Thursday
Evening Bible Study
July 13,
2006
Introduction
As we mentioned last week, Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet
Haggai.
When King Cyrus issued his decree giving the Jews the ability to go back to
Jerusalem to rebuild their temple,
a number of them left and began the process of rebuilding.
But difficulties arose and the work got postponed for fifteen years.
(Ezra 5:1-2 NKJV) Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of
Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah
and Jerusalem,
in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. {2} So Zerubbabel the son
of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house
of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping
them.
It was under the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah that the work got stirred
up again. And specifically, it was the leaders, the governor Zerubbabel and the
high priest Joshua, who got stirred up to finish the work.
Last week we saw one of the visions of Zechariah aimed at encouraging
Joshua the high priest. In the vision (Zech. 3), Joshua had been standing
before Jesus and Satan and Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes. But the Lord
rebuked Satan for coming against Joshua and God gave Joshua some clean clothes
to go and do his ministry.
Now we get some encouragement for Zerubbabel.
Zechariah 4
:1-14 The Lamp and the Olive Tree
:1 Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who
is wakened out of his sleep.
:2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I said, "I am
looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and
on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.
Some see this as something like a Menorah, seven lamps and each with a pipe
coming out of a common bowl. Others see something where there is seven pipes
going to each lamp.
The Menorah was a part of the Tabernacle worship, designed by God and given
through Moses.
The Menorah was to be put inside the first room of the Tabernacle. It was
to be lit every evening by the priests and put out and cleaned every morning by
the priests.
The Menorah was a picture of how Israel
was to be a light to the world.
In the Temple, there were ten
of these lamps in the Holy Place,
again as a picture of Israel
being the light to the world.
But lamps and light have significance beyond the Tabernacle or the Temple:
Jesus came and said,
(John 8:12
NKJV) Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the
world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of
life."
He told His disciples:
(Mat 5:14-16 NKJV) "You are the light of the world. A city
that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. {15} "Nor do they light a lamp and
put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in
the house. {16} "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
In the book of Revelation, John’s first vision was of Jesus walking among
lampstands:
(Rev 1:12-13 NKJV) Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with
me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, {13} and in the midst of
the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to
the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
We are told later (Rev. 1:20) that the seven lampstands represent the seven
churches.
There is something here for us to learn as well.
:3 "Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the
other at its left."
The two olive trees are going to be connected to the central bowl with a
pipe from each tree. The idea is that the olive oil from the olive trees goes
directly into the lamp. Sort of an eternal power source.
:4 So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying,
"What are these, my lord?"
:5 Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, "Do you
not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."
:6 So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to
Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of
hosts.
might – chayil –
strength,
might, efficiency, wealth, army
power – koach –
strength,
power, might
This Temple was not going to be
built because of an army of people or because of the amount of strength of the
workers. It was to be done by the Holy Spirit.
Oil is symbol in the Bible of the Holy Spirit
(1 Sam 16:13 NKJV) Then Samuel took the horn of oil
and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came
upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
The picture of the trees providing their oil is a picture of the Holy
Spirit providing strength and light for the lamps.
Zerubbabel’s great task from God was to rebuild the Temple.
That work was not going to be accomplished by might or power, but it was
going to be something done by the work of the Holy Spirit.
:7 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a
plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone With shouts of "Grace, grace
to it!"' "
mountain – the mountain of work it was to complete the Temple.
Perhaps it might have even been a reference to the mountain of rubble left from
the destruction of Solomon’s Temple.
God is the one who can “melt” the mountains.
(Psa 97:5 NKJV) The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the
LORD, At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
capstone – the last thing to put in place to finish the Temple.
Grace, grace – The people will realize that it is only through God’s
grace that they were able to finish the Temple.
Lesson
Work by the Spirit
Sometimes when we begin to really grasp what the work is that God has for
us, we can get overwhelmed.
How about this for a “to-do” list:
(Mat 28:19-20 NKJV) "Go therefore and make disciples of all
the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, {20} "teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
Amen.
Have you ever thought of just how big this world is? Have
you ever stopped to think about how many people there are in the world that
still don’t know Jesus? Have you thought about how many people in the United
States don’t know Jesus? How about just in Fullerton?
There are 136,000 people living in Fullerton,
and how many of them do you suppose were in church last Sunday?
How about these:
(Eph 5:22
NKJV) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
(Eph 5:25
NKJV) Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her,
Or this:
(Eph 6:4 NKJV) And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to
wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
At times it seems a bit hard to raise kids in this world
we live in.
Or this:
(1 Cor 6:18 NKJV) Flee sexual immorality. Every sin
that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins
against his own body.
Or:
(Rom 12:18
NKJV) If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all
men.
The work ahead can seem overwhelming.
Our God has the grace and power to help us through.
:8 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
:9 "The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it. Then you will know That the LORD of hosts has
sent Me to you.
Zerubbabel was the one who started the Temple.
He will also be the one to finish the Temple.
This was going to be a sign to the people that Zechariah was a true
prophet.
God wants you to know that He is going to finish His work in you as well:
(Phil 1:6 NKJV) being confident of this very thing, that He who has
begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
:10 For who has despised the day of small things?
Lesson
The day of small things
This is how the people saw the new Temple
building project.
When the foundation had been laid, some of the people even wept because it
seemed to insignificant:
(Ezra 3:12-13 NKJV) But many of the priests and Levites and heads
of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud
voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many
shouted aloud for joy, {13} so that the people could not discern the noise of
the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people
shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.
Haggai challenged the people about this attitude:
(Hag 2:3 NKJV) 'Who is left among you who saw this temple in its
former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your
eyes as nothing?
They saw it as something “small”. They despised it.
Illustration
Frank Capra, who directed It’s a Wonderful Life, was asked years ago about
the central message of his classic film. After thinking a few moments, Capra
responded, “I believe the real message of It’s a Wonderful Life is this: that
under the sun, nothing is insignificant to God.”
Now, when you watch the movie again, you know that everything that happens
has intended and unintended consequences. Everything, because it happened,
causes something else to happen. Everybody in that story is important, because
he or she relates to everyone else. Nothing is insignificant under the sun to
God.
Perhaps you need to be reminded, not only that you are important to God,
but also everyone around you is significant to him, too.
I know that for some who have been a part of our church for a period of
time struggle with the fact that we have a “small church”.
Will our church ever grow to be a big church? Who knows? I’ve heard that
some folks think that I don’t want to have a “big church”, as if I purposely
keep our church from growing.
I’m not opposed to our church growing. I’d love for our church to grow. I’d
love for our church to become a “large church”.
But I think that if God wants our church to be small, I’d rather not fight
against God. And while it’s still small, we need to be careful that we don’t
“despise the day of small things”.
I believe that God loves our church. And I don’t want to
despise something that God loves.
There are some great things about having a small church. If
you went to a “big church” Bible Study tonight, would you be able to say that
the pastor knows the name of everyone in the room? And you do too?
Small doesn’t mean insignificant.
God can use a small church to reach people for Jesus
Christ. God can use a small church to disciple and grow believers and send them
out to serve the Lord.
Are there things in your life that you’ve started, but they haven’t quite
turned out the way that you expected them to?
Don’t despise the days of small things.
:10 For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of
Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, Which scan to and fro throughout the
whole earth."
these seven – who are these “seven”?
They are identified as “the eyes of the LORD”.
It might refer to the seven lights on the lampstand.
I believe it could be the same “seven” that are mentioned in the previous
chapter:
(Zec 3:9 NKJV) For behold, the stone That I have laid before
Joshua: Upon the stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its inscription,'
Says the LORD of hosts, 'And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one
day.
We talked then about how the stone was a picture of Jesus, the stone that
the builders rejected (Ps. 118)
plumb line – a tool used in construction. The “plumb” was a weight
on the end of a string. When you hold the end of the string and let the weight
hang down, you get a vertical line, a way of seeing if a wall was straight or
not.
God is watching Zerubbabel and He is “rejoicing” to see Zerubbabel at work
building the Temple.
:11 Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two olive trees;
at the right of the lampstand and at its left?"
:12 And I further answered and said to him, "What are these two olive
branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the
golden oil drains?"
:13 Then he answered me and said, "Do you not know what these
are?" And I said, "No, my lord."
:14 So he said, "These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the
Lord of the whole earth."
anointed – yitshar –
fresh oil,
shining (pure) oil
The ones who have the oil on them.
The use of oil for “anointing” was done for both kings and priests.
Zerubbabel was a governor, but he was from the line of David, the line of
kings.
Joshua the high priest would have been “anointed” with oil.
It seems there is a “double” interpretation, a double fulfillment regarding
this picture.
In the days of Zechariah, the two olive trees were a picture of Zerubbabel
and Joshua, the governor and the high priest.
They were the “anointed ones”, the ones chosen to build the Temple.
The work of the Spirit through them would cause the Lamp of Israel to shine
once more.
There will also be a future fulfillment mentioned in Revelation:
(Rev 11:1-13 NKJV) Then
I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying,
"Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship
there. {2} "But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do
not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the
holy city underfoot for forty-two months. {3} "And I will give power to my
two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days,
clothed in sackcloth." {4} These are the two olive trees and the two
lampstands standing before the God of the earth. {5} And if anyone wants to
harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if
anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. {6} These have
power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and
they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with
all plagues, as often as they desire. {7} When they finish their testimony, the
beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them,
overcome them, and kill them. {8} And their dead bodies will lie in the street
of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,
where also our Lord was crucified. {9} Then those from the peoples, tribes,
tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not
allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. {10} And those who dwell on the
earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another,
because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. {11} Now
after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and
they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. {12} And
they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And
they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. {13} In the
same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the
earthquake seven thousand people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave
glory to the God of heaven.
It seems that these “two witnesses” have some interesting similarities to
Moses and Elijah.
The miracles that are performed are similar to the
miracles of Moses (turning water to blood, plagues) and Elijah (shutting off
the rain, calling fire down from heaven)
These two had unique aspects to their deaths –
Moses was apparently buried by the Lord, and no one knew
where he was buried (Deut. 34:5-6)
Elijah was taken in a chariot of fire:
(2 Ki 2:11 NKJV) Then it happened, as they continued
on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire,
and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
These are the same two that appeared on the Mount of
Transfiguration with Jesus.
(Mat 17:1-3 NKJV) Now after six days Jesus took
Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by
themselves; {2} and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the
sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. {3} And behold, Moses and
Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Lesson
Witnessing in the Spirit
In a sense, the bigger picture of this chapter is about the “light” that we
give off and how the “light” is supplied.
We might call the “shining” of our lights as “witnessing”.
And witnessing ought to be done under the power of the Holy Spirit.
(Acts 1:4-8 NKJV) And
being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait
for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard
from Me; {5} "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." {6} Therefore, when
they had come together, they asked Him, saying, "Lord, will You at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
{7} And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which
the Father has put in His own authority. {8} "But you shall receive power
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth."
Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem
for a reason. They were to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill them.
The result of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was that the men would become
“witnesses”.
There are some groups that force people into witnessing through guilt or
arm-twisting. Others are good at witnessing because they are natural born
used-car-salesman.
God’s desire is that we are filled with His power and then we tell others
about Jesus.
Zechariah 5
:1-4 Flying Scroll
:1 Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.
:2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I answered, "I
see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten
cubits."
The scroll is apparently unrolled since we are told it’s length. It’s
flying.
Twenty cubits … ten cubits … - the scroll is thirty feet long and
fifteen feet wide.
This was also the size of the “holy place”, the first room of the
Tabernacle where the lampstand, table of showbread, and altar of incense were.
:3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face
of the whole earth: 'Every thief shall be expelled,' according to this side of
the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of
it."
The scroll had writing on both sides of it.
There are two commandments mentioned – probably equivalent to the eighth
and ninth commandments:
(Exo 20:15-16 NKJV) "You shall not steal. {16} "You shall
not bear false witness against your neighbor.
It could be that the second side (perjurer) might be a reference to the
third commandment:
(Exo 20:7 NKJV) "You shall not take the name of the LORD your
God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in
vain.
:4 "I will send out the curse," says the LORD of hosts; "It
shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely
by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its
timber and stones."
The curse comes from not obeying the commandments.
It’s a pretty serious thing to not follow God’s commandments.
No one will be able to avoid the judgment of God.
Illustration
I doubt this is true, but … from San Diego, California...
A
Highway Patrolman pulled a car over and told the driver that because he had
been wearing his seat belt, he had just won $5,000 in the statewide safety
competition. “What are you going to do with the money?” asked the policeman.
“Well, I guess I’m going to get a driver’s license,” he answered. “Oh, don’t
listen to him,” yelled a woman in the passenger seat. “He’s a real smart-mouth
when he’s been drinking.” This woke up the guy in the back seat who took one
look at the cop and moaned, “I knew we wouldn’t get far in a stolen car.” At
that moment, there was a knock from the trunk and a voice said, in a thick
Spanish accent, “Are we over the border yet?”
There’s no avoiding God’s judgment. He sees everything. He knows
everything. And because He is righteous and just, every wrong will have to be
made right.
There’s only one way for us to avoid God’s judgment and not have to go to
hell. Jesus. He paid the price for our judgment.
(John 3:16 NKJV) "For God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life.
:5-11 Woman in a basket
:5 Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, "Lift
your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth."
:6 So I asked, "What is it?" And he said, "It is a basket
that is going forth." He also said, "This is their resemblance
throughout the earth:
:7 "Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside
the basket";
basket – ‘eyphah –
ephah, a
dry measure about 3/5 of a bushel. Here it seems better to just look at it as a
basket for holding stuff.
lead disc – There’s a lid for the basket
woman – a woman is inside the basket with the lid on.
:8 then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he thrust her down
into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.
:9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with
the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they
lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
two women – probably angels. Some see them as evil beings who are
transporting and protecting “wickedness” for a future time. Others see them as
good angels who are keeping guard on wickedness.
:10 So I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they
carrying the basket?"
:11 And he said to me, "To build a house for it in the land
of Shinar; when it is ready, the
basket will be set there on its base."
Shinar
– the land of Babylon
The woman called “wickedness” is carried to Babylon.
The “evil” is taken from Israel
and taken to Babylon.
Perhaps this might be somehow connected to the Babylon
of the future:
(Rev 17:1-6 NKJV) Then
one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying
to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on
many waters, {2} "with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication,
and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her
fornication." {3} So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.
And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of
blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. {4} The woman was arrayed in
purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls,
having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her
fornication. {5} And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE
GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND
OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. {6} I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of
the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I
marveled with great amazement.
Some feel this “woman” is a form of religion that will be around in the
last days. Others connect this to the Catholic church, which reminds me of a
story I came across this week …
Illustration
Hans Grapje was raised in a Catholic school in The Hague and, as a young man, aspired to become a priest, but
was drafted into the Army during WWII and spent two years co-piloting B17s
until his aircraft was shot down in 1943 and he lost his left arm. Captain
Grapje spent the rest of the war as a chaplain, giving spiritual aid to
soldiers, both Allied and enemy. After the war, he became a priest, serving as
a missionary in Africa, piloting his own plane (in spite of his handicap)
to villages across the continent. In 1997, Father Grapje was serving in Zimbabwe when an explosion in a silver mine caused a cave-in.
Archbishop Grapje went down into the mine to administer last rights to those
too severely injured to move. Another shaft collapsed, and he was buried for
three days, suffering multiple injuries, including the loss of his right eye.
The high silver content in the mine’s air gave him purpura, a life-long
condition characterized by purplish skin blotches. Although Cardinal Grapje
devoted his life to the service of God as a scholar, mentor, and holy man,
church leaders agree: he will never ascend to the Papacy. No one wants a
one-eyed, one-armed, flying purple Papal leader.
oooooooh… sorry.
Seriously, even though this wickedness that is connected to Babylon
will be present even in the last days, the good news is that Jesus is coming
back and He’s going to take care of it.
He will destroy wickedness. He will
rule and reign. And we will be with Him.