8-10 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. 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.”

11-13 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” And a 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.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones (two sons of new oil) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah' 4:8-14 English Standard Version.

In vs 8-10 the prophet Zechariah was given assurance by the Lord that the man named Zerubbabel would finish the task of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem which the Babylonians had destroyed. And even though it would look so little compared to the temple King Solomon had built, it would still be a sign of God's grace to the nation, and an occasion for rejoicing. Even today, people of the world place much emphasis on size and appearance, whether it's football stadiums or shopping malls. But a story Jesus told ended with His words: “I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” We mustn't be misled by size, or numbers. Many of God's works may look insignificant on the outside.

Having been told that the seven lamps of the golden lampstand in his vision represented God's watchfulness over creation, and His awareness of all that was going on, Zechariah asked the meaning of two Olive trees he saw on each side of the lampstand, from which oil was flowing. The answer given by the angel is another instance when those who teach the Bible may come to some different conclusions. Who do you think the ones described in vs 14 might be?

While we may be tempted to think the verse must refer to some heavenly beings, I agree with Bible commentators I looked up that the words probably refer to Zerubbabel – who was the political leader of the returned Jews – and Joshua, the man who was the High Priest at that time. Those who've read the earlier posts in this series will recall how, in chapter 3, Joshua was clothed in filthy rags, and Satan was accusing him of his unfitness for his task. But God arranged for the filthy robes to be removed, and for clean robes to be put on Joshua.

This vision was surely given to Zechariah for his own encouragement, as well as for encouragement of Zerubbabel and Joshua. They were trying to serve the Lord in difficult days with obstacles before them that seemed like mountains. There were enemies trying to hinder the task they were attempting, and the people required to rebuild the temple were not overly enthusiastic. But God showed that He had called these two men to be His agents in the world. And not only had God called them to represent Him, He had also anointed them for the task.

In the Old Testament, Olive Oil was part of the mixture for oil that was used to anoint those whom God had called as kings, priests or prophets. It most likely symbolized that His presence was with them and His favour was upon them. Jesus linked ‘anointing’ with the Holy Spirit when He said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ” (Luke 4:18)

So there is encouragement not only for those in Zechariah's days, but for us who live today as well. The apostle John said that true Christians 'have been anointed by the Holy One . . an anointing which remains in them.' (1 John 2:20 & 27) The apostle Paul said to Christians at Corinth that “God establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corn 1:21-22) It is this anointing that equips believers to serve God 'even in a day of small things', and to not be discouraged when the task before us may look like a mountain.