1992 issue 3 - sermons on zechariah: oil and light - counsel of chalcedon

8/12/2019 1992 Issue 3 - Sermons on Zechariah: Oil and Light - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Kenneth L Gentry Jr

SERMONS

ON ZECH RI H

OIL AND LIGHT

Zechariah 4; John 15:1-8

In this

message

we come to the

vision

of

the go

ldenlampstand.

This

is

a

vision

that in a sense forms part

two of the precedingvision.

You

will

remember

that

in

Zechariah

3,

the

prophetsawa vision regardingJoshua

the high priest

CZech.

3: 1 . Joshua

was the high

priest during

the era

in

which

the newly

retumedJewish

ex

iles

keptdelaying therebuilding

of

the

templ

e. That

vision

was essential for

laying

the

groundwork

for forgive

ness through God's restoration of the

priestly

line

through Joshua.

The present vision

advances

the

thought begun

in

Zechariah 3.

Zechariah 4

is

a vision regarding

ZerubbabelCZech.4:6). Butwhowas

Zerubbabel?

And how

is

he

related

to

Joshua? To answer thiswe mustrecall

that the book of

Ezra

is

essential for

understanding Zechariah's prophe

cies.

It contains the explanatory

is-

torical background

to

the prophetic

ministries ofboth

Haggai

and

Zecha

riah.

In Ezra 1:8 we learn that

Zerubbabel was

a prince of Judah.

He

was of the

lineage of

David

and

thus

of royal

blood.

Because

of is

royal lineage,

it

is

not surprising

to

leam that Zerubbabel was the leader

of the

first

band of Jewish exiles re

turning to Israel

from Babylon after

the

Seventy

Years

Captivity.

In fact,

he played a prominent part in the

rebuilding of the temple.

His

role in

the rebuilding project was

so

signifi

cant that

as

the first temple was

called

the temple of

Solomon ,

the second

was

often

ca

lled the temple of

Zerubbabel.

In

Ezra

chapters

1-5

and in

Haggai

we

learn that Joshua,

the high

priest,

worked

very

closely

with

Zerubbabel,

theJewish

civil

govemor, in attempt

ing

to

get the temple rebuilt Ce.g., Ezr.

3:2; Hag.

1:1).

Thus,

as

high priest

and governor they were representa

tive of

church and state. So, having

specifically granted a vision

of

en

couragement

for

the high priest

Joshua, the Lord now grants one

for

the governor

Zerubbabel. Hence, the

interrelationship of the

visions

of

Chapters 3 and

4.

In this vision Zecl1aliah saw a

golden lampstand very similar

to

the

one

ordained in

Exodus 25 for

the

tabernacle. And beside thelampstand

were

two olive

trees prominently

standing. Now what does this

lampstand represent? And why are

these two olive

trees standing beside

it?

Andwhatisthespecialsignificance

of

the trees' branches? These are

questions

we

will seek

to

answer,

for

in them

is

a

message for

the Church

then and today.

1. The Golden Lampstand

The golden larnpstand is the

first

feature

of the vision mentioned CZech.

4:1,2). Now obviously a lampstand is

designed to give offlight.

But

what is

that

significance

for

Zechariah and

Zerubbabel and

for us?

t

would seem from the general

pattern set elsewhere inScripture that

the lampstand represents God's

Church, which in the Old Testament

was

contained exclusively in

Israel.

In

fact, we are most decidedly moved to

this conclusion bya rernarkablysirni

lar vision in Revelation that is specifi

cally

interpreted

as

such

for

us.

In Revelation l1,]ohn reJlects on

Zechariah's vision,

for

we

see an allu

sion

to

it in Revelation 11:4.

More

specifically for

our present point, in

Revelation

1:12

we

even see a

refer

ence

to

seven golden lampstands.

These

seven lampstands

are

expressly

saidtobechurchesCRev.1:20). Now

in the

days ofIsrael therewas but one

temple, which was confined to the

one nation of

Israel. Israel

was the

embodirnentoftheoneChurch,hence

the one golden lampstand.

In the

New

Testament, there

is

still

the one Church, but the Church is

now made up of numerous local

churches which spread beyond the

confines of the one nation ofIsrael to

include

every

nation, kindred, tongue

and tribe. Since seven

is

the number

of qualitative perfection, there are

seven golden lampstands in

Revelation's

New Covenant

vision.

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Furthermore,we find that

thertJis

sion of the Church in the

Old

Testa

ment was

to

be a light to the world,

which would

be

aptly symbolizedby

a candlestick. The

Old

Testament

prophets spoke of the nations around

Israel as lying in darkness. For in

stance,Isaiah60:2speaksof

thepeople

in "thick darkness." But

God

had

ordained Israel to minister to the na

tions. God's Law

was

considered a

light for their feet and

lamp

for their

path (Psa. 119). Israel, and Israel

alone,

had the light

of

God's truth,

which she

was

to share with

the

na

tions. Thus,

Isaiah

spoke of Israel as

bringinglightto

thegentiles(Isa.

49:6).

This

is

why God appointed

Israel

as a kingdom of priests in Exodus

19:6, just before giving her the Ten

Commandments

(Exo. 20).

She

is to

minister God's righteous grace

to

the

nations. In her entering the

PrortJised

Land

she was to be a witness

to righ

teousness to the nations round about

her

(Dem.

4:6). If we may

employ

Christ's

New

Testament imagery,

ls

rael was to be a light to the world;

she

was

to

be like a candlestick that

gives

light to all in the houSe (Matt. 5: l3f ).

Thus, the golden lampstand rep

resented

Israel's

God-ordainedroleas

alightfortheworld.

Zechariahshould

be

encouraged that God still had a

mission

for Israel

.

2. The Olive Trees

But now what does

all

of

this

have

to do with Zerubbabel? It

is

not

so

much the lampstandthatreceives

the

prominence and

excites Zechariah's

wonder here, but the olive trees im-

parting oil into it(Zech.

4:3, 12).

Isay

this

because Zechariah surely would

have been familiar with the temple's

golden lampstand. It

seems

that the

olive

tree feature is that which

is

con

fusing Zechariah

(Zech.

4:4-5).

The idea hereis that the lampstand

cannot function of

itself.

like a

car,

it

cannot run on

empty.

As acar cannot

run without

gas, the

lampstandcannot

bumwithoutasupplyofoil. Remern-

IEn:. .

U

.

themselves for strength. Their

spiri

tual insensitivity even let the people

be surprised at their continued

pov

erty. Even their faithful high priest,

governor,andprophetsZecharlahand

Haggai were weaned

by the

slowness

of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. It still

lay in ruins

fourteen years after

the

exile ended. Israel was running on

. .

U' '..

' l ~ IL t

In Scripture

oil is representative of the

Holy

Spirit l Sam 6:

13 .

Kings andpriests

were

anointed with oil tosymbolize theirspiritual

empowerment

for the

tasks.

Despite the

material glory

of

a

golden lampstand,

such

a

ampstand

was

useless

without

olive oil for

fuel.

Depsite Israel's

being designed to min-

ister light, she was useless to

God

in

her

current

low level

spirituality.

::il

;

ber

the Parable

of

the

Ten Virgins

in

Matthew 25? Five

had lamps that

were gradually

dying (Greek),

while

their oil was running out when

he

bridegroomsudden1yappeared. The

other five had brightly lit lamps be

cause

they

had

plenty

of

oil

to bum.

The first five virgins missed their

op

portunity

of rejoicing

with the bride

groom

because

of their lost

light.

In

thisvision

Israelis

thelampstand.

But Israelhadbeen experiencinga

sad

situation.

She was

more interested in

her personal welfare

than

with the

things

ofGod. Her people built their

ownhouses andnot thehouseofGod.

They

looked solely within and to

emptyby ooking to

herself

What

oil

did

she

need?

In

Scripture oil is

representative

of

the HolySpirlt

(1 Sam. 16:l3). Kings

and priests were anointed with oil to

symbolize

their spiritual

empower

ment for

the tasks.

Despite

the

mate

rial

glory of

agolden lampstand, such

a lampstandwas useless withoutolive

oil for fuel. Despite

Israel's

being

designed to

minister

light, she

was

useless

to God

in hercurrentlow

level

spirituality.

As

governor Zerubbabel

was

un

doubtedlydiscouraged by

Israel's

fail

ure to catch

his

enthusiasm for

the

temple

project.

He had been instru-

26 I IHE COUNSEL of Chalcedon " March, 1992


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mentalinhavingthefoundationstone

to the temple

laid (Ezr.

3:10; 5:2).

He

had used all of

his own

personal

adrninistrativeskills

to urge

the people

onward,butto no avail. Israelwas still

poor.

Depending upon her own

strength,

she

qUickly despaired due to

the odds that were set

against her.

Ezra had recorded how

the

Samari

tans had involved

Persian authority

to

thwart the rebuilding

project (Ezr. 4:1,

4-5).

One

thing after another

seemed

forever to delay

Israel's

hoped-for glory.

Would Israel ever re

build Jerusalem, the city

of the

Great

King?

Would

she ever restore the

temple, the Houseof

God?

For a governor withsuch

aconcern,

we

can seehow

dismal things looked for

him. The obstacles had

mounted as high

as

mountains before

Zerubbabel.

But

just as God defended Joshua

against Satanic oppositionandclothed

the

high priest in

clean

robes, so

He

had

a comforting message for

Zerubbabel through Zechariah

(Zech.4:6). It would not

be by

politi

calmightorstrength. Norwoulditbe

by economic wealth

or human w s-

dom.

Rather,

it would be in accor

dance with the

blessing of God's

gra

cious Spirit.

All

the

mountainous

opposition confronting Zerubbabel

would be

leveled byGod

(Zecll.

4:7).

The

very

same Zerubbabel that laid

the foundation

stone

would

live to set

the

final

headstone on the

temple

(Zech.4:7,

9). The

zeal

of

the

Lord

of

hosts would accomplish

this,

by His

grace (Zech.

4:7b).

You see, the

small, faithful efforts

ofjustfourmen -- Zerubbabel.Joshua,

Haggai,

and Zechariah

--

would be

blessed

of

God

(Zech. 4:10).

Though

they

seemed

so

feeble

and their

labor

so

unprofitable.

The

eyes

of

the

Lord

that

range throughout

the

earth to

behold

all

the

glory of

the

kingdoms

of

men,

will see

the

plumb line pre

pared for the rebuilding and His

holy

eyes will rejoice in it

(Zech.

4:10) .

Despitethenationsroundabout. ...

Despite Israel's poverty....

Despite

evenherownspiritualapathy,thewill

ofGod wouldbe accomplished. The

strength of

God's

people s not in

the

Church

herself;

it s in

God

and it

is by

His Sphit. Israel endured

opposition

to the rebuilding of the temple

from

the

Samaritanswho

employedmighty

Cyrus

to frustrate Israel (Ezr. 4: 1,4,5).

But the temple was to be rebuilt, as we

have learned

heretofore

.

What about our small Church?

What about our feeble efforts for God?

Will God do

great things through

us?

Verse

6

serves

not

s

a particular truth

reseNed for Israel at that particular

moment, but it appears more s a

general truth that would apply to

Israel

then and to

us

today.

The Scripture constantly repre

sents God sworkin the

world s developing

from the insignificant

to the earth-shaking.

God uses the insignifi

cant to confound the

mighty. Abraham was

to

be the source of

worldblessingthrough

his

family,

but he had

only one son of prom

ise.

David

was

a young

lad who met and con

quered the mighty

Goliath.

The Messianic

Kingdom was proph

esied

to

be

like

ahand

ful

of com planted on

an

unlikely mountain top

to grow

(Psa.72). AsmallL-.viginEzekie1l7

grows to

be a mighty cedar. Asmall

streaminEzekiel svisionof he temple

becomes a mighty river (Eze. 47). A

small stone smashing the imperial

statue in Daniel 2, only

to

become a

great

mountain. Jesus told his hand

ful of

fishermen

followers to disciple

all

nations.

Christ

was

fond of

the

small begin

ning and

the

magnificent

ending. He

spoke

of a mustard seed, a grain of

corn, a little leaven, an investment of

two

talents each

experiencing

won

drous growth. He urged us to

believe

March, 1992 l' TIlE COUNSEL

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thatanymountainousproblemscould

be overcome by a little

faith (Matt.

17:20-21).

.. . IfwerelyuponHis Holy Spirit, we

can expect blessing.

We

need not

d\$Pair of the day ofsmall things. For

the Holy Spirit of God

is

our strength.

If we will avail ourselves

of

im

through prayer, worship, anddedica

tion.

3. The Olive

BrAnches

s we have noted, Zechariah saw

not only the goldenlampstand, which

he would recognize, but

twb

olive

trees y i ~ Z e c h . 4:3). Ihave said that

his attention seems

to

be most per

plexed

by

their

presence.

This

is

suggested byZechariah 4: 11-12. No

ticehowherepeatsbimwf,asifanxious

to

resolve

the mystery

of

the

olive

trees.

The word

in

the

KJV

translated

again

in verse 12 can

be

rendered

second, therefore:

I

answered a

second time. Furthermore,

the angel

tests him on this matter d\$Pite

his

obvious

confusion

(Zech.

4:

13).

. . It

is

interesting that the gold

lampstand is attached directly

t()

the

olive

trees. Two

of

the

branches

catch

Zechariah'sattentionbecausetheYaFe

emptyingoil through two pipes out

of

thernselveswithoutanyhumaninter

mediary. IftheoilrepresentstheHoly

Spirit. as we believe it does, we here

learn a truth thatJesus,

Paul,

and the

w r ~

of Hebrews taught later in

dif-

ferent terms: God's Spirit

acts gra

ciously and

sovereignly.

Jesus spoke of die new birth as

occurring through the agency of the

Holy Spirit. Then He noted The

Wind

bloweth where it

listeth,

and

thou hearest the sound

thereof;

but

canst not

tell

whence it

cometh,

and

whither

it goeth: so isevery

one

that is

born of the Spirit. Paul spoke of our

being baptized by the Spirit into the

body of Christ (1

Cor

. 12 :

12). He

observed

in

1

Corinthians 12:18: But

now hath God set the

members every

one

of

them in the body, as it hath

pleased

him.

Thewriter ofHehrews

noted that: God

also

bore them wit

ness, both with signs

and

wonders,

and with

divers

miracles,

and

gifts of

the Holy GhO$t,

according

to

his own

will (Heb. 2:4).

Thenecessary

oil to fuel

thelightof

the lampstand is God's gift.

By

the

lampstand being connected directly

t

the

olive

trees, ithas a constant and

fresh

supply of

oil.

God sovereignly

imparts oil to Israel and to us. As in

our Scripture reading from John 15,

we must leam that apart

from

Him

we can do nothing. Of course, we

can

do

''nothing'' quite well apart

from

Him

. But

He

l).as called us nobly

to

minister God's light

in

the

world

and He will equip us so

to

do, if we

c;ontinue steadfast in Him.

Wemustremember,however,that

the Church, whichJesus designed

to

be the light of the world,

has

a bor

rowed light. For in the final analysis

Jesus

says

ofHimself,

I

am thelightof

theworld Qohn 8:12;

9:5).

We have

been established as Iampstands to

carry light to the world. But

lampstands need oil to burn and a

constant supply of

it.

That supply

comes throughJesus

by

means of the

impartation of the

Holy Spirit.

May

each of us live as glorious,

gOlden lampstands

always

filled with

the

oil

of the Spirit

so that

we might

shine

n

theworld,

to

the glotyof

God.

This

was Zerubbabel's

hope

for Israel.

It should

be

our hope.

as

well.O

8 f

m

COUNSEL ofChalcedon March, 1992 ,

1992 issue 3 - sermons on zechariah: oil and light - counsel of chalcedon

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