In this episode of ADDBIBLE, we delve deep into Zechariah chapter 4 with guest reader Brian Taylor, exploring profound messages of spiritual strength. We journey through the rich tapestry of biblical imagery, told through the eyes of an angelic encounter, that reminds us ‘not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.’ Join us as we unpack Zechariah’s vision and the assurance God’s Spirit provides in our lives.
Welcome to ADDBIBLE, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today brings us to Zechariah chapter 4. We’ll listen to our guest reader, Brian Taylor, Vice President and General Manager of Salem Communications, read the 14 verses of this chapter. Salem Communications Corporation is America’s leading Christian and conservative multimedia corporation, serving millions of listeners here in the United States. Let’s listen to Brian on Zechariah chapter 4.
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The book of Zechariah, chapter 4. And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, What do you see? I said, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl, and the other on its left. And I said to the angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? I said, No, my lord. Then he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forward the top stone amidst shouts of grace, grace to it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of his house. His hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range throughout the whole earth. Then I said to him, What are these two olive trees on the right and on the left of the lampstand? And the second time I answered and said to him, What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out? He said to me, Do you not know what these are? I said, No, my lord. Then he said, These are the two anointed ones, who stand by the Lord to the whole earth.
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To help us through the book of Zechariah, I’m using my personal Bible reading journals from 1991, 2001, and 2011. I have journaled my Bible reading since 1983, so well over 30 years. What does that mean? That means that every day when I read the scriptures, I have a journal, and I write down the passage I read, and what I got out of it or what it meant to me. I encourage you to do the same thing. Journaling your Bible reading will change the way you read the Bible. You will get way more out of it when you have to write something down after you read a passage. You’ll contemplate the passage more. You’ll think about what the Lord is really speaking into your heart. If you’ve never tried journaling your Bible reading, I encourage you to do so. We can help you here at the Ezra Project. Visit EzraProject.net and you can get an Ezra Project journal. Now let’s take a look at what I wrote in those three different decades. Back in 1991, again, I read the first nine chapters of Zechariah on the same day, and I wrote one verse concerning chapter 4, and that’s no surprise. It’s verse 6. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. In 2001, I was reading the Old Testament and the New Testament on the same day. So I was reading through Zechariah and the book of Revelation. So on this day, I read Zechariah 4-6. And I wrote, The angel talked to Zechariah, different than the angel of the Lord in 3-6. Though I don’t know much about angels, they show up in Scripture. I hope they show up in my life from time to time too. Ten years later, in 2011, I was doing the same thing, reading through the Old Testament and the New Testament together. So, just like in 2001, on this day I read Zechariah 4 through 6 together, as well as Revelation 18. And I wrote, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Again, quoting chapter 4, verse 6. And then I wrote, God’s Spirit, not our strength, is what we should rely on. And then I wrote, don’t despise the day of small things. Chapter 4, verse 10. Oftentimes, great things of God have humble beginnings. Have you ever been awakened by an angel? Verse 1 says that’s what happened to Zechariah. It says, And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. I can’t say that I have ever been awakened by an angel. But this angel is also very conversational. Verse 2 says, And he said to me. Verse 5 says, Then the angel who talked with me… I don’t know that I’ve ever had an angel converse with me, but I think I would enjoy the experience if the Lord ever allowed such a thing to happen to me. How about you? Have you ever been awakened by an angel? Have you ever had a conversation with an angel? Have you ever seen an angel? I do have one experience in my life that I do attribute to angels. I was on a Gideon assignment to Papua New Guinea. And I had to take a ride up a mountain to visit a local camp there in Papua New Guinea. As we were driving up this mountain, it began to rain and my luggage and the Bibles were in the back of this truck. So the driver was speeding up to hurry and get out of the rain and he began to hydroplane. The truck was now sliding and it was going to hit this guardrail and we were going to tumble over this mountain guardrail. I remember thinking in my mind, this is my last stop. As we slid, we got right up to the guardrail. I knew we were going over, but the truck just stopped. There was no explanation. The driver just said, oh, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. As he gained control of the truck and we drove down the mountain out of the rain, there were also two guys in the back of the truck. They were sitting with the luggage and the Bibles. As he stopped the truck, I got out and I asked them, what did you think about the guardrail incident? And both of them said, we almost die. We all knew we almost died that day on that mountain in Papua New Guinea. My only explanation is that there was either one angel or a thousand angels or several angels at that guardrail to prevent that truck from going over. Yes, I believe in angels. Let’s go back to Zechariah chapter 4. The angel says to Zechariah that this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was one who led many of the captives out of Babylon back to Jerusalem. He was the governor at the time, and he was the one charged with the task of rebuilding the temple. He is being reminded here that it’s not by his strength that this is going to get done. It’s not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. I mentioned in the introduction of the book of Zechariah that Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and Ezra were there to rebuild the walls and rebuild the temple, and they had quit working. Zechariah the prophet and Haggai the prophet were there to encourage them to get back to work. Verses 8 and 9 make this very clear. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also complete it. That is the exact picture we’ve been talking about. They started, but they didn’t finish. Now Zachariah is saying, Zerubbabel, you will finish the temple. The chapter concludes with something about two anointed ones. Let me read my ESV footnote concerning two anointed ones. Most interpreters think that these two represent Zerubbabel the governor, who was the descendant of David, and Joshua the high priest. They stand in the Lord’s presence and receive his favor and protection. Other possibilities are that they represent Haggai and Zechariah, who as prophets had entrance into the heavenly deliberations, or the angels who act as God’s agents in supplying unlimited divine assistance to the restored temple. So we may not be sure who the two anointed ones were, But our application may be that we want to be an anointed one of the Lord. We want to have a task to do like they did to rebuild the temple, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. And when we’re in God’s will, he will protect us. With that application, we want to be clear that it’s not by our might, not by our power, but by the Lord’s Spirit that we have any success. As this angel instructed Zerubbabel through Zechariah, he instructs us today. He tells us, complete the task. Don’t stop partway with what God has given us to do. Keep going. Be faithful to the Lord. He is faithful to you. He reminds us, don’t despise the day of small things. In other words, maybe you started, but you haven’t completed. Like Zerubbabel who laid the foundation, he is now going to complete it. Do the same with what God has given you. Father, we bow our hearts before you. We thank you for the reminder that it’s not by might nor by power, but by your Spirit that we have any strength to do anything in this world today. You remind us not to despise small things, and you remind us to complete what we started. You promised that you were going to be with Zerubbabel. You promised that you will be with us as well. Lord, give me the strength after Zechariah chapter 4 to get back after the tasks that you have given me to do. Help me be a finisher for you. In the name of Jesus, we ask it. Amen. Thank you for listening to ADDBIBLE today. About a year ago, we decided to try radio as a way to connect more people to God’s Word. So far, we have not heard from any of you about what you think about ADDBIBLE or if we are enhancing your time in and understanding of God’s Word. Your thoughts and your comments are really important to us now as we consider renewing the program for another year. Please visit EzraProject.net and leave us your comment in the Contact Us drop-down under About Us. We need to hear from you, lots of you, in August and September or the program will end. Are we touching your life? Do you want us to continue? We are depending on your feedback as we make our necessary ministry business decisions. I, like you, have listened to Christian Radio for years and never gave a program my feedback. Now that I’m on the production side of radio, I understand how important it is to hear from the listening audience. I look forward to hearing from you at EzraProject.net today. And join us in prayer as we decide the future of ADDBIBLE on radio. Thank you. After listening to ADDBIBLE, you may wish members of your family or friends would find a personal relationship with Jesus like you have. But we know most Christians have never shared their faith with anyone else. In fact, it’s about 95% of us. Maybe you want to, but you just don’t know how. I was not very good at it either, but I had a desire to get better at it. Maybe you do too. Check out our teaching on how to share your faith without a fight at EzraProject.net. Sharing our faith is not a gift some have and some don’t. It’s a command to go and make disciples. Learn how to do it, or at least give it a try. Visit EzraProject.net. Find how to share your faith without a fight. I know you’re going to enjoy it and want to share it with others.
