1 And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. 2-3 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the 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.” 4-5 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.”

6-7 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 amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” 8-9 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. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.10 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 through the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:1-10 English Standard Version

It seems from vs 1 that Zechariah was in a dreamlike trance as God gave him a series of visions. As in the case of the earlier visions, he was puzzled about the meaning of the vision. It's much like how we may feel when we wake up after a strange dream. So in vs 4-5 he asks the angel to explain it to him. If Zechariah needed help to understand visions, we should not be embarrassed if there are parts of the Bible, especially visions of prophecy, which we find difficult to fully understand. And not a bad thing to ask God to help us to grasp His word.

Many of the visions God had shown Zechariah so far were to encourage the returned exiles as they sought to rebuild Jerusalem's walls and Temple which the Babylonians had destroyed. The lampstand he now saw probably had it's background in the days when Israel escaped from Egypt under Moses. God had told Moses to make 'a lampstand of pure gold' for the tent sanctuary which they set up and took down at each place they camped during their journey through the wilderness. God said that 'six branches of the lampstand were to extend from the sides of the lampstand - three on one side and three on the other.' The branches were all to be of one piece with the lampstand and made out of pure gold. Seven lamps were set on it to give light. (Exodus 25:31-37) This sort of lamp is known today as a menorah.

The man called Zerubbabel, mentioned in vs 6-7, was the prince of Israel at that time, and he was the one leading the Hebrews in their desire to do all the rebuilding. So what was the first thing this vision was meant to do as the angel began to explain it's meaning? (vs 6-7)

It was surely to encourage Zerubbabel that God had chosen him to complete the work he had begun. Zerubbabel faced strong opposition from those who had settled in Jerusalem after the Jews had gone into captivity, and many of the returning Jews had also fallen into a state of apathy. But, following this vision, Zechariah could now assure Zerubbabel that no obstacle was too large for God to handle! God's Spirit can do things where the strength of man would fail. And when the last stone was put in place they would realize that it was all of God's grace. It may be that what they cried out regarding the 'capstone' is what our hearts will cry out when God's work is finally accomplished through Christ.

This encouragement was needed by Zerubbabel because in other parts of the Bible we're told that many of the older priests and people who'd seen the former temple wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid. For those who'd seen the glory of the original temple, the current structure seemed like nothing? (Ezra 3:12-13 & Haggai 2:3) But we should never look down on something that looks insignificant - if God's hand is in it. In Ephesians 3:20 the apostle Paul reminds us that God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” Let us take courage in serving the Lord, even in ways that may seem small in our sight, or in the sight of others.