuel, which are upon the top thereof, the candlestick in general being formed after that in the Tabernacle, Exo 25:31-37;

v. 3. and two olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side thereof, this being a new feature, indicating the source of the oil for the lamps.

v. 4. So I answered, the prophet having meanwhile recovered to some extent from his dazed condition, and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? He could not quite grasp the significance of it all.

v. 5. Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? He was surprised that a man of Judah, and he of priestly descent, should not find some meaning in the vision of such a candlestick. And I said, No, my lord.

v. 6. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, that is, the force of armies, nor by power, namely, that of any earthly agency, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. The candlestick of the Tabernacle was a type of the congregation of the Old Testament, which was supposed to be a light shining in the darkness of the world. Its oil was a type of the Holy Ghost, and the high priests of the Old Covenant received the strength for the performance of the duties of their office from the Spirit symbolized in the light of the great candlestick. Thus the candlestick of the vision was a type of the Church of God to be established anew in the midst of Judah. Moreover, Zerubbabel, the governor of the people, was to be informed that the great work which he was to perform could be carried on only through the Spirit of the Lord.

v. 7. Who art thou, 0 great mountain? the building of the Temple being thus represented. Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, he would easily overcome all the difficulties connected with the completion of this momentous work; and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof, the uppermost stone of its walls, with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it! that is, May God grant grace to this stone and to the building which it represents, so that it may stand forever! But the Temple of Zerubbabel was only a type of the true Temple of Jehovah, the Church of the New Testament.

v. 8. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

v. 9. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, this having been done some sixteen years before; his hands shall also finish it, as they did some four years later; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you, whence it follows that the entire situation has a deeper significance than that of a mere earthly temple, namely, that the Lord Jehovah, in the Word that was made flesh, was coming to the temple of His Church.

v. 10. For who hath despised the day of small things? It seemed indeed that the days in which Judah was then living were days of insignificant things, when the entire nation was living in deepest poverty and contempt; yet these days were the forerunners of the most momentous period in the history of the world. For they, the people concerned, shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel, as the chief builder of the Temple, with those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth, Cf Zec 3:9. But if the eyes of God’s majesty rest upon this building with such evident joy and satisfaction, it surely must be a Temple of the greatest importance, and the days in which it is being built must not be despised.

v. 11. Then answered I and said unto him, anxious to get some further information on this most interesting point, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? The candlestick was in the center with its arms extended on either side, and next to these arms stood the two olive-trees which were puzzling the prophet.

v. 12. And I answered again and said unto him, What be these two olive-branches, literally, "ears," because they were bunched to resemble ears of grain, which through the two golden pipes, special spouts, or funnels, placed under them, empty the golden oil out of themselves? so that the oil was fed directly from the trees into the pipes connecting with the reservoir of the candlestick.

v. 13. And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

v. 14. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, literally, "the two sons of oil,". that stand by the Lord of the whole earth, as His servants. They were symbols of Zerubbabel and of Joshua, the temporal and the spiritual leader of the people, respectively, anointed by God for the performance of the work of their office. The meaning for our day and age is clear. The Church is the Lord’s candlestick, Mat 5:14, and therefore has a great and important duty to fulfil in this world. This duty may not be performed by the power and might of men, but solely and alone through the Spirit of the Lord given to His Church and to its ministers in and through the Gospel.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE FIFTH VISION: THE TEMPLE CANDLESTICK AND THE TWO OLIVE TREES

Zechariah 4

As the Fourth Vision unfolded the dignity and significance of the High Priest, so in the Fifth we find discovered the joint glory of himself and Zerubbabel, the civil head of Israel. And to this is appended a Word for Zerubbabel himself. In our present text this Word has become inserted in the middle of the Vision, Zec_4:6-10 a; in the translation which follows it has been removed, to the end of the Vision, and the reasons for this will be found in the notes.

The Vision is of the great golden lamp which stood in the Temple. In the former Temple light was supplied by ten several candlesticks. {1Ki_7:49} But the Levitical Code ordained one seven-branched lamp, and such appears to have stood in the Temple built while Zechariah was prophesying. The lamp Zechariah sees has also seven branches, but differs in other respects, and especially in some curious fantastic details only possible in dream and symbol. Its seven lights were fed by seven pipes from a bowl or reservoir of oil which stood higher than themselves, and this was fed, either directly from two olive-trees which stood to the right and left of it, or, if Zec_4:12 be genuine, by two tubes which brought the oil from the trees. The seven lights are the seven eyes of Jehovah-if, as we ought, we run the second half of Zec_4:10 on to the first half of Zec_4:6. The pipes and reservoir are given no symbolic force; but the olive-trees which feed them are called "the two sons of oil which stand before the Lord of all the earth." These can only be the two anointed heads of the community-Zerubbabel, the civil head, and Joshua, the religious head. Theirs was the equal and co-ordinate duty of sustaining the Temple, figured by the whole candelabrum, and ensuring the brightness of the sevenfold revelation. The Temple, that is to say, is nothing without the monarchy and the priesthood behind it; and these stand in the immediate presence of God. Therefore this Vision, which to the superficial eye might seem to be a glorification of the mere machinery of the Temple and its ritual, is rather to prove that the latter derive all their power from the national institutions which are behind them, from the two representatives of the people who in their turn stand before God Himself. The Temple so near completion will not of itself reveal God: let not the Jews put their trust in it, but in the life behind it. And for ourselves the lesson of the Vision is that which Christian theology has been so slow to learn, that Gods revelation under the old covenant shone not directly through the material framework, but was mediated by the national life, whose chief men stood and grew fruitful in His presence.

One thing is very remarkable. The two sources of revelation are the King and the Priest. The Prophet is not mentioned beside them. Nothing could prove more emphatically the sense in Israel that prophecy was exhausted.

The appointment of so responsible a position for Zerubbabel demanded for him a special promise of grace. And therefore, as Joshua had his promise in the Fourth Vision, we find Zerubbabels appended to the Fifth. It is one of the great sayings of the Old Testament: there is none more spiritual and more comforting. Zerubbabel shall complete the Temple, and those who scoffed at its small beginnings in the day of small things shall frankly rejoice when they see him set the top-stone by plummet in its place. As the moral obstacles to the future were removed in the Fourth Vision by the vindication of Joshua and by his cleansing, so the political obstacles, all the hindrances described by the Book of Ezra in the building of the Temple, shall disappear. "Before Zerubbabel the great mountain shall become a plain." And this, because he shall not work by his own strength, but the Spirit of Jehovah of Hosts shall do everything. Again we find that absence of expectation in human means, and that full trust in Gods own direct action, which characterize all the prophesying of Zechariah.

"Then the angel who talked with me returned and roused me like a man roused out of his sleep. And he said to me, What seest thou? And I said, I see, and lo! a candlestick all of gold, and its bowl upon the top of it, and its seven lamps on it, and seven pipes to the lamps which are upon it. And two olive-trees stood over against it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on the left. And I began and said to the angel who talked with What be these, my lord? And the angel who talked with me answered and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord! And he answered and said to me, These seven are the eyes of Jehovah which sweep through the whole earth. And I asked and said to him, What are these two olive-trees on the right of the candlestick and on its left? And again I asked and said to him, What are the two olive-branches which are beside the two golden tubes that pour forth the oil from them? And he said to me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord! And he said, These are the two sons of oil which stand before the Lord of all the earth."

"This is Jehovahs Word to Zerubbabel, and it says: Not by might, and not by force, but by My Spirit, saith Jehovah of Hosts. What art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel be thou level! And he shall bring forth the top-stone with shoutings, Grace, grace to it! And the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have founded this house, and his hands shall complete it, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of Hosts hath sent me to you. For whoever hath despised the day of small things, they shall rejoice when they see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel."

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

roused me like a man roused from his sleep

Zechariah compares the way in which the angel interrupted his being in deep thought with the way someone would awaken another person from sleep. AT: "caused me to become more alert like a man awakened from his sleep" (See: Simile)

lamp wicks

the parts of a lamp that are lit on fire

the left side

The ellipsis in this phrase may be supplied from the previous phrase. AT: "the left side of the bowl" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

angel

lampstand

lamp

gold

olive

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.