My Walk With Him: 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.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

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.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

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.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:11-14

I continue my study of the last four books of the OT (complete: Zephaniah, Haggai; to complete: Zechariah, Malachi) - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book. For today, my focus is a commentary-assisted review of Zechariah 4:11-14, which the commentary outlines as the third of three divisions for the text 4:1-14 (4:1-7, 8-10, 11-14). The commentary provides the following title for this division: God’s Spirit Uses the Unlikeliest People. It then shares that, "[w]hile the identity of these two men is not explicitly mentioned in this text, the context strongly indicates they must be Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the High Priest (Barker, “Zechariah,” 631). Zerubbabel, a member of the line of David, embodies the political leadership of Judah. Joshua the High Priest, whom we met chapter 3 and will meet again in chapter 6, personifies the spiritual leadership of God’s people." The commentary then pivots to describe both Zerubbabel and Joshua is unlikely candidates to be chosen as "anointed." Consistent with my previous post, the commentary shares that this is the point of the gospel is that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things in this case to rebuild the temple which had been destroyed by Babylonia. The commentary points to other ordinary men in scripture through whom God accomplished great things including Shamgar (Judges 3:31) single-handedly delivered Israel from the Philistines: "[h]e won a great victory by killing 600 Philistines with nothing more than an oxgoad, a stick sharpened at one end to drive along slow-moving oxen." The commentary then concludes by emphasizing that we should be encouraged by this text to see how God, not through our own strength or capabilities, but through our weaknesses and frailties, accomplishes great things through our daily lives which we should surrender to Him for direction and guidance.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of incredible grace and compassion for me - saving me and blessing me unimaginably! Thank You Jesus! I am not deserving of how You made me one of Your elect - I am broken and sinful - yet You made me one of Your elect and use me for Your glory - amazing. Thank You Jesus! Again I am not deserving. My sin is great and it continues...daily. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

P.S. I "cheated" today by not doing an unassisted review (no commentary) of the text. I immediately struggled with the two anointed in the text and who they were really wanted to better understand this and leaned on my commentary.