“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 forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ (Zechariah 4:6-7)
The Assignment of Zerubbabel
Zerubbabel was an aristocrat born in exile in Babylon, grandson of Jehoiachin—the last king of Judah before the Babylonian conquest.
He was given the task of rebuilding the Temple in the second year of the reign of Darius I (520 BC), along with the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, being appointed ‘governor’ over Judah Later, another Israelite in exile – Nehemiah – was to be authorized by Artaxerxes 1 of Persia to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In this way, God used heathen kings to bring about the restoration of Israel.
However, in both these cases, there was human opposition to the achievement of what God wanted – and this opposition came from naysayers living locally in the land.
So what’s new?
Zechariah the prophet is ordered by Yahweh to deal prophetically with any obstacles that may stand in Zerubbabel’s way in the mammoth task of rebuilding the temple:
‘Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!” (Zechariah 4:7)
Declaration, Outcome and The Arm Of Flesh
This highlights the importance of declaration in dealing with life’s problems. All to often, we go through life declaring difficulty and failure over our efforts.
It’s very easy to start expecting and declaring bad outcomes. This is in fact doing the enemy’s work in our lives – and many people who without thought issue out daily statements of failure over their circumstances end up wondering why nothing goes right for them.
It helps to remember that Yahweh called all creation out of the void by the sound of His voice – cf the first words of Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24 and 26: “And God said…”
The other, obvious message of this quotation is that worldly might and power are not the secret to victory.
The prophet Jeremiah put it this way:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:5)
Yes, indeed!
Note: Zerubbabel’s assignment was not easily realized, thanks to opposition from the locals who remained in Judea – but the Temple was finally completed and dedicated c 516 BC. Story to be continued.
Damascus Road News 