Zechariah 4:7 NKJV
“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!'”
Known as the leader of the first group of returnees from Babylon to Judah, Zerubbabel had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders—especially in regard to overseeing the laying of the foundation of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. Thankfully, the LORD used the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to greatly encourage and support Zerubbabel in his God-given assignment. At one point, an angel of God was sent to Zechariah with a word for Zerubbabel. The angel told Zechariah, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts” (Zec 4:6 NKJV). Hallelujah!
One may wonder, ‘Why didn’t the angel speak those encouraging words directly to Zerubbabel?’ God alone knows exactly why. However, the LORD is so good at honouring the divine authority (and thus the chain of command) that He Himself puts in place. From the outset, Zerubbabel was notified that God’s call upon him would take God’s Holy Spirit to accomplish, but not his might nor his power as mortal Zerubbabel. As if to express the endless possibilities that lay ahead of Zerubbabel by reason of the Holy Spirit’s involvement and power, the angel exclaimed, “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!”, as in our text. Oh, hallelujah!
How wonderful it is when heaven sees and speaks, in advance, great possibilities concerning things that involve our lives! Notice the language the angel used: he did not say to the great mountain, ‘Before God you shall become a plain’, but rather, “Before Zerubbabel…”; implying, God was counting on Zerubbabel to undertake the task that He, the LORD, would back fully! Blessed be God that the same Holy Spirit who empowered Zerubbabel is living and at work in us in Christ Jesus! As it was in Zerubbabel’s day, heaven has seen and is speaking (through God’s word) endless possibilities regarding God’s Kingdom work ahead of us in Christ. Let us remain faithful to the call of God to the very end!
Pst. Emmanuel
